Great to see George Williams flying the flag for the England game – Luke Gale

He got a lot of attention off the Aussie media and it’s always good when an Englishman stands out in their comp’.

George is quality, he’s not an off-the-cuff player, but he can play eyes-up footy and I think that’s very important in that Canberra side.

He is a perfect fit for them, where Josh Hodgson controls and then gets out and George can play off the back of that.

The new rule they have got, with faster play-the-balls, really suits him.

Both tries he created were off quick rucks and his style is tailor-made to the Canberra team.

It is early days, but I think they have got a great chance this year.

I spoke with Elliott Whitehead after the game and he’s pleased with how things are going.

They have some serious talent in that team and I think they could go one better than last year and win the Grand Final.

I watched Sydney Roosters on Friday and what they did to Brisbane was unreal, probably some of the best footy I have seen in a while.

A 59-0 win is impressive in any competition and they are going to be tough to beat, but Canberra will be confident whoever they play.

It is going to be an exciting comp’ and the English boys have made a massive start.

It was good to see Ryan Hall get a game for the Roosters this week and I thought he did well.

At Canberra they have got Elliott and John Bateman, who are both mates of mine from our Bradford days, as well as George, Josh and Ryan Sutton.

I think a lot of English fans will be supporting the Raiders because of all their English boys and if they do well it’s a good reflection on our competition.

Elliott sent me a vest over a couple of seasons ago so I am not jumping on the band waggon, I have been a green machine for a couple of years.

I have been getting up at all hours to see how they’ve got on and it has been fantastic to see them doing so well.

The NRL has been great since it restarted and, with nothing much else on at the moment, it is a good showcase for our game.

****

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. These are challenging times but the team at the Yorkshire Evening Post need your support more than ever in the weeks ahead.

While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you. In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you - wherever possible and providing it is safe for you to do so - to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Inevitably falling advertising revenues will start to have an impact on local newspapers and the way we continue to work during this period of uncertainty. So the support of our readers has never been more important as we try to make sure that we keep you connected with the city you live in during this time. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. We need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

Our team of trusted reporters are working incredibly hard behind the scenes- from kitchen tables and spare bedrooms - to look at how we can do this and your continued support to the YEP will help to protect its viability in the days and weeks ahead.

For more details on our subscription offers please visit www.localsubsplus.co.uk/YEP, email [email protected] or call us on 0330 4033004

Thank you, Laura Collins, Editor