Why Tallis Duncan could be the answer for Australia's World Cup shortage

analysis Could South Sydney's Tallis Duncan be the answer to Australia's second row World Cup shortage? The South Sydney backline might be an unusual place to find the answer to Australia's second-row shortage for this year's World Cup but regardless of position the form of Rabbitohs tyro Tallis Duncan is fast becoming impossible to deny. Of the backrowers who played in this year's Origin series only Liam Martin can be considered an automatic selection for Kevin Walters's squad. Hudson Young and Dylan Lucas are both out with injuries, Haumole Olakau'atu will represent Tonga, Briton Nikora is already tied to New Zealand and Angus Crichton's status is uncertain amid his impending move to rugby. Duncan would have to beat out the likes of Canterbury's Jacob Preston and Warriors veteran Kurt Capewell, and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, David Fifita and Heilum Luki will all be in the mix if they don't opt to represent Tonga and Samoa respectively, but the door is open for him to claim his first taste of higher honours. The 24-year old has been a rare constant for South Sydney in a helter-skelter season, impressing at second row and in recent weeks at centre. His effort against Canterbury last week, where Duncan scored a try, threw the final pass for another and ran for 182 metres from 23 carries, has become typical fare and with the Rabbitohs hitting form at just the right time, a strong finish to the season could well propel Duncan into a green and gold jersey. "It's definitely something I've dreamed about my whole life. I haven't spoken about it too much publicly, that's not really the type I am," Duncan said. "But that's a dream and if I was able to achieve that dream it would mean everything to me and my family. That's all I have to say about it now." Injuries have forced Duncan to spend the last month at centre and while he's still just filling in out wide, that versatility would make him all the more valuable as part of Australia's squad. That time out wide is only temporary but his success there is proof of Duncan's growing maturity. He's improved out of sight compared to this time last year by leaning on the experience of players like Jack Wighton and the injured Latrell Mitchell, who have both played centre for New South Wales and Australia. "I'm a second-rower, but being able to help the team in any way, I'll always put my hand up for that," Duncan said. "I want to be part of an environment that's team first and for me to want that I have to live that. I believe we're doing that now. "I've got a lot of good centres around me at training and I'm not too proud to ask for help." Duncan also believes an increase in trust between himself, South Sydney's ageless wonder Cody Walker and Alex Johnston, who Duncan cites as key to identifying opposition shapes, as a key to his recent success. At the time of writing he has as many tries this season as the Dolphins' Herbie Farnworth, the best centre in the league, and he's first in the league among backrowers for line breaks and second for tackle busts. "I try to have intent in what I do and I pride myself on running hard lines," Duncan said. "I know how hard it is to defend someone when they're running genuine leads, it just puts the defence under pressure. "Everyone has a job to do and if I do mine then I'll get the ball because we've got quality ball-players like Cody and Duff (Matt Dufty)." If the Rabbitohs' showing against Canterbury is anything to go by, Duncan will get more than a few chances to push his claims for an Australian jersey. Wayne Bennett's side produced their best performance of the season to all but secure their top eight spot with a series of try-saving efforts the highlight of the 22-6 victory. "I'm really proud of that one. We saved three tries before we scored one, that's what the good teams do," Duncan said. "We might not seem like a team that prides themselves on defence but that's what we've been working on, so it's good to see the fruits of it. "Good teams don't make errors in their own half, but when they do they defend them. We can be very proud of that."