League: Bennett happy to face Milford on the test field

England coach Wayne Bennett says he wasn't the one who held Anthony Milford back. Photo / File

Criticised in the past for standing in Anthony Milford's way, Wayne Bennett says he will have no problem if the Brisbane pivot makes himself available for Samoa's May test against his England side.

Bennett denied he had ever blocked Milford from playing for the Pacific nation, saying the livewire playmaker simply didn't want to do it in the past.

Bennett said Milford had not yet decided on whether he would play the May 6 test in Campbelltown, but claimed he would support whatever move the pivot made.

Even if it meant Milford lining up against Bennett's England team.

"I don't have a hesitation, it's about what Anthony wants to do," Bennett said.

"A lot of time with Anthony, he hasn't really wanted to play either, so I am not sure what he wants to do.

"I will support him whichever way he goes."

Milford is free to play for Samoa if he misses out on Kangaroos selection for the May 5 trans-Tasman clash in Canberra.

Under revised eligibility rules, players can nominate a tier one nation - Australia, New Zealand or England - and a second tier nation.

They can switch between their two countries multiple times within a World Cup cycle.

Milford represented Samoa at the 2013 World Cup.

However, he made himself unavailable for the island nation to play for Queensland's under-20s in 2014 to be eligible for State of Origin.

He looked set to land in the middle of a representative tug-of-war ahead of this year's World Cup before the eligibility rule change last September.

Bennett said Milford was ready to step up to test level for the Kangaroos but believed the pivot was more likely to run out in Samoan colours next month.

Bennett believed the Kangaroos would opt for either James Maloney or Michael Morgan instead of Milford if regular pivot Johnathan Thurston did not recover from a calf injury for the transtasman clash.

"He's a four-year NRL player now so he is probably in a better position than he has ever been to play [test football]," Bennett said of Milford.

"But they [Kangaroos] have gone with them [Maloney and Morgan] before, so they are not going to change that.

"Maloney is playing some good football and we all know what Morgan can do."

Bennett's England side clashes with Samoa as part of an international triple-header on May 6. On the same day, Fiji take on Tonga, while Papua New Guinea tackle the Cook Islands at Campbelltown.