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It’s time to move Cooper Cronk out and bring Michael Morgan in alongside Johnathan Thurston as the halves pairing for the Australian team.
It won’t happen, of course. Cronk is set to be named at halfback, with Thurston at five-eighth, in the Australian team for the Test match against New Zealand at Hunter Stadium on May 6. But sometimes the loyalty factor is over-rated.
Cronk is 32 and there is a Four Nations tournament at the end of this season and a World Cup at the end of next. He is still a force, but he hasn’t been at his best this season.
Thurston turns 33 on Anzac Day. Do we really want to bank on a halves pairing of Thurston, who will be 34 by then, and Cronk, who will be almost 34 (he was born on December 5) at the World Cup?
People talk about how Test jumpers should not be given away cheaply and they are right, but elevating Morgan to Test status now would not be an example of that. At 24, he is ready to make his Test debut and would be thoroughly deserving of the opportunity.
Morgan has already made his State of Origin debut for Queensland. He played three matches off the bench for last year’s series-winning team.
Subsequently, Morgan played a huge part in North Queensland’s grand final win, brilliantly drawing the defence in before putting winger Kyle Feldt over for the try that forced golden point extra time against Brisbane.
Morgan, at five-eighth, and halfback Thurston combine brilliantly for the Cowboys and it makes sense they would do the same for Australia. Why wait any longer to put Morgan in? Do it now and get the transition over with.
It will well be that Morgan will be named as the reserve back for the game against the Kiwis anyway.
Cronk’s Melbourne team have won five of their first seven games, but they are not doing anything stunning. They traditionally get good results early in the season because they are so well prepared by coach Craig Bellamy.
But after the other teams have long caught up to them in terms of finding their groove and once wear and tear has begun to take its effect , the Storm have not done well at the business end of the season in recent years.
It will be interesting to see how rival halves Cronk and Shaun Johnson, of the Warriors, fare when they play opposite each other in the Anzac Day night clash at AAMI Park.
And that is the other thing. New Zealand can select a fantastic halves pairing comprising Kieran Foran and Johnson, who are both just 25.
It appears inevitable that Anthony Milford, who is still only 21 but setting the NRL alight for Brisbane, will be in the halves for both Queensland and Australia eventually.
The Maroons have banned him from Origin this year because he was one of the players who broke curfew at a pre-season emerging Origin players’ camp and Australia coach Mal Meninga has indicated he will recognise that banning at Test level for next month’s game at least.
But it wouldn’t surprise if, eventually, Milford and Morgan are paired in the halves for both Queensland and Australia, with Morgan most probably at halfback.
So why not get Morgan into the starting side now at Test level. It wouldn’t be rushing him and it wouldn’t be handing out a jumper too easily. It would be giving him what he deserves, based on his form going back a while now.
Then Australia could plan ahead to the Four Nations with Morgan and Thurston as the halves and look even further down the track to the World Cup, where Milford could be on the bench behind that pair.
After that, presuming the World Cup is Thurston’s representative swansong, Milford should be ready to make the step up to join Morgan in the starting side.
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