Elliott Whitehead has expressed his extreme disappointment at Australia and New Zealand pulling out of the World Cup, a decision he says will prove a major setback for international rugby league.
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Fresh from signing a two-year contract extension which keeps him at the Raiders until 2024, the 31-year-old Yorkshireman remained hopeful the tournament would still proceed but said not having two of the world's top three rugby league nations in the World Cup was a poor look for the sport.
Whitehead has declared he will happily travel to England and represent his country at the end of this year, echoing the sentiments of Raiders teammate and compatriot Josh Hodgson who responded to the withdrawal of Australia and New Zealand by saying he was still keen to play in the World Cup.
The Australian Rugby League Commission and and New Zealand Rugby League released a joint statement last week saying both nations had pulled out of the 2021 tournament, citing the COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom.
"I don't see the reason why they can't go over to England and play in the World Cup, there's a lot of sporting events that are going on at the moment and Australia are sending teams there," Whitehead said.
"I know England put a lot of money and a lot of effort in to get the World Cup up and running. They met all the protocols that Australia asked for and obviously a week later they pulled out and New Zealand followed them as well.
"It's a massive setback. There's only three top-tier teams and for two of them to pull out of the tournament it's not a good look for the sport.
"Hopefully they can come to some sort of agreement and get them two teams back in and the World Cup can go ahead with those two teams in there.
"If not and it goes ahead without them I'm still willing to put my hand up and go over there for England. Any time I can pull on a jersey for England it's a proud moment for me and my family, I'll definitely be going over there if the World Cup was still on and representing my country."
MORE RAIDERS NEWS
Whitehead is set to return for the Raiders on Saturday against Newcastle, after missing three weeks with a shoulder injury.
The co-captain passed a fitness test at Raiders training on Wednesday, and his return is a major boost for a Green Machine side chasing a fourth-straight win for the first time this season.
"I just compressed the nerves and lost all my power in my left arm, I just took a couple of weeks to get that power back," Whitehead said.
"First week I couldn't lift 1.25 kilos on my triceps curls. It definitely took an impact there. It took a couple of weeks to get that little bit of strength back. I'm almost back to full strength on it now.
"I haven't really been in this situation in my career before. It's been a little bit strange for me. The boys have been putting in some great performances."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
