Junior Kangaroos
| Nickname | Australia |
|---|---|
| Governing body | ARLC |
| Region | Oceania |
| Head coach | Justin Holbrook |
| Captain | Brodie Croft |
The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL and Holden Cup. They are administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission.
Prior to 2010, the Junior Kangaroos was selected on an under 19 age basis. The best Australian players 19 years of age or younger, would represent the country against the likes of the Junior Kiwis, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, sometimes as curtain raisers to the senior Kangaroos games. Players such as Greg Bird, Matt Bowen, Justin Hodges, Luke Lewis, Jamie Lyon, Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston represented the Junior Kangaroos early in their careers and went on to play at the senior level for Australia. The last Junior Kangaroos side selected under the under 19 rules was in 2007. This would be the last Junior Kangaroos team until 2010.
In 2010, with the advent of the National Youth Competition, the Junior Kangaroos was switched to an under 20s team and played in a two Test series against the Junior Kiwis. Since 2011, the Junior Kangaroos have faced the Junior Kiwis at the end of each season in a one off Test match, usually as a curtain raiser to a senior level Australia-New Zealand Test match.
Played as a curtain raiser to the New Zealand-England Four Nations match.
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