Nathan Cleary is tipped to partner Daly Cherry-Evans at the scrumbase for the Kangaroos against Italy in their World Cup pool match on Sunday morning (AEDT).
Coach Mal Meninga will name his side for Australia’s final pool match at 6pm (AEDT) Thursday as the tournament favourites approach the sudden death stages of the competition.
The opposing Origin halfbacks will play in the halves together for the first time in an audition to play alongside Cameron Munster, who is viewed as one of few selection certainties in Meninga’s first-choice 17.
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After Cleary’s 28-point effort on debut against Scotland, momentum is building for the Panthers premiership-winner to edge incumbent halfback Cherry-Evans for the big games.
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Munster is expected to be rested against Italy, with Meninga offering Cleary and the Manly playmaker a chance to impress.
During Australia’s main field session in Manchester, Cherry-Evans interchanged with Cleary at first receiver, with the Penrith star confirming the unusual halves combination to be used.
“We’re going to mix it up a bit,” Cleary said.
“We’ll just see how it’s going and who’s got the flow at the time.
“Daly is so good I can float around and work off him, it’s something new for both of us.
“I wear No.14 and he wears No.2. The idea for us is that we’re wanting to work together as much as we can.
“It’s not going to be so much left and right, split like that.”
Just who will be calling the shots on game day is still unknown for the Aussies. Cleary has only ever been the chief playmaker for Penrith and NSW, while Cherry-Evans has played utility roles off the bench for Australia and Queensland.
Cleary confirmed neither he or Cherry-Evans have spoken about who will take charge during the match.
“It’s the question that will have to be answered on game day,” he said.
“I thought we did pretty well in training and it’s important that we trained well together and get the confidence that we can do it alongside each other.
“By no means are we trying to outdo each other or anything like that. We want to combine well and do what’s best for the jersey.
“I think that’s been the beauty of this team so far.
“There’s no individuals or ego taking over to try and make themselves look better.
“It’s about the team looking better.”
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