The Kangaroos spine has just about picked itself for most of this century, but those key positions in the national side are as open as they’ve been in a generation.
A combination of injuries, form and availability – Kalyn Ponga sensationally withdrew himself from selection earlier this week – means there’s hardly a spot locked in for coach Mal Meninga.
Australia hasn’t played a Test match since they were humiliated by New Zealand last November in what marked the Kangaroos’ biggest loss in history.
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Meninga’s men were kept scoreless for the first time in 18 years when they were thrashed 30-0 in the Pacific Championships final.
As a result, Meninga says selection loyalty has gone out the window and the veteran coach admits he has some big calls to make.
Halves Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster are likely headed for off-season surgery alongside Tom Trbojevic, while Father Time may have finally caught up with Ben Hunt.
“We’ve got to take a serious look at the make-up of the footy team,” Meninga said.
“I feel like in the past we worked really hard on loyalty and those that have done it in the past and been successful but that’s been our biggest loss ever in international history.
“It’s something we take seriously. I think Origin plays its part this year… New South Wales were dominant.
“It was a great last game but I still felt they were fairly dominant in the series plus obviously your club form and finals form becomes important and then we’ve got to pick a team.”
Meninga emphasised finals form would play a big factor in his squad selection, which he’ll name following the grand final on October 6.
“This year’s finals are important,” Meninga said.
“The thing that I’m starting to understand about representative football, particularly around the back of the year, the domestic season is such a long season and we’ve got a lot of players carrying injuries that could probably threaten their season, so we’ve got a lot of those playing in the finals.
“I feel that getting through the finals with a bit of form, match fitness is really important but more so is your injury (status), I think picking fit players with match fitness is really crucial for your national program to get the best results obviously but to ensure you’ve got a team that can participate for the whole two or three games.”
Here foxsports.com.au analyses the Kangaroos selection battles for every position ahead of the Pacific Championships.
FULLBACK
Contenders: James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards
Put a line through: Kalyn Ponga (unavailable), Reece Walsh (match fitness)
Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga was overlooked 12 months ago despite having just won the Dally M Medal, but make no mistake, he was going to be named in Meninga’s squad before his stunning withdrawal this week.
Ponga single-handedly carried Newcastle into the finals on the back of his sheer individual brilliance and his absence opens the door for James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards.
Roosters skipper Tedesco is the Kangaroos incumbent but Penrith’s Mr Reliable was picked ahead of him for New South Wales as Edwards made his State of Origin debut.
Meninga has been one of Tedesco’s strongest allies over the years but even he admits deciding who gets the No. 1 jersey this year is a brutal call.
“You can’t question his ability, honestly,” Meninga said of Tedesco after his man-of-the-match performance against the Sea Eagles on Saturday.
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“He’s a super player and a great leader and to put in a performance like that, in a major game, to make the difference, extraordinary performance but that’s what he’s capable of.
“We pick a side for the present and sometimes with a view to the future, but it’s the best players in their position at that particular time and that’s how we go about our business.
Whoever is playing well deserves an Australian jersey.
“Obviously Teddy is playing good footy at the moment and he’s had a great year and is in the finals and the same with Dylan Edwards, so that conversation is going to continue.
Tedesco and Edwards could square off the grand final in a clash that could ultimately decide who is named Australia’s fullback next month.
WINGERS
Contenders: Xavier Coates, Zac Lomax and Dylan Edwards
Put a line through: Josh Addo-Carr (discipline), Selwyn Cobbo (match fitness), Murray Taulagi (switched allegiance to Samoa) Valentine Holmes (injury)
Meninga’s wing options are not as deep as they once were owing to Addo-Carr’s looming suspension from the NRL, Taulagi’s allegiance switch, Holmes’ broken leg and concerns over Cobbo’s fitness.
It leaves Eels recruit Zac Lomax, who starred in this year’s Origin series for the Blues, as the frontrunner to win a spot on Meninga’s wing, with Xavier Coates firming as his likely partner.
As for Edwards, he will be fighting to lock down the No.1 jersey but, in the event he loses that role to Tedesco, could reprise the unnatural wing position he featured in during last year’s Pacific Championships.
CENTRES
Contenders: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Bradman Best, Kotoni Staggs and Matt Burton
Put a line through: Tom Trbojevic (off-season surgery), Latrell Mitchell (match fitness), Joseph Suaalii (switched to rugby), Valentine Holmes (injury)
Much like the winger position, Meninga is not blessed with as many options as he’d have once liked in the centres. Latrell Mitchell – star of this year’s Origin Game II – likely won’t play due to fitness concerns, while Holmes and Trbojevic are both sidelined through injury.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow should be the front runner after a strong Origin series and a solid finish to the season as centre for the Dolphins.
Kotoni Staggs had an up and down year at a struggling Broncos side and was also part of last year’s 30-0 loss to New Zealand.
He may find himself out of Meninga’s thinking, but has the benefit of being the only natural right centre available to the Kangaroos.
Also in the mix are Knights star Bradman Best, who missed his side’s elimination final with a hamstring injury but is fit and available, and Canterbury star Matt Burton, who hasn’t played centre since leaving Penrith but could undoubtedly still do a job in the position.
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FIVE-EIGHTH
Contenders: Tom Dearden, Matt Burton and Braydon Trindall
Put a line through: Cameron Munster (off-season surgery)
Cowboys captain Tom Dearden is in the box seat to make his Kangaroos debut in place of Cameron Munster, who he also replaced for Queensland this year.
But Matt Burton enjoyed a standout season for the rejuvenated Bulldogs, while Braydon Trindall is in scintillating form for the Sharks.
Trindall would be one hell of a bolter but he went head-to-head with Dearden last Friday night and comfortably outplayed him.
If Trindall can conjure the upset of the season to beat Nathan Cleary’s Panthers this weekend then he could leapfrog Dearden into a Kangaroos jersey.
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HALBACK
Contenders: Daly Cherry-Evans, Mitchell Moses and Nicho Hynes
Put a line through: Nathan Cleary (off-season surgery)
Cleary is still considering extending his season by a month to play for Australia, but the smart money says he’ll be going under the knife on his troublesome shoulder instead.
New South Wales and
Mitchell Moses delivered the performance of his career in the Origin decider and the Parramatta star is very much in the frame despite his club season ending weeks ago.
Manly skipper Daly Cherry-Evans gave a cryptic response when asked if he was available for the Kangaroos after Manly’s season ending loss to the Roosters on Saturday.
“If I get picked I would love to,” Cherry-Evans said.
“I know where I stand, so we will see what happens in the next couple of weeks. But if I’m picked I’m good.”
Meninga was perplexed by the comments and addressed them when quizzed on his upcoming selection headaches.
“I don’t know what he means by where he stands because he is the incumbent halfback at the moment,” he said.
“We are not quite sure with Nathan Cleary, so I took both of them over to the World Cup in 2022, so we don’t know where Nathan stands at the end of the year as well.”
“Mitchell Moses is still OK to go. We’ve got some selection issues.”
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Sharks No. 7 Nicho Hynes made his Kangaroos debut in last year’s Pacific Championships, but he’s struggled with form and confidence in recent months.
He played second fiddle to his unheralded halves partner Braydon Trindall in the club’s drought-breaking finals win last weekend.
LOCK
Contenders: Isaah Yeo, Cameron Murray, Patrick Carrigan, Reuben Cotter and Cameron McInnes
Meninga is blessed with an elite cohort of lock forwards to select for this year’s Pacific Championships.
In Isaah Yeo, Cameron Murray, Patrick Carrigan and Reuben Cotter, Meninga can arguably call upon four of the game’s best locks.
In reality, all four will have a place in Meninga’s squad, with Cotter and Murray previously deployed in the back row for state and country and Carrigan capable of sliding to front row.
Yeo donned the No. 13 against New Zealand last year and, unless he gets injured in the finals, will likely reprise that role after another stellar campaign for the Panthers.
Murray missed the closing rounds of the season through suspension but could be available for the Pacific Championships if he is able to serve the final game of his ban in the upcoming Prime Minister’s XIII game.
Should he be cleared to play, Murray, alongside Carrigan and Cotter, will likely have a place in Meninga’s side.
The unlucky man is Sharks skipper McInnes, who rebounded from his post-Origin Game I axing to lead his side to the preliminary finals.
Few can argue McInnes’ industrious nature and competitive drive, but he is likely too far down the pecking order to be handed his Australian debut next month.
SECOND ROW
Contenders: Liam Martin, Angus Crichton, Haumole Olakau’atu and Jeremiah Nanai
Much like lock, Meninga has a fine collection of back rowers to call upon at the end of the season.
Angus Crichton has not just been the form edge this year, but just about 2024’s best player in an explosive return to form. At his best there is no more destructive player in the NRL than this year’s Wally Lewis Medal winner.
Should he get through the rest of this year’s finals unscathed he will undoubtedly be in the box seat for Meninga’s left edge role.
Who partners him is a whole other question.
Liam Martin appears likeliest after featuring for the Kangaroos in last year’s Pacific Championships, while Reuben Cotter and Cameron Murray both featured on an edge in that tournament.
Haumole Olakau’atu was at his damaging best in the final rounds of the season and could force his way into the squad as a result, while Jeremiah Nanai’s status as one of the game’s finest edges could see him enter Meninga’s plans.
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PROPS
Contenders: Pat Carrigan, Reuben Cotter, Lindsay Collins, Jake Trbojevic and Mitchell Barnett
Put a line through: Payne Haas (foot), Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (knee), Tom Flegler (shoulder)
No Haas. No Tino. No Flegler. It’s a tall order for the Kangaroos without three of their dominant middles laying a platform every game.
Cotter and Carrigan are as reliable as they come, while Trbojevic was this year’s Origin winning captain, placing the trio in the box seat to claim Meninga’s No.8 and No.10 jerseys.
Two doesn’t move into one though, and given Trbojevic’s lack of impact off the bench he would be the likeliest starter, with either Carrigan or Cotter alongside him.
Collins is a trusted deputy of Meninga and has been in solid form for the Roosters, who could potentially end the season as premiers if all goes well.
Despite the Warriors’ poor 2024, Barnett impressed mightily, including at Origin level, and has the added bonus of being able to play in the back row that could see him sneak into the squad.
HOOKER
Contenders: Harry Grant, Ben Hunt, Reece Robson and Connor Watson
Meninga has picked a one-two punch in Queensland hookers Harry Grant and Ben Hunt for years, but that might be about to change.
Two simply doesn’t go into three and if the side is truly picked on form then veteran Hunt will make way for Blues and Cowboys No. 9 Reece Robson.
Hunt’s form fell off in the final month of the regular season and with it went the Dragons’ chances of making the finals.
Robson on the other hand made it the second week of finals where the Cowboys fell to the Sharks.
Meninga is adamant Origin form will play a role and Robson was crucial for NSW but so was utility Connor Watson who has been playing hooker for the Roosters.
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