Hookers joust for World Cup berth
WHO gets on the plane next month to England for Australia’s World Cup squad is a hot topic and a potential audition for the No.9 jersey looms this week when Damien Cook and Api Koroisau face off in the preliminary final.
Cook (pictured) is the incumbent from Australia’s last match in 2019 but Koroisau has been the best rake this season and relegated his Rabbitohs rival to the bench for the last two games of this year’s State of Origin series.
Queenslanders Harry Grant and Ben Hunt will also probably be selected, with the Dragons skipper also able to play in the halves or in a roaming lock position.
“Everyone wants to play the World Cup,” Cook said.
“Everyone wants to play representative footy because it’s the greatest honour in our game to wear that green and gold jersey.
“That’s after the season is done so let’s get this done first and move on from there.
“There’s a big game in front of us at the moment and the grand final is something we want to do here.”
South Sydney’s hopes of getting to the grand final are still alive after they thumped the Sharks at Allianz Stadium to reach the final four for the fifth year in a row.
They’re the only team in the competition to have made the past five preliminary finals, but they don’t have any silverware to show for it, having reached just one decider in that time.
That was last year’s heartbreaking loss to Penrith, and they have the chance to avenge that defeat when they play at Accor Stadium next Saturday.
“We understand what it takes to win a grand final now,” Cook said. “We’ve got to use that experience from the past to motivate us as well. The job’s not done.”
Beating Penrith is rugby league’s version of climbing Mt Everest, but the Rabbitohs showed it’s possible when they edged them in the opening week of last year’s finals.
They completed at 84 per cent that night and hounded halfback Nathan Cleary every time he touched the ball, but they’ll have to improve their completion rate after making 13 errors in the win over the Sharks.