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Stephen Crichton’s impressive Grand Final performance has put him on the verge of a Test debut with Australia, if he opts to switch allegiances from Samoa.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga will name a 20-man squad on Tuesday for the upcoming Pacific Championships and he is expected to stay loyal to the players who retained the World Cup trophy last year.
Crichton lined up at centre for Samoa in that 30-10 win to Australia at Old Trafford and with the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Campbell Graham and Tom Trbojevic unavailable due to injury, the Canterbury-bound star will be a walk-up starter for the Kangaroos, if he decides to line up alongside club teammates Nathan Cleary, Liam Martin and Isaah Yeo in the green and gold.
Despite winning the Dally M Medal, Kalyn Ponga looks like he will not be selected while Broncos star Reece Walsh is also unlikely to be rewarded for his stellar season with a Test debut.
James Tedesco is locked in to retain the fullback jersey and with a relatively small squad, the Kangaroos are set to use utility backs like Valentine Holmes and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow as back-ups or even Cameron Munster in case the skipper gets injured.
The pressure will be on Tedesco to prove he’s worth retaining as Australia’s fullback long term.
While the Roosters veteran was solid this season, his form was not as impactful as Ponga’s at the Knights or Walsh’s breakout campaign with the Broncos.
Stephen Crichton leads the celebrations in the Penrith dressing room. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Penrith’s Dylan Edwards has also mounted a strong case for representative honours over the past couple of seasons but has been stymied by the selectors’ faith in Tedesco at Origin and Test level.
Cleary will retain the No.7 jersey after his Clive Churchill Medal heroics on Sunday night while Daly Cherry-Evans is likely to be the back-up playmaker with Munster at five-eighth.
Ben Hunt could also cover the halves if injuries strike but he will return in the dummy-half rotation with Maroons comrade Harry Grant.
If Crichton elects to represent Samoa, his Grand Final opponent Kotoni Staggs is set to get his first call-up for Australia.
Broncos winger Selwyn Cobbo is in the running to make his debut after narrowly missing last year’s World Cup squad while Josh Addo-Carr is set to be picked but is under investigation by the NRL Integrity Unit for his involvement in a brawl at the Koori Knockout on the weekend.
Holmes is available for selection after he was fined $25,000 by the NRL and banned for one match, which was served in the recent Prime Minister’s XIII game, after he posted a photo on Instagram of himself and a bag containing white powder.
While he claimed it was a prank gone wrong, the NRL said he “brought the game and his club into disrepute by publicly associating the game with illegal drugs”.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
In the forwards, Payne Haas is a certain selection after he skipped the World Cup due to personal reasons while Patrick Carrigan, Cameron Murray, Yeo, Liam Martin, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Reuben Cotter, Lindsay Collins and Jake Trbojevic will be retained from last year’s squad.
The Kangaroos kick off their Pacific Championships campaign against Samoa in Townsville on October 14 before facing New Zealand in Melbourne on October 28. The top two teams will square off in the final at Hamilton on November 3.
Likely squad: James Tedesco (c), Isaah Yeo (v-c), Cameron Murray (v-c), Selwyn Cobbo, Kotoni Staggs/Stephen Crichton, Hamiso Tabuai Fidow, Josh Addo-Carr, Valentine Holmes, Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary, Daly Cherry-Evans, Ben Hunt, Harry Grant, Payne Haas, Ben Hunt, Patrick Carrigan, Cameron Murray, Liam Martin, Isaah Yeo, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Reuben Cotter, Lindsay Collins, Jake Trbojevic.