Campese primed for Italian job: Ciraldo

One-time Kangaroos representative Terry Campese is ready to lead Italy in the upcoming rugby league World Cup, says coach Cameron Ciraldo.

Campese was on Thursday named in an expanded 33-man squad also featuring NRL stars James Tedesco, Nathan Brown and Daniel Alvaro.

Youngster Jack Johns, son of Newcastle legend Matthew, is also a notable inclusion, as is 89-Test rugby union convert Mirco Bergamasco.

Former Gold Coast veteran Mark Minichiello will captain the side.

The 34-year-old Campese will shoulder most of the playmaking duties after helping the Azzurri become the final nation to qualify for the tournament in a European round-robin last year.

He led Italy to a 60-point trouncing of Serbia in Belgrade and almost spearheaded them to an upset of Wales in Monza, before scoring 24 points in a 76-0 rout of Russia.

The former Hull KR five-eighth then returned to his junior club in the nation’s capital this year, where he captain-coached the Queanbeyan Blues to a premiership.

The ex-Canberra captain will lead Italy in a group including the United States and Fiji, with their final group match to be played at Campese’s old stomping ground of GIO Stadium.

“He came away with us last year for the World Cup qualifiers. He got through all three games really well and he’s captained-coach Queanbeyan this year really successfully,” Ciraldo said.

“They won the grand final (and) went through a long part of the season undefeated.

“He’s got through the season. He feels in good shape, so he’s really excited about representing Italy in Australia in front of his family.”

Johns is likely to partner Campese in the halves however Ciraldo was careful not to compare the 20-year-old to his famous dad and uncle, eighth immortal Andrew.

Jack spent most of the year playing for the Knights’ under-20s team.

“We haven’t seen enough of him yet but he’s a bit different. He’s a taller kid, he may end up in the back row as opposed to his uncle and dad,” Ciraldo said.

“He’s his own man, he’s got his own way of playing the game.

“When I saw his name on the list at the start of the year, I thought of the future. With a couple of our young kids, I thought the next World Cup they’d be ready.

“But the more I watched him, the more he convinced me he was ready for this World Cup. He’s a really strong defender, he runs the ball really well, and he’s really keen to play for us.”

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