Roos name team for tri nations game 4

[Super Cronk]

A Minichiello (Sydney Roosters)
M King (Melbourne)
M Gasnier (St George Illawarra)
M Cooper (St George Illawarra)
B Tate (Brisbane)
D Lockyer (Brisbane, capt)
S Prince (Wests Tigers)
S Price (NZ Warriors)
D Buderus (Newcastle)
P Civoniceva (Brisbane)
L O?Donnell (North Queensland)
C Fitzgibbon (Sydney Roosters)
B Kennedy (Manly).

Substitutes (from): T Barrett (St George Illawarra), J Ryles (St George Illawarra), M O?Meley (Canterbury), W Mason (Canterbury), N Hindmarsh (Parramatta)

Congrats to Prince for making the side...i knew he would. And sad to see grothe miss out.

[DeeGan]

Just awesome, simply awesome, great to see Scott Prince get rewarded for his 2005 season. It would of been very easy for him to pack up shop after being dumped by QLD, he didn't, he is our new Austraian halfback.

Five man bench? What is the forum word for that...meh?

Drop Petero, start O'Meley or Ryles and there is your 17 man team.

DeeGan

[Super Cronk]

I think the 5 man bench is because hindmarsh might still be under a injury cloud.

[..::Coops::..]

YAY!!! Scotty Prince is in teh team!!! really glad they put him in

[Sharks]

Team looks very solid all over the park,Prince deserved the #7 the whole tour.He will be the X factor!

[Dakink]

If it was me Id be saying bye bye Willie. Petero at least works his effort and gives an honest toil. Petero may not be as effective as he used to be but he can be relied on where as Mason ... I shudder to think.

[DIEHARD]

I'm fairly happy with the team.

Very happy to see Scott Prince wear the green and gold, he has come so far.

How about that Queensland halves combination.

I can't wait until the weekend to see that team rip the Lions apart.

[DIEHARD]

Prince out to enjoy Test debut

Scott Prince is determined not to put too much pressure on himself after being given the opportunity to stake a long-term claim on the prized Australian No.7 jersey.

Prince capped a dream year when he was selected to make his debut for the Kangaroos in Saturday's Tri Nations rugby league Test against Great Britain at Wigan's JJB Stadium.

Having beaten seasoned Test duo Craig Gower and Trent Barrett to the spot, the 25-year-old could secure a long tenure with Andrew Johns no certainty to return to representative football following his latest knee injury.

That's quite a turnaround for a player who was overlooked by Queensland for this year's State of Origin series when Dally M Player of the Year Johnathan Thurston was preferred.

"It's a really big opportunity but I don't want to put too much pressure on myself," said Prince.

Very few moments could top Prince's Clive Churchill Medal-winning performance when he captained Wests Tigers to victory in last month's NRL grand final.

But there's not much doubt getting the nod from Kangaroos coach Wayne Bennett ranks right up there.

"It's reaching the representative pinnacle of rugby league," said Prince, still wearing his grand final-winning grin.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd get to play for Australia.

"The dream as a kid was to play for Queensland and I've accomplished that.

"The next thing was to win a premiership, and I've accomplished that as well.

"To get the opportunity to play for Australia is unbelievable."

Prince's elevation to Test status comes after a trying period in his life. After breaking his leg twice during an ill-fated three-year stint with Brisbane, the cruellest blow came when his father, Sam, was killed in a motorbike accident.

However, the Tigers playmaker credits the tough times with forging the resilience he needed to succeed at the elite level.

"Leaving the Broncos gave me the challenge I needed after such a bad run with injuries," he said.

"While I would loved to have stayed, it's proved a great decision.

"I just have to keep enjoying my football, that's the key for me.

"I didn't play State of Origin, but the big games, the semi finals and winning the grand final, you don't get too many bigger games than that."

Bennett will be keen for Prince to form a combination with five-eighth Darren Lockyer as damaging as the partnership with Benji Marshall that swept the Tigers to an unlikely premiership.

"He had an outstanding second half of the season and he captained the Tigers to the premiership. It's a fitting reward," Bennett said.

Meanwhile the Australian coach says counterpart Brian Noble could save himself a lot of time and effort by getting some video tapes of Tim Mander if he's that concerned by his likely ruck rulings.

The ruck area is pivotal to both country's chances of making the grand final at Elland Road in Leeds on November 26.

Noble gave Kiwi referee Glen Black a spray after New Zealand manhandled his players to win 42-26 last weekend, suggesting his team were playing to different ruck rules than their rivals.

Noble wants "Mr Mander" to declare how he will referee the ruck this weekend against Australia.

A diplomatic Bennett was reluctant to criticise the Tri Nations referees.

"When the players work out a ref's interpretations they take it to the absolute hilt and that's what I saw last Saturday night," Bennett said. "I didn't think he was biased.

"The ruck area has become a disaster and that leads to aggravation.

"We had to play under the English referee for two games and we didn't carry on questioning him.

"He just got out and had fun and we saw two great Test matches."

"I wouldn't worry about questioning him, I go and watch a few videos. Tim's not going to change, well hopefully he's not, because he referees a style we're used to playing."


Brought to you by AAP and http://www.NRL.com

[Steelers]

Out of the bench, Mason should be omitted. Grothe should be there over Tate as well.

[Super Cronk]

petro needs to go.

[Steelers]

petro needs to go.

I think that both Fitzgibbon and Petero should go, but with the side presented to me, Mason should be omitted from the bench.

[Dakink]

I agree with Steelers but who will kick for us? Lockyer has shown he is average with the boot. No-one else there that I am aware of can kick....

[ridgey]

same team + princey no real surprise.bench is interesting i'd be going ryles,hindmarsh,barrett,mason.and if hindmarsh is not fit for gods sake pick ben creagh.
prince kicks goals occasionally as well dakink.

[Chaos]

same team + princey no real surprise.bench is interesting i'd be going ryles,hindmarsh,barrett,mason.and if hindmarsh is not fit for gods sake pick ben creagh.

I'll with you Ridgy, get Ben Creagh amoungst it all.
Fitzgibbon has had his time...start Creagh at this level now, he knows he can be an impack even at this stage of his career.

I know I have said Barrett deserved the Aust. 5/8 spot over Lockyer but I can't what to see Lockyer play with Prince.
All you Lockyer fans will love this!

I also thought Price wasn't tuff enough against the Kiwis pack?O?Meley and Ryles were our best props
I do think however, Price can match it against any other forward pack and will play well against the GB side, even though I haven?t seen the GB play.

If our forward pack rolls even slightly on top of the GB side, our backs will shine next game.

[PARANoIR]

How the hell can Petero keep his spot ahead of O'Meley or Ryles..thats a joke.