USA names side to take on Canada Wolverines

Philadelphia) The USA Tomahawks have named their 17-man squad for the third Colonial Cup match against Canada and it includes a mix of players from both the American National Rugby League and the USA Rugby League.

The Tomahawks will travel to Toronto for a continuation of the annual series on Saturday, September 7, 2013. The game will be played at Lamport Stadium, the scene of a Wolverines victory in the series opener in July.

Tomahawks coach Ben Kelly says top line players from USARL Grand Final teams Philadelphia Fight and Jacksonville Axemen will add some grunt to the USA squad.

"I am very happy to have Philly Fight players Casey and Matt Clarke, Kevin Wiggins and Jacksonville players Brent Shorten and Apple Pope named in the Tomahawks squad," said Kelly.

"I am very excited to see the Clarke brothers in action. They are both hard as nails and fighting fit.

"Wiggins is a fire breather who is very dangerous on the fringes and a feared player in defense.

"It's great to have Apple [Pope] back in the mix and Brent Shorten will be leading the boys around the park in the five-eighth role.

"With a few injuries to players in our squad, it's great to have the lads step in as we are heading into a State of Origin atmosphere in Toronto. We will be ready to meet them head on."

The 2013 Colonial Cup series is evenly poised after the first two games. Canada won the opener 36-20 in Toronto, before the USA posted a 44-16 victory in Game 2 last month in Conshohocken, PA.

The series will be decided by a table with the series currently tied at 1-1.  If the series is tied at its conclusion then it will be decided, on a points aggregate basis with the USA holding 64-52 advantage going into this weekend's matchup.

USA TOMAHAWKS SQUAD:

Taylor Welch, Gareth Gibbs, Vai Notoa, Luke Baron, Casey Clarke, Louis Tulio (Capt), Brent Shorten, Matt Walsh, Mike Schacter, Apple Pope, Salesi Tongamoa, Mark Offerdahl, Kevin Wiggins, Josh Rice, Matt Clarke, Curtis Cunz, Wesley Haughton