Mal Meninga has reportedly added Newcastle Knights duo Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best to the Kangaroos train-on squad for the upcoming Pacific Nations tournament.
The reveal from News Corp comes after the Kangaroos coach brought in James Tedesco from the Sydney Roosters after all three were beaten on the weekend during the semi-finals against the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors.
While Best and Tedesco were always going to make the Kangaroos train-on squad, the inclusion of Kalyn Ponga comes after he carries a should problem throughout the backend of the season.
James Tedesco and Reece Walsh are set to fight it out for the fullback jersey. However, Ponga's versatility to play in the halves and the centres may see him included in the final squad as the quartet of Latrell Mitchell, Campbell Graham, Jack Wighton, and Tom Trbojevic will be unavailable and Stephen Crichton and Kotoni Staggs are likely to represent Samoa and Tonga respectively.
“We haven't ruled him out of playing for Australia,” Head of Football at Newcastle Knight Peter Parr told the publication.
“The first game is still four weeks away so we would anticipate right at the moment that he would be fit for that.
“If he makes the final cut, we will make the final decision then.”
Mal Meninga also revealed that he is considering bringing Dylan Edwards into the squad but not as a fullback. Instead, the Kangaroos coach is set to pull a surprising positional switch that could see him play in the centres.
“We need to talk about it absolutely,” Meninga said
“We have some very wise selectors and I will talk to the coach (Ivan Cleary) when it's appropriate.
“It's quite conceivable that those sort of players we could manufacture into different positions. We still have Hammer (Tabuai-Fidow) and Murray (Taulagi). Bradman Best who did really well for NSW and we are waiting on where Val is at.
“I'm not too concerned (about the players who are out). What I'm worried about is about picking players who are passionate about playing for the green and gold. I don't care where they play.”