League: Duffie to debut for Kiwis

Matthew Duffie. Photo / Getty Images

Melbourne winger Matthew Duffie will be the only debutant in the New Zealand line-up for Friday night's Anzac rugby league test against Australia at Skilled Park in Robina on the Gold Coast.

In confirming New Zealand's side this morning, coach Stephen Kearney omitted Warriors utility Lewis Brown and Brisbane fullback Gerard Beale from the original 19-man squad named on Sunday night. Brown is the 18th man.

Duffie will become Kiwi number 765 on Friday night, lining up on the right wing outside Sydney Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall, New Zealand's 2010 player of the year.

Warriors prop Sam Rapira, who was unavailable for the Four Nations campaign last year, returns to start in the front row after last playing for the Kiwis in the 2010 Anzac test in Melbourne. The side includes 13 of the 17 players used in the Four Nations final.

Apart from Duffie and Rapira, the other two changes are recalled Parramatta prop Fuifui Moimoi, playing his ninth test, and Manly halfback Kieran Foran, back after making his second test appearance in last year's Anzac test.

Foran and Moimoi were both ruled out of the 2010 Four Nations with injuries.

"We've been able build some consistency in our selections in recent years," Kearney said.

"The side has become more settled and we've also been able to develop a little more in terms of experience and our combinations."

The Kiwis have never won the Anzac test in Australia since the first was played in Sydney in 1997. Their only success came at North Harbour Stadium in 1998, the only time it has been played in New Zealand.

Kiwis team:
Lance Hohaia, Matthew Duffie, Simon Mannering, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Jason Nightingale, Benji Marshall (captain), Kieran Foran, Sam Rapira, Nathan Fien, Sam McKendry, Adam Blair, Bronson Harrison, Jeremy Smith.

Interchange: Issac Luke, Ben Matulino, Fuifui Moimoi, Greg Eastwood, Lewis Brown.

- NZPA