Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga will start superstar hooker Harry Grant on the bench for Saturday’s blockbuster World Cup semi-final clash with New Zealand.
Meninga named a 19-player squad on Wednesday evening, but had already confirmed earlier in the week Daly Cherry-Evans would not make the final line-up against the Kiwis.
Instead, Ben Hunt has been recalled and will start at hooker, and the plan is to switch him out for Grant once the rough-and-tumble opening stages of the game are over.
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“I prefer to start,” Hunt told media.
“I hate sitting on the bench, sitting there with nerves and can’t contribute, so I’d much rather be out there.”
Hunt says this semi-final will be “like an Origin game” and believes the big men in the middle will decide the result.
It’s for this reason that Reagan Campbell-Gillard has been recalled for Australia to start at prop.
The Kiwis boast a formidable forward pack including NRL enforcers Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Joseph Tapine, and man mountain Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
Two-metre tall Asofa-Solomona is the player who has Hunt on edge.
“As a small player I always get asked who’s the hardest to defend, and (Asofa-Solomona) is always in my top three,” he said.
“I’m pretty lucky in this team I’ve got some good defenders around me.”
The Aussies used Lindsay Collins – who will not play the semi-final – as an Asofa-Solomona fill-in during a training session, and had the Roosters prop running at the playmakers.
The Kiwis are yet to name their team.
RLWC SEMI-FINAL
Kangaroos vs Kiwis, 6.45am (AEDT) Saturday
Kangaroos squad: 9. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 13. Pat Carrigan 2. Daly Cherry-Evans 14. Nathan Cleary 16. Reuben Cotter 17. Angus Crichton 18. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 20. Harry Grant 4. Valentine Holmes 3. Ben Hunt 21. Liam Martin 8. Latrell Mitchell 7. Cameron Munster 11. Cameron Murray (vc) 1. James Tedesco (c) 5. Jake Trbojevic 10. Jack Wighton 24. Isaah Yeo (vc)
Predicted team: 1. James Tedesco 9. Josh Addo-Carr 8. Latrell Mitchell 10. Jack Wighton 4. Valentine Holmes 7. Cameron Munster 14. Nathan Cleary 6. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 3. Ben Hunt 5. Jake Trbojevic 17. Angus Crichton 21. Liam Martin 24. Isaah Yeo (vc). (Interchange) 20. Harry Grant 13. Pat Carrigan 18. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 11. Cameron Murray (vc)
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