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ROCHDALE – Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga is well aware of the threat posed by Samoa fullback Joseph Suaalii, and has devised a plan to counteract him.
Suaalii might have been playing for Australia in this tournament, but instead chose to represent his Samoan heritage and has impressed in blue as the tournament has gone on.
“He is (a weapon) but so is James Tedesco and we’ll come up with a plan to nullify it,” Meninga told reporters.
“We know he is going to run the ball back hard and we have to handle it. That’s what rugby league is about, confrontation, and we’ll come up with the right answers.
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“He’s a great player and he’s only 19 years of age. He has the skill set and he’s going to have a huge career. We’ll do our homework on the Samoans and we’ll try to pick threats and weaknesses out, but as we proved against New Zealand it’s not pretty sometimes.”
Meninga said he was pleased that Suaalii had made an early call on his eligibility and picked to go for his heritage.
“I’m pretty happy that he made the choice,” said Mal. “That’s why I pushed from the middle of the year (on clearer eligibility) I want players playing with passion. Obviously he wants to play for Samoa because he’s got a passion for it.
“We are no less passionate than any other team. It’s been great for the game for players to play for their ancestral nations. And it proves a point, they’ve got to the final.”
The Kangaroos will roll out the same 17-man line-up for the final with Daly Cherry-Evans and Reuben Cotter again the standby players in the 19-man squad.
“I am very happy with the attitude and performances of all 24 players throughout the World Cup but keeping the same team for the final is a bonus,” Meninga said.
“We all are very aware that our goal hasn’t been achieved yet and fully realise we are on the cusp of something very few players have had the opportunity to do.”
(alphabetical order)
9. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Reagan Campbell-Gillard
13. Pat Carrigan
2. Daly Cherry-Evans
14. Nathan Cleary
16. Reuben Cotter
17. Angus Crichton
18. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
20. Harry Grant
4. Valentine Holmes
3. Ben Hunt
21. Liam Martin
8. Latrell Mitchell
7. Cameron Munster
11. Cameron Murray (vc)
1. James Tedesco (c)
5. Jake Trbojevic
10. Jack Wighton
24. Isaah Yeo (vc)
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
The investigation into Victor Radley’s alleged fight with Ireland player James Bentley has been dropped as authorities in the UK washed their hands of it.
Though the NRL Integrity Unit has attempted to investigate, tournament organisers say that, as the incident happened more than 24 hours after the final game, it is beyond their scope of jurisdiction.
Radley is alleged to have headbutted Bentley in the England team hotel as the team drowned their sorrows on Sunday evening (UK time).
Bentley, who did not play for England and instead represented his Irish heritage, was with club teammates at the hotel and got into an altercation with England coach Shaun Wane, with Radley leaping to his defence.
IRL chair Troy Grant spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald on the state of the investigation. “The facts that I’m aware of is that an invitation was extended to the Irish player who came into the English camp and team environment,” he said.
“Something has occurred. All players will get a chance to state their case, tell their stories to the appropriate authorities they report to. The NRL in relation to Victor will make a determination.”
Ireland RL is unlikely to make any investigation into Bentley, as their tournament was over two weeks ago and thus their player was acting well beyond its jurisdiction.
(Photo by Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images)
Ashley Klein is to cap off a dream season by refereeing the Men’s World Cup Final after being named to the role today. It completes a set that includes the NRL Grand Final and all three State of Origin games and cements his place as the best ref in the world.
Jack Smith and Warren Turley will be his assistances, with Super League ref Chris Kendall in the video referee role and Gerard Sutton on hand as back up.
Belinda Sharpe will be in charge of the Women’s Final between the Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns, with Wyatt Raymond and Darian Furner on the lines. Kasey Badger is the reserve and Adam Gee will be in the video referee’s chair.