Sam Walker might not get another chance to impress future employers this World Cup after Tom Dearden did more than enough to keep the Australian No.7 jersey on Saturday night.
And coach Kevin Walters will need to somehow find a spot for Ethan Strange on the interchange after he injected plenty of life when brought into the action just after half-time during the 66-6 win against the Cook Islands.
The Kangaroos dropped too much ball and gifted their rivals too much field position in the first half in Townsville.
Their second half was much better, but they will need to lift again if they are to stop the winner of Tonga or Samoa in Sydney next Sunday.
At least fullback Reece Walsh was firing on all cylinders again and gave the 19,172 fans something to cheer.
If Walsh has a mortgage on the No.1 jersey ahead of James Tedesco, Dearden has done enough to keep Walker on the sidelines.
Walker was in the press all week after his contract was withdrawn by the Sydney Roosters, and the Bondi club then told him he was free to leave early if he could find a new club for 2027.
Walters went with Dearden ahead of Walker and said the dramas in clubland had nothing to do with why he opted for hometown hero Dearden to partner Cam Munster in the halves.
Dearden produced some lovely passes for Tom Trbojevic and Kotoni Staggs to score in the first half, and he was a threat with his running game the longer the game went.
Munster was forced to take over the goal-kicking duties early in the game when Walsh appeared to hurt his ankle. The wider Munster had to line them up from, the better the Storm playmaker went.
Strange came on to the field for lock forward and skipper Isaah Yeo in the 45th minute and immediately gave Australia extra options around the ruck. He was always going to have a big say on the game when the Kangaroos had so much possession, but he looked solid and connected with those around him.
Trbojevic and Jack Bostock finished with hat-tricks, while Walsh was all class, despite appearing to be troubled by an ankle injury on more than one occasion.
TV commentators noted after the win the Kangaroos will need to get tougher in the middle of the park, with Tonga and Samoa known for their excellent packs.
The Cook Islands, much like Fiji six days earlier, made plenty of metres the middle early in the game.
A lovely Walsh cutout put Jack Bostock over for the first four-pointer of the night after a few minutes.
But the Cook Islands hit back after 10 minutes when Rua Ngatikaura dummied and then crashed over from dummy-half. Val Holmes slotted the conversion and the ball landed in the middle of the excited Cook Islanders.
With a bit more class, the Cook Islands could have pressed for more points, but still lost no admirers. Brad Takairangi, 37, bowed out of the game with a memorable performance, and reminded fans how he still has one of the best torpedo bombs in the game.
