Kearney says Roosters pair on his radar

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will start 2015 with a clean slate in the eyes of Kiwis coach Steven Kearney.

The Sydney Roosters pair both missed New Zealand’s triumphant Four Nations campaign late last year, citing “burnout” after having been named in a training squad for the tournament.

Their unavailability raised eyebrows but was never directly criticised by Kearney.

The national coach made it clear both players would be on his radar ahead of the Anzac Test against the Kangaroos in Brisbane on May 1.

“Everyone will start with a clean slate. From my point of view it’s about performance,” Kearney said on Thursday.

“The players who weren’t involved last year will come into contention. It’s a positive for us to have that depth of talent.”

Kearney reckons he has more Kiwi talent available to him than ever as the New Zealand presence in the NRL grows.

He was pleased London’s Olympic Stadium has been confirmed as one of three venues for the Test series in November.

The 54,000-capacity stadium was unveiled by the Rugby Football League to host the second game on November 7 – the first rugby league fixture to be played there.

The series opens at Hull’s KC Stadium on November 1 and the third Test will be at Wigan’s DW Stadium on November 14.

The Test series, which was arranged when plans to revive a British Lions tour to Australia collapsed, will give England the chance to avenge both their World Cup semi-final defeat at Manchester in 2013 and an equally tense loss to the Kiwis in the 2014 Four Nations Series last November.

Kearney hopes a warm-up game in England can be arranged for his team in the lead-up to the Tests.

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