England head coach Wayne Bennett backed Tommy Makinson after the star winger won the RLIF Golden Boot this week.
Critical comments from a former player based down-under made after the 27-year-old lifted the accolade on Wednesday have come in for disapproval in the days since.
Makinson became the first English player to win the award since Kevin Sinfield in 2012, with the trophy now presented to the best performing player in international games over the past 12 months.
Wayne Bennett England Coach said “Elliott Whitehead has been the other guy that was in line for it as well, he’s been outstanding as well.
“Tommy likes to play and doesn’t want to let anybody down, that’s his biggest motivation more than anything else.
“He wasn’t playing for the golden boot I can tell you – that’s the opportunity that comes along sometimes and you’ve got to grab it. Other times you might think you deserve something and you don’t get it, so take it when it comes.”
State of Mind would like to congratulate Tommy on an outstanding achievement