Daly Cherry-Evans isn’t letting his Kangaroos career go without a fight, while a Fijian flyer is putting pressure on Ivan Cleary.
England have exceeded expectations while hosting the tournament as Tonga are bundled out of the World Cup.
Read on for all of the biggest talking points to come out of the World Cup quarterfinals.
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DCE VYING FOR NEW KANGAROOS ROLE
Daly Cherry-Evans won’t let his Kangaroos career end without a fight and is determined to retain his bench spot for the semi-final.
Cherry-Evans lost to Nathan Cleary in the battle to be Australia’s halfback, but he earned a spot on the pine in the quarterfinal when Ben Hunt was rested.
Hunt is expected to return at the bench utility against the Kiwis but Cherry-Evans, who played off the bench in the 2013 World Cup final, wants the role.
“Early on (in my career) I got a really good look at it (No. 14), I was in some really good sides and just had to bide my time,” Cherry-Evans said.
“Nathan has earned his spot as halfback for Australia and I’ll take any game time I can get for this Australian side, it’s a great side so to be in the best 17 I’m really proud of that and hoping to maintain a spot moving forward.
“I’ll keep putting my best foot forward, but I’m not going to do anything that’s going to deter the side from being distracted.”
Cherry-Evans knows he may have played his final game in green and gold but emphasised he’s ready if called upon over the next fortnight.
“I’m definitely aware of how old I’m getting and the quality of player that are coming through,” he said.
“I’m well aware of the situation and what’s around me but as long as I’m playing good football and offering something to this footy team I’m going to stay involved for as long as I can.
“I’m really grateful to be playing still and I do feel like I’ve got something to offer so this is a special side and we’re building nicely and the best is yet to come and I’d love to be a part of it.
“If something happens over the next few weeks I’ll be more than ready to step in as a starter.”
Yeo says Kangaroos primed for Kiwis | 01:34
FIJIAN REVELATION PUTS PRESSURE ON PANTHERS
Fijian fullback Sunia Turuva showed exactly why Panthers coach Ivan Cleary needs to include him in his starting 17 next season with an impressive display against New Zealand.
Wearing the No.1 jersey against the world’s top ranked team isn’t an easy task, but the 20-year-old turned up in attack and defence.
The Bati went down 24-18 in their sudden-death quarterfinal but took it to the Kiwis and Turuva played a major part of their dominant first half.
The young gun gave veteran centre Kevin Naqaima a clean channel to score untouched with an incisive pass, leaving New Zealand’s left side defence in tatters.
“He is a ball of energy, what he has been able to provide, his ability to pop up in all parts of the field,” Fox League’s Corey Parker said.
“Terrific player, we have seen him early on this year in rep round stand up for the Fijians, he is doing it again.
“He has had a terrific first half, nobody has given the Fijians a hope, yet it is 12-6.”
Turuva recorded 165 running metres, four tackle breaks, a try assist and a linebreak assist against one of the competition heavyweights – and his club coach would have been glued to the television.
Turuva made his debut for the Panthers against the Raiders in Round 21 before playing a full 80 minutes against the Storm the following week.
Against Melbourne the Fijian flyer ran for 194 metres and broke four tackles, matching his fellow winger Brian To’os four tackle breaks and 228 running metres.
Turuva also played 80 minutes on the wing against the Cowboys in the final round of the regular season as Cleary rested a large portion of his team.
He was once again solid, breaking six tackles and running for 116 metres.
While Soni Luke looks likely to be the utility off the bench, Turuva’s versatility could see him play off the bench with Mitch Kenny playing his trade in the middle.
The young gun can play at fullback, on the wing and at centre but is unlikely to force either To’o or Taylan May out of the starting side.
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Controversial review costly for Fiji | 01:53
THE HOSTS WITH THE MOST
England were one of the top teams coming into the World Cup, but the hosts have stunned the rugby league world and exceeded expectations.
Shaun Wane’s side boast NRL stars Victor Radley, Dominic Young and Herbie Farnworth along with Super League veterans Tommy Makinson, John Bateman and Sam Tomkins.
In the group stages England had the second highest points differential, sitting only 10 points behind Australia, in a group with Samoa – who they new face in the semi finals.
Fox League’s Michael Ennis was surprised by how well the hosts have performed.
“They’ve been terrific, they’ve definitely surprised me but at the same time being on home soil, knowing the conditions and having good players in good form,” Ennis said to foxsports.com.au.
“They’ve done everything they possibly can to give the home fans and themselves the confidence that they can win it, but at the end of the day they’re going to have to beat some pretty good sides over the next two or three weeks to win it.”
Makinson, plying his trade on the wing, scored five tries in a 46-6 win after Papua New Guinea in the quarterfinals, but he is firmly focused on lifting the silverware.
“Five tries it is good, but at the end of the day I want to be a World Cup winner and we are building towards that,” Makinson said post-match.
Wane echoed his gun winger’s opinion, but didn’t downplay the ability of his side’s next opponent.
“I thought we did really well, our first half was faultless, second half a bit scrappy, but I am really really impressed,” Wane said post-match.
“We will keep improving, every time we train, we look to get better, that’s the way we do things and hopefully we can improve.
“We know we have a massive challenge, they are both great teams, we will try our best and give it a great shot.
After flogging Samoa in the first game of the tournament 60-6, England now line-up against Matt Parish’s team again in the semi finals.
Suaalii in trouble after being reported? | 00:40
TONGA FALL SHORT OF EXPECTATIONS
If you’re left feeling a little disappointed by Tonga’s World Cup campaign you aren’t alone — even coach Kristian Woolf admitted the team “underachieved.”
There was a fair bit of hype around Tonga heading into the World Cup after their historical upset win over Australia in 2019.
But they didn’t exactly set the world on fire in the group matches and then bowed out in the quarterfinals.
Tonga escaped with a six-point win over Papua New Guinea in their opening game, before securing a 32-6 win over Wales.
They hit their straps against Cook Islands but were brought back down to earth when Samoa won 20-18 to book a spot in their very first World Cup semi-final.
Woolf called the early exit a “missed opportunity” and put it down to Samoa being on their game from the very beginning and getting the jump on them.
“We’re obviously disappointed. We weren’t quite at our best today and it’s a bit of a missed opportunity for us — that’s what’s disappointing,” he said.
“Whether the occasion got to us a little bit at the start, I’m not quite sure.
“In terms of what I saw we weren’t at our best, I just thought Samoa beat us to the punch a little bit. I thought they defended with a little more speed, there were certainly periods there where they ran harder and got themselves on the front-foot by doing that.
“We complicated that with errors that you just can’t make in those kind of games.
“I thought we showed our class, we showed our ability and kept ourselves in the game but to win that game and to further in this competition we needed to be better than what we were today.”
While Samoa had the more experienced halves pairing of Anthony Milford and Jarome Luai, Tonga boasted a pack that would challenge any other nation’s.
Not even the likes of Jason Taumalolo, Addin Fonua-Blake, Siosiua Taukeiaho, David Fifita and Keaon Koloamatangi could intimidate Samoa.
Tonga fell short of their own expectations with Woolf revealing the squad had set a semi-final appearance as the pass mark.
“I feel like we underachieved a little bit,” he said.
“I think we certainly expected of ourselves — and forget expectation externally — that we were going to be playing in the semi-finals and we’ve come up a little bit short there.
“We wanted an opportunity at the big games, we got an opportunity at a big game today but we certainly wanted more of that. For that reason I think we’ve fallen short of the expectations on ourselves.
“We know what we’re capable of and we just haven’t quite reached those heights this time.
“We’ve got to learn from it, more from losses, and we’ve certainly got a lot of things to think about going forward.”
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Tonga and Samoa get spines tingling! | 02:48
ROOSTERS’ FULLBACK PRODUCTION LINE
The Roosters’ fullback conversation was shut down just as quick as it opened up, with James Tedesco ($1,1 million a season) continuing to prove why he has a mortgage on the Tricolours’ No.1 jersey.
But what the World Cup — and particularly the quarterfinals — has done is show how the Roosters could have their fullback options lined up for the next decade.
Joey Manu ($720,000 a season) and Joseph Suaalii ($500,000 a season) both have aspirations to be a regular fullback at NRL level and got the opportunity to show what they have to offer for New Zealand and Samoa respectively.
Manu has been integral in New Zealand’s charge to the semi-finals with two man of the match performances after Kiwis coach Michael Maguire challenged him to be the best fullback at the World Cup — despite playing almost all of his first grade footy in the centres.
“Joseph Manu at the back. Every time he has played any position really, but particularly fullback he is one of the best players on the field,” former Kangaroo Cooper Cronk said during the tournament.
Fox League’s Braith Anasta agreed: “He is a great player and he is one of the best in the competition, who can play anywhere. He can play a number of positions, but he is best when he is on the ball and that’s why when he moved into the five-eighth role (at the Roosters) he was really good.”
The 26-year-old will likely have to wait for Tedesco to hang up his boots before he can call fullback home at the Roosters. But when that happens he’ll be more than primed for the opportunity.
Then when Manu’s time is up, there’s 19-year-old Joseph Suaalii, who stunned at fullback for Samoa in their history win over Tonga — despite playing 20 of his 24 NRL games on the wing.
“He was unbelievable for a 19-year-old kid wasn’t he,” Samoa coach Matt Parish said.
“He’s a pretty good one (fullback). I think he can be good in any position you put him in.”
Even Tonga coach Kristian Woolf conceded the teen sensation “ran through us in the second half.”
