True Blue Kotoni Staggs will make his debut in the Australian Kangaroos squad for this year’s Pacific Championships, while Sky Blue Isabelle Kelly has a chance to create a little Jillaroos history.
National coaches Mal Meninga and Brad Donald have chosen their 21-player squads today for the Australian men’s (v Samoa) and women’s (v NZ Ferns) games in Townsville on 14 October.
There are 12 Harvey Norman NSW Sky Blues players in the Jillaroos squad and nine Westpac NSW Blues for the Kangaroos.
Staggs is one of three debutants in Meninga’s list and gets his chance to earn his first Test cap. All 12 Sky Blues have national honours on their resume already.
But Kelly has the chance to break clear of Sam Bremner (14 tries each) as overall leading try-scorer for the Jillaroos.
She is six tries clear of a group of three other players who were all named today for the New Zealand game – Jess Sergis, Emma Tonegato and Maroons winger Julia Robinson (all with eight each).
The Kangaroos have three members from Penrith’s NRL premiership-winning team - Nathan Cleary Liam Martin and Isaah Yeo – while Payne Haas and Staggs are with the runners-up Brisbane Broncos.
The other four NSW Blues players are Josh Addo-Carr, Cameron Murray, James Tedesco and Jake Trbojevic.
From the NRLW winning Newcastle team are Sky Blues’ Yasmin Clydsdale and Caitlan Johnston, while runners-up Gold Coast Titans are represented by Shaylee Bent and Jaime Chapman.
The remaining eight Sky Blues in the 2023 Jillaroos squad are: Kezie Apps, Kennedy Cherrington, Keeley Davis, Kelly, Olivia Kernick, Simaima Taufa, Sergis, and Tonegato.
In addition to the 14 October Tests, the Kangaroos (v NZ Kiwis) and Jillaroos (v NZ Ferns) play in Melbourne on 28 October.
The Kangaroos and Jillaroos teams (in alphabetical order) with NSW players highlighted (* denotes debutant):
Kangaroos -
Josh Addo-Carr
Patrick Carrigan
Daly Cherry-Evans
Nathan Cleary
Selwyn Cobbo*
Lindsay Collins
Reuben Cotter
Tino Fa’asumaleaui
Tom Flegler
Harry Grant
Payne Haas
Valentine Holmes
Ben Hunt
Liam Martin
Cameron Munster
Cameron Murray
Kotoni Staggs*
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow*
James Tedesco
Jake Trbojevic
Isaah Yeo
Jillaroos -
Tarryn Aiken
Kezie Apps
Shaylee Bent
Ali Brigginshaw
Lauren Brown
Jaime Chapman
Kennedy Cherrington
Yasmin Clydsdale
Keeley Davis
Jess Elliston
Caitlan Johnston
Isabelle Kelly
Olivia Kernick
Emma Manzelmann
Shannon Mato
Evania Pelite
Julia Robinson
Jess Sergis
Simaima Taufa
Emma Tonegato
Tamika Upton
