“I’ve represented Australia, I didn’t get a chance last year, and it would have been cool to get back in that jersey,” he said.
“It’s not something I’ve taken lightly; it’s been a tough few weeks thinking about the opportunity to represent Australia again.
James Tedesco in action for Australia.Credit: Getty Images
“All in all, I wouldn’t be comfortable with myself not being there for my brother and being away from my family at a very special time.
“If I get the opportunity next year I’m not ruling it out for the rest of my career. I said that to Peter, if that opportunity comes up next year, and it’s a different situation, and I’m lucky enough to get picked, I’m 100 per cent keen.
“We’ll see what happens.”
V’landys broke the news at the traditional NRL/NRLW breakfast at Crown Sydney on Tuesday morning.
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“On Sunday, the selectors picked the first 23 players for the Kangaroo tour. Naturally, that’s not going to be the final team because the final team will be selected after the grand final on Monday,” V’landys said.
“However, one of the players that was selected was James Tedesco, and James has pulled out because he’s got his brother’s wedding, and he’s the best man. I asked him to think about it, but he believes that he wouldn’t be doing the right thing by his family if he wasn’t in the wedding, which is a shame because he played so well this year and deserved his place in the team.
“I’ve let Kevin Walters know, and we’ll now go back to the drawing board. James was very professional about it, and he really agonised over it because he really wanted to be there, but he did make a really strong point that he certainly wants to be considered next year for the World Cup … he’s not retiring from international rugby, he’s unfortunately got this family commitment that he can’t get out of.”
Selectors typically take a squad of 22 players on tour, but V’landy’s said they wanted to take an extra person to give an up-and-coming player an opportunity. Canberra playmaker Ethan Strange has been identified as a future Kangaroo and is expected to tour with the squad to gain experience.
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