11 Kangaroos players without contracts as World Cup looms
Eleven of 23 squad members are free agents beyond 2027, with roughly $10m in talent potentially moving.
Kevin Walters' Kangaroos squad is fractured by contract uncertainty. Eleven of 23 players are free agents.
Sam Walker, Bradman Best, Liam Martin, Jack Bostock, Isaah Yeo, James Tedesco, Tom Trbojevic, Cameron Munster, Harry Grant, Latrell Mitchell and David Fifita all need new deals. The players have turned it into banter in the camp, joking publicly about where rivals might sign.
Walters says the team stays focused on this week's semifinal against Samoa. He says conversations about futures don't distract from the game.
The sheer number of big names in limbo has created pressure. It's worse because the Papua New Guinea Chiefs can now sign off-contract players.
- 11 of 23 squad members
- Free agents
- About $10 million
- Talent value
- Samoa
- Semifinal opponent
- 2028
- PNG Chiefs inaugural season
Why it mattersEleven major players in limbo with PNG Chiefs now recruiting creates significant uncertainty.
AustraliaAustralia's World Cup campaign is vulnerable with half the squad negotiating elsewhere, just when the team needs unity.
