Four newcomers in Bradley Ho, Kieran Rush, AJ Wallace, and Alex Young have been named in Jamaica’s 24-man squad, as the Reggae Warriors prepare to make their debut in the Rugby League World Cup next month.

Fourteen of those selected were part of the squad that qualified for the tournament when winning the 2018 Americas Championship, Jamaica thereby becoming the first-ever Caribbean nation to be included in the competition proper.

The squad is headlined by Betfred Super League stars Michael Lawrence and Ashton Golding from Huddersfield Giants.

Six players from the domestic game are included, five are from Duhaney Park Red Sharks, who recently won the National Club Championship Grand Final for the eighth time in 16 seasons, a long with former Excelsior Community College speedster Abevia McDonald, who now plays at London Skolars.

Also selected are brothers Aaron and Ben Jones-Bishop, the former becoming Cornwall RLFC’s first international representative.

“We are excited to mix it with the best players in the world and everyone is ready to give their all,” Jamaica Head Coach Romeo Monteith said. “We encourage everyone to get behind this team and join us on what should be a terrific as well as historic journey. We made our international debut in 2009, and to have qualified for a World Cup less than 10 years later speaks to our commitment and tenacity. We are in a very tough group, but our aim is to give a good account of ourselves. The World Cup is the pinnacle of the game, and we hope this will be the first of many appearances.”

The Reggae Warriors are drawn in Group C and will face Ireland at Headingley, Leeds (October 16), 2008 World Cup winners New Zealand at the MKM Stadium, Hull (October 22) and Lebanon at Leigh Sports Village (October 30).

Two teams from each group will not only advance to the quarter-finals, but will also book their ticket to the 2025 Rugby League World Cup to be staged in France.

The local contingent will depart the island on Saturday, and in a warm-up match, the Jamaicans will face Cumbria on October 7 in Workington.

Jamaica’s squad

Greg Johnson (Batley Bulldogs)

AJ Wallace (Bradford Bulls)

Aaron Jones-Bishop (Cornwall RLFC)

Ross Peltier (Dewsbury Rams)

Keenen Tomlinson (Dewsbury Rams)

Chevaughn Bailey (Duhaney Park Red Sharks)

Khamisi McKain (Duhaney Park Red Sharks)

Andrew Simpson (Duhaney Park Red Sharks)

Marvin Thompson (Duhaney Park Red Sharks)

Renaldo Wade (Duhaney Park Red Sharks)

James Woodburn-Hall (Halifax Panthers)

Ashton Golding (Huddersfield Giants)

Michael Lawrence (Huddersfield Giants)

Kieran Rush (Huddersfield Giants)

Bradley Ho (Keighley Cougars)

Mo Agoro (Keighley Cougars),

Abevia McDonald (London Skolars)

Joel Farrell (Sheffield Eagles)

Ben Jones-Bishop (Sheffield Eagles)

Joe Brown (Workington Town)

Alex Young (Workington Town)

Jacob Ogden (York City Knights)

Jordan Andrade (Unattached)

Jy-Mel Coleman (Unattached)