ENGLAND head coach Steve McNamara has backed Hull FC's Gareth Ellis to return to the forefront of the game in this country, insisting the 32-year-old was right to give himself a new challenge.
Ellis, a former Leeds Rhino, moved to the NRL in 2009 and enjoyed four fantastic seasons with the Wests Tigers where he was named the club's player of the season for three years in succession.
But he has returned to Super League for the 2013 season although, instead of returning to Leeds, Ellis opted to sign for FC.
His return to England has not gone smoothly, a broken bone in his foot keeping him sidelined until a fortnight ago.
But, with the World Cup coming up in the autumn, McNamara cannot hide his delight that Ellis is back in England and believes he'll have a serious impact between now and the end of the season.
"Gareth has said that he still has a debt to owe to English rugby league and he has talked about it in depth on a few occasions and that is just the measure of the man," said McNamara.
"I talked to him on a few occasions about coming back to Super League and he chose Hull FC, a great club to go to.
"The easy option for Gareth would have been to go back to Leeds as they would have taken him back and it would have been a nice fit and an easier return if you will.
"But he constantly wants to challenge himself. He has taken himself out of his comfort zone by joining Hull.
"Yes he is coming back to England after four brilliant years in Australia, but he is looking to re-establish himself at a new club.
"He is also coming back from an injury so he still has to prove himself that he is still the player he was.
"These are the sorts of challenges our top players want and I back him to be right up there again in England."
McNamara is in the midst of the biggest year of his management career as England prepare to challenge for the World Cup on home soil.
And he insists that preparation ahead of the marquee tournament could not be going better.
"Everything is ready to go, so we couldn't be in better shape in terms of that and we've also got some very good players who are playing very well at this moment in time," he added.
"So we're looking forward to it, we understand the impact it can have on the whole game but for ourselves as coaches and players it's just concentrating now on performance."• Gillette's Great Start programme celebrates the role of coaching and encourages people to get into coaching by offering grants. To apply for a coaching grant visit facebook.co.uk/GilletteUK
