England have named their squad for the Rugby League World Cup and there is no place for South Sydney prop George Burgess, although his brothers Sam and Tom are included, along with five other NRL-based players.
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Warrington second-rower Ben Currie and St Helens prop Alex Walmsley are the new faces in 24-man squad.
As expected, there is no place for Super League's leading fullback Zak Hardaker following his failed drugs test, which is expected to pave the way for Jonny Lomax to reclaim the England No.1 jersey.
Currie, who played for Ireland in the previous World Cup in 2013, is chosen despite making just four appearances for his club this year due to injury, while Walmsley went to Sydney for England's mid-season Test against Samoa but did not play.
Wigan's Sam Tomkins, a former Warriors NRL player, made a strong push for a recall after being dropped from the elite training squad during his injury-hit start to the year, but his club's failure to make the play-off semi-finals denied him one last chance to impress.
England coach Wayne Bennett has opted to take 14 forwards and just 10 backs, including only two specialist wingers in Ryan Hall and Jermaine McGillvary.
"Selecting the final 24 with the help of my coaching staff was tough and that was down to the effort and performances of many players throughout the season," Bennett said.
"The competitiveness of Super League and NRL and knowing the goal of playing for your country in a World Cup has made many raise their game and become better athletes.
"The England program has been very active leading into this tournament and having the squad meet up on regular occasions - on and off the field - has put us in a positive place before everyone gets into camp."
England will fly out of Manchester on Thursday for a 10-day camp in Perth and will play a warm-up match against an Affiliated States team on Friday, October 20, to prepare for their opening group game against holders Australia in Melbourne a week later.
WORLD CUP
England squad: John Bateman (Wigan), Kevin Brown (Warrington), Sam Burgess (South Sydney), Thomas Burgess (South Sydney), Ben Currie (Warrington), Luke Gale (Castleford), James Graham (St George Illawarra), Ryan Hall (Leeds), Chris Heighington (Cronulla), Chris Hill (Warrington), Josh Hodgson (Canberra), Jonny Lomax (St Helens), Jermaine McGillvary (Huddersfield), Mike McMeeken (Castleford), Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan, capt), Mark Percival (St Helens), Stefan Ratchford (Warrington), James Roby (St Helens), Scott Taylor (Hull), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Kallum Watkins (Leeds), Elliott Whitehead (Canberra), Gareth Widdop (St George Illawarra), George Williams (Wigan).
