Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters has denied suggestions of potential Queensland bias in picking his Australian Ashes squad and 17 for the first Test against England.

The potential for Walters’ former Broncos player Reece Walsh to replace incumbent Kangaroos and Blues fullback Dylan Edwards, sparked suggestions of a bias towards Maroons stars.

The Daily Telegraph reported Walters was adamant he would never select his Kangaroos team based on state lines and pointed out he has experience in international coaching.

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“That’s not a problem for me,” Walters told The Daily Telegraph.

“I have actually worked with the Australian team before with Ricky Stuart, so I got a bit of a sniff there with his environment.

“I’ve been on touring teams as well. We’re a great country and we play like a great country.”

Australia has picked a stacked squad for the Ashes series, with the likes of Cameron Munster, Nathan Cleary and Ethan Strange looking to unseat incumbent halves Tom Dearden and Mitchell Moses, who led the Kangaroos to the Pacific Championships win last season.

That is just one example of the challenge Walters has to fit 24 players into 17 spots for each Test, but he stressed that is what appealed to him about the job.

“One of the attractions of the job is working with our elite players and staff.” Walters said.

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Kevvie Walters denied bias to Queenslanders.Source: News Corp Australia

“We have talent across every position so it will be hard but a good problem to have. That’s the idea of a 24-man squad – to create a competitive environment and make sure our training habits are of a high standard.

“We will have discussions around a lot of positions and once we get over to England we will have to start making decisions on the team and who is playing.”

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‘Competition for spots makes us better’ | 01:45

The Kangaroos will no doubt have some hard luck stories when Walters reads out his first Test team in a couple of weeks, but he sees it as a positive rather than a negative.

“That’s part of the plan to get some extra numbers to make sure that we take our best players to England,” Walters said.

“It’s hard, but a good problem to have. Obviously we’ve got talent across every position.”

The first Test kicks off on Sunday October 26 at 1.30am AEDT.

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KANGAROOS SQUAD

Isaah Yeo (c – Panthers), Blayke Brailey (Sharks), Patrick Carrigan (Broncos), Nathan Cleary (Panthers), Lindsay Collins (Roosters), Reuben Cotter (Cowboys), Angus Crichton (Roosters), Tom Dearden (Cowboys), Dylan Edwards (Panthers), Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Titans), Harry Grant (Storm), Keaon Koloamatangi (Rabbitohs), Bradman Best (Knights), Josh Addo-Carr (Eels), Mitchell Moses (Eels), Cameron Munster (Storm), Mark Nawaqanitawase (Roosters), Jacob Preston (Bulldogs), Gehamat Shibasaki (Broncos), Lindsay Smith (Panthers), Kotoni Staggs (Broncos), Ethan Strange (Raiders), Reece Walsh (Broncos), Hudson Young (Raiders)