JOE Westerman admits Saturday’s clash with Brisbane Broncos is the ideal chance to impress England coach Wayne Bennett, but says his main focus is making sure Wolves pick up the win.

The 27-year-old has established himself as a key player for The Wire since arriving from Hull FC ahead of last season and could be in contention for the national team’s loose forward spot.

He faces competition from captain Sean O’Loughlin, while stand-in skipper Sam Burgess also wore the number 13 shirt at times during last year’s Four Nations campaign.

With a World Cup looming at the end of 2017, Westerman says earning an England recall was one of his targets for this season.

However, the Yorkshireman, who was voted as man of the match by Guardian readers during Saturday’s 20-12 defeat to Catalans, says the only way to do that is by performing consistently for Wolves.

“I’d be lying if I said England wasn’t in the back of my mind, it’s definitely one of my goals this year,” he said.

“There’s no better time to play well than when the England boss will be watching.

“There’s still some improvement in me for sure but I felt really good. I’ve had a big pre-season and I felt good when I got out on the field.

“It’s a shame we didn’t get the win but I really enjoyed being back out there.

“I feel if I can stay fit and playing consistently well, that will add up to Warrington winning things and hopefully getting a call-up for the World Cup squad.”

Westerman went a long way to paying back his £150,000 transfer fee during his first season in primrose and blue, crossing for 10 tries in his 34 appearances.

However, the one-cap England international was critical of his own performances last year but says he learned a lot from people at the club.

“If somebody would have told me I’d play in two finals and win a League Leaders’ Shield, I’d have pretty much snapped their hand off,” he said.

“Now I’ve had a taste of it though, I want to win it all. You want to be lifting trophies at the end of the year.

“I missed two games as a whole last year but I don’t think I played consistently well enough.

“I’d be playing well one week and not the next, you can’t be doing that.

“I’ve learned a lot from working under the likes of Tony, Rich Agar and Lee Briers.

“I’ve played in teams where you get picked and you’ll still get picked even if you play poorly because there isn’t many people to step in front of you.

“The thing with this club is there’s so many good players here that, if you don’t play well you won’t get picked.”

The former Castleford star is likely to be a key man again as Wolves take on Bennett’s Broncos on Saturday looking for a first win by a Super League team in the extended World Club Series.

Westerman, who will be playing against Australian opposition for the very first time, thinks victory will send out a message to their Super League rivals.

“It’s a massive game for rugby league in England, the best of Australia against the best from over here,” he said.

“It will be tough, I’ve never played in one of these games so it will be good to experience it.

“If we can win on Saturday, it will lay a marker down and show the rest of Super League that we really mean business.”