Time to pick and stick: Why Meninga can’t keep changing his Kangaroos spine

The Australian Kangaroos biggest question coming into the Rugby League World Cup was always going to be the number seven jersey.

In one corner, you have Nathan Cleary. On Kangaroos debut, but on the back of two straight premierships where Penrith have barely lost a game while he has been on the park, to go with the 2021 State of Origin series.

In the other corner, Daly Cherry-Evans. His Manly Sea Eagles had a miserable season, but he helped guide the Queensland Maroons to the Origin victory in the middle of the year, and was the only reason Manly were ever in contention for the finals.

He also brought the title of most experienced in green and gold into the World Cup camp, something that been valuable behind the scenes for coach Mal Meninga, his staff, and his players, of which 13 were debutants coming into the series.

The number might sound high, but given Australia hadn't played a single Test since the back end of 2019 - three years ago - it makes perfect sense.

When Australia run out for their third and final group stage game against Italy on Sunday morning (AEDT), Cherry-Evans and Cleary will both play, with Mal Meninga seemingly still not making up his mind on who should play the role in the final.

What is clear is that the halves pairing won't be the duo of halfbacks, with Cameron Munster being rested for this one, but certain to come back into the side after staring roles in the opening two games of the tournament against Fiji and Scotland - games the Kangaroos won with relative ease.

Cleary was part of the Scotland beatdown, where the Kangaroos won by more than 80 points. The role he played was superb, and by all reports, he has the inside running for the number seven jumper in the tournament finals, starting with a likely quarter-final against Lebanon, before launching into a semi-final against New Zealand.

It's that - a semi-final against New Zealand - which should carry the greatest level of concern for Meninga, his support staff and his playing group.

New Zealand are without doubt the single greatest threat to Australia at this tournament. With the greatest level of respect to sides on the other side of the draw in England, Tonga and Samoa - and all of those sides have already shown glimpses of why they may be able to win the World Cup - none of them are in the same pool when it comes to talent and professionalism as the Kiwis.

New Zealand have been strong so far, and while they haven't had the level of talent on the other side of the park as the Aussies, they seem to be putting their combinations together nicely.

From the Australian point of view, where they are almost unarguably outmatched in the middle of the park against a forward pack led by the NRL's two most in-form props in James Fisher-Harris and Joseph Tapine, the spine will need to have a field day.

They will however be robbed of that opportunity to be at their best if they don't continually have time to work on combinations which will show during the knockout rounds.

Sure, they will have a game against Lebanon, but should Cleary take the number seven jersey, that will be just his second game in the halves alongside Cameron Munster before taking on the might of Michael Maguire's Kiwi side.

That isn't good preparation by any stretch of the imagination, and while the need to have every player in the 24-man group play two of the three group games is clear, it's not good business to have not decided on the starting number seven at this stage of the tournament.

That's not to say the Kangaroos won't get it right, but when the toughest opponent comes before the final, preparations must be completed in a timely manner.

To this end, it doesn't appear as if they have done that yet, and while only time will tell, a Kiwi boilover in the semi-finals to send the 11-time champions packing before the final for the first time since the first ever World Cup in 1954 doesn't look all that far flung right now.