Australian 46 Man Preliminary World Cup Squad

[Google News]

Poore gets a World Cup call-up - Illawara Mercury

Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...keHeBA&usg=AFQjCNFiOeGfzcV6gtNIUFpFtCLAp4TETg

Poore gets a World Cup call-up
BY TIM BARROW
2/08/2008 4:00:00 AM

St George Illawarra Dragons prop Justin Poore shows off his powerhouse running against the Sydney Roosters earlier this season.

Workhorse prop Justin Poore's outstanding season was rewarded yesterday when he was named in the Australian squad for the World Cup starting in October.

Preparing for tonight's showdown with arch rivals the Sharks at Toyota Park, the St George Illawarra front-rower was named in a 46-man squad, which will be cut back to 24 after the NRL finals series.

Poore said the surprise call-up would spur him on to make the final cut and lead the Dragons to a finals berth.

"I'm very happy, it was quite a surprise," he said.

"I hadn't thought about it at all, I can't believe it really, because there are so many good players out there.

"(The selection) is a good little push, it gives you those extra legs."

Poore was one of nine props named in the squad, which also included Queensland representatives Petero Civoniceva and Steve Price, as well as NSW stars Brett White, Willie Mason and Ben Cross.

Injured Dragons second-rower Ben Creagh and centre Matt Cooper were also included, as well as Wollongong juniors Glenn and Brett Stewart.

The final squad will be named on October 6, the day after the grand final.

Australia open the World Cup tournament against New Zealand on October 26 at the Sydney Football Stadium, with the final to be played on November 22 in Brisbane.

Fiji will be based in Wollongong during the Cup, with the Fijian team playing France at WIN Stadium on November 1.

 

[Pomeroy#3]

Luke is unlucky as always but he will get his chance next year.

if you mean luke covell
you may recall hes the incumbent kiwi wingers
and i havent seen their squad yet so how do you know hell be unlucky?

I think he was talking about Luke Douglas.

Also just read in the Daily Telegraph that Anthony Tupou is in the Aus 46 man squad, which is good news.

 

[sharks195]

I'm very suprised to see that Douglas wasn't named, but then again there will be injuries in the next few months and a good finals series won't hurt his chances.

 

[Capital_Shark]

Capital shark is right

Welcome to Sharks Forever, mate. Kick off all your posts like that and I think we'll get along alright. :drunk:drunk

 

[Bungy]

Topou is in now

 

[Google News]

Campese the man to take Bird's Test spot? - LIVENEWS.com.au

Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...6bDvAg&usg=AFQjCNEWnwUxTDlA4hO9x1P3Fku-hsouTA

Campese the man to take Bird's Test spot?
26/08/2008 11:10:00 AM.
Dominic Brock
rugbyleaguelive.com

Former Canberra Raiders greats Laurie Daley and David Furner have called on Australian Test selectors to call on in-form five-eighth Terry Campese to replace Greg Bird in the World Cup squad at season’s end.

Bird has been stood down by the Sharks after being charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm, and his NRL career is now in serious doubt.

The absence of Bird – man of the match in Australia’s win over New Zealand at the end of 2007 – would leave a hole in the Kangaroos’ World Cup squad, and Campese may just be the man for the job.

Campese has been instrumental in the Raiders’ superb form of late, with the Green Machine winning six of their last seven despite the sacking of star halfback Todd Carney.

"No one in the NRL is going better," ex-Canberra, NSW and Australia pivot Daley told News Limited.

"Campese is just about the form player going around.

"There is a vacancy there now and I'm sure he will be considered.

"But Braith Anasta will also be under scrutiny and Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis could fill in there at a pinch."

Australian tourist and premiership-winning second-rower Furner said Campese could be rated the NRL’s second-best five-eighth behind Test skipper Darren Lockyer.

"The big thing rep selectors look for when picking an end-of-season team is who is in form at this time of year," Furner, who will take over as Raiders coach in 2009, told News.

"Campo's form speaks for itself and he could well be number two behind Lockyer.

"Terry would be the first to admit that the team around him is playing with plenty of confidence and that is putting him in a position to control the team. Our forward pack has dominated for the past six to seven weeks."

 

[sharkie_09]

I'm very suprised to see that Douglas wasn't named, but then again there will be injuries in the next few months and a good finals series won't hurt his chances.

or GBH allegations

 

[Google News]

Cowboys get chance to push Cup claims - Townsville Bulletin

Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...nsXIDQ&usg=AFQjCNFsLmTXNwLFpmqPXg0iXb5xp5Zhiw

Cowboys get chance to push Cup claims
ANTONY STEWART
September 5th, 2008

THE Cowboys trio of World Cup hopefuls plans to leave a lasting impression on Australia coach Ricky Stuart when they tackle his Sharks team in the final round of the NRL.

Johnathan Thurston, Luke O'Donnell and Carl Webb were named in a 46-man Kangaroos squad and have done their chances of making the final cut no harm in recent weeks.

But with North Queensland missing out on the finals, the Cowboys stars are aware how important a big game against Cronulla in Sydney tomorrow night could be.

With many rivals for their positions in the finals, star halfback Thurston said all three were desperate to put in a big game in front of the Aussie mentor.

"You don't want to rest on your laurels when there's another month that you will miss playing through finals, so every game counts," he said. "You want to play as if it's your last.

"I think Webby and Luke will be the same, certainly (Stuart) will be watching and it's a good opportunity for us to put in a good performance and hopefully be in his mind when the final squad gets named."

The Kangaroos squad will be trimmed back to 24 players on October 6. While Thurston, as incumbent, has been all but assured of his place for the October-to-November World Cup, the 25-year-old said he was taking nothing for granted.

"Cooper Cronk is playing well for Melbourne so I certainly want to put in a good performance, as does Luke and Webby," he said.

"I think Luke's been playing great footy for us since he's been back (from suspension) so he's in the mix and so's Webby, so all of us want to put in a good game."

There is no bigger chance for Thurston, in particular, to impress as he tries to orchestrate the Cowboys' attack against the miserly Sharks defence.

Cronulla have conceded just one try in the past two weeks and have averaged less than 16 points scored against them all season to be third in the NRL.

"Obviously they have been defending very well, so we have got to hold on to the ball and complete our sets and try to build pressure," Thurston said.

"We have certainly lacked that over the last few weeks, but we built some pressure against the Raiders and got some points.

"Even though we didn't score too many points in the second half the pleasing thing was we certainly defended very well . . . and hopefully we can just work for each other and limit their scoring opportunities on Saturday night." It was an emotion-charged win over Canberra last weekend as three players played their final game at Dairy Farmers Stadium and the team jumped out of last place.

But Thurston said that would not be the end of the motivation for the Cowboys.

"A win would for sure make us certain of offloading the spoon, otherwise we have got sit tight and wait for results to go our way," he said.

"And it's a good chance to show those boys (leaving) how much they mean to the club and, for the boys that are staying, they can make a difference and send them out as a winner."

 

[Google News]

Source:http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=...3vXADQ&usg=AFQjCNFFV9ql5myT6eFQgBffzqE6YKxlKQ

Mason adds to Australia's woes
Andy Wilson
The Guardian,
Saturday September 6 2008

Willie Mason seems certain to join a growing list of Australia players unavailable for this autumn's World Cup after suffering a serious knee injury in Sydney yesterday. The colourful Roosters forward damaged anterior ligaments in a 10-0 victory over the St George-Illawarra Dragons and is not expected to play again until next year.

Australia's coach, Ricky Stuart, has already lost his best centre, Mark Gasnier, who will not be considered after signing for the French rugby union club Stade Français, and the former Cronulla stand-off Greg Bird is also out of the running after being sacked by his club for an off-field incident.

<EDITED> Full article can be found here

 

[Google News]

Our stars deserve a Cup spot: Henry

... a high shot on Misi Taulapapa during the Cronulla loss. Best was reported for the second-half hit but was not charged by the NRL match review committee.

Source: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/sport/rugby-league/our-stars-deserve-a-cup-spot-henry/1273267.aspx

Our stars deserve a Cup spot: Henry
BY PETER FITZGERALD, RUGBY LEAGUE
16/09/2008 7:11:00 AM

Neil Henry

Departing Raiders coach Neil Henry hopes his team's sudden exit from the NRL finals does not impact on his players' representative prospects later this year.
The Raiders were yesterday still coming to terms with the reality their season was over following the New Zealand Warriors' remarkable upset win over the Melbourne Storm on Sunday.

The club's training headquarters was lifeless yesterday morning. Instead of arriving for a video review the players began their annual Mad Monday festivities.

The players, many of them dressed up in colorful costumes, spent the day in Civic celebrating a successful season.

Earlier a solemn Henry arrived at headquarters, still trying to fathom that his time at the Raiders was over.

Before clocking off for a celebrationary lunch with other members of the coaching staff, Henry urged Australia's World Cup selectors to consider at least Joel Monaghan and Terry Campese for selection later this year.

Monaghan is already in a preliminary 46-man squad, which selectors announced last month.

Campese was left out of the same squad but he has been arguably the form player in the NRL since, and is likely to have forced his way into calculations to be Darren Lockyer's five-eighth back-up.

Monaghan had a night to forget in Canberra's 36-10 semi-final loss to the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday but Henry hoped that would not be a lasting memory in selectors' minds.

''I'm sure he would admit he wasn't on song versus Cronulla but he still had a very consistent season,'' Henry said of Monaghan.

''Joel played State Of Origin football this year so in the selectors' minds he has to be up there in the top half-dozen centres around.''

Monaghan played one game for NSW this year and had a solid back half of the NRL season.

Campese is yet to make his representative debut but scored more Dally M votes than any other player in the last 10 rounds of the competition, including four best-on-ground performances in the five games from round 20.

Henry believes Campese deserves his chance.

''He's been dominant for a stretch of the season and in fact I can't remember any player being so dominant over a six-to-seven week period,'' the departing coach said.

''Whether that stays in the selectors' minds is another thing but I'd hope it would.''

Campese rued his most recent performance against the Sharks.

The humble 24-year-old still believes he has a long way to go before being a serious representative threat but hoped he could be given a World Cup lifeline.

''I never did my chances any good on [Saturday night's] performance and I'll focus on next year now but if it comes along earlier, it's something I'll grab with both hands,'' Campese said.

The five-eighth has received wide-spread praise for his form the past three months but he questioned if it was all warranted.

''There were a few games there that I played where everyone thought I was playing good but I think I've still got a lot of work to do on my game,'' he said. ''I'd still like to be a bit more consistent and build on what I did this year.''

Australian selectors will announce their final 24-man World Cup squad on October 7.

Meanwhile, departing Raider Colin Best has avoided a suspension following a high shot on Misi Taulapapa during the Cronulla loss.

Best was reported for the second-half hit but was not charged by the NRL match review committee.

 

[brad]

ahem! why the fuk would you deserve world cup spots. most of your players have yet to prove themselves in big matches and have only dominated against 2nd rate teams. the sharkies on the other hand. but ricky cant really come out and say the same thing when hes the coach now can he?

 

[Google News]

ICON STUART SEEKS WORLD CUP GLORY

Now 41, Stuart succeeded Stuart Raper as coach of Cronulla Sharks in 2006 and guided them to a third-place finish in his second season at the helm.

Source: http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/08/10/03/RUGBYL_World_Cup_Australia_Stua.html

ICON STUART SEEKS WORLD CUP GLORY
By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport Rugby League Correspondent

As a player and coach, it seems Ricky Stuart has been an Australian rugby league icon forever yet he was a rugby union international before switching codes.

He captained the 1985 Australian Schoolboys and two years later went on the Wallabies' tour of Argentina before turning to league in 1988 with Canberra Raiders.

Stuart made his Test debut on the Kangaroos' tour of England and France in 1990, when he was instrumental in helping to secure a 2-1 Ashes victory, and four years later his influence was again dominant as the Mal Meninga-led tourists retained the Ashes.

He won nine caps, played 14 State of Origin matches for New South Wales and played in the World Cup series from 1989-92 before making the move into coaching in 2001.

The former Canberra and Canterbury Bulldogs scrum-half's playing career had been brought to a sudden halt by a serious knee injury in 2000 but he was an instant success in his new career, taking the Sydney Roosters to premiership honours in his first season as a senior NRL coach.

For the Bondi Junction club, it was the first time in 27 years they had tasted Grand-Final success and a few months later, they thrashed Super League champions St Helens 38-0 in the World Club Challenge in Bolton.

Stuart's reward was to be appointed coach of the NSW Country Origin team in 2004 and a year later he was in charge of the State of Origin side.

The Blues' 2-1 Origin success proved timely, with the Kangaroos' aura of invincibility shattered by New Zealand's stunning Tri-Nations triumph at Elland Road in the autumn of 2005.

Stuart then inherited a losing side when he succeeded Wayne Bennett but he goes into the 2008 World Cup with a winning habit.

He helped the Kangaroos reclaim the Tri-Nations title with a gripping 16-12 win over the Kiwis in 2006 and, in all, has enjoyed eight wins from nine matches in charge, his only defeat being at the hands of Great Britain in Sydney two years ago.

Now 41, Stuart succeeded Stuart Raper as coach of Cronulla Sharks in 2006 and guided them to a third-place finish in his second season at the helm.

 

[Beejay]

poms missed out and even worse, no dougie!?

...
Alan Tongue, Luke douglas, Ben POmeroy, Brett Kearney, Luke Lewis, Peter Wallace, Preston Campbell

Players who deserve a spot

Hehe funny how much things change with the passing of time...