THE ability of the Kangaroos’ new look spine to click will go a long way to deciding Australia’s Test against New Zealand on Saturday night.The retirement of long time stars Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston has forced Mal Meninga to blood three debutants in the key positions of No.1, No.6 and No.9. Daly Cherry-Evans has received a first Test start since 2014 and Luke Keary got the nod at five-eighth, after Cameron Munster withdrew for personal reasons.
However, despite their inexperience at Test level, the Kangaroos spine is in-form and ready to usher in a new generation for Australia against New Zealand.“I think that is part of the game these days that you’ve got to be confident in your own ability,” Tedesco said. “Us younger guys were playing good footy at state level and that’s some of the best footy that has been played, so we take that confidence down to club level and now to these jerseys in the Australian side.” Tedesco will have the advantage of club combinations, with fellow premiership winners Luke Keary, Latrell Mitchell and Boyd Cordner in the starting side. With only eight survivors from last year’s World Cup final, club combinations will be key to producing a cohesive first-up performance.“With Kez (Keary), Latrell (Mitchell) and Boydo (Cordner) we have that combination, so that is going to come naturally,” Tedesco said.
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