Arabic version: تشكيلة أستراليا لكأس العالم تعكس تحوّل دوري الرغبي

According to ABC News, Kevin Walters’s Australia squad for the upcoming Rugby League World Cup highlights how international selection has changed, with Origin football no longer serving as a straightforward route into the Kangaroos.

James Tedesco has returned to the Test setup three years after his previous caps. The 33-year-old won the Clive Churchill Medal after the grand final. Dolphins winger Jack Bostock is set for a likely Test debut in the tournament opener because Australia are short of wingers, while David Fifita is poised to make his Australian debut after a strong finish to the year with South Sydney.

The changing representative landscape has been shaped by players choosing Pasifika nations while remaining eligible for State of Origin. The NRL also allowed players earlier this year to represent New Zealand or England while retaining Origin eligibility.

Queensland outside backs Kalyn Ponga, Robert Toia, Jojo Fifita and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow are unavailable to Australia because they are playing for other nations, while Selwyn Cobbo is injured. Tonga will include Toia, Haumole Olakau’atu and Addin Fonua-Blake, and Victor Radley is with England.

Australia remain the pick to win the World Cup and will open against New Zealand in Sydney next Thursday night. The tournament will be Walters’s final one as Kangaroos coach before he leaves to take charge of Super League club St Helens.