Australia v Tonga: Meninga confident new blood will deliver

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga is confident that Lindsay Smith and Hudson Young are ready to step up, with the inexperienced duo named in Australia’s team to take on Tonga in the Pacific Cup final in Sydney this Sunday.

Smith is yet to be capped for the Kangaroos and will debut off the bench, while Young has played limited minutes from the interchange but gets a spot in the run-on side this weekend.

“I have watched Lindsay for a long time, and he has always been a player of great promise,” Meninga said on Wednesday.

“He has had a great last couple of years obviously, he knows how to win, and he has been great around the group.

“He loves putting the green and gold jersey on, he loves the environment, and he has great energy.

“Lindsay is one of the best young front-rowers coming through the game.”

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Meninga was impressed with what he saw of Young during his brief cameo against New Zealand in Australia’s most recent game.

“We put him in the middle last week when we were fatigued, we had made a lot of tackles, and he handled the middle really well,” he said.

“With Cam Murray out injured, it was the natural progression to move Hudson into the starting side.

“He is passionate, aggressive, he loves playing the game and he’s a great student of the game.

“He has a lot to prove starting the game but I’m certain he is up for the challenge.”

Australia are heavy favourites with rugby league betting sites to defeat Tonga and claim their second Pacific Cup title.

Top bookmaker Bet365 has the Kangaroos at $1.11 to win the match, with Tonga paying long odds of $6.50.

But Meninga is well aware of the challenge facing his side, given Tonga’s physicality and the confidence they possess after upsetting the Kiwis last weekend.

“Our guys are fully aware of the battle in front of us,” he said.

“We are up for it. We won’t be shy.

“The whole Tonga team will be buzzing, knowing they can compete at this level.

“There will be a sea of red in the crowd which is great for the game.

“We are passionate about our jersey as well and we will be in there fighting.”

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