NRL 2024: Mal Meninga’s Pacific Cup squad starts to take shape | Sport Confidential
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has opened up on his selection thoughts ahead of the end of season Pacific Cup including ending Tom Trbojevic’s Test exile and which star halves are under consideration.
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Tom Trbojevic played the last of his four Tests for the Kangaroos in 2018, but one of rugby league’s most remarkable droughts may be only weeks away from coming to an end.
Australian coach Mal Meninga has seen enough from Trbojevic since his return from a hamstring injury to have him under serious consideration for the internationals at the end of the year.
Trbojevic has been in scintillating form for the Sea Eagles and while Meninga wants to use the State of Origin series as a guide for Test selection, he is willing to make exceptions in some cases.
Trbojevic is among them. The Sea Eagles No.1 missed the Origin series with injury and after a slow start on his return, the shackles have come off.
Trbojevic has been on fire as he prepares to face the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Friday night.
“Absolutely, absolutely,” Meninga responded when asked whether Trbojevic was in his thoughts.
“He is a person that is pretty hard to leave out, put it that way. He hasn’t played for Australia for a while because of injuries.
“He is under serious consideration.”
Meninga also revealed he would make a call to Trbojevic’s teammate Daly Cherry-Evans at some point to gauge his plans for Test football.
With Nathan Cleary carrying a shoulder problem and Cameron Munster under a cloud with hip issues, Cherry-Evans’ representative future carries extra significance for Meninga.
It also explains why the Kangaroos coach has been in contact with Parramatta half Mitchell Moses to gauge his fitness and encourage him to work his way back to full health so the Kangaroos have some options in the halves.
“I will give Daly a call at some stage,” Meninga said.
“We don’t know whether he wants to play or not. He will make decisions at the end of the year, but again, I am not quite sure.”
As for Moses, Sport Con understands the Eels playmaker’s rehabilitation is on track and he is confident he will be fit if Meninga calls on him.
“I talked to Mitch because obviously he is not playing,” Meninga said.
“I told him to keep training and …. when we start to sort it out a bit more, we will make a final decision on him.
“He has to keep himself fit and healthy. He will be five weeks post-surgery now. It is about an eight week recovery and talking to the club, he will be okay to play at the beginning of October.
“It’s good to have options. There is uncertainty around Nathan, there is uncertainty around Munster, there is uncertainty around Nicho Hynes – not sure where he is at.”
WESTS TIGERS UP HUNT FOR HORSBURGH
The Wests Tigers have stepped up their pursuit of Canberra forward Corey Horsburgh after hosting the Raiders’ enforcer at their Centre of Excellence on Thursday.
The meeting took place as it emerged that veteran half Aiden Sezer was poised to move to Super League club Hull FC at the end of the season.
Sezer was brought back from Super League by coach Benji Marshall to help mentor his young halves but the arrival of Jarome Luai next season alongside the emergence of Lachlan Galvin has made Sezer superfluous.
It is understood he has attracted interest from England and will return to Super League to finish his career.
Meanwhile, Horsburgh – who has been granted permission to negotiate with rival clubs by the Raiders – was taken on a tour by chief executive Shane Richardson and Marshall.
Richardson and Marshall then pitched their plans for the club to the 26-year-old, who made his State of Origin debut for Queensland last year but has been largely left out of the Raiders side this season.
The Tigers have identified Horsburgh as a crucial part of their rebuild along with Cronulla forward Royce Hunt and St George Illawarra utility Jack Bird.
Talks are well advanced with Hunt and the Tigers remain confident that he will be part of the club next year. The Bird deal has become more problematic as the Tigers struggle to reach a deal with the former NSW star.
SAIFITI TRANSFER TALKS STALL
Newcastle officials have assured Daniel Saifiti that he won’t be forced to take a pay cut – nor would he be allowed to undo the NRL rules – as talks with the Dolphins stall over a proposed move to southeast Queensland.
Knights officials have reluctantly told Saifiti that he is free to leave at the end of the season if he can find a new deal elsewhere. He has two more years remaining on his deal at the Knights but the club is attempting to shake-up their roster to create some salary cap space.
Saifiti has been offered the chance to find a new home because he is on big money and is the sort of player who would be in demand at rival clubs.
The Dolphins have shown an interest but are yet to propose an offer to Saifiti that works for the Knights. Saifiti addressed the issue earlier this week, insisting the ball was in his court and he would not be taking a pay cut on his salary, which is believed to be in excess of $800,000 a season.
After reading those comments, Newcastle officials met Saifiti and assured him that they had no desire for him to take a pay cut. Even if they did, it is prohibited under NRL rules.
As it stands, Saifiti will remain in Newcastle next season unless the Dolphins up their offer.
PARRAMATTA’S CRAZY GUTHERSON PLAN REVEALED
Parramatta skipper Clint Gutherson could wear the No. 13 jersey next season as the Eels prepare to shift the fullback into a hybrid role.
The Eels have made it clear they want to keep Gutherson at the club beyond next season when his current deal ends but his time at the back could be over.
It comes as the Eels express an interest in signing Newcastle hooker Jayden Brailey.
While it had been widely speculated that any potential move for Gutherson would see him shift into the backline – most likely at centre – it seems a switch to the forward pack looms for the former NSW player.
The Eels have no intention of releasing Gutherson early despite St George Illawarra’s interest.
Incoming Parramatta coach Jason Ryles has a plan to use Gutherson in a roaming role – similar to that done by Dylan Walker at the Warriors and Tyran Wishart at the Storm.
Whether or not that means Gutherson starts off the interchange bench next season is unclear and the plan may not obviously eventuate when it’s tested during pre-season training.
It is understood that Gutherson has been receptive to the positional switch. The Eels have signed Penrith young gun Isaiah Iongi to be their long-term fullback – and the hope is he will be ready by next season. They had earmarked Blaize Talagi to wear the no. 1 before he opted to join the Panthers.
Gutherson’s role could also see him play a little bit of dummy half if needed. The Eels believe they could have more potency with the football if they can have Gutherson, Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses surrounding the ball as much as possible.
Gutherson is just 29 but his body is starting to show signs of slowing down. He was badly beaten on the outside by Broncos fullback Tristan Sailor last week.
The Eels remain in the market with Brailey the latest to come to their attention. Brailey has been given permission to leave the Knights with 12-months left on his contract. He was originally signed at Newcastle by new Parramatta assistant coach Nathan Brown although Brown was sacked before Brailey arrived.
BENNETT’S SALARY CAP STUMBLING BLOCK
Incoming South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett is keen on reuniting with Liam Knight at the Rabbitohs next season.
It is understood that Bennett wants the 29-year-old prop at the club but South Sydney’s tight salary cap, and lack of roster spots available, may make any potential deal fall through. The Rabbitohs would need to shift players to accommodate Knight.
Knight played his best football under Bennett during the coach’s first stint at Souths. Since then though, Knight has struggled to keep his spot in the top grade after joining Canterbury midway through last season. He has played just two NRL matches this year and is off-contract at Canterbury.
The Rabbitohs have already added Euan Aitken, Jamie Humphreys, Lewis Dodd and Lachlan Hubner for next season, but desperately need to boost their forwards stocks.
They also want to give Isaiah Taas a new deal, and remain in talks with Shaquai Mitchell about a contract extension.
BANNED MURRAY’S BACK-DOOR RETURN
Banned South Sydney skipper Cameron Murray won’t play again this year for the Rabbitohs but his return to the field could come sooner rather than later.
Murray was handed a three-game ban on Tuesday night with South Sydney’s final two games of the regular season to count towards his ban.
It was expected that Murray would miss Australia’s opening Pacific Championships match against Tonga with Murray all but certain to be picked in the Kangaroos squad.
However, Australian officials are considering making an application with the support of the Kangaroos for the annual PM’s XIII match to count towards Murray’s ban which would enable him to play for Australia in their first pool game.
Murray would have played in the PM’s XIII side given South Sydney are out of finals contention and coach Mal Meninga would want to give his players not involved in finals football a hitout prior to the competition.
Any decision will be left with judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew.
CLUBS CIRCLE SIDELINED STAR
Ronald Volkman’s hopes of restarting his NRL career started this week with three clubs expressing an interest in signing the half.
It is understood Manly, Cronulla and the Dolphins have confirmed they are keen to explore signing Volkman, after his agent wrote to clubs.
Injury destroyed Volkman’s 2024 campaign. The once highly touted half was due to join St George Illawarra before discovering he needed shoulder surgery.
The ex-Warrior has spent this year getting his body right and, by all reports, is primed to give the NRL another crack next year.
FLASHBACK
St George Illawarra staged one of the biggest comebacks in history when they stunned even their home fans to beat Manly on this day 20 years ago. The Dragons were down 34-10 and the crowd started to pile out of Kogarah Oval. They finished 36-34 winners.
RADIO WARS HEAT UP
Sport breakfast radio ratings continues to heat up with SEN and Sky Sports Radio both recording an audience rise to draw level.
SEN’s show of Andrew Voss and Greg Alexander rose .2 per cent to take their audience share to 2.6 per cent. Their counterparts Laurie Daley and Michael Clarke matched them after gaining an audience uplift of .3 per cent.
SEN took the honours in the head-to-head battle for the first time since its inception in the last radio survey.
SEN continues to enjoy a steady growth among most shows with Bryan Fletcher and Joel Caine’s show – the Run home – enjoying a 4.1 per cent audience share.
GORILLAS IN THE MIDST OF CHARITY
Gymea Gorillas have raised a record $20,000 to the Sporting Chance Cancer Foundation. The Sutherland Shire rugby league club had each team individually raise the money through initiatives, such as barbecues, cake stalls and competitions. Their efforts were rewarded by Sporting Chance patron James Tedesco after the Kangaroos skipper dropped into a training session at the club last week.
LOWNDES STEPS DOWN
Family of League chief executive Stephen Lowndes will retire after six years running the rugby league charity.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here – so much so that I have stayed a bit longer than I originally envisaged when I left my previous role,” Lowndes said. “I am immensely proud to be leaving this great charitable organisation in good shape to continue doing what it does so
well – helping those in need at a time and in a way that is so impactful to them. It has been
an absolute privilege to work with so many committed and passionate volunteers and staff,
dedicated to the cause.”
They have already begun the search for a replacement.
ALLIANZ TURF WORKS ON HOLD
Renovation work on the surface at Allianz Stadium is set to be delayed until after American rapper Travis Scott and South Korean boy band Stray Kids have gone about their business in October.
The stadium came under fire recently after the ground turned into a flood plain for the game between the Sydney Roosters and Parramatta, prompting officials to launch an immediate investigation.
While testing is ongoing, some short-term measures have been put in place to ensure there will be no repeat. More significant renovation work on the surface will be delayed while the ground hosts the NRL finals series and then a series of concerts involving some of the biggest acts in music.
Scott is due to play at Allianz Stadium on October 17 and 18 before Stray Kids play on October 26.
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