Nickname Australia Region Oceania Captain Tevita Pangai Junior | Governing body ARLC Head coach Justin Holbrook | |
The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL and Holden Cup. They are administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission.
Contents
History
Prior to 2010, the Junior Kangaroos was selected on an under 19 age basis. The best Australian players 19 years of age or younger, would represent the country against the likes of the Junior Kiwis, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, sometimes as curtain raisers to the senior Kangaroos games. Players such as Greg Bird, Matt Bowen, Justin Hodges, Luke Lewis, Jamie Lyon, Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston represented the Junior Kangaroos early in their careers and went on to play at the senior level for Australia. The last Junior Kangaroos side selected under the under 19 rules was in 2007. This would be the last Junior Kangaroos team until 2010.
In 2010, with the advent of the National Youth Competition, the Junior Kangaroos was switched to an under 20s team and played in a two Test series against the Junior Kiwis. Since 2011, the Junior Kangaroos have faced the Junior Kiwis at the end of each season in a one off Test match, usually as a curtain raiser to a senior level Australia-New Zealand Test match.
1st Test
Played as a curtain raiser to the New Zealand-England Four Nations match.
Teams
JUNIOR KIWIS: 1. Glen Fisiiahi 2. Bill Tupou 3. Siuatonga Likiliki 4. Dean Whare 5. Drury Low 6. Carlos Tuimavave 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Lama Tasi 9. Matt McIlwrick 10. Martin Taupau (c) 11. Jason Taumalolo 12. Mark Ioane 13. Sebastine Ikahihifo 14. Sam Mataora 15. Nafe Seluini 16. Sam Lousi 17. Isaac Maliota. Coach: David Kidwell.
JUNIOR KANGAROOS: 1. Dane Gagai 2. Michael Oldfield 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Ben Jones (c) 5. Josh Mansour 6. Corey Norman 7. Sam Williams 8. James Cunningham 9. Cameron King 10. Evrett Vaurasi 11. Mark Nicholls 12. Josh Jackson 13. Gerard Beale 14. Matthew Wright 15. Tariq Sims 16. Mark Appleton 17. Kyle O'Donnell. Coach: David Hamilton.
2nd Test
Played as a curtain raiser to the New Zealand-Papua New Guinea Four Nations match.
Teams
JUNIOR KIWIS: 1. Glen Fisiiahi 2. Bill Tupou 3. Siuatonga Likiliki 4. Drury Low 5. Kane Morgan 6. Carlos Tuimavave 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Mark Ioane 9. Matt McIlwrick 10. Martin Taupau (c) 11. Sam Mataora 12. Lama Tasi 13. Sebastine Ikahihifo 14. Nafe Seluini 15. Sam Lousi 16. Isaac Maliota 17. Pakisonasi Afu . Coach: David Kidwell.
JUNIOR KANGAROOS: 1. Dane Gagai 2. Michael Oldfield 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Ben Jones (c) 5. Nathan Massey 6. Corey Norman 7. Sam Williams 8. James Cunningham 9. Cameron King 10. Tariq Sims 11. Mark Nicholls 12. Josh Jackson 13. Gerard Beale 14. Dominic Walsh 15. Mark Appleton 16. Matthew Wright 17. Kyle O'Donnell. Coach: David Hamilton.
2011 match
Played as a curtain raiser to the Australia-New Zealand pre-Four Nations tournament match. Both coaches agreed to allow an 18th man be used during the match.
2012 match
Played as a curtain raiser to the Australia-New Zealand end of year Test match.
2015 match
Played as a curtain raiser to the Papua New Guinea-Fiji Melanesian Cup match and the Samoa-Tonga Polynesian Cup match.
2016 match
Played as a curtain raiser to the Papua New Guinea-Fiji Melanesian Cup match and the Samoa-Tonga Polynesian Cup match.