With confirmation finally coming that Kevin Walters will be on the plane to England in October as the new Australian coach, attention now switches to the squad—and two former Kangaroos are worried.
SEN radio host and six-time Kangaroo representative Greg Alexander has raised genuine concerns about how many NRL stars could be missing from the three-match test series—including Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Payne Haas and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui who continue to be linked with a switch to Toa Samoa for the Pacific Championships.
“What if he can’t get them on the plane?” Alexander asked his SEN guest-host Corey Parker, himself a 13-time Kangaroo.
“Just think about how many (Australian) players didn’t play in the Pacific Championships last year, how many went ‘I need a little bit of surgery’ instead?”
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“The squad might be scattered with some of the best players, but Kev might be taking two or three down the list to fill other spots,” Alexander continued.
‘There’s going to be a lot of players unavailable’
Parker agreed and went on to highlight the potential impact of missing two key forwards.
“I know there are more than capable props, but if you pull Payne Haas and big Tino out of the front row, they’re two of the leading props in the entire game,” Parker said.
“We also know Mitch Barnett is gone for the rest of the season with an ACL, Val Holmes is gone and Latrell Mitchell is leaning against it (selection) given his injury situation.
“There’s going to be a lot of players unavailable which makes the task even more challenging for Kevvie,” Parker concluded.
The Kangaroos are scheduled to leave for the UK just two weeks after the NRL grand final on October 5.