England head coach Brian McDermott has left Mikey Lewis out of the 17-man matchday squad for Saturday's Rugby League World Cup opener against Tonga in Perth, selecting Harry Smith to partner captain George Williams in the halves.
Lewis, the Hull KR playmaker who secured a spot in the tournament squad ahead of Jake Connor, was omitted entirely from the bench and listed among the non-playing reserves alongside Ben Currie and Ben Talty. Williams, the Warrington stand-off, will start alongside Wigan half-back Smith.
In another major selection call, Brisbane-born AJ Brimson was chosen to start at full-back ahead of Jack Welsby. Brimson is one of several heritage players McDermott brought into the squad to maximise depth in Group B-C, a combined six-team pool from which the top two sides will advance to the semi-finals.
Canterbury Bulldogs prop Max King and Sydney Roosters back Hugo Savala will both make their England debuts in the starting line-up, which also features Victor Radley, Dom Young, and Herbie Farnworth. Following Saturday's match in Perth, England will play France in the same city on 24 October before traveling to Wollongong to face Papua New Guinea on 30 October.
Squads across the tournament were unveiled on Tuesday morning ahead of the opening fixtures. In the women's competition, England coach Stu Barrow gave debuts to Jasmin Strange and Connie Boyd for their clash with Wales in Perth on Saturday, while Wales named former England player Paige Travis in their second row alongside multi-sport international Hannah Bluck.
Meanwhile, tournament co-hosts Australia picked full-back Reece Walsh ahead of Clive Churchill medallist James Tedesco for Thursday's opener against New Zealand, despite Walsh being sidelined by injury since mid-August. Isaah Yeo will captain the Kangaroos after delaying surgery on a torn pectoral muscle, with half-back Nathan Cleary ruled out of the tournament due to a broken ankle.
