I would suggest the Aussies took the last world cup final rather seriously. Are they still crying about Ashley Klein?

Just to clarify, I don't doubt they take it seriously, but as afar as I'm aware, the protocol for selecting a 24 man squad is based on the priciple that if you're one of the best 24 players, you get picked.
But the ARL seems to adhere to the idea of producing a squad of the best 24 Australian players, with at least one player from every NRL squad.
Of course, it could just be a coincidence.

This may be sour grapes on my part, but as someone who used to live near Redfern, I notice that there's no-one from Souths in the squad.

Oh bl00dy hell. Completely overlooked that.

And just to think, I had a mate that lived on Abercrombie St and I lived in Marrickville which is almost Souths territory too... Hey, call myself a fan of the NRL.

I think they will take it quite serious, should do anyway