'He's had his best year': DCE set for Roos recall as Meninga faces tough decisions

Manly captain Daly Cherry-Evans is set to be rewarded for arguably the best NRL season of his illustrious career with selection in Australia’s 20-man squad for the upcoming Pacific Championships.

With the Telstra Premiership campaign finishing for eight clubs after this weekend’s Round 27 matches, Gallagher Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga will start naming players in a train-on squad for the end-of-season tournament, which begins on October 14 at QCB Stadium.

The Kangaroos face Toa Samoa and the Harvey Norman Jillaroos meet the Kiwi Ferns at QCB Stadium on October 14 in re-matches of last November’s men’s and women’s World Cup finals at Old Trafford.

The two Australian teams then play New Zealand in a double-header at AAMI Park on November 28.

The Tests in Townsville and Melbourne will be the first time the Kangaroos and Jillaroos have played in Australia since 2019, when they hosted New Zealand at WIN Stadium.

Despite losing his Australian No.7 jersey to Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary at the World Cup, Cherry-Evans remains a key member of the Kangaroos squad due to his experience and versatility.

The 34-year-old recently played his 300th NRL match and he has been a stand-out performer for the Sea Eagles this season, while leading Queensland to an Origin series win. 

“I reckon Chez has had his best year, and we are picking a squad,” Meninga said. “I haven’t had a chat with the other selectors but Daly and Nathan are the best two No.7s so I assume that if he is available, he will get selected.

“Chez can also play No.6, or he can play No.9, so his versatility adds to the strength of picking him. He could be a terrific No.14.”

Cherry-Evans said after last Sunday's defeat of the Bulldogs that he was determined to continue pushing for a place in the Kangaroos squad after missing out on a place in the team for the World Cup semi-final or final.  

"I definitely came back extremely motivated that I had lost the Australian halfback jersey, so that's definitely fuelled this season. There's no doubt about that," Cherry-Evans said.

"If I get dropped, I want to get back in there and I'm always ambitious to play rep footy, but I do understand where I stand on the pecking order. Nath is probably the first priority for Australia, and I get that."

Halfback is a position that Meninga needs to ensure he has more than one specialist in the squad in case of injury or suspension in the tournament, which culminates with a final in Hamilton on November 4.

Australian captain James Tedesco was the only fullback in the World Cup squad and he is certain the lead the team again if he is available, despite the claims of Brisbane’s Reece Walsh, Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga and Penrith’s Dylan Edwards.

“There has obviously been a lot of opinions around the fullback position but Teddy needs to be respected for what he has achieved," Meninga said.

“The issue for those other guys is that we can only pick 20 players, so it is going to be difficult to fit everyone in.

“We only picked one fullback for the World Cup because Latrell [Mitchell], Cameron [Munster], Val [Holmes] and Foxx [Josh Addo-Carr] can all play fullback.

“You try to pick specialists where you can, like in the halves, but versatility across the squad is really important.”

Most of the World Cup winning squad have performed strongly this season, while the likes of Sydney Roosters prop Lindsay Collins and Titans captain Tino  Fa'asuamaleaui have taken their games to another level.

However, there are likely to be some players ruled out due to injury or suspension, with Rabbitohs centre Campbell Graham carrying a sternum injury, Cowboys second-rower Jeremiah Nanai sidelined by a shoulder injury.

World Cup stars Latrell Mitchell and Valentine Holmes are suspended and won't play again this season for the Rabbitohs or Cowboys if their clubs miss the finals.

“I like to reward players for their success. Obviously, form plays an important part but that’s my belief and I am pretty sure the selectors will have the same view,” Meninga said.

“We had some young and inexperienced players at the World Cup, and I am very pleased for guys like Lindsay and Tino that they have played so well this season.

"That is part of their development as representative players and they will only get better with the experience, I reckon.