Cronulla prop Aaron Woods could hold his spot in the Australian Test side
AFTER a rollercoaster season, Aaron Woods is 80 minutes away from playing in his first NRL grand final and may yet hold onto his Test jersey.
BIG Aaron Woods is about to get the last laugh on everyone who bagged him this season.
After being pushed out of Canterbury through no fault of his own and dumped from the NSW team along the way, Woods’ rollercoaster year is now on the verge of a spectacular finish.
Ahead of Cronulla’s preliminary final against Melbourne, The Daily Telegraph can reveal Woods will not only be playing for a spot in his first NRL grand final, but he is also in line for a shock Kangaroos call-up.
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With Paul Gallen out of Cronulla’s side to play Melbourne, Woods is expected to go into the Sharks’ starting pack.
It would give the 27-year-old the perfect chance to further press his Kangaroos claims against New Zealand bookends Jesse Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
Australian coach Mal Meninga yesterday praised Woods for the character he has shown after leaving the Bulldogs because of the club’s salary cap dramas.
“He is back in the (Kangaroo) frame definitely,” Meninga said.
“We talked about Woodsie last week, how good he is going.
“He looks happy and he is playing in a team that is winning.
“He is a good fella and he has been part of the (Australian) system before.
“He has never let the green and gold jersey down.
“And you look at who we are playing against, a big team like New Zealand and Tonga, maybe we need four front-rowers.”
If Woods does win Kangaroo selection, he would join David Klemmer, Jordan McLean and Reagan Campbell-Gillard as part of the front-row rotation.
The Kangaroos will play the Kiwis on October 13 followed by a historic clash against Tonga the following week in Auckland.
There’s been plenty of debate about who should take over from the retiring Billy Slater at fullback but the reality is James Tedesco only has to stay fit.
That means the likes of Valentine Holmes, Dane Gagai, Josh Addo-Carr and Tom Trbojevic are all fighting for the wing positions.
Meninga confirmed Tom Trbojevic has not given up hope of playing in the end-of-season Tests despite a recent operation on a broken cheekbone.
“He wants to make it and good on him,’ Meninga said about Trbojevic.
“The feedback from the surgeon and the medical staff at Manly is that he is a chance.
“We have to monitor that.”
Meninga said he had also spoken with Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson who was certain Latrell Mitchell would be comfortable playing right centre, given Greg Inglis owns the left and is expected to be Australia’s new captain.
Meninga will also name a Prime Minister’s team next Monday that will be filled between NRL players already out of the finals series and Junior Kangaroos.
Meninga will not name any player not seriously in the Kangaroos’ mix.
The other big news there is Ben Hunt’s versatility could win him a Kangaroo jumper again.
Hunt is likely to play hooker for the PM’s side to push his case as Australia’s utility and Damien Cook’s backup, with James Maloney and Daly Cherry-Evans the two obvious halfback contenders.
“We are pretty happy with DCE and Maloney, they are the two Origin halfbacks,’ Meninga said.
“Maloney has obviously been part of the Kangaroos the last two years and I am a fan of Jimmy’s and I am a fan of DCE.
“I thought (Cherry-Evans) handled a difficult season at Manly really well and when given an opportunity in Origin he excelled.”
Paul Crawley’s likely Kangaroo squad:
James Tedesco, Valentine Holmes, Greg Inglis (c), Latrell Mitchell, Tom Trbojevic/Dane Gagai, Cameron Munster, James Maloney/Daley Cherry-Evans, David Klemmer, Damien Cook, Jordan McLean, Tyson Frizell, Boyd Cordner, Jake Trbojevic, Josh McGuire, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Aaron Woods, Josh Papalii, Ben Hunt
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Originally published as Cronulla prop Aaron Woods could hold his spot in the Australian Test side