Australia head for semi-final with a half-back conundrum | John Davidson
Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWCPhotograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWCT
To Cleary or not to Cleary, that is the question that has been keeping Meninga from getting his eight hours every night these past three weeks. It’s a classic case of young vs old, newcomer vs veteran, New South Welshman vs Queenslander, even brunette vs blond, if you like. On the one hand is Cleary, 24, the Penrith Panther who led his team to three NRL grand finals in the past three years, winning two of them, and to some the best player on the planet.
But Cleary, given the chance to shine, made an auspicious start in Huddersfield. In the second minute he hooked a kick straight into touch. Two minutes later his attempt to convert Josh Addo-Carr’s try hit a post. He made no mistake in the 16th minute when nailed the conversion for Addo-Carr’s second, which was right in front of the posts.
Australia made short change of Lebanon at the John Smith’s Stadium, racing to an 30-0 first half lead, before piling on 18 mote points in the second half. At half-time Cherry-Evans came on for Tedesco, who suffered a cork, with Munster moving to full-back. It showed the versatility of the Sea Eagles star, and the benefit of having a fluid spine able to move seamlessly across positions.
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