Without his “leap of faith” quitting Huddersfield for Australia, Dom Young reckons he’d be nowhere near an England debut.
But the 21-year-old is set to jump into his international bow against Fiji on Friday after a brilliant breakthrough campaign in the NRL. Few people in Super League, let alone Down Under, had heard of the strapping winger when he left Giants for Newcastle Knights two years ago. Young had only played twice for his hometown club and admits it was a gamble moving to the other side of the world as such a rookie.
But he scored 14 tries in 20 NRL games this term to be catapulted into Shaun Wane’s World Cup squad. Asked if he thought he’d be in England camp if he’d not departed Giants, Young conceded: “I don't think so, no.
“One of the main reasons I left Huddersfield was a lack of opportunities there. And I've never really looked back since moving to Australia with Newcastle. The opportunity to improve over there, it's a lot different how seriously they take things.
“I felt like I had nothing to lose going out there and taking that leap of faith. I wanted to do it at a young age. I didn't know what to expect but I love it. In my first year, I wasn't too much of a regular but I fast-tracked my way in and felt like I belonged. I always felt as if I was in the right place.”
And now England have come calling. With veteran Huddersfield winger Jermaine McGillvary retiring from international duty, Young saw off the likes of Leeds flier Ash Handley and Wigan’s Liam Marshall to join established Test widemen Tommy Makinson and Ryan Hall in Wane’s 24-man squad. He hopes to shine in Friday’s warm-up at Salford before the World Cup begins versus Samoa on Saturday week.
But Young - who turned down a chance to play alongside elder brother Alex with World Cup debutants Jamaica - revealed: “It probably wasn't on my radar at the start of the year. I put a good few performances together, things picked up a bit and then I spoke to Waney midway through the year.
“It gathered a bit of momentum from there and I think I do have a point to prove here because there's a lot of people here who probably haven't seen me play live. I definitely want to show what I can do and make my mark in the World Cup. I'm not too bothered about impressing people.”
Wane has named a 22-man squad for Friday's game with Young, Sydney Roosters' Victor Radley, Brisbane centre Herbie Farnworth, Wigan's Kai Pearce-Paul and Salford duo Andy Ackers and Marc Sneyd all set to debut. It includes 18 members of the 24-strong World Cup squad Wane named last Friday, but he has also added Wigan trio Liam Marshall, Sam Powell and Harry Smith plus Huddersfield's Jake Wardle to increase his rotation options.
Two members of St Helens’ winning team from the Betfred Super League Grand Final – Joe Batchelor and Jake Welsby – are included but Matty Lees, Tommy Makinson and Morgan Knowles are rested and Leeds' beaten Grand Finalist Mikolaj Oledzki is also kept back.
