Ben Hunt dragged into 'strange' Mal Meninga move after New Zealand cop revenge warning

Mal Meninga's decision to name an unchanged side against New Zealand this week has left one NRL great perplexed with Ben Hunt's absence a real talking point in the Pacific Championship. Meninga came under pressure to make changes, despite Australia's 18-0 victory over Tonga, after a lack of cohesion in the new-look Kangaroos spine. In particular, Mitchell Moses came under scrutiny after a lacklustre debut for his nation.

Matt Burton and Hudson Young didn't enter the game until the very end of the match, which also raised eyebrows. Young entered in the 68th minute in the second-row, while Burton was introduced as lock with Reuben Cotter filling in at No.9 for Harry Grant. Burton's introduction at lock with nine-minutes to go was perplexing with plenty suggesting Hunt would be better used on the bench having been part of the one-two combination with Grant for years in the State of Origin arena.

Although it appears Meninga was happy with his side's make-up and has opted to give the team another chance to prove their worth in attack. Despite his loyalty to his chosen 17, former Kangaroos star Corey Parker has deemed it 'strange' a number of players chosen in the squad appear unlikely to get any game time.

Hunt, Reece Robson, Lindsey Smith and Bradman Best are set to be involved in the Kangaroos squad, but not take part in a game in the 2024 Pacific Championship. If Australia defeat New Zealand, this will see them advance to the final and Meninga most likely won't experiment after this.

And Parker feels Meninga missed out on an opportunity to hand a number of future stars their debut in the group stage of the international tournament. "Mal Meninga has kept the same team...which poses the question they might go through this whole tournament and not even play, which is strange," Parker said of the players yet to be named in the 17.

"The whole reason you pick a squad, is to have a view to play them. At the moment, Reece Robson, he went through the emotion of being picked on the Australian team, but he may not even play. They might go through the tournament and not play."

While Parker was surprised a number of players might not get their debut, he also admitted the New Zealand side has its 'challenges'. Jahrome Hughes won't play for New Zealand due to injury with a number of other huge names missing for their opener against Australia.

Corey Parker questions NZ side for Kangaroos clash

While Parker admitted the Kangaroos' attack failed to click against Tonga, he claimed New Zealand face their own concerns as they look to make it two in a row against Australia having won the final 30-0 last year. "The New Zealand side has certainly got their challenges...Australia when you look at it on paper are heavy favourites. They should win," Parker added.

Their halves have taken a toll with Dylan Brown and Hughes both missing for the Pacific Championship. This has seen Shaun Johnson come out of NRL retirement and answer the call for New Zealand. “I just don’t know if he will have the same input that he has had," Parker said of Johnson's return.

RELATED:

• Michael Maguire addresses Ezra Mam's Broncos future amid crash saga

• Luai detail singled out as Talagi makes bold call on Panthers switch

• Michael Maguire in shock Reece Walsh confession ahead of $5m move

Kangaroos No.9 Harry Grant was full of praise for Johnson for coming out of retirement to help his nation and was looking forward to the match-up. "It’s exciting that Shaun Johnson put his hand up to play for his country and how much New Zealand and the game of rugby league means to him,” Grant said. "It’s pretty impressive. We are excited to go up against Shaun in a test match.”