Panthers’ O’Neill called-up to England National Performance Squad

Luis Domingos of Castleford Tigers, Josh Edwards of Hull FC and Finlay O’Neill of Halifax Panthers have been called up after impressing in two trial events at the University of York and in O’Neill’s case, with his 80-minute performance in the Panthers’ victory over London Roosters in the Betfred Wheelchair Challenge Cup final.

Coyd has added a total of nine players to the eight who were selected in the first group of players for the 2025 NPS last month.

The other six include two more Cup-winning Panthers, Nathan Holmes and Wayne Boardman, the Halifax captain-coach, plus Mason Billington and Jason Owen from the Roosters, Chris Haynes from the 2025 Betfred Wheelchair Super League newcomers Sheffield Eagles, and Edwards’ Hull FC team-mate Tristan Norfolk.

Norfolk, Owen, Holmes and Haynes all played in the international fixture against Spain in Nantes last autumn, while Billington capped a stunning breakthrough season with the Roosters by winning two Test caps against France.

The NPS will gather for their first full session of the year in York on Saturday, and will then play a behind-closed-doors trial on July 13, with Coyd planning to finalise his 10-strong squad for Australia in August.

“It’s exciting to announce this group and look forward to the challenges ahead of us,” said Coyd.

“Last week was such a positive one for Wheelchair Rugby League, with a high-quality Challenge Cup final on Saturday followed by our Future of England match in York on Sunday and in both cases, a big feature is the amount of new talent coming through, with seven clubs represented.

“Finlay O’Neill is only 20 and has only been playing Wheelchair Rugby League for a couple of seasons. He played the full 80 minutes for Halifax in the Challenge Cup final and scored one of their tries, showing the rugby awareness he developed in playing the running game for King Cross Park."