With Billy slated to return on Saturday I'll be happy to go with...
1. Billy Slater
3. Michael Jennings
4. Greg Inglis
I'm excited to see what Billy and Johnathan bring to the Australian team. I have very little doubt we missed them along with the likes of Scott, Gallen & Lewis.
I disagree with the selection of Bird and think the Test jumper should be treated with more respect. Bird is facing criminal charges and while I can live with him playing in the NRL, I don't believe he should be able to represent the game at it's highest level until the matter is resolved. Plus, his omission would act as a fringe benefit considering Sheens is concerned about the age of the squad.
Personally, I find discriminating against age is silly, especially at representative level. If they're the most qualified for the specific role then they should get the shot. And that goes both ways which is why I was fine with Mata'utia getting a shot last year when there was hardly anyone else available. If nothing else, he was better than Tupou and it wasn't like Mansour set the world on fire either.
But seriously...I find these comparisons to the Australian Test team ridiculous. While I believe New Zealand deserve to be treated with respect and believe they've got tremendous upside, let's not act as if the Australian team doesn't have the depth to recover especially by 2017 which I'd assume is the final frontier for a lot of stars in the squad.
EDIT: With Hodges slated to return this weekend for the Broncos, I wouldn't be against him playing in the Trans-Tasman Test. It would be like a send off to him and there wouldn't be a better venue than Suncorp Stadium.
So
1. Billy Slater
3. Justin Hodges
4. Greg Inglis