Kiss’s Core Crew: Bolters, Bans and Bledisloe Bother
Les Kiss has named his 34-man Wallabies squad for the Bledisloe Cup series, and it looks like it was built with one eye on the selection table and the other on the tribunal room. It’s a 19-forward, 15-back split that assembles in Auckland on Sunday ahead of the opener at Eden Park on Saturday, October 10 (5:10pm AEDT). Kiss said it’s pleasing to keep the core of the group together. He called them a motivated bunch who take pride in the gold jersey and each other, then admitted Auckland will demand they be at their best.
The Goondiwindi Bolter: Macpherson Makes the Leap
The headline inclusion is a fresh face from the Brumbies.
- Toby Macpherson (Lock/Back Row, 22, uncapped): Born in Dubbo, raised in Goondiwindi and a product of the Goondiwindi Junior Emus. He’s a former Australia U20 captain who was picked off the back of his Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby AUS form, including a stint as Brumbies captain through the three-round Super Rugby AUS regular season.
He’s in for Tom Hooper, and the eye-test says he’s got the frame for it. He’s a raw-boned lock and back-row utility at 199cm and 113kg. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips of the Western Force is the other uncapped player. He was named for the Springboks Test but missed the matchday 23, and he’s got a Super Rugby AUS Grand Final to play this weekend.
The Paisami Problem: Ban Bites Before Kick-Off
Inside centre Hunter Paisami (28, 39 caps) is named in the squad, but he’s banned for four games, though has chosen to challenge the ban. He copped a yellow card in the dying stages of the win over South Africa in Perth for a high shot on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. That’s a big hole in a midfield that was already short on bodies if the challenge is unsuccessful.
Len Ikitau (55 caps), the reigning John Eales Medallist, was forced off early in the second half in Perth with a recurrence of his ankle problem. It’s the same one that kept him out of Kiss’s first three Tests. He faces a fitness test on Friday, and the Wallabies need him to pass it.
Regulation 9 Robs the Roster: Hooper and Tupou Unavailable
World Rugby’s Regulation 9 window has claimed two forwards, because both Tests fall outside it. Convenient for our Kiwi friends.
- Tom Hooper: Back to Exeter Chiefs
- Taniela Tupou: Back to Racing 92
With Tupou gone, Massimo De Lutiis (Reds, 3 caps) is recalled for front-row depth. He’s also Wallaby number 1000, which is a decent trivia answer to have in your back pocket. Allan Alaalatoa (94 caps) and Angus Bell are the proven pair, but the Test experience behind them drops off quickly.
In the second row, Nick Frost is in as cover for Josh Canham, who is nursing a hamstring strain from Perth. Canham has had a breakout international season, but he’s a long shot for the opener.
Midfield Merry-Go-Round: Petaia Stays, Daugunu Returns
There was some good news for the backline. Jordan Petaia got the nod from Japanese club Urayasu D-Rocks to stay in Australia and remain with the Wallabies, which eases the midfield depth worries. Filipo Daugunu is recalled after recovering from a minor knee issue and some uncertainty in catching the ball, and his versatility across multiple positions makes him handy in a squad this tight. Isaac Henry and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii are the other midfield coverage options.
The Full Squad
Forwards: Harry Wilson (c), Allan Alaalatoa, Angus Bell, Josh Canham, Nick Champion de Crespigny, Massimo De Lutiis, Isaac Kailea, Toby Macpherson, Fraser McReight, Josh Nasser, Zane Nonggorr, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Lachlan Shaw, Carlo Tizzano, Rob Valetini, Jeremy Williams
Backs: Filipo Daugunu, Ben Donaldson, Isaac Henry, Len Ikitau, Max Jorgensen, Ryan Lonergan, Tate McDermott, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, Declan Meredith, Hunter Paisami, Jordan Petaia, Harry Potter, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Kalani Thomas, Tom Wright
Injury cover: Nick Frost
The Sidelined Ten: Skelton, Samu and a Stacked Sick List
Ten players are unavailable due to injury:
- Charlie Cale
- Josh Flook
- Langi Gleeson
- Carter Gordon
- Jake Gordon
- Matt Philip
- Henry Robertson
- Pete Samu
- Blake Schoupp
- Will Skelton
With Carter Gordon out, the ten jersey looks to be Ben Donaldson’s to lose.
The Projected Run-On XV: Eden Park Edition
Reading the dog biscuits, and assuming Ikitau passes his fitness test, the Wallabies could line up something like this:
- Front row: Angus Bell, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Allan Alaalatoa
- Locks: Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Jeremy Williams
- Back row: Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight and Harry Wilson (C)
- Halves: Ryan Lonergan and Ben Donaldson
- Centres: Isaac Henry at 12 and Len Ikitau at 13
- Back three: Max Jorgensen and Joseph Aukuso Suaalii on the wings, Tom Wright at fullback
- Bench: Billy Pollard, Aidan Ross, Massimo De Lutiis, Lachlan Shaw, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Filipo Daugunu.
The pack has plenty of Test miles in it, with Valetini on 69 caps and captain Wilson on 43. The soft spots are the front-row depth and a midfield held together with gaffer tape. If Canham is fit, Lukhan to the bench and Shaw out. If Ikitau is out, your guess is as good as mine.
The Bigger Picture: Streak Meets Fortress
The Wallabies head across the ditch unbeaten in six Tests, with five wins and a draw. The run includes a 42-38 win over South Africa at Optus Stadium and a 28-28 draw with Argentina in Mendoza. The bad news is that they’ve lost 11 straight Tests to the All Blacks, with their last win coming in 2020. New Zealand is also unbeaten in 53 Tests at Eden Park. The All Blacks will be captained by Codie Taylor with Ardie Savea ruled out, and Scott Barrett and Shannon Frizell are back in the fold.
Game two follows at Accor Stadium in Sydney on Saturday, October 17 (3:45pm AEDT). A hot streak, a bolter from Goondiwindi and a midfield on crutches make for a Bledisloe with some spice for once.
![The Underdog sports news article thumbnail for Wallabies Player Ratings in Bledisloe 1 2026 at Eden Park[cite: 5], featuring Harry Wilson rated 8/10[cite: 5] and Ryan Lonergan rated 3/10[cite: 5] in gold Wallabies jerseys[cite: 3, 5].](http://theunderdog.news/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/wallabies-player-ratings-bledisloe-1-2026-harry-wilson-ryan-lonergan-768x429.jpeg)
Three Barrett’s is where they’ll beat us and where we may have a chance.
I thought “where the feltch is Mo’unga, why not Fineanganofo”. Then found out they’re injured. Rennies got the same problems he used to with us.
That’s a strong bench though.
Bell
Paenga-Amosa
Alaalatoa
Williams
LSL
Valetini
McReight
Wilson
Lonergan
Donaldson
Suaalii
Ikitau
Henry
Jorgensen
Wright
Pollard
Ross
Nonggorr
Canham
CDC
Tizzano
McDermott
Petaia
Looks like rennie is going with dmac and BB at 10 and 15 no Blackadder but the loosies look good, good team. Going to be massive go hard both teams its there for the taking
Who’s our back up 12? If Lenny and Paisami are both out, surely Kerevi or Beale should be proud into the squad?
6-2 split bring Daugunu McDermott in..Wright Ikitau to ten JAS to fullback or Centre.Its one way of gaining an advantage but risky as well …We have nothing to lose loads to gain.
McPherson looks a likely kid doesn’t he? Can’t say watched alot but he is cut from cloth of past Aussie legends in his presence.Hasnt been bought in as a favour he is earmarked and being around the squad now is going to pay dividends in the coming years..
Wilson was enormous tbh,front of lineout work was great ,punched with vigour up the middle found space with good footwork and cleared rucks eagerly..At his best he is a great leader I just hope he remains in this form..
I’d love to see how the Henry Ikitau centre paring would go…
Lenny Henry
I’m still unconvinced by Ross and have never been overly impressed by Meredith – I just don’t think he thrives on the pressure. I’m in the bring back Lolesio camp, but I’d also like to see Burey get a run. As a wild card I’d also like to see Beale brought into the squad as a potential 12. His last couple of seasons have been his best for a while, and given Kiss is clearly looking for innovative ways to involve the outside backs you could do a lot worse.
We could do worse than bring Beale in to 12.
Something I’ve always said is that if he’s good enough he should be in the team. Too often we seem to think players have reached their use by date and opt for “building” for the future. Beale is an ideal player to have in a 23 to facilitate a 6-2 bench. And he’s still better than most 10s 12s and 15s in the Aussie franchises
I’m not sure how Kurtley would rise to the occasion but I saw him live last weekend. He and Dylan look fit and sharp.
Agree Piru. It gives options at 10 and 15 if needed and could make it easier for Les to go with a 6-2 bench.
Can’t wait to see how Burey goes at the Tahs next year. His kicking game has been excellent during this Aus Rugger.
He was good against the Force but still has that tendency to overplay his hand at times. Still when he’s good he’s great
Watched him against the brumbies and while good, he does alot of one out stuff that might work in Super Rugby but unlikely to work in Tests.
I’m with you on Ross. I’d prefer they stick with Kailea as he probs has more upside than Ross around the field. Whichever way they go, it is a big drop down from Angus.
Ikitau a must to play and at 12 at that..He is very good with either position but Henry looks better defender 13 tbh and Ikitau better attacker at 12..his miss for that Bok try was ordinary…Get him back to 12.
If he’s not fit we can’t play him. But if he is your design has merit.
Henry is a stout defender at 13 makes good decisions and playing him at 12 against the All blacks is asking alot,it’s no Japan is it? If Ikitau doesn’t play I get strange feeling JAS will partner Henry or even Petaia comes into calculations.
To be fair Antonio, I saw that miss and marked his card. But he’s only recently come back to 13 after a few years tutoring
Joey in the role.
He’s one of our first backs picked. Alongside Lonergan and Jorgo.
Difference between the two is 12 is stifled in attack and not as flustered in defence..He is a great attacker from 13 I get that but he gets past gainline at inside centre and that is gold for igniting attack..give Henry a crack outside him or bring Joseph back after seeing the wider game from wing a few games.. Ultimately Marky Mark is one wing Jorgo the other so let’s stop kidding ourselves on the overall structure.
Congrats to Macpherson but it’s an odd pick to me.
If we want an out and out back rower then I think Joe Brial had a much stronger year.
If we want a tweener that can play 6/lock then Frost seems the better option.
If we want a TH lock then Amatosero should be back in.
The young bloke has only started four games of Super.
Agree with all that Jez.
A bit stiff on Amatosero being left out.
All I can think for MacPherson is that Kiss has already decided on his 23 and wants a look at him up close. 199cm, started out as a lock, but his last three starts for the Brumbies were at 8.
I think Frost is more likely to play in the next two games.
Frosty is such an interesting one. I think his best footy has been when he’s stacked on extra muscle and played heavier but it seems he struggles with keeping that size on while playing.
He can do it for short periods but not all the time.
I’m torn between letting him have the lower intensity year like he’s had this year, get the body right and then build up for RWC to peak in that tournament.
OR
Align with what his body is telling us, lean into his sprinting background. Focus on a comfortable weight, drill speed, endurance and agility and make him a lineout 6/tweener. He and Hooper could provide great depth at 6.
And then Valetini, Wilson, Cale and when his body is right Gleeson (RA keep naming him as unavailable so he’s definitely still in their thinking) provide a range of options to fill out 6/8
The important thing around that depth is getting them all enough test time in the next 12 months. What is it , 14 tests left before then. And Kiss is still not settled on his squad.
I don’t want Canham to be injured, but I’d like to see how Frost goes. It’s interesting what you said about his weight, and I wonder what the wallabies have told him about diet and size??
Gleeson Cale will be in the mix next year for sure..Both offer very needed attributes in a test team.
Why isn’t Pietsch not in the squad, he isn’t injured and is the 2nd best winger behind Jorgenson?
Also surely Matt Faessler is better than Nasser, he isn’t on the injured list.
The team I would choose from the squad assuming Ikitau is available. (most people will have the same starting pack, and most of the backs IMO)
01 – Bell
02 – BPA
03 – AAA
04 – Williams
05 – LSL
06 – Valetini
07 – McReight
08 – Wilson
09 – Lonergan
10 – Donaldson
11 – Jorgenson
12 – Henry
13 – Ikitau
14 – JAS (far better on wing than centre)
15 – Wright
16 – Pollard
17 – Kailea (better option than Ross who was terrible)
18 – De Lutiis
19 – Shaw
20 – Tizzano
21 – McDermott
22 – HMP
23 – Petaia (not ready to start, better option than Daugunu, and if he goes well is probably a better wing option than JAS, moving JAS to the bench 2nd test)
Kailea can run the ball a bit too…
“ Why isn’t Pietsch not in the squad, he isn’t injured and is the 2nd best winger behind Jorgenson?”
There may be 6 million answers.
Whoops forgot to add the Youtube address. https://youtu.be/oxULddlzZDs?si=MeMg-H0oTHX8K4u2
This is a great video with George Gregan, Rod Kafer and John Smit with discussion of referee communication, head knocks and who is in control of the game. I posted a comment as was suggested by John that the ref should go to a screen of the replay and make a decision like they do in soccer. Nobody else makes the decision of what should be done except the ref.
And if the ref comes to a different decision than the TMO then it’s probably not so clear and obvious anyway.
That was a very interesting listen. Totally gave Etzebeth the swerve though
Saw an interesting clip of Nigel Owens talking about the TMO. His view is the TMO should only get involved (and have the ref review the footage) when the ref doesn’t see:
And as as Gregan, etc said, the TMO doesn’t have input besides alerting the ref to it, with the ref then making up their own mind.
Hopefully with a three strikes and you’re out law for the TMO. Refer three things to the referee and he doesn’t think it was worth stopping play for and you’re sacked
I like the idea of something like if the ref saw it and let play go on, then it’s not bad enough to be called penalisable foul play, then the TMO can just refer it to the citing dude after the game if he thinks it’s bad enough.
The whole shit fight around head knocks is because class actions rule these days and rugby doesn’t have the money to not worry about that
This will be the big reality check for Les Kiss. NZ will run us off our feet as usual. Be interesting to see how our front row goes. I hope to see Isaac Henry at 12.
He is playing 13…as he should
The Urayasu D-Rocks eh? I wonder if they would be intersted in signing Tom Wright one day?
Great article Ben, great work putting this together, really gets the mouth watering for the contest
And still 8 days before the squad announcement
So we’ve got a while to come up with the best advice for Kiss
I wonder if Les Kiss is really Jimbo81
Did Jimbo make it across to the underdog?
no, but still loiters around facebook.
Would it be completely mad to run Lomax and Suali’i at 12 and 13, just to see what happens?
Yes
Uppercut Piru.. Honestly
No vision you lot
Maybe against Hong Kong next year
I’m going to send Cronno an anonymous email.
I like it Piru but Zac off the bench for me.
Su 12, Henry 13, Jorgs and Pietsch on the wings.
Bring Nawaqanitawase into the squad straight after the NRL GF as well, tell him he can’t join the Mad Monday shenanigans
Wrap Len in cotton wool, his ankle did not look good last week.
We’ve got a high level feeder comp for backs in the NRL, might as well use it
It’s also an expensive feeder piru.
Lomax and JAS might go ok at 12/13, but only if Angus Bell is 10.
I reckon Bell would be a better 10 than theyre a centre pairing. How’s his goal kicking?
Just below Carter’s
Bloody ridiculous Bledisloe is only 2 games. It should be 3 for a fair go.
Has been this quite often hasn’t it?
Two is what I grew up watching. One home, one away. Have to win them both to get the trophy back.
Then once we get it it works in our favour
Next year 2 in Aus 1 in NZ, could be our chance.
Though that EPH is due to be broken
It is mirt now is the time the moment if that dont boost a squad nothing will
Tupou and Hooper are hard to replace.
Gotta hope Frizell is a bit off the pace.
No Bledisloe this year
Is the Anzac bled part of a series with TRC, or is it a one off for the cup?
Bledisloe is on, Rugby Championship is not. Two games.
The Bled this year is part of the “Rugby’s not greatest and not even quite as good as rivalry” series
The RNGANEQAGAR
The title was coined by R Erasmus. He informed world rugby by iPhone to Andrea Piardi on Sunday night
One criteria to determine Rugbys Greatest Rivalry should be a nation capable of posting 42 points vs the Boks. 😜
Full Rugby Championship
2 v Arg in Aus
Home and away NZ
2 v SA in SA
Making it 3 games all up, but with 3 months between Anzac and the next two.
Then a warm up v Ireland before RWC
Mirt
The smart money for Ellis Park and Perth predicted big WB losses.
History is not a criteria in an historical victory. But I agree that our midfield looks wobbly as do our prop squad. Hooper’s shoes are big to fill.
Years of being less than we were in the 90s has made me very negative when discussing our chances of winning the Bledisloe back.
The EPH has to fall one day.
Imagine the buzz around playing the second game in Australia and still having a chance of winning the cup.
Well I reckon the smart money for Eden Park might nail the bet on Saturday
I think wallaby’s will have a hard time but they have come a long way , no predictions for me apart from alot of crying in the comments is a safe bet by the usual suspects
Woh, 4 weeks. So glad they’ve got their frameworks and guidelines to help them make dumb decisions
TRM , if Kiss picks Tizzano on a 5-3 bench against New Zealand we’re lost
Who would you swap out?
Tizzano
19 Canham (Frost)
20 CDC
21 McDermott
22 HMP
23 Petaia
If he wants a 6-2
Tizzano for HMP
Don’t be so negative i understand where it comes from. Chin up
Max Jorgensen will play on both wings at Eden Park … And people on the Roar were complaining that he’s getting too much money.
I never gave an employee top dollar until he had proved his worth. Especially youngsters.
I reckon he’s worth every dollar. And Ben Casey agrees with me that he’s a special player… Look at his predicted team:
Back three: Max Jorgensen and on the wings, Tom Wright at fullback
With Max on both wings, Wallabies can add an extra forward to the XV.
Yes , I’m not doubting his value NOW, he has proved he’s worth the money. But big dollar contracts is not a logical business decision. This one worked out. How did Vunivalue go. I think the Roar doubters had a valid complaint back then, and I’m sure they are all happy now that he has proven himself.
Vunivalu never had rugby I.q
And Swarley has?
Gosh I missed that bit of his game
He had a bi-code youth. He had rugby instincts at least to the age of 14. He took on pro rugby through the 13 channel. That’s a pretty steep learning curve.
You can argue about the commercial quality of the deal, but Su is rugby quality. The six in his contract fee doesn’t lessen him as a player.
Whats with the hate of Joseph ? I think he has been great overall..Worth the money ? Not sure I don’t pay it.
Hahah. Fixed now
That’s why they left ..
No, that’s why I made a shit ton of money and retired early
Never gloat about wealth it’s one bad relationship stroke or Labour government away from zero…
What about 6 million dollar man
He’d only be the 500,000 odd dollar man in today’s money.
Hahaha
Too conservative.
If we run on with 11 players we can afford a 9:3 bench.
Why do we continuously pick two wings and two centres when we only ever use one at a time?
6-2 split what’s to lose ..Ain’t meant to win this game anyways.