Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo says confusion continues to cloud his representative future after he was named in a preliminary 38-man squad for New Zealand’s World Cup tilt next year.
Mulitalo was at the centre of a farcical eligibility story during this year’s State of Origin series after he was called into the Queensland squad for Game Two before being deemed ineligible on the day of the game after the NRL received a complaint from the NSWRL that questioned the Sharks winger’s eligibility status.
And it seems that situation is still to be properly resolved, with Mulitalo taking to social media today to explain that despite being named by the Kiwis he was still unsure if that was the right representative path for him.
“Hopefully one day I can sit down with a trusted reporter and tell my side of the story to all of this and clear up any unanswered questions,” he said.
The 21-year-old, who recently won this year’s Ken Stephen Medal in acknowledgement of his tremendous work in the community, hinted that he still harbours a desire to play for Queensland.
Born in Auckland, he represented the Maroons at multiple junior age groups, but was denied his Origin dream because he didn’t move to Queensland until he was 13 years and 10 months old.
LIVE UPDATES: AFL trade news 2021 news and whispers
READ MORE: Australia sets new record in World Cup qualifiers with win over Oman
READ MORE: Storm board ‘seriously considered axing’ Cameron Munster
Origin eligibility rules state that if a player wasn’t born in Queensland they can only play for the Maroons if they lived in the state before their 13th birthday.
“I get the NRL put out a statement but I’m not ready to open that can of worms right now and to be honest it’s still a touchy subject for myself and family,” he said.
“I don’t know my next steps I just want to make sure it’s the right one!”
Another player in the mix, who has the potential to be a contentious selection, is Manly young gun Josh Schuster, who was named in the squad despite expressing his desire in the past to play for NSW and Australia.
Full NZ squad: Josh Aloiai, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich, Dylan Brown, Erin Clark, James Fisher-Harris, Kieran Foran, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Corey Harawira-Naera, Morgan Harper, Tohu Harris, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Peta Hiku, Jahrome Hughes, Jamayne Isaako, Shaun Johnson, Isaac Liu, Joseph Manu, Jeremy Marshall-King, Ken Maumalo, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Briton Nikora, Kodi Nikorima, Marata Niukore, Isaiah Papali’i, Kevin Proctor, Jordan Rapana, Jordan Riki, Josh Schuster, Bailey Simonsson, Brandon Smith, Reimis Smith, Joseph Tapine, Jazz Tevaga, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!