The Kangaroos will be forced to apply for special dispensation to bring in a World Cup replacement player, should they be forced into any changes following Saturday's three-way warm-up match against Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

Final 24-man squads for the tournament must be lodged by Friday, a day before the warm-up game in Fiji, and last-minute adjustments through injury or otherwise will need to be approved by World Cup officials before being given the green light.

If necessary, Australian coach Mal Meninga would therefore be required to scour a weakened NRL player pool to bolster his side given so much talent has already committed to smaller World Cup nations.

He would likely favour players from clubs which made a deep run into the NRL finals and who would still retain a higher degree of match fitness to carry them through the near six-week long tournament.