AMERICAN SQUAD IN AWE OF AUSSIE RUGBY ALL-STARS
By MIKE FORDE
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November 28, 2004 -- The Australian Kangaroos fly into Kennedy Airport tomorrow night knowing little about the American rugby league squad they'll be playing only 24 hours later.
When you're the No. 1 team in the world facing the No. 18 team, your opponent knows a heck of a lot more about you than you know about them.
For instance, Jeff Preston, who captains the USA Tomahawks, gave a quick scouting report on a few of the Australian players.
Preston on Willie Mason: quick, strong, hard runner, prolific scorer.
On Craig Gower: tough defender.
On Matt Sing: very fast, lightning fast.
On Darren Lockyer: captain, consummate professional.
But never mind the individual accolades that Preston poured on his opponent. Maybe the best description of the Kangaroos he gave, and definitely the one that the casual American fan would best understand was this: "There's not just one Ray Lewis on their team, there's five or six of them. They're a team of [Brian] Urlachers and Ray Lewises."
Preston played against a handful of the Australian players during the 1997 World Nines competition.
But this will be the first time the Kangaroos will play on American soil. They're the run-away No. 1 team in the world and haven't lost a series in over 30 years. Tuesday night (7:30 p.m., Fox Sports World), they'll try to avoid a monster letdown to the United States squad at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The Kangaroos are made up of the best players from the 15-team Australian Rugby League.
Matt Petersen, who plays for the Parramatta Eels of the ARL, will play Tuesday with the Americans because his father was born in Texas.
"That whole team is unbelievable," Petersen said. "They're the current World Cup holders. Australia has the best rugby league in the world and these guys are the best from those teams."
Shayne Mains also has first-hand experience against the Australians.
"They're big, strong and fast," Mains said. Their game is to play fast. Some of the best athletes in the world are going to be on the field that day."
