![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/6ab1259c1bb522552e360f7c676472553e5793ac.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n\u201cI\u2019ve represented Australia, I didn\u2019t get a chance last year, and it would have been cool to get back in that jersey,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something I\u2019ve taken lightly; it\u2019s been a tough few weeks thinking about the opportunity to represent Australia again.<\/p>\n
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James Tedesco in action for Australia.Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cAll in all, I wouldn\u2019t be comfortable with myself not being there for my brother and being away from my family at a very special time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I get the opportunity next year I\u2019m not ruling it out for the rest of my career. I said that to Peter, if that opportunity comes up next year, and it\u2019s a different situation, and I\u2019m lucky enough to get picked, I\u2019m 100 per cent keen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
V\u2019landys broke the news at the traditional NRL\/NRLW breakfast at Crown Sydney on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOn Sunday, the selectors picked the first 23 players for the Kangaroo tour. Naturally, that\u2019s not going to be the final team because the final team will be selected after the grand final on Monday,\u201d V\u2019landys said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, one of the players that was selected was James Tedesco, and James has pulled out because he\u2019s got his brother\u2019s wedding, and he\u2019s the best man. I asked him to think about it, but he believes that he wouldn\u2019t be doing the right thing by his family if he wasn\u2019t in the wedding, which is a shame because he played so well this year and deserved his place in the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve let Kevin Walters know, and we\u2019ll 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\u2019s not retiring from international rugby, he\u2019s unfortunately got this family commitment that he can\u2019t get out of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Selectors typically take a squad of 22 players on tour, but V\u2019landy\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n