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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2979584, member: 1899"] A dawn of a new era for Australian Rugby League. With the retirements of Billy Slater, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk & Cameron Smith we've entered a pivotal moment in the International arena. The Australians no longer have that core group of superstars to guide them around the park and a largely untested group have to fill the void. On paper, it's difficult to envision them getting knocked off their perch, but by the same token, I can see a lot changing between now and the 2021 World Cup. I see these two upcoming tests as a litmus test to see which members of the 2017 World Cup squad are keepers, and which need to be moved on. It's also an opportunity to see how Latrell Mitchell, Damien Cook, James Tedesco & Tyrone Peachey handle this level. All four of them deserve the opportunity and I expect Tedesco, Cook & Mitchell will play an integral role in these two games. The only glaring omission was Will Chambers. Normally Mal sticks with the players who have done the job in the past and when Inglis was stood down, ordinarily Chambers would have been considered. Instead they went with a winger in Dane Gagai, potentially spelling the end of Will Chambers' representative career. I can't say I disagree with the selectors either, but for a fairly predictable team-list, Chambers' omission was certainly glaring. I'm interested to see what lessons Meninga took out of Origin. The Blues enjoyed a lot of success around the ruck this season, thanks large in part to Cook & Tedesco. I'd imagine he would want to see how their combination plays at this level and will be looking to play a more direct style. That means his fondness for second-man plays down the left-hand touchline will have to take a back-seat as the Australians look to play down short-sides and do everything to get Cook, Tedesco and even Munster to run the football. This will help Josh McGuire's case for selection. McGuire finds himself in heavy competition with Jordan McLean & Reagan Campbell-Gillard for that second prop spot on the bench. I'd imagine McGuire's mobility could give him an edge over Campbell-Graham's aggressiveness since he can generate faster play the balls. Hunt vs. Peachey will come down to Mal's opinion on Cook. If Mal believes Cook is the future #9, then Peachey's versatility will give him an edge. If Mal isn't as confident, Hunt may get the opportunity there. Hunt has shown in the past that he's a handy option off the bench, but I see too much indecision in his game to be an effective #9. The big concern for Australia will be their middle third. The only noted defender of their middles is Trbojevic with the rest merely being passable. That means they will be vulnerable if the likes of Taumalolo & Bromwich decide to bring their A game to Mt. Smart. Of equal concern will be the defence of Dane Gagai & Tom Trbojevic on the right edge. Trbojevic is naturally a fullback and while his defence at Origin level was passable, it wasn't truly tested. Meanwhile Gagai's defence has always been his biggest defeciency. His reads aren't bad, but he struggles to shut the play down. Fortunately I can't see New Zealand or Tonga playing expansive football, so he may get off scott free. Tuivasa-Sheck is a big out for the Kiwis and Will Hopoate's ball-playing has never been a big feature of his game. The Tongan halves are below par, and Shaun Johnson plays on the other side of the field, so he should be safe. In the grand scheme of things, this International series will be more about New Zealand and how they rebuild after their disastrous World Cup campaign, but that's another matter entirely. As a quick aside, I'm glad they picked Brandon Smith at dummy half and I'm curious to see where Jamayne Isaako plays. Jamayne had a fantastic year for the Broncos on the right wing, but the position clearly didn't come natural to him. I always saw him more as an inside centre-style five eighth who could play fullback if need be. With Rapana on the right-wing, I wonder if they give Isaako a shot at 1 or 6? [/QUOTE]

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