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Raiders skipper Elliott Whitehead believes it’ll be “a joke” if his teammate Hudson Young isn’t included in the Kangaroos squad for the upcoming World Cup.
But not just a reserve, or on the bench. Whitehead declared Young is the “form back-rower of the competition” and as such, should don the No.11 jersey.
Whitehead was full of praise for Young while speaking to foxsports.com.au at the NRL’s finals launch in Sydney on Monday.
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In fact before the question about Young had even finished being asked, he said the 24-year-old was “a freak.”
Young has been instrumental in Canberra’s four-game winning streak that’s earned them a spot in the finals.
He’s scored six tries in four games — including doubles in the last two games — and has formed a lethal combination with star five-eighth Jack Wighton.
Whitehead now wants to see Young’s form — and hard work — rewarded with a Kangaroos debut.
“I can’t talk him (up) high enough,” he said.
“He works so hard on and off the field. Everything he gets he deserves.
“I believe if he’s not in the Australian squad it’s a joke… he should definitely be No.11.
“He’s been playing outstanding, I think he’s probably the form back-rower in the competition at the moment.
“What he’s built on that left side with Jack Wighton is pretty special and to see him hopefully get a call-up for the World Cup would be exciting. He’s a great kid — he deserves it.”
Young, a Newcastle junior, made his NRL debut for the Raiders in 2019 as a 21-year-old. He now has 71 games under his belt and is indeed on Mal Meninga’s radar for the World Cup after a breakout season.
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Whitehead believes Young’s improvement this year has simply “come down to maturity.”
“He’s grown up and he’s had a few seasons where he’s played a few games in and out. This year he’s found that form and confidence, he’s got that belief in himself and what he’s doing,” Whitehead said.
“He’s only 24. I don’t think if I were 24 I’d dare put a kick through for myself against Newcastle (in Round 23) and get the (match-levelling) try for us… That’s what I mean by the confidence of the kid.
“He works hard to be where he’s at. He’s probably one of the most hardworking kids at our club.”
Brisbane’s capitulation in the back end of the season opened the door for the Raiders to sneak into the finals. But take nothing away from Canberra, who had to overcome a significant moment in their season that had the potential to blow up their top eight hopes.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what that incident was — coach Ricky Stuart’s “weak-gutted dog” spray in a post-match press conference.
Remarkably, the Raiders went on to win their final four games after.
Whitehead conceded it “could have” derailed their season but the club’s leadership group — called ‘Club 82’ — had set standards that kept the playing group on track.
“At training we have standards and if we’re not happy we’ll start a drill again,” he said.
“We work hard to get success and at the moment it’s working for us.”
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Understandably, Whitehead didn’t want to dive too deep into his coach’s controversial moment, but he revealed it did, in a way, galvanise the group.
“Ricky had his reasons to say (what he did), I’m not going to go into that,” he said.
“As a club and as a squad we’re a pretty close-knit group and we look after each other’s backs.
“I think knowing the reason why he said it probably did bring us a bit closer but results are just from us doing hard work.
“We put that to one side and focused on our job as a squad and what we needed to do to get into the finals.”
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