Cronulla Sharks pair Valentine Holmes and James Maloney have even more to celebrate after being named in the Australian squad for the Four Nations tournament.
Two days after Cronulla’s historic grand final victory over Melbourne, Holmes and Maloney were named by Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga to potentially make their international debuts in the United Kingdom with matches against England, New Zealand and Scotland.
St George Illawarra pair Josh Dugan and Tyson Frizell were also named in the Australia squad, with Frizell rewarded for his outstanding individual season which included State of Origin selection for NSW.
The squad for the Test match against New Zealand in Perth on October 15 will be chosen from the 24-man Four Nations squad.
The Four Nations start on October 29 (AEDT), with Australia playing Scotland at the KC Lighstream Stadium in Hull.
The final will be played at Anfield in Liverpool on November 21 (AEDT).
Australia will have seven potential debutants with Frizell, Holmes and Maloney joined by Shannon Boyd, Jake Friend, Matt Moylan and Justin O’Neill.
Meninga said the squad chosen reflected a new era for the Kangaroos.
“This squad has been selected for the present but with an eye to the future,” he said.
“It is extremely heartening to see the players buy in and the quality of the players available highlights that.
“We have very experienced Test players as well as some outstanding young players who have big futures in the green and gold.”
NRL CEO Todd Greenberg said the selectors had been informed that Cronulla’s grand final-winning prop Andrew Fifita and Parramatta winger Semi Radradra were not eligible for selection for the tournament.
“In Semi's case, while he has pleaded not guilty, he has [police] charges to answer at the end of the tournament,” Greenberg said.
“We don't want either him or the team to be distracted by this matter and have decided he will not be eligible for selection on this occasion.
“In Andrew's case, selection for the Australian team requires standards on and off the field and as he is currently under investigation by the Integrity Unit, we believe he still has some way to go to meet those off field standards.”
2016 Kangaroos squad:
Cameron Smith (C) (Melbourne Storm), Darius Boyd (Brisbane Broncos), Shannon Boyd (Canberra Raiders), Boyd Cordner (Sydney Roosters), Cooper Cronk (Melbourne Storm), Josh Dugan (St George Illawarra Dragons), Blake Ferguson (Sydney Roosters), Jake Friend (Sydney Roosters), Tyson Frizell (St George Illawarra Dragons), Matt Gillett (Brisbane Broncos), Valentine Holmes (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), Greg Inglis (South Sydney Rabbitohs), David Klemmer (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), James Maloney (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), Josh Mansour (Penrith Panthers), Trent Merrin (Penrith Panthers), Michael Morgan (North Queensland Cowboys), Matt Moylan (Penrith Panthers), Justin O’Neill (North Queensland Cowboys), Josh Papalii (Canberra Raiders), Matt Scott (North Queensland Cowboys), Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos), Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys), Aaron Woods (Wests Tigers)