Cameron Smith will play his 50th test for Australia when the Kangaroos play New Zealand on May 5th. Among the squad are the usual suspects. Unfortunately though there are too many usual suspects in the Kangaroos selection.

The team is no surprise considering Meninga said he would be picking those who did the job in the four nations in 2016. To a degree this is understandable, under a short turn around Meninga and his staff want the team to quickly fall into rhythm and structure without blooding a lot of talent.

The major problem here is – at its core the idea of being awarded a representative jersey is (and should be) that the player is regarded as the best in their position. The debate about who should have been selected always divides fans. No matter whom you ask, people always have differing opinions.

The other question to pose is – if you don’t bring new players into the system now, when do you do it? Surely the world cup at the end of the year is not the time to be blooding new talent.

There must be players out there scratching their heads wondering what more do I need to do? So let’s analyse the team.

Fullback: Darius Boyd

Hard to argue against Boyd here. Slater hasn’t had enough games back to press and Hayne, although impressive on the weekend for the Titans, hasn’t done enough. Tedesco’s mind has been on other things lately and it’s showing in his game.

The closest to Boyd is Trbojevic, who will represent one day. But the youngster will have to wait his turn. Although Boyd hasn’t lit up the world in the opening rounds, no one really has. He deserves his spot.

Wing: Ferguson/Holmes

Blake Ferguson has been ‘so so’ in the opening rounds and hasn’t really shown blistering form. He is a player who rises in big games. However there are edge players on form ahead of Ferguson at the moment.

Oates came on for the Broncos last weekend and I am surprised wasn’t selected. Likewise Trbojevic and even a player like Josh Addo-Carr would be ahead of Ferguson on form. He has been playing out of skin for Melbourne.

On the other edge Valentine Holmes has been impressive for the Sharks. Even though he is a fullback now, he is a future star of the game and will do his job.

Centres: Dugan/Chambers

Will Chambers has been solid in the opening rounds for Melbourne, but there are still players, on form, who are leaps ahead of where Chambers is at the moment.

Dugan is one of the more puzzling selections. Not only is he under an injury cloud, he only plays centre for Australia and New South Wales. Leilua should have been one of the first names picked. Then if you go on form it would be Bird and Croker. You could even make an argument for Gagai against Chambers and Dugan. And the list goes on…

The centres are where Australia have got it really wrong.

Halves: Cronk/Thurston (Maloney)

No argument here. Still the premier playmakers in the game. Maloney spot on as Thurston’s back up.

Back Row: Merrin/Gillett/Cordner

There is only one Kangaroos selection out of place here and that is Merrin. His form has slumped considerably in 2017. There is a list of backrowers as long as your arm that should be there before him. For my money, Papalii should be on the run on side in place of Merrin. Purely because Australia need some stopping power against Jason Taumalolo and that would bring Wade graham into the side onto the bench.

The fact that Graham is not in Australias best 17 and also couldn’t even make it into the 20 man squad is just plain…weird. Gillett has carried the Broncos forward pack this year and Cordner is as solid as a brick.

Front Row: Woods/Smith/Klemmer

Woods’ man of the match performance for the Tigers last weekend couldn’t have come at a better time. Klemmer another puzzling inclusion. Klemmer doesn’t run on for the Bulldogs. And although you need crazy eyed enforcers from time to time, it’s hard to argue he has been in better form than Fifita, Vaughan and even Shannon Boyd.

Fifita is still ostracised from his off field antics that let him down and saw him miss the 4 nations. Time will tell if he can keep his act clean. Part of making the Kangaroos selection is representing your country on and off the field. But boy oh boy has Fifita got all the tools. His name must have surely been hard to leave off the table.

The Bench: Morgan/Papalii/Frizell/Thaiday

The two puzzling names here are Morgan and Frizell. Frizell hasn’t recaptured his form from 2016. And apart from the players mentioned above, Graham and Boyd even Jack De Belin, Frizell’s counterpart at the Dragons is playing better at the moment.

Morgan is all over the shop. Mostly because he has to lead the Cowboys in Thurston’s absence and he is having trouble adapting. But even when he runs the ball he doesn’t seem to have the same punch in his game.

For utility players there are, again, names leaps and bounds ahead of Morgan. Jack Bird again comes up. Cherry, Evans and even Corey Norman who can play a number of positions would be ahead of Morgan on form.

Slammin Sam Thaiday has been solid as ever and will turn out again for Australia.

BeyondTheGame.TV’s Kangaroos Selection

So there you have it, if we picked on form the Kangaroos selection would look very different:

Boyd Oates Croker/Bird Leilua Holmes Thurston/Maloney Cronk Fifita Smith Boyd Cordner Gillett Papalii Cherry Evans Graham Thaiday Vaughan

What does your Kangaroos selection look like? Let us know in the comments below.

by Darrin Seath – contributor