AUSTRALIA plan to name their line-up for the first Ashes game at Wembley tomorrow (Tuesday).
Kevin Walters’ Kangaroos will keep to NRL custom – naming squads on the Tuesday of game week, regardless of when the match is played – despite not needing to name it until the day of the game.
The two nations are only required to list a 21-man squad early in the week, 19 players two days prior to the fixture and then the line-up before kick-off.
But new coach Walters is happy to show his hand early ahead of Saturday’s opener in London with the full teamsheet.
“I don’t see a point in hiding things, who’s playing where,” he said.
The Kangaroos arrived in England on Wednesday and have been training at St Mary’s University in Twickenham.
On Friday and Saturday they had opposed sessions there with the French national team, who are preparing for a big game of their own this Saturday against Jamaica for a place at next year’s World Cup.
Australia will be led, as for last year’s Pacific Cup success, by Penrith Panthers loose-forward Isaah Yeo.
A four-time NRL winner and New South Wales stalwart, Yeo insisted playing in green and gold – as he did on their last trip to England in 2022, returning a world champion – is “still the pinnacle”.
He added: “There’s excitement to be on the other side of the world and playing in something that hasn’t been around for 20-odd years, the Ashes.
“You’d be crazy to not be excited by it. I’m looking forward to the week ahead. We need to connect, and we’ll be ready to go come Saturday.”