Wallabies coach reveals stance on early exits for NRL converts, explains why he hasn't picked a skipper (2024)

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Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has suggested he would be open to allowing Carter Gordon to leave early for the Gold Coast Titans after deciding the World Cup flyhalf is surplus to requirements with the Wallabies.

Schmidt, as expected, opted not to name Gordon or fellow NRL 2025 convert Mark Nawaqanitawase (Sydney Roosters) in his first squad as Wallabies coach.

“I’d say we were keen to invest in the guys who are investing in the future here,” Schmidt said.

“An investment in them has a longer term payoff.”

“They’re taking a path, and it’s their chosen path. And we’ve decided to take a path.

“But that’s not at the exclusion of people. It’s at the inclusion of those guys in this immediate future who are invested in Australian rugby. And we’re very keen to invest in them.”

A 38-man squad will prepare in Brisbane next week for July Tests against Wales and Georgia.

Gordon was initially named in a train-on squad but left when his deal with the Titans was announced last week.

There has been reports that he and Nawaqanitawase were being pushed to join their new NRL clubs this year before a June 30 deadline for registrations.

Nawaqanitawase might be selected for the Paris Olympics Sevens team, putting him in a different position to Gordon.

“One of the things that is a priority this year is a pinnacle event like the Olympics. And Mark may well follow that path in the short term,” Schmidt told reporters. “I think he’d be a real asset for the Sevens.

“At the same time, there are some really good Sevens players who’ve played through the whole series.

So that’s the conundrum for John [Manenti] and his management to work through.

“With Carter, we’ve actually got Noah, Tom and Ben, who’ve all done pretty well this year. Some of their percentages exceed Carter’s.

“We’ve just got to be excited about the guys that we have got. I’ve had a number of discussions with Carter. I really like him.

“I think he’s a great young kid. I think there could be an opportunity for him to come back at some stage after probably getting a little bit out of his system from recent times, whether it be the World Cup or more recently.”

Schmidt said he had not been part of any discussions around early releases for the pair.

“And I guess it’s something I hadn’t really considered,” Schmidt said. “But I think it would be something we’d have to talk about if it came up. I don’t really want to get in their way if they want to get on.

“They’ve chosen a path and they want to get on the pathway. At the same time, as I said about Mark, his is a slightly different situation to Carter.

“But if that was the case, I guess it would be a decision for the rugby committee and they may ask me my opinion.

“But it would be something I’d throw back to the coaches because that’s how we make our decisions.”

Meanwhile Schmidt said he would delay a decision on the Wallabies captain until after he had time to see the players in action.

The role was shared around in the Eddie Jones era – with Will Skelton leading the team to the World Cup and then replaced by injured Dave Porecki. Tate McDermott, James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa all had a crack.

It’s believed that Schmidt doesn’t see naming a sole captain as a major priority, preferring a leadership group model.

“That’s a really tough question. I don’t know some of these men very well,” said Schmidt.

“I’ve been impressed with some of them, but it’s superficial knowledge of them. I haven’t seen them under pressure. I haven’t seen them at training.

“I haven’t seen the way they lead, by the actions they deliver. Some of those things I just want to find out a bit about. I’ve leaned on Laurie [Fisher] a bit.

“He knows them better. Geoff [Parling] knows a few of them, having been involved with the Wallabies before. And Mike Cron, he’s a good thermometer.

“He gets a pretty good feel for the temperature around other players, perceptions of someone you might perceive to be a leader.

“Because I think it’s one thing labelling a leader. It’s whether people are prepared to follow them and whether they have a real confidence in them and the reliability of what they’re going to be delivering.

“There’s a lot of unknowns there, and I’m just trying to work my way through it. And we’ll do so over the four days of next week. And then we’ll name a captain for Wales 1, and that may be the captain for the July Test, or it may not be, depending on what we deem is the best mix and selection for the next Test matches.”