The World Cup selection puzzle Mal Meninga can’t afford to get wrong

Kangaroos selectors named one specialist centre in Monday’s squad announcement, but two-time World Cup player Brent Tate has urged coach Mal Meninga to ignore him. FIND OUT MORE

FORMER Australian centre Brent Tate has urged Mal Meninga to keep the faith in Cowboy Valentine Holmes as a centre for the Kangaroos’ World Cup campaign.

Meninga named one specialist centre in Monday’s squad announcement in South Sydney’s Campbell Graham but Tate, who played the position in the 2008 and 2013 tournaments, called for Holmes to combine with Latrell Mitchell in a three-quarter combination that could lead the Australia to its 12th World Cup title.

Murray Taulagi and Josh Addo-Carr are the only specialist wingers in the squad, leaving the door ajar for Meninga to return Holmes to the wing the 27-year-old has dominated for Australia since debuting in 2016.

Valentine Holmes of the Cowboys. Picture NRL Photos

“That’s definitely an option for Mal, and Val would do just as good a job as what he would in the centres on the wing,” Tate said, “but at the end of the day I think the best combination would be to have Latrell and Val in the centres. That is a really strong centre combination.”

Tate said the ability to harness the left edge chemistry that led North Queensland within a game of the grand final and the Maroons to the 2022 State of Origin shield made selecting Taulagi outside Holmes the clear choice, with Addo-Carr combining with Mitchell on the right.

“Having that combination with Muzz (Taulagi) on one edge for Val, if I was Mal Meninga that is definitely what I’d be going for,” Tate said.

“When you get into those camps combinations are really important. When you’re under pressure in those big game environments (playing with a familiar partner) takes away the worry, because you’ve got the chemistry where you know what your winger is going to do.

“They have both been in really good form and their combination is good; they both feed off each other with the way they’ve played all year.

“Having that chemistry of playing week-in, week-out in that environment is going to be big this year because this World Cup will be tough.

Latrell Mitchell of the Rabbitohs. Picture: Getty Images

“The Kiwis, Tongans, all the Pacific nations are coming to get Australia so it’s going to be really important that they play well.”

Holmes and Taulagi were among the most prolific attacking edges of 2022, combining to score 27 tries between them.

Meninga, Australia’s most experienced centre with 42 appearances at the position, has options at his disposal.

Graham is the only specialist but Mitchell, Holmes, Canterbury’s Matt Burton and Canberra’s Jack Wighton all have representative experience in the three-quarter line while also covering other positions.

Depth on the wing is slimmer.

Taulagi will make his debut at the World Cup, having debuted for Queensland earlier this year, and Addo-Carr has played twice on the wing for Australia despite 12 State of Origin appearances for New South Wales.

Holmes’ own pedigree on the wing is unmatched.

His strike rate of 16 tries in 11 starts is the best of any Australian winger to have reached the 10-try milestone.

Of the 167 players to have played on a Kangaroos wing only Brett Dallas (nine tries in six games over 1995/96) and Johnno Stuntz (five tries in three games in 1905) own a better strike rate.

Originally published as The World Cup selection puzzle Mal Meninga can’t afford to get wrong