Rugby, Australian Football: Aussies pounce on Panthers

Australia have included five players from 2003 champions Penrith Panthers in a 23-man squad for the Anzac Test against New Zealand in Brisbane on Friday week. Panthers' in-form full-back Rhys Wesser was a controversial omission but his club-mates Luke Priddis, Trent Waterhouse, Luke Rooney, Craig Gower and Luke Lewis are named in the provisional squad, which will be trimmed to 17 next Sunday.

Priddis will replace injured hooker Danny Buderus while the Kangaroos will also be forced to make at least two other changes from the side that beat Great Britain in the Tri-Nations Series final last November. Brisbane prop Shane Webcke retired from representative rugby while Canterbury forward Willie Mason has a foot injury. As expected, former Test captain Andrew Johns, who is still finding his feet after making a comeback from a knee re-construction, was not named in the squad.

Squad: L Bailey (St George Illawarra), S Berrigan (Brisbane), T Carroll (Brisbane), P Civoniceva (Brisbane), C Fitzgibbon (Sydney Roosters), C Gower (Penrith), N Hindmarsh (Parramatta), B Kennedy (Manly), B Kimmorley (Sharks), L Lewis (Penrith), D Lockyer (Brisbane), A Minichiello (Sydney Roosters), M O'Meley (Canterbury), S Price, L Priddis (Penrith), L Rooney (Penrith), A Ryan (Canterbury), J Ryles (St George Illawarra), M Sing (North Queensland), B Slater (Melbourne), W Tonga (Bulldogs), T Waterhouse (Penrith), C Wing (Sydney Roosters).


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