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SYDNEY - A knee injury to Melbourne sensation Greg Inglis is set to earn Storm teammate Matt King a Kangaroos reprieve, but a selection dogfight looms for berths in the Australian back row for the Anzac rugby league test against the Kiwis on Friday.
Inglis is believed to be in extreme doubt for the test in Brisbane after being pulled from today's National Rugby League match against St George Illawarra due to swelling in his knee.
It is believed Inglis has damaged a muscle behind his right knee which is expected to sideline the 20-year-old utility for up to three weeks.
As good as Inglis is, the selectors would be loathe to name someone who would be in doubt right up until the match given the Kangaroos will have only four days to assemble in Brisbane and prepare for the game.
Inglis and Brisbane centre Justin Hodges were considered certainties to be named in the three-quarters for the Kangaroos with King, Brisbane's Brent Tate and Manly centre Jamie Lyon fighting it out for the other two positions.
The expected unavailability of Inglis now means Lyon will now line up alongside Hodges in the centres with Tate and King on the flanks.
Berths in the back row and the bench will come down to a final round shootout, Parramatta workhorse Nathan Hindmarsh and Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan the only ones safe enough to already have their bags packed.
Willie Mason and Petero Civoniceva are likely to be paired up front, although it is understood the selectors are considering playing Mason in the back row and starting with either Mark O'Meley or Luke Bailey.
Bailey all but cemented his test recall with a barnstorming game in Gold Coast's 28-16 win over Brisbane last night, and Manly prop and Kangaroos incumbent Brent Kite is also likely to feature somewhere in the 17-man squad.
Hindmarsh said there were plenty of people putting their hands up for selection.
"Luke O'Donnell would have been a certainty if he wasn't injured and Andrew Ryan's playing awesome football and I think he deserves his position," Hindmarsh said.
"Then you've got Reni Maitua, Benny Creagh, maybe even Willie in the backrow, there's plenty of guys there.
"They might go with Ogre (Mark O'Meley) up front and Petero's (Civoniceva) a shoe-in and they can probably handle the job up front pretty well and Mase (Mason) can play in the back row and go up there later as well.
"The Kiwis are going to be big, they're always big. They're getting closer and closer each year. We know we'll be in for a massive game."
A change in scheduling may work against Sydney Roosters forward Anthony Tupou, who won't get an opportunity to showcase his wares one more time before the selectors announce the squad tomorrow night.
Tupou's Roosters play Canberra on Monday night, after the match switched was with the South Sydney-Newcastle game which will now be played tomorrow afternoon.
That could give one of his rivals for a spot on the bench, Steve Simpson, one last chance to push his claims.
The Knights back rower will be hard to leave out if he can come up with a big game against a Rabbitohs pack featuring Kiwis forwards Roy Asotasi and David Fa'alogo.
Likely Kangaroos squad: Karmichael Hunt, Matt King, Justin Hodges, Jamie Lyon, Brent Tate, Darren Lockyer (captain), Johnathan Thurston, Willie Mason, Cameron Smith, Petero Civoniceva, Nathan Hindmarsh, Andrew Ryan, Reni Maitua.
Interchange: Shaun Berrigan, Luke Bailey, Brent Kite, Mark O'Meley.
- AAP
