[FONT="]Nine players involved in Sunday's NRL grand final and six yet to play a Test have been named today in a 23-man squad for the Kiwis’ one-off international against Australia on October 16 and the 2011 Four Nations to follow in England.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Fullback Kevin Locke, halfback Shaun Johnson and prop Russell Packer have all been selected after featuring for the Vodafone Warriors in their NRL grand final loss to Manly last Sunday.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The other three yet to play for the Kiwis are Brisbane utility Gerard Beale, his Broncos team-mate and back rower Alex Glenn and Melbourne’s Kevin Proctor, another back row forward.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Locke was selected for the Kiwis’ 2009 Four Nations campaign but didn’t play a match while Beale was 19th man for the Kiwis in this year’s Anzac Test and Glenn was in the Anzac Test squad in 2009 and 2010 but didn’t make the playing line-up.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A total of nine players involved in Sunday’s NRL grand final, including seven Vodafone Warriors, have been chosen. Named from the premiership-winning Manly side are standoff Kieran Foran and centre Matai, the latter returning after missing last year’s victorious Four Nations campaign.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Apart from Locke, Johnson and Packer, the other Vodafone Warriors players are centre/second rower Lewis Brown – who made his Test debut in this year’s Anzac Test – second rower Simon Mannering, prop Ben Matulino and winger Manu Vatuvei. Vatuvei hasn’t played for the Kiwis since breaking his arm in the opening minutes of the Kiwis’ first Four Nations match against England in Wellington last year.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Besides those nine players another four are from the Melbourne and Wests Tigers sides beaten in the preliminary finals – the Storm’s Adam Blair, Sika Manu and Kevin Proctor plus Tigers halfback and Kiwi captain Benji Marshall. Wigan’s Thomas Leuluai also went within a win of making the English Super League grand final while St George Illawarra’s Jason Nightingale and Nathan Fien played finals football again this season.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“There’s evidence again that our playing depth is building,” said Coach Stephen Kearney.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“As usually happens we’ve had a significant number of players who couldn’t be considered due to injury but we’ve still been able to bring together a strong group of players, one we’re really pleased with.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“It’s a benefit as well that so many of them have played deep into the finals.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]Of the 23 players selected, 14 were in the Kiwis’ title-winning Four Nations squad last year.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A total of nine players weren’t considered due to injury – Josh Hoffman (Brisbane), Lance Hohaia (Vodafone Warriors), Sam Rapira (Vodafone Warriors), Matt Duffie (Melbourne), Sam Perrett (Sydney Roosters), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Sydney Roosters), Frank-Paul Nuuausala (Sydney Roosters), Greg Eastwood (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs) and Bronson Harrison (Canberra). In addition, Bulldogs second rower Frank Pritchard was unavailable after committing himself to Toa Samoa.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Kiwis are due to assemble in Sydney on Sunday where they will train for three days before travelling to Newcastle for the Bill Kelly Cup Test against the Kangaroos at Ausgrid Stadium on October 16. The team for the Test is due to be named next Monday (October 10).[/FONT]
[FONT="]Following the Newcastle international, the Kiwis will return to Sydney before flying out to England for their Four Nations matches against Australia in Warrington on October 28, Wales at Wembley Stadium in London on November 5 and England at KC Stadium in Hull on November 12. The Four Nations final will be played at Elland Road in Leeds on November 19.[/FONT]
