The Rugby League World Cup is on approach, and while the expectation is that Australia's squad for the tournament will mainly consist of players currently playing in the State of Origin series, that may not be strictly the case.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has revealed two names - Josh Addo-Carr and Reed Mahoney - who could be picked from outside the Origin squads.
While Latrell Mitchell will be an obvious selection and should yet play Game 3 for the Blues in Brisbane, the selections of Addo-Carr and Mahoney in particular could raise eyebrows.
The non-selection of Addo-Carr in the Blues' squad has been one of the big talking points of the Origin series, with Sydney Roosters flier Daniel Tupou preferred to join Brian To'o on the wing over Addo-Carr, the later of whom has struggled at the Bulldogs this year since making the switch from Melbourne.
Addo-Carr has played two Tests for Australia during 2019.
“Josh Addo-Carr is the obvious one,” Meninga told The Daily Telegraph from England, where he is currently scouting out training bases for the Kangaroos during the tournament.
“I think he’s playing really good club footy and he was with us in 2019. Origin is a good form guide but I’m certainly not ruling him out.”
The selection - or potential selection - of Mahoney to the World Cup would come as a major surprise however.
The State of Origin squads consists of specialist hookers Damien Cook and Apisai Koroisau for New South Wales, and Harry Grant for Queensland, while utility Ben Hunt has also been included for the Maroons.
It would mean Mahoney is ordinarily a fair way down the pecking order, however, his strong defence has led Meninga to state Mahoney will be looked at.
“Previously we’ve been strong on loyalty with the incumbents but we haven’t had a team since 2019 which makes it harder this time,” he said.
“We obviously rate Origin form highly but club footy at the back end of the year and the finals is going to be really important too.
“For example we’ve got four great hookers playing in Origin but I’d throw Reed Mahoney into the discussions too. He’s an excellent player and you’d suspect Parramatta will be there in the big end of season games. You never know.”
While Mahoney would appear on the surface to have more players in front of him, Addo-Carr won't be a shoe-in either given Tupou, To'o, Xavier Coates, Murray Taulagi, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Selwyn Cobbo are in Origin squads, while Valentine Holmes or Dane Gagai could also play out wide if the centre selections go to others like Latrell Mitchell.
The spanner in the works is of course which players will elect to represent their Pacific Island nations, with all of Tupou, To'o, Coates, Taulagi and Tabuai-Fidow from that group having dual-eligibility with a Tier 2 nation.
The World Cup will be played in England during October and November.
