Skipper turns down Rhinos offer

GRAND Final-winning captain Sean O’Loughlin has rejected an offer from Leeds and is staying at Wigan.

The Rhinos made a move for the 35-year-old, who was out of contract at his hometown club.

But O’Loughlin yesterday confirmed he will be staying at Wigan for a remarkable 18th season.

He said: “Hopefully it’s all sorted with Wigan. I’ve not actually signed because I’ve been in camp but it’s all done and dusted.”

England skipper O’Loughlin, talking ahead of the three-Test series with New Zealand, confirmed Leeds made a bid.

He added: “When you’re off contract, it’s nice other teams show an interest. You always have to listen because it’s your career at the end of the day. But I wanted to stay at Wigan and be part of the team going forward.”

O’Loughlin will lead England in the Tests, which start at Hull’s KCOM Stadium on Saturday.

But there is a question mark over the involvement of his Wigan team-mate Sam Tomkins.

The full-back returns after being snubbed by Wayne Bennett for last year’s World Cup and the midseason Test against the Kiwis.

He also missed the 2015 and 2016 international fixtures because of injuries and has not pulled on an England shirt for four years.

But he might have to wait a while longer, with Bennett indicating that St Helens star Jonny Lomax is likely to play at fullback on Saturday.

Wedding

Bennett said: “He probably won’t play full-back at the moment. Lomax is probably the No.1 choice there.”

The 10 England players involved in the Grand Final linked up late with England, missing the opening week’s training. But Tomkins missed a further three days, to attend his brother’s wedding in Italy, and only joined up on Sunday.

That suggests he might be held back until the second Test, probably playing in the halves if Lomax shines this weekend.

Bennett said: “I haven’t seen much of Sam. He’s a talented player, we all know what he can do.”

Former Wigan coach Michael Maguire took over the Kiwis following their disastrous failure to reach the knockout stages in last year’s World Cup.

He said: “This is an important next step for us. We have got pretty high expectations and this group are very keen to excel.”