Roosters flyer Blake Ferguson shapes as a possible Kangaroos casualty when coach Mal Meninga names his 24-man World Cup squad next Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Meninga is blessed with an embarrassment of backline riches, and that was only enhanced in Port Moresby on Saturday when Tom Trbojevic and James Tedesco starred with three tries apiece in the Prime Minister's XIII's thumping 48-8 win over Papua New Guinea.
Incumbent Kangaroos winger Ferguson was part of his club's preliminary final loss to North Queensland on the same night as the PNG game, scoring a try but making a couple of key errors in an up-and-down performance.
That showing mirrored Ferguson's see-sawing season at club and representative level, his best form arguably coming in the post State Of Origin final third of the season as he helped lead the Roosters to a second-placed finish.
He might yet squeeze into Meninga's 24-man World Cup squad, but the 27-year-old has dropped a few rungs in the Australian pecking order since the Kangaroos' last game, in May against New Zealand earlier this year.
Ferguson and Valentine Holmes were the wingers in that Test, with Darius Boyd at fullback.
Boyd has battled a hamstring injury in recent weeks but is expected to be fit for the World Cup, while Holmes is also in the selection frame after playing at fullback and on the wing against Papua New Guinea on Saturday.
Meninga also has the luxury of welcoming Billy Slater back into the international fold at this World Cup. The Storm flyer scored two tries in Melbourne's preliminary final win over Brisbane, and hasn't represented his country since two shoulder reconstructions.
Slater is in the box seat to play fullback for Australia at the World Cup, which would mean Boyd shifts to the wing.
Will Chambers looks to have a mortgage on one of the two centre positions, leaving the likes of Tedesco, Dugan, Trbojevic, Holmes and perhaps Ferguson to flesh out the rest of the backline.
Cooper Cronk will likely be paired with Cowboys playmaker Michael Morgan in the halves after the pair do battle in Sunday's NRL grand final. Sharks half James Maloney is also hopeful he'll squeeze into the World Cup frame as a back-up.
Meninga spoke with Ferguson after the Blues' State Of Origin loss about his off-field misdemeanours throughout that series, which included more than one drinking session.
Ferguson said his chat with Meninga was about the behaviours required when playing for Australia.
"Behaviour's a really important one, that's how we make our judgments around our core values, those four important words around respect, inspire, selfless and excellence," Meninga said earlier this month.
"That's how we pick a footy team, whether they live up to those core values."
Meninga has long said he subscribes to the Bob Fulton school of coaching, which means selecting the best available players, and then determining who best fits into what position.
He used Saturday's clash against Papua New Guinea to trial a number of backline configurations, sending out a different line-up for all four quarters of the game, and the coach may well do something similar throughout the group stage of the fast-approaching World Cup before settling on his best line-up for the business end of the tournament.
