NRL hits clubs with gag order to fix messy deadline amid Galvin fiasco<\/a><\/p>\nJillaroos prepare for Pacific Cup final | 00:59<\/p>\n
WILL 3-0 WHITEWASH BE ENOUGH FOR KEVVIE TO NAB WORLD CUP GIG?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been the burning question for the bulk of this Ashes series. <\/p>\n
Kevin Walters signed a three-match contract to lead the Kangaroos just for this Ashes series but beyond Sunday morning\u2019s Test match, his future as national coach is uncertain. <\/p>\n
Has he done enough to keep the job for next year\u2019s World Cup?<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else are we picking? He\u2019s just won an Ashes series,\u201d Greg Alexander said on Fox League\u2019s Ashes AM.<\/p>\n
Walters certainly has to the favourite at this point in time given the Kangaroos are on the verge of another Ashes whitewash. <\/p>\n
While they\u2019ve hardly been convincing, allowing just one try in two Test matches should count for something although that probably says a lot about the talent gulf between the two sides as well.<\/p>\n
Walters is reportedly keen to hold onto the job for the World Cup. That is evidenced by his selections for the third Test. <\/p>\n
Barring the return of captain Isaah Yeo from injury, Australia will trot out the same 17 for the dead rubber, meaning only 18 of the 24 players in the squad will have been used on this tour. <\/p>\n
Ruthless, sure. Walters is obviously keen for a whitewash and to consolidate the coaching gig for the World Cup. <\/p>\n
Given they\u2019ve stuck with the same side, there is now an expectation the Kangaroos win with the ears pricked this weekend against an England side who have chopped and changed personnel.<\/p>\n
If Australia are able to do just that and win the dead rubber with ease, that should be enough for Walters to win the job.<\/p>\n
However, a loss or another scrappy win against inferior opposition may cause the ARL Commission to take their time looking into other candidates.<\/p>\n
Kangaroos assistant Gorden Tallis and head coach Kevin Walters.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n
SHOULD KANGAROOS HAVE TURNED TO RESERVES?<\/p>\n
In professional sport, particularly at representative level, nothing is given.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why it shouldn\u2019t come as too much of a surprise that Australia have made just one change to their team across the three match series.<\/p>\n
That switch was a forced one as well. Had Isaah Yeo not suffered a head knock in the opening Test, there\u2019s every chance Kevin Walters would\u2019ve rolled with the same 17. <\/p>\n
It means that six players from the touring squad won\u2019t represent their country this series, those being Mitch Moses, Ethan Strange, Jacob Preston, Dylan Edwards, Blayke Brailey and Bradman Best.<\/p>\n
Outside reaction to Walters\u2019 decision has been mixed.<\/p>\n
Former Broncos star Corey Parker believes Walters pulled the wrong rein not giving some of the reserves an opportunity. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it was a great opportunity \u2013 not because they were banging the door down \u2013 but because they\u2019ve been over there on tour,\u201d Parker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t just give away an Australian jersey, but there are some individuals who I believe should be under pressure (to retain their spots). <\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys like Brailey, Best and Strange have been over there in England for nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, the opinions of those that matter – the coaching staff and the players on tour – has been the same.<\/p>\n
\u201cI completely understand it,\u201d Moses told the SMH.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like if I was in that position I wouldn\u2019t want to give up my spot either. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to put the team first and the country first. I think that\u2019s what we\u2019ve done well as emus. We\u2019ve prepared the boys as well as we could. <\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully the boys can finish them off 3-0.\u201d<\/p>\n
Skipper Isaah Yeo called it \u201ca bit of a reward for the guys who have been there\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never want to give away your jersey, but on the flip side is you\u2019d love to give the boys who haven\u2019t played an opportunity because they\u2019ve been fantastic for us. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think there was a fair bit of swinging both ways but in the end we\u2019re all in on this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to try and make it 3-0, that\u2019s really important for this group.\u201d<\/p>\n
WILL CHANGES SPARK ENGLAND\u2019S ATTACK?<\/p>\n
Unlike Australia, it appears England will utilise all 24 players of their squad over the course of this series after coach Shaun Wane made two changes to his line-up for the final Test. <\/p>\n
One of those is winger Dom Young, although that is a forced change. Young suffered a foot injury and has been replaced by Hull KR winger Joe Burgess. <\/p>\n
The other switch is also in the backline with Harry Newman taking the place of the Jake Wardle, who has been playing through injury in the first two Tests. <\/p>\n
England coach Shaun Wane has also confirmed exciting playmaker Mikey Lewis will see a uptick in minutes.<\/p>\n
Lewis, this year\u2019s Super League grand final man of the match, didn\u2019t play in the opening Test and only had limited minutes off the bench.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s a player who adds plenty of x-factor, which this England side is in dire need of. <\/p>\n
As Wane noted, Lewis looked lively in his stint off the bench in the second Test. <\/p>\n
\u201cI imagine Mikey is going to have more minutes,\u201d Wane said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of talk about bringing him earlier in game two. When you look at what he did, I won\u2019t hesitate this week to bring him on earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
England have scored just ten points in two games and only the one try.<\/p>\n
Lewis will at least give the Australian defensive line something extra to think about, especially close to the line.<\/p>\n
Mikey Lewis is expected to play significant minutes in the final Test.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia have won another Ashes series but are hellbent on a 3-0 whitewash with Kevin Walters\u2019 job on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[115333,156229,64,63,689,156233,156226,156234,13388,156222,4438,156224,19061,27095,156230,77724,145762,36267,4591,1208,156221,140330,2057,763,156219,30193,143706,11102,141433,5096,47910,5094,4592,144777,156225,3194,22259,4466,141429,4464,673,1736,156227,3583,677,13390,3252,129985,13391,156228,760,130928,38704,85,14869,670,11375,156232,156231,99735,156220,86279,156223],"class_list":["post-267909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-arl-commission","tag-ashes-clashrugby-league","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-defences","tag-australian-defensive-line","tag-australian-jersey","tag-australian-kangaroos","tag-brutal-england-swipe","tag-casey-mclean","tag-coaching-gig","tag-coaching-staff","tag-corey-parker","tag-crypto-theft","tag-dead-rubber","tag-deadline-passes","tag-dylan-brown","tag-dylan-edwards","tag-england","tag-english-captain","tag-english-side","tag-europe","tag-fox-league","tag-golden-boot-nominees","tag-gorden-tallis","tag-grand-final-man","tag-greg-alexander","tag-harry-newman","tag-head-knock","tag-inferior-opposition","tag-isaah-yeo","tag-jacob-preston","tag-josh-hodgson","tag-kangaroos-assistant","tag-kevin-walters","tag-match-series","tag-melbourne-storm","tag-mikey-lewis","tag-mitch-moses","tag-new-south-wales","tag-new-zealand","tag-nominee-list","tag-northern-europe","tag-oceania","tag-payne-haas","tag-player-movement","tag-professional-sport","tag-reece-walsh","tag-representative-level","tag-rugby","tag-rugby-league-ashes-live","tag-series-win","tag-sports","tag-super-league","tag-sydney","tag-tackle-busts","tag-talent-gulf","tag-three-match-contract","tag-willie-mason","tag-world-cup-gig","tag-worthy-winners","tag-yeo-returns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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