PENRITH, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 05: Dylan Edwards of the Panthers looks dejected during the round four NRL match between the Penrith Panthers and the Wests Tigers at Panthers Stadium on April 05, 2019 in Penrith, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

There have been plenty of questions asked of Mal Meninga's Kangaroos squad, with both the Dally M medal winner Nicho Hynes and Clive Churchill medal winner Dylan Edwards left out of the group for the upcoming tournament.

Edwards continued his exceptional year through to the grand final, taking the best-on-ground award after making 220 metres and eight tackle-breaks in a superb effort, but in the end it may be a lack of versatility that ends up costing him selection.

While Edwards is an exceptional fullback, a number of other options in Meninga's squad offer more options should someone suffer an injury during the campaign.

Latrell Mitchell, Cameron Munster, Jack Wighton and Valentine Holmes are all able to play fullback, but they also play a range of other positions including the halves and in some instances the centres as well.

So despite being the best in his role, that fact and the incumbency of Kangaroos captain James Tedesco, have united to keep Edwards out of the team.

“(Edwards) has had an exceptional year,” Meninga told the Daily Telegraph.

“It's a difficult situation when you can only pick 24 players. Our best player was the fullback in James Tedesco. We've had several conversations about this.

“Unfortunately, in this instance, Dylan misses out, but we thought we would pick some standby players as well. Anything can happen.

“He's desperately unlucky.”

While Edwards has been omitted by versatility, Hynes' omission also shocked some after his record Dally M points haul anointing him the best player in the competition in 2022.

But behind premiership-winner Nathan Cleary and Queensland captain and incumbent halfback Daly Cherry-Evans, it's clear Meninga has gone with experience – although there's little doubt the Sharks' half is somewhere in the queue.

According to Meninga, no decision has been made yet about who'll wear the halfback jersey come Australia's tournament opener against Fiji on October 16.

“Daly is the incumbent,” Meninga said.

“He was there three years ago and he's had a very good season, particularly Origin.

“We'll consider all options. That's what the tour is all about. Everyone has the opportunity to prove they deserve to be there.”