NSW Blues star Ethan Strange has confirmed that he has turned down an approach to represent England as the nation named a 38-man preliminary squad for the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup.

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Recently appointed as head coach of the England team, Brian McDermott has opted to select 11 NRL stars in his 38-man preliminary squad.

However, the squad doesn’t include Strange, Queensland Maroons halfback Sam Walker and livewire dummy-half Blayke Brailey, who all could have technically represented the country at the end of the year.

While Brailey and Walker were always a slim chance of representing England, there was hope that Strange would have accepted the opportunity to represent his mother’s heritage.

Strange has opted to reject England and New Zealand in an attempt to play for Australia.Source: Getty Images

However, he has rejected the approach and has the sole focus of representing the Australian Kangaroos, per NRL.com.

“I’ve grown up in Australia. My mum’s from England, grandma’s from New Zealand, but I’ve grown up in Australia, and I’m Aussie,” Strange told foxsports.com.au earlier this year.

While the three players have turned down the opportunity to represent England, McDermott has named Ben Taly (Broncos), Billy Smith (Roosters), Jayden Brailey (Raiders) and Max King (Bulldogs) as the new faces from the NRL in the England squad.

Meanwhile, John Bateman (Cowboys), Morgan Gannon (Warriors), Matty Nicholson (Raiders), and Alex Seyfarth (Tigers) have all been overlooked.

“I’ve enjoyed the process of looking throughout Super League and the NRL for players who could potentially play for England in the 2026 World Cup,“ England coach Brian McDermott said.

“It is clear there is a raft of talent available at our disposal and it’s encouraging to see the sort of player who could be lining up for us in a few months’ time.“

Victor Radley has been named in the squad.Source: Supplied Source Known

Other new faces in the squad include Caleb Hamlin-Uele (the brother of Sharks forward Braden) and Wigan Warriors duo Sam Walters and Zach Eckersley.

“Caleb Hamlin-Uele, who was born in Auckland but qualifies for England through heritage, is another who ticks that box,” McDermott continued.

“From the NRL, there’s further players who I have seen first-hand who are performing well and who have expressed a desire to represent England via the heritage rule: Max King, Jayden Brailey, Billy Smith and Ben Talty.

“It’s an exciting time as we continue our preparations and build-up towards the opening game against Tonga.

“Obviously, this is still just the first group of players we’ve selected: there is still plenty of opportunity for others to play their way into contention before the World Cup squad is announced.”

ENGLAND’S 38-MAN PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME SQUAD

Junior Nsemba, Ethan Havard, Luke Thompson, Sam Walters, Brad O’Neill, Jake Wardle, Harry Smith, Zach Eckersley (all Wigan Warriors), Kallum Watkins, Mikolaj Oledzki, Ash Handley, Jake Connor (all Leeds Rhinos), Ben Currie, Danny Walker, George Williams, Matty Ashton (all Warrington Wolves), Kai Pearce-Paul (Wests Tigers), Dean Hadley, Jez Litten, Mikey Lewis (all Hull KR), Morgan Smithies, Jayden Brailey (both Canberra Raiders), Victor Radley, Billy Smith (both Sydney Roosters), AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans), Jack Welsby, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Harry Robertson (all St Helens), Morgan Knowles, Herbie Farnworth (both Dolphins), Mike McMeeken, Caleb Hamlin-Uele, Jake Trueman, Tom Johnstone (all Wakefield), Max King (Canterbury Bulldogs), Ben Talty (Brisbane Broncos), Dom Young (Newcastle Knights)