Matty Ashton has had an interesting journey to the international elite, playing amateur rugby league at Rochdale Mayfield and trying his hand in Australia's lower grades before trialling and impressing at third-tier side Swinton Lions.
From there he was plucked by Super League Warrington in 2020 after a 30-try debut campaign with the Lions and his form has continued to rise with 20 tries in 27 games last term earning the 25-year-old an England call.
It was a chance he took willingly, scoring twice in the second Test at Huddersfield to announce his place on the Test stage, and now he hopes it can be the catalyst for another good campaign with the Wire.
"It gives you that self-belief knowing you can do it at the top levels," Ashton told BBC Sport.
"Especially when you've got class team-mates around you, early on in my career I was a bit short of that self-belief, that sense of belonging, and was it luck?
"But after last season and playing internationally, it's given me a lot of confidence in my own game and what I can bring to a team, and I've just got to show that on the pitch this season and keep being a standout.
"I've learned a lot off the top athletes and top experienced players who have done it both sides of the world in the NRL and Super League and it will stand me in good stead in the future."
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