THE talk is Beau Scott is not really in contention for the Anzac Test.

Too old, doesn’t offer enough in attack.

Which should make compelling viewing on Saturday night when the Parramatta enforcer runs out in Townsville to square up on his old sparring partner Johnathan Thurston — and his bodyguard Gavin Cooper, who is also being talked up for a Kangaroos debut.

Alongside Scott will be Kieran Foran who, in a couple of weeks, will be running out for the Kiwis in the May 6 Test in Newcastle.

Asked if he’d hate to mark up against Scott playing in a green and gold jumper, Foran laughed: “Yeah, he is a grumpy shit. I mean, he is just out to kill everyone on the field.’’

For years, Scott’s teammates have nicknamed him Milat, as in Ivan. It’s a joke, kind of.

At pre-season training just after he joined Parramatta, Scott’s no-holds-barred approach was basically responsible for the latest knee injury that ended Anthony Watmough’s career.

Scott makes no apology for the way he plays, or trains.

“I know a couple of the boys here, not having a go at me, but have a laugh because I go one pace at training but that’s the way I am,” he said.

Asked about the Watmough incident, Scott reasoned: “That’s how it is.

“Obviously you have to compete hard at training otherwise you get into bad habits on the field.”

But seriously, Foran is a fan. And in awe of a player who has to get his own painkilling injections every time he runs to help dull a shoulder injury Scott has been carrying since the round-three win over the Bulldogs.

“He is a great bloke. He has been great for this team,” Foran said.

“His intensity, his want to win and his desire at training has rubbed off on everyone.”

We all saw that desire first-hand last weekend in the Eels’ win over Manly when Tom Trbojevic found himself in the clear with the tryline in front of him. From nowhere, Scott came charging.

As the ball spewed out of Trbojevic’s hands, no one could quite comprehend how the 31-year-old got to his 19-year-old opponent in the first place.

“I don’t know if he tripped in a pothole,” Scott said, with not even the smallest hint of a smile.

“Honestly, my first reaction was just to try to run him off the middle of the field to make him score a little bit further out so the conversion was a bit harder. But I think Semi (Radradra) picked him up on the tail and pushed him over so I was fortunate enough that he ran towards me.”

But as Foran explained, at this level the great players make their own luck.

“He does things in a game that change the game if you know what I mean,” Foran said.

“He is just that tough. He just never gives up on anything, he never wants anyone to cross that line.

“That is one of the main differences why our (defensive) line is the way it is.”

And you can bet Scott will have added incentive when he goes up against Thurston, who he has had a running battle with for years.

“I wouldn’t say I love playing him but he presents a challenge,” Scott said.

“The best player in the world.’’