Hayne named in Kangaroos squad

Australia has announced eight new players in a strong 23-man squad for the upcoming Tri-Nations series to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The Kangaroos, who will be looking to regain the tri-nations title they lost to New Zealand last year, will be skippered by Brisbane Broncos captain Darren Lockyer. In total, the Broncos have eight players in the squad, while Melbourne Storm have three. Of the new players, the biggest surprise was the selection of Parramatta's Jarryd Hayne.

Hayne, 18, only started playing first grade football for the Eels in round ten, but has since scored 17 tries in as many matches and claimed the NRL's rookie-of-the-year award. The other interesting inclusion is that of former Parramatta centre Jamie Lyon. Lyon has been plucked from the English Super League, where he plays with St Helens.Lyon's form in 2006 for St Helens has been superb, and the 24-year-old will re-join the NRL in 2007 to play with Manly.

Andrew Johns, Ben Kennedy, Steve Menzies have all retired from representative football, while many other players were not considered due to a range of injuries. Luke Bailey, Matt Cooper and Timana Tahu were all left out due to injury, and Danny Buderus made himself unavailable for selection prior to his six-week suspension for a dangerous throw in Newcastle's first-up finals win over Manly.

The Kangaroos' first game in the tri-nations series is on October 14 against New Zealand.

AUSTRALIAN TRI-NATIONS SQUAD Shaun Berrigan (Brisbane Broncos), Tonie Carroll (Brisbane Broncos), Petero Civoniceva (Brisbane Broncos), Mark Gasnier (St George Illawarra Dragons), Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta Eels), Nathan Hindmarsh (Parramatta Eels), Justin Hodges (Brisbane Broncos), Ben Hornby (St George Illawarra Dragons), Karmichael Hunt (Brisbane Broncos), Greg Inglis (Melbourne Storm), Matt King (Melbourne Storm), Brent Kite (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles), Darren Lockyer, captain (Brisbane Broncos), Jamie Lyon (St Helens), Willie Mason (Canterbury Bulldogs), Luke O'Donnell (North Queensland Cowboys), Mark O'Meley (Canterbury Bulldogs), Andrew Ryan (Canterbury Bulldogs), Cameron Smith (Melbourne Storm), Brent Tate (Brisbane Broncos), Sam Thaiday (Brisbane Broncos), Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland Cowboys), Anthony Tupou (Sydney Roosters)