Connor

Hull KR’s Grand Final-winning trio Mikey Lewis, Jez Litten and Joe Burgess have all been named in England’s final 24-man squad for the autumn Ashes Test series against Australia but there is no place for Super League’s Man of Steel winner Jake Connor.

Litten’s only previous cap arrived against France in 2023, while Burgess, who scored two tries in Hull KR’s triumph over Wigan on Saturday, returns to the England set-up after a 10-year absence.

But Connor, who was also omitted from the squad get-together in June, has been unable to convince head coach Shaun Wane he deserves a spot amid fierce competition in the halves.

Wane’s stellar options in those berths include captain George Williams, Wigan’s Harry Smith and Lewis, who won the Rob Burrow Award for man of the match with a sparkling performance at Old Trafford.

Australia face England at Wembley on 25 October, at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on 1 November and at AMT Headingley on 8 November. All three matches are 14:30 kick-offs and will be live on BBC One.

“I’m really excited by the 24 players we have selected ahead of this upcoming Ashes Series,” said Wane.

“There were some tough decisions to be made given the quality we have across both Super League and the NRL and that’s never easy, but I am confident that the 24 selected will give us the best chance of winning this series.”

England squad: John Bateman (North Queensland Cowboys), AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans), Joe Burgess (Hull KR), Daryl Clark (St Helens), Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Ethan Havard (Wigan Warriors), Morgan Knowles (St Helens), Matty Lees (St Helens), Mikey Lewis (Hull KR), Jez Litten (Hull KR), Mike McMeeken (Wakefield Trinity), Harry Newman (Leeds Rhinos), Mikolaj Oledzki (Leeds Rhinos), Tom Johnstone (Wakefield Trinity), Kai Pearce-Paul (Newcastle Knights), Harry Smith (Wigan Warriors), Morgan Smithies (Canberra Raiders), Owen Trout (Leigh Leopards), Alex Walmsley (St Helens), Jake Wardle (Wigan Warriors), Kallum Watkins (Leeds Rhinos), Jack Welsby (St Helens), George Williams (Warrington Wolves), Dom Young (Newcastle Knights)

Matt Newsum, BBC Sport rugby league reporter

Jake Connor’s receipt of the Man of Steel award in 2025 is somewhat fitting given the mental toughness he has shown in particular to put himself back among Super League’s best players since joining Leeds.

The 30-year-old has never lacked talent, but at times application and discipline have been his downfall. However, that is no longer the case, as an initial mix of tough words from boss Brad Arthur and a supportive environment since then have allowed Connor to thrive.

He was pivotal in Rhinos’ return to the play-offs with his creativity and kicking game, and his mercurial abilities also drew the best from team-mates Lachie Miller and Brodie Croft.

Back-rower Eva Hunter deserves her award following a stellar season with treble-winning Wigan in the women’s game.

Pound for pound, few players run and hit as hard as Hunter, who is a constant source of tries with her driving runs on the Wigan edge. She is box-office.

London Roosters contributed plenty to the 2025 wheelchair season and England’s Joe Coyd was key to that, despite defeats by Halifax Panthers in both finals.

His consistency helped set the standard for team-mates such as Mason Billington and new England captain Lewis King, and he will hope to impress further on England’s tour of Australia this autumn.

Watching 6-foot-6, 220-pound Connor Ohl of Newport Harbor High play water polo is similar to a Great White Shark sighting. You’re stunned and in awe.

He’s water polo’s version of a speeding dolphin in the pool, able to accelerate so fast with his long arms and powerful legs that few can stay with him. He won the Southern Section Division 1 50-yard freestyle title last spring and broke 20 seconds in a league meet (19.79), so beware to those who think he’s not as fast as advertised.

Then comes his size and strength. He could be a football player because physicality comes naturally. Being the youngest of three water polo playing brothers, it was sink or swim in the Ohl household growing up in Greenwich, Conn. One brother plays for Stanford, where Connor will soon join him. Another plays at Princeton.

Connor moved to Orange County last year for his junior season so he could be part of what he calls “the water polo hub of America.”

This past summer, he was the youngest player on the USA junior national team that earned a silver medal at the under-20 world championships in Croatia.

“It was such a crazy experience,” he said.

First there was playing the host team in front of screaming fans in an indoor pool. “Oh my God, It was so loud,” he said. “They had drummers. You couldn’t hear yourself think.”

Then there was playing Serbia, known for its physicality. He was a boy going against men. “It’s insane,” he said. “Some are built like refrigerators.”

What Ohl learned from his international experience will help him immensely during a high school season in which Newport Harbor is the defending Southern Section champion and heavily favored to win again. The Sailors are off to a 6-0 start.

Ben Liechty, Peter Castillo, Connor Ohl and Gavin Appeldorn, from left, represented Newport Harbor at the Under-20 World Championships in Croatia.

(Courtesy of Newport Harbor water polo)

“Going from high school water polo to the junior level is like night and day,” he said. “These juniors have been playing basically their whole life — Spain, Hungary, Croatia. They worship water polo. It’s made me a lot more physical. Coming back to high school, it’s made me more confident to defend and control people with my strength and size.”

With the arrival of the Anderson brothers, Tyler and Sean, from JSerra, Newport Harbor starts out as perhaps the best team in the country.

“We could be a football team with as big as we are in water polo,” Ohl said.

Corona del Mar, JSerra, Oaks Christian and Harvard-Westlake hope to offer resistance.

Ohl is the latest Southern California product who can’t wait to represent the USA in the Olympic Games, which happen to be coming to Los Angeles in 2028. The Dodd brothers, Ryder and Chase, from JSerra and Huntington Beach, played in the 2024 Olympic Games.

It will be one of the toughest teams to make because of the experience and depth with so many players back from 2024.

“My chances are as good as anyone else,” Ohl said. “That’s my dream. I just want to represent my country at the Olympics.”

Meanwhile, if you want to see someone who can swim as fast as a fish, check out a Newport Harbor water polo match. That’s Connor Ohl, the speeding bullet.

Zilisch is widely considered to be a future star of the sport and is expected to secure a full-time drive in Nascar’s top tier, the Cup Series, in 2026.

He has dominated in his rookie year in Xfinity, and won at Watkins Glen, New York, after emerging unscathed from a dramatic 16-car crash in the closing stages.

Zilisch was forced to miss a race after injuring his back in a crash at Talladega in June but bounced back in style and his win on Saturday was his fifth victory in eight races.

No timeline has been put on his return by Zilisch or his JR Motorsports team, which is run by former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr, but the Xfinity Series championship play-offs begin at Portland on 31 August.

He was set to make his fourth top-tier Cup start of the season on Sunday at Watkins Glen but will miss that race as a result of the injury.

BALTIMORE — Gary Sánchez hit a seventh-inning grand slam, Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg also homered, and the Baltimore Orioles completed a three-game sweep with a 11-2 victory Sunday over the Angels.

Cade Povich earned his first victory since April 24 as Baltimore secured its third sweep of the season, all in its last five series. The Orioles (30-40) are within 10 games of .500 for the first time since they were 15-25.

Nolan Schanuel homered for the Angels.

Baltimore took a 3-2 lead against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (2-6) on Ramón Laureano’s RBI single in the fourth, and then chased Kikuchi in the sixth. Sánchez hit a two-out single and then came around when Kikuchi flung Cedric Mullins’ bunt single down the right-field line. Coby Mayo followed with an RBI double.

Sánchez broke the game open with his sixth career grand slam and first since Aug. 15, 2023. The catcher ripped Connor Brogdon’s two-out fastball to left-center for Baltimore’s third grand slam of the season and first since May 14.

Povich (2-5) came out of the bullpen for the first time in 29 career outings. He threw 3⅔ shutout innings after replacing opener Scott Blewett.

Schanuel hit a solo homer in the first for the Angels, and Urías responded with a two-run shot later in the inning. Westburg hit a two-run homer in the eighth.

Kikuchi allowed a season-high five runs — three earned — and struck out 10 in 5⅔ innings.

Key moment: Orioles reliever Seranthony Domínguez entered with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh and struck out Jo Adell and pinch hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. to preserve a 5-2 lead.

Key stat: Baltimore improved to 20-6 against the Angels since 2022, including 5-1 this season.

Up next: Angels RHP José Soriano (4-5, 3.86 ERA) starts the opener of a four-game series Monday at the New York Yankees. Baltimore has not announced its pitching plans for a four-game series at Tampa Bay starting Monday.