New Australia boss Kevin Walters has dismissed reports that he’s ‘concerned’ about State of Origin players defecting from Australia to tier two nations ahead of the autumn Ashes series.
Walters was announced as the new coach of the national side earlier in the week, and he believes that they have more than enough talent to cover any players that they might lose.
With rumours swirling that Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Payne Haas are all considering a switch to represent Samoa for the Pacific Championships at the end of the season and next year’s Rugby League World Cup.
Speaking on Australian channel Nine’s Today show, Walters said: “I’m not really concerned about that. We’ve got great depth in the Australian team and the Australian players.
“We’ve seen that through the State of Origin with the amount of talent coming through in Australia. It’s absolutely amazing.
“If they want to choose to play for other nations, I really don’t have a problem with that.
“We have great depth in the Australian rugby league community, our playing staff and our rosters, and all the clubs in the NRL have produced so many good players in the last five to 10 years.”
New Australian boss on players opting to represent tier 2 nations over Australia
Whilst Walters would be sad to lose any player who wants to represent another international side, he also respects those who choose to play for tier two nations.
He added:Â “I totally respect players who want to play for some of the Pasifika nations. I totally respect and understand.
“But I will be making some phone calls to those players and saying what my plans are for the future of the Kangaroos and particularly this upcoming series in the Ashes.
“I’m not going to try to convince these players because that’ll be a decision that they make.
“I’m just going to outline my thoughts and my ideas around the Kangaroos and us moving forward as a group.”
