Well Australia face the World Champion New Zealand Kiwi’s this Friday night down in Melbourne.
It will be the first event held at Melbourne brand new rectangular stadium that will become the home of the Melbourne Storm.
Looking at both lineups, I don’t think either team has gone out to experiment too much. Both teams are looking to trial a few players though, probably with an eye on the Four Nations at seasons end.
Anyway lets have a look at the lineups and see what we can gather from them ahead of next weeks game. I seem to remember thats how you and I go about things!
Official Australian Kangaroos Test Squad
1. Billy Slater
2. Brett Morris
3. Greg Inglis
4. Jamie Lyon
5. Jarryd Hayne
6. Darren Lockyer (capt)
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Petero Civoniceva
9. Cameron Smith
10. David Shillington
11. Luke Lewis
12. Sam Thaiday
13. Paul Gallen
Interchange
14. Kurt Gidley
15. Josh Perry
16. Anthony Watmough
17. Michael Weyman
Pretty hard to argue with the lineup they named. I feel desperately sorry for Michael Jennings who has a knee injury and has told the club he thinks he needs surgery, but his coach has told him he doesn’t. Between that and being swapped to the other side of the field where he gets no ball at all, Matthew Elliott just cost his best player a walk up start in the Test side.
Lyon gets his place but when you look at the injuries to Jennings, Morris, Hodges….eventually Lyon would get a run.
I’m really glad to see Cronk in the side, he might very well make that jersey his own for a few years after last years Four Nations performance and a big game here.
Talk that Cameron Smith would be ousted by Robbie Farah ended up embarrassingly wrong for some Sydney Morning Herald journo, what was he thinking! Shillington gets a well deserved start, he’s had a great season.
The back row is about what you’d expect, athought I wouldn’t be surprised if Watmough started for Lewis. As for the rest of the bench, they are not in great form but they will get the job done.
Official New Zealand Kiwis Test Squad
1. Lance Hohaia
2. Jason Nightingale
3. Junior Sa’u
4. Steve Matai
5. Sam Perrett
6. Kieran Foran
7. Benji Marshall
8. Adam Blair
9. Issac Luke
10. Frank-Paul Nuuausala
11. Ben Matulino
12. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
13. Bronson Harrison
Interchange
14. Sam Rapira
15. Sika Manu
16. Alex Glenn
17. Aaron Heremaia
18. Zeb Taia
Just note that this isn’t the lineup New Zealand name, they just list a squad. It could be a very different lineup to the one I’ve put together from their squad.
I really like this Kiwi’s side. They have a lot of skill at half, hooker and five-eight and that is something they used to struggle with.
A big mobile pack, I tell you what, this Kiwi side is really building nicely, especially towards the next World Cup where many of their players will be in their prime.
