RLWC26, Australia Kangaroos, round 3, team to play Cook Islands

Author: NRL Media Release
Timestamp: Tue 27 Oct 2026, 04:03 PM

Australian Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters has named his team to play Cook Islands Aitu in their final Rugby League World Cup 2026 Pool A clash at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville on Saturday (7:05pm AEST).

Walters has installed his third different halves combination for the tournament with Cameron Munster returning at five-eighth and partnering with Tom Dearden, who will wear the No.7 jersey for the first time at this World Cup.

Reece Walsh returns at fullback after sitting out the clash with Fiji in Brisbane, while in the forwards the Australians will run out with the same starting pack that took on New Zealand in the opening game of the tournament in Sydney two weeks ago.

Canberra Raiders five-eighth Ethan Strange is in line to make his Kangaroos debut after being named on the 6-man interchange bench. If the 22-year-old takes the field on Saturday night he will become Kangaroo number 869.

“There has been a lot of positives in what the team has produced in the tournament so far against some strong opposition, but we are looking to build on that with an 80-minute performance on Saturday night,” said Walters.

“We know that anyone we come up against is going to rise to the occasion of playing the Kangaroos, but we will continue focusing on our own game and building towards the knock-out stage of the tournament.”

Tickets are still available for the clash at rlwc2026.com.

All matches are being broadcast live and exclusive in Australia on Seven and 7plus, on Sky Sport in New Zealand and Digicel in Papua New Guinea.

Kangaroos team to play Cook Islands
Rugby League World Cup 2026 – Pool A - October 31, 2026
Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville