NRL poster boy Reece Walsh is hopeful Hull KR’s ex-Man of Steel star Mikey Lewis escapes a ban and is allowed to face him when the best from Super League meets the NRL’s best in the World Club Challenge on Thursday.

Walsh has already inflicted enough misery on the English of late with his starring role in helping the Kangaroos to a 3-0 Test series win on these shores late last year. Now the 23-year-old rugby league superstar is in Hull with his Brisbane Broncos team as they ready themselves to face the treble-winners to see who can be proclaimed the world’s best side.

Walsh is excited to light up the MKM Stadium, just as he did the NRL Grand Final and again for Australia in the autumn, but he wants to face the best KR have got, including renewing a rivalry with England half-back Lewis.

The 24-year-old Hull-born player will discover on Monday what charge he faces for a trip on York Knights’ Liam Harris in a round-one defeat to the Super League newcomers, an incident which saw him sin-binned. Walsh is hopeful Lewis is not ruled out of the game, with a call for Rovers to be able to play their best side.

“Hopefully Mikey Lewis gets off his trip suspension, I am hopeful he will,” said Walsh. “We want to verse them at their best and I am sure they want us at our best, so hopefully Mikey plays. It’s going to be exciting and I can’t wait.”

The Broncos have taken their preparation for the game seriously, having already spent a week in London preparing before travelling to East Yorkshire on Sunday morning. With a training session against Hull FC scheduled as part of this week’s preparation, the NRL Premiers are readying themselves for what they expect will be a great Hull KR performance.

Walsh, who worked under Willie Peters as part of the Australia set-up in the recent Test series, says he knows all too well that the KR coach will have his team pumped up and ready to face the Broncos.

“Hull KR are an exciting team,” added Walsh. “Having spent some time with Willie Peters and seen how much detail he goes into and how much he loves his football, we know they are going to be very well prepared. They will be up for the challenge.

“It definitely helps myself knowing a little bit about what they’ve got as a footy team. I went into that Ashes tour with a bit of the unknown knowing what I was going to get, but to have the experience of playing over here, I know exactly what they are going to bring.

“I have to be on my game, our boys need to be on their game and I’ll be making sure to tell the boys not to take these boys lightly because they will bring everything and then some.”