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 Brett
Kimmorley will lead Australia for the first
time on Saturday night in Townsville, as the
Kangaroos line-up against Papua New Guinea
in a warm-up clash prior to the Tri-Nations
later in the month in the U.K.
Home-town
hero Matt Bowen will wear the number 1 jersey
and don the green and gold for the first time,
with three other debutants in Matt Cooper,
Luke Rooney and Tonie Carroll. Carroll will
partner Brent Tate in the centres and was
the centre of much attention recently for
becoming the first player in 90-odd years
to represent both New Zealand and Australia.
There
are also six Junior Kangaroo's in the team
making their senior representative debut's
in an exciting concept for the game in Australia.
This will make the match more interesting,
with the Kumuls used to copping a hiding from
the Aussies, and the juniors taking part will
be exposed to a great standard of footy.
The
entire bench is comprised from the Junior
squad, along with Ben Creagh and Heath L'Estrange
who are starting at second-row and hooker
respectively.
In
other news, St George Illawarra utility Shaun
Timmins has been given a late reprieve by
selectors following the withdrawal of Sydney's
Michael Crocker. The Rooster hit-man has been
ruled out with a neck injury, giving rise
to Timmins whose omission last Sunday night
was a little controversial.
Timmins
now has to cut short his post-season holiday
to Bali and get on a plane to the UK.
The
Team v PNG reads as follows:
Matt Bowen
Matt Cooper
Brent Tate
Tonie Carroll
Luke Rooney
Scott Hill
Brett Kimmorley (c)
Ben Kennedy
Ben Creagh
Nathan Hindmarsh
Jason Ryles
Heath L'Estrange
Petero Civoniceva
Interchange: Berrick Barnes, Sam Thaiday,
Keith Galloway and Tom Learoyd.
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