James Tedesco overlooked for Australian squad for Pacific Championships, eight debutantes picked

The Kangaroos have a new captain for the Pacific Championships after Australian coach Mal Meninga all but ended two esteemed international careers.

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga conceded to having a “difficult conversation” after leaving incumbent captain James Tedesco out of the squad for the upcoming Pacific Championships and replacing him with Penrith’s Isaah Yeo.

Tedesco lost his spot after the Kangaroos were humbled 30-0 by New Zealand in last year’s final, with Newcastle star Kalyn Ponga also overlooked despite backflipping on his decision to make himself unavailable as Meninga picked eight debutantes in his 21-man squad.

It means Tedesco’s international career is likely over just two years after he led the Kangaroos to World Cup glory, with the Roosters skipper finishing second in Dally M voting last week on the back of one of his best seasons.

“It was a difficult conversation,” Meninga said on Monday afternoon.

“It’s a bit of an evolution for the team on the back of what happened in the Pacific Championships last year.

“With that in the back of our minds (we made the call to drop him). Origin was really important for discussion across the selection table and form into the finals as well.

World Cup winning Australian captain James Tedesco has been axed. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)

“It was a difficult conversation, but bear in mind that Teddy played game one for the NSW Blues, and then games two and three Dylan was the fullback. We chose based on Origin form.”

The axing brings an end to Tedesco’s six-year Kangaroos career even though he had career highs in try assists and tackle busts in 2024, with the selection panel of Cameron Smith, Laurie Daley, Boyd Cordner and Darren Lockyer looking elsewhere.

“I thought he would have been in the squad because he had a great year,” former Roosters, Blues and Kangaroos fullback Anthony Minichiello said.

“I think he’ll be disappointed because he’s a world-class player.

“I think this will give him a bit more motivation to have another great year next year because players like Teddy are always looking to improve.

“After playing one Origin game and then seeing Dylan get the job, his season really improved. So I think this will spur him to even greater heights.”

Isaah Yeo is the new Australian captain. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Ponga is the other notable omission after last year’s Dally M winner made himself unavailable for the tournament last month, only to backflip on that decision after mounting public pressure.

That all proved to be meaningless with Meninga overlooking the Knights star, with Penrith’s Dylan Edwards set to wear the No.1 jersey after he also replaced Tedesco in the Blues side earlier this year.

“We considered Kalyn a specialist fullback, so when we looked at picking the team, we thought Dylan was the number one fullback in our game, particularly for the Kangaroos,” the coach said.

“We then looked at the versatility of players and thought that someone like Ben Hunt and Matt Burton could play numerous positions for the footy team, but we considered Kalyn a specialist fullback so that’s why he’s been left out.”

Dylan Edwards of the Panthers is the new Australian fullback. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Meninga has brought in plenty of fresh faces for the series with Mitch Barnett, Bradman Best, Xavier Coates, Tom Dearden, Zac Lomax, Mitch Moses and Reece Robson all selected, with Penrith’s Lindsay Smith the bolter in the squad.

Kangaroos stalwarts Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic have also been dropped which means both State of Origin skippers have missed out on the squad, while champion halfback Nathan Cleary (shoulder) is unavailable.

It means Dearden and Moses will likely be the halves for next week’s opening clash with Tonga, with the Eels star to play his first game since the Origin decider when he scored the winning try and then ruptured his biceps.

“When he (Moses) first came in for Origin II off the back of a fairly long break, he got man of the match,” Meninga said.

“When we’re looking at evolving the team, I think Mitchell deserves to be there, albeit he’s only played a handful of games. Every time he’s come back he’s been tremendous for his club and state.”

KANGAROOS SQUAD: Mitch Barnett, Matt Burton, Bradman Best, Pat Carrigan, Xavier Coates, Lindsay Collins, Reuben Cotter, Angus Crichton, Tom Dearden, Dylan Edwards, Harry Grant (vc), Ben Hunt, Zac Lomax, Liam Martin, Mitch Moses, Cameron Murray, Reece Robson, Lindsay Smith, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Trbojevic, Isaah Yeo (c).

Originally published as James Tedesco overlooked for Australian squad for Pacific Championships, eight debutantes picked