England boss outlines Brad O’Neill’s key qualities with Micky McIlorum comparison made

England coach Brian McDermott says he would be ‘more than happy’ if Brad O’Neill could bring the same qualities that helped him enjoy a standout season with Wigan Warriors to the international stage.

O’Neill has been named in England’s 23-man squad for the Rugby League World Cup after being crowned the Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel following an impressive campaign for Wigan.

McDermott has been particularly impressed by the hooker’s defensive work, drawing comparisons with former Test and Super League star Micky McIlorum.

“If England can get what he’s done for Wigan, I’d be more than happy,” said McDermott. “It’s like watching Micky McIlorum play sometimes, isn’t it? He seems to have inherited that DNA of the Wigan nine shirt.

“(He is) very aggressive, very defensively-minded and can run, and certainly does run when given the opportunity. I feel he has grown as well.”

Despite still only being 24, O’Neill has an impressive playing CV, having made 124 appearances for Wigan since his debut in 2021, while helping the Warriors win two Super League titles, three League Leaders’ Shields, three Challenge Cups and a World Club Challenge title.

“All the players have done a huge amount of work with Carl Jennings, who has been our performance development manager this year, and every single player has had four meetings with Carl Jennings,” McDermott added.

“There’s been 38 players - every single one of them has had four meetings with him - and Carl talked to them about a process of their preparation, their performance and their self-review, and they’ve got better at that as the season has gone on.

“Brad O’Neill has said openly of how much of a benefit Carl Jennings has been to him in his own preparation and his own self-review. He is making players more self-accountable and aligning them to England and how we want to play.

“It’s not just a conversation - it’s not just something that we chat to players about. We’re actually showing footage, we’re showing them evidence, we’re showing them data, and we’re getting them aligned to how England want to play, how England train and how England are going to think, so Brad O’Neill has been one of the leaders in that department.

“He has had a really good year for us - he has come on tremendously.”