Townsville Bulletin

No guarantees for Inglis

- TRAVIS MEYN

GREG Inglis may never captain Australia after Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga admitted the skipper duties were Boyd Cordner’s to lose.

Inglis’s 24- hour reign as Kangaroos captain ended on Tuesday after he was suspended for Australia’s upcoming two Tests for alleged drinkdrivi­ng.

The suspension means Inglis could go up to three years without playing a Test match after the Queensland Origin captain missed last year’s World Cup with a knee injury.

Inglis’s 39th and most recent appearance for the Kangaroos was in November 2016 during the Four Nations in England.

If Australia does not play a mid- year Test in 2019, he will be approachin­g 33 when the end- of- year tours roll around.

Meninga, who was in Brisbane with the Prime Minister’s XIII, said he could not guarantee Inglis would be appointed captain next year.

“It’s hard to say,” he said. “I want to see Greg have a really strong off- season and start the year well for the Rabbitohs.

“He’ll lead Queensland next year and then we’ll make some decisions at the back end of next year about who our leaders and captain will be. “It’s a maybe. “I’ve got great admiration for Greg. I highly respect him and love him dearly.

“He was really excited about the role, to be the first ( full- time) indigenous captain since Arthur Beetson.

“He’s really disappoint­ed in himself. But the true character of him, he’s taken it on the chin.”

Cordner, 26, is in the peak of his career, having captained NSW to a breakthrou­gh Origin series win this year before leading the Roosters to the NRL premiershi­p.

The hard- running backrower shapes as a long- term successor to Cameron Smith in the captaincy role if he can impress in the upcoming Tests against the Kiwis and Tonga in New Zealand.

“It’s great that Boyd Cord- ner gets the opportunit­y to captain his country. He’s had a terrific year and is a great role model,” Meninga said.

“Boyd was always going to be a leader in our team.

“There is no greater accolade than having the ‘ c’ beside your name with a green and gold jersey on.

“It’s a natural progressio­n for him. He will handle it really well.

“He was excited when I told him about the decision. He was disappoint­ed for Greg as well.

“He would have loved Greg to be playing, but he’s accepted it and we know he’s going to do a terrific job.”

Meninga said the Kangaroos did not condone Inglis’s alleged misdemeano­urs after introducin­g behavioura­l standards.

“It is a criminal offence,” he said. “He genuinely thought he was sober getting behind the wheel.

“It’s a good lesson for everyone.

“You just don’t get behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol.”

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