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Canterbury-Bankstown five-eighth Josh Reynolds in line for surprise Kangaroos call-up
By Phil Rothfield The Daily Telegraph September 12, 2012 6:59AM
Booming Canterbury-Bankstown five-eighth Josh Reynolds is poised to grab one of seven Kangaroos jerseys that are up for grabs in the remaining three weeks of the NRL finals, despite never having worn a rep jumper.
Coach Tim Sheens and his selectors are planning a major overhaul of the victorious Anzac Test side from earlier this year because of injuries and out-of-form players.
Justin Hodges (injury and form), Akuila Uate (form), David Taylor (form), Sam Thaiday (injury), Luke Lewis (injury) Daly Cherry-Evans (form) and Matt Gillett (form) are battling to hold on to their places for the one-off Test against the Kiwis in Townsville on October 13.
Players in the remaining six finals teams are playing for more than just premiership rings over the next few weeks.
Considering Sheens chose not to use Cherry-Evans in the last Anzac Test, he didn't need prompting to nominate rising star Reynolds when asked about the bench utility position.
These days it's not such an uncommon practice to hand out green and gold jerseys to club stars before they've played State of Origin.
Kade Snowden, Chris Lawrence, Todd Carney, Jamal Idris and Cherry-Evans are all recent examples of that.
"Josh Reynolds is a tough little bloke," Sheens said, "He could play nine as well.
"It doesn't matter that he hasn't played Origin and we'll be keeping an eye on him in the next couple of weeks.
"Anyone who gets through to the grand final will have the inside running because the Test is just two weeks after it.
"They'll be the ones getting the last shot."
What has impressed Sheens most is Reynolds's competitiveness and toughness, and he has more than held his own in three games this year against Manly's Kieran Foran, who will more than likely be the Kiwis five-eighth.
Never has an Australia side required such a dramatic overhaul in such a short space of time. Centres and wing are causing most debate in the selection room. Darius Boyd will play on one wing and Greg Inglis will be one of the centres.
From there it's a lottery. Uate won Dally M winger of the year but was dropped from the Blues because he is a liability in defence.
Brisbane Broncos centre Hodges is carrying a back injury and is down on form.
Brett Morris was a natural to take over on the wing but has undergone surgery and is unavailable. Sheens indicated he would gamble on a non-specialist winger.
"Brett Stewart has got speed and is good under the high ball," Sheens said. "Chris Lawrence has played wing too. It's not new playing the boys out of position.
"Graeme Langlands is an Immortal and one of the best fullbacks of all time. How many Tests did he play in the centres? Andrew Ettingshausen played fullback, wing, centre, depending on where he was needed. We might have to do the same thing."
In the forwards, the entire back row from earlier this year - Thaiday, Taylor and Lewis - could be missing.
Thaiday had surgery this week on a knee injury, Lewis is recovering from a cancer operation and Taylor's form has been inconsistent.
Melbourne Storm's Ryan Hoffman, Manly's Anthony Watmaugh and Tony Williams are more likely to get a start.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/...se-for-kangaroos/story-fn2mcuhw-1226472275786
By Phil Rothfield The Daily Telegraph September 12, 2012 6:59AM
Booming Canterbury-Bankstown five-eighth Josh Reynolds is poised to grab one of seven Kangaroos jerseys that are up for grabs in the remaining three weeks of the NRL finals, despite never having worn a rep jumper.
Coach Tim Sheens and his selectors are planning a major overhaul of the victorious Anzac Test side from earlier this year because of injuries and out-of-form players.
Justin Hodges (injury and form), Akuila Uate (form), David Taylor (form), Sam Thaiday (injury), Luke Lewis (injury) Daly Cherry-Evans (form) and Matt Gillett (form) are battling to hold on to their places for the one-off Test against the Kiwis in Townsville on October 13.
Players in the remaining six finals teams are playing for more than just premiership rings over the next few weeks.
Considering Sheens chose not to use Cherry-Evans in the last Anzac Test, he didn't need prompting to nominate rising star Reynolds when asked about the bench utility position.
These days it's not such an uncommon practice to hand out green and gold jerseys to club stars before they've played State of Origin.
Kade Snowden, Chris Lawrence, Todd Carney, Jamal Idris and Cherry-Evans are all recent examples of that.
"Josh Reynolds is a tough little bloke," Sheens said, "He could play nine as well.
"It doesn't matter that he hasn't played Origin and we'll be keeping an eye on him in the next couple of weeks.
"Anyone who gets through to the grand final will have the inside running because the Test is just two weeks after it.
"They'll be the ones getting the last shot."
What has impressed Sheens most is Reynolds's competitiveness and toughness, and he has more than held his own in three games this year against Manly's Kieran Foran, who will more than likely be the Kiwis five-eighth.
Never has an Australia side required such a dramatic overhaul in such a short space of time. Centres and wing are causing most debate in the selection room. Darius Boyd will play on one wing and Greg Inglis will be one of the centres.
From there it's a lottery. Uate won Dally M winger of the year but was dropped from the Blues because he is a liability in defence.
Brisbane Broncos centre Hodges is carrying a back injury and is down on form.
Brett Morris was a natural to take over on the wing but has undergone surgery and is unavailable. Sheens indicated he would gamble on a non-specialist winger.
"Brett Stewart has got speed and is good under the high ball," Sheens said. "Chris Lawrence has played wing too. It's not new playing the boys out of position.
"Graeme Langlands is an Immortal and one of the best fullbacks of all time. How many Tests did he play in the centres? Andrew Ettingshausen played fullback, wing, centre, depending on where he was needed. We might have to do the same thing."
In the forwards, the entire back row from earlier this year - Thaiday, Taylor and Lewis - could be missing.
Thaiday had surgery this week on a knee injury, Lewis is recovering from a cancer operation and Taylor's form has been inconsistent.
Melbourne Storm's Ryan Hoffman, Manly's Anthony Watmaugh and Tony Williams are more likely to get a start.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/...se-for-kangaroos/story-fn2mcuhw-1226472275786
