THREE of Hunslet’s 2021 Betfred League 1 side have been named in the Jamaica squad that will take on England Knights at Castleford’s Mend-A-Hose Jungle on Friday in a testimonial match for the Reggae Warriors’ Jordan Turner.
The trio are winger Aaron Jones-Bishop (who is currently serving a suspension and is therefore unavailable) prop Jordan Andrade and halfback Jy-Mel Coleman.
Former Hunslet winger Mo Agoro, who is now with Keighley, is also in the party.
Lead coach Jermaine Coleman spent several seasons as a halfback at the South Leeds Stadium, and the Reggae Warriors’ media manager Danny Thomas added memorable fizz to the side – again at halfback – around four or five years ago.
Jamaica are building towards the World Cup, which has been postponed from this autumn to 2022, and senior head coach Romeo Monteith said: “We want to continue our World Cup preparation and this game gives us a great chance to test ourselves against a very good side.
“We will see some new faces and try some new combinations. It will be a tough clash and will hopefully get us ready for the following week’s full international against Scotland at Featherstone.”
He added: “We have several players missing due to injuries picked up at the back end of the English season, and the sport has yet to resume on the island, but that has opened the doors for others to make an impact. We hope the fans will come out and support Jordan, I’m certain they’ll see an exciting game.”
Jamaica, who are ranked 20th in the world, beat Canada and USA to become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for a Rugby League World Cup.
The full squad is: Aaron Jones-Bishop, Jordan Andrade, Jy-Mel Coleman (all Hunslet),Greg Johnson (Batley Bulldogs), Jordan Turner (Castleford Tigers), Jon Magrin, Keenen Tomlinson, (Dewsbury Rams), Danny Bravo, Ross Peltier, (Doncaster), James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax Panthers) Ashton Golding, Michael Lawrence (Huddersfield Giants), Mo Agoro, (Keighley Cougars), Jacob Ogden (London Broncos) Abevia McDonald, (London Skolars), Izaac Farrell, Joel Farrell (Sheffield Eagles), Joe Brown (Workington Town), Ben Jones-Bishop (York City Knights), Christopher Ball, Kadeem Williams (Unattached).
