“Cam and I roomed together at the last World Cup and we have kept in contact since,” Minichiello said.

“Since then, Cam has developed into a really good coach. He has coached the [Panthers] Under 20s to two grand finals and one win, and he is now in the first grade ranks at Penrith so I am excited to work with him.”

The pair are hopeful that Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco, St George Illawarra prop Paul Vaughan and Sydney Roosters second rower Aiden Guerra will again be available, while Minichiello’s brother Mark, Parramatta forward Nathan Brown and former Canberra captain Terry Campese are keen to play.

Another likely player is 20-year old Wigan centre Oliver Gildart, who has declared his interest in representing Italy if he is not chosen by England.

“I watched him play for Wigan in the World Club Challenge and I thought he was really good,” Ciraldo said. “I think he will play for England one day but hopefully he can represent Italy this year. We were trying to get him for the qualifiers but we just missed out with his eligibility papers.”

Gildardt now qualifies under the new international eligibility rules that enable players with heritage to represent a second tier nation if not chosen by Australia, New Zealand or England.

Under the previous rules Minichiello was unable to play for Italy without jeopardising his eligibility to play State of Origin.

“We want to grow our world game, we don’t want Australia, New Zealand and England always dominating and flogging sides, so I think they have got it right.”

Minichiello said the opportunity to represent the country from where his father had emigrated to Australia at the age of 13 in a Rugby League World Cup was among the highlights of his illustrious career.

“It was a really proud moment. The joy of my family to represent their heritage and play with my brother again was something I will never forget,” he said.

“All the players had photos in the dressing room of their grandparents or parents and it created a really good feeling amongst the boys. There wasn’t any pressure on us to win the World Cup but we had a really good group of players and it was fun.”

Ciraldo’s grandmother was born in Calabria and his grandfather came from Sicily.

“They came out here for an opportunity and worked their arses off to create a better life for their family, so when I think about the sacrifices they made I get pretty emotional and I am just really proud to represent them,” he said.

With the Azzuri qualifying for a second successive World Cup, Ciraldo and Minichiello want to ensure the game in Italy continues to grow and hope that eventually the country can field a Test team containing home-grown players.

“To see the passion of the people who have been involved for 20 or 30 years, I just wanted to help out and be a part of the Italian Rugby League and make sure the momentum we built continues,” Ciraldo said.

“We are just starting to get into the schools over there now, we have introduced OzTag, we’ve got a small but growing domestic competition, we have put a team in the French competition, we’ve always got rugby union players crossing in and out and playing both codes, and we have just started a women’s team.

“They (the women’s team) went and played Lebanon in Lebanon last week and had a win which is really good. We are really proud of that and one day we would like to have a full Test team from the domestic competition.”

Italy will play Ireland at Barlow Park, Cairns on October 29, USA at Townsville Stadium on November 5 and Fiji at Canberra Stadium on November 10.

 

By Brad Walter, Chief Correspondence RLWC2017.com