Twelve Westpac NSW Blues players, including newly-installed captain Isaah Yeo, have today been named by Australian coach Mal Meninga in his Kangaroos side for the upcoming Pacific Championships.
Yeo has played eight Tests at No.13 for Australia since making his debut at the 2022 World Cup.
He is co-captain of four-time NRL Premiership-winners, Penrith Panthers, and will have opposition hooker and skipper from Sunday’s 14-6 Grand Final win over Melbourne Storm, Harry Grant, as vice-captain on international duties.
The Kangaroos kick off their campaign against Tonga in Brisbane on 18 October before facing the Kiwis in Christchurch on 27 October.
There are eight debutants for the Pacific Championships – five of them NSW Blues in Zac Lomax (St George Illawarra Dragons), Mitchell Moses (Parramatta Eels), Reece Robson (North Queensland Cowboys), Bradman Best (Newcastle Knights) and Mitchell Barnett (Warriors).
Yeo is one of four Panthers in the Australian squad. He is joined by Clive Churchill Medal winning back rower Liam Martin, fullback Dylan Edwards and second rower Lindsay Smith.
"Isaah is an outstanding player and outstanding person and they are the two great qualities we want in an Australian captain," Meninga said today.
True Blues Nathan Cleary (Panthers) and Katoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos) were not considered because of injury, while incumbents James Tedesco (Sydney Roosters) and NSW Blues captain Jake Trbojevic (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles) were overlooked.
The 12 NSW players named in the Kangaroos squad today are: Yeo, Barnett, Best, Edwards, Lomax, Martin, Moses, Robson, Matt Burton (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), Angus Crichton (Roosters), Tom Trbojevic (Sea Eagles) and Cameron Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs).
Crichton makes his return to the green-and-gold having been part of the World Cup-winning side in November 2022.
In the most recent Test matches in the 2023 Pacific Championships, Murray equalled Immortal Ron Coote as the only two Australian forwards to score tries in six consecutive Test matches, and he won the Harry Sunderland Medal as the Australian Player of the Series.
The Kangaroos squad in alphabetical order is: Mitchell Barnett (Warriors), Matt Burton (Bulldogs), Bradman Best (Knights), Pat Carrigan (Broncos), Xavier Coates (Storm), Lindsay Collins (Roosters), Reuben Cotter (Cowboys), Angus Crichton (Roosters), Tom Dearden (Cowboys), Dylan Edwards (Panthers), Harry Grant (Storm, vice-captain), Ben Hunt (Dragons), Zac Lomax (Dragons), Liam Martin (Panthers), Mitchell Moses (Eels), Cameron Murray (Rabbitohs), Reece Robson (Cowboys), Lindsay Smith (Panthers), Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Dolphins), Tom Trbojevic (Sea Eagles), Isaah Yeo (Panthers, captain).
