Age a focus in World Cup Kangaroos selection Daly Cherry-Evans is more likely to win Kangaroos World Cup selection than some of his more decorated teammates. UNLESS they were a member of Friday night's Kangaroos team or are younger than 27, rugby league players have little hope of a World Cup berth. Mindful that the majority of Australia's top 17 players are hovering around 30, Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens and selectors will operate a youth policy in selecting the remainder of the 24-man World Cup squad. The plan is to feed the country's brightest prospects in their early and mid-20s a taste of international football in Britain in November. The strategy is the beginning of preparation for 2014's Four Nations and 2017's World Cup. This means players such as Daly Cherry-Evans, Matt Gillett and Aaron Woods would be picked ahead of the likes of David Shillington, Ben Creagh and Corey Parker, unless the older fringe players are in exceptional form. There will be enormous turnover of Kangaroos personnel in the next two years. Melbourne Storm's terrific trio of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk all turn 30 this year, as does Johnathan Thurston. Justin Hodges will be 31 when when the World Cup kicks off. We are on the mature side. We have to be careful where that tips over - where being mature becomes being too mature," Sheens said. At the moment I'm confident in this group. The World Cup will include some younger players in the back end of the squad. I won't pick anyone because they are young. I will pick players in good form. The Australian selectors will be the ones making that decision, too, though. Sheens was unimpressed with his team's 32-12 win over the Kiwis at Canberra Stadium on Friday night. At halftime the game was 6-6 but the Kiwis arguably deserved an 18-6 lead. They had crossed the stripe four times, only to have three tries denied - two of them in dubious decisions. The Kangaroos scored four tries in 11 minutes in the second half to secure victory. They had the better of that first half. The score could have been anything but it wasn't and that's footy," Sheens said. We will have to be better at the back end of the year. They will be better, so we need to be better, too. Sheens backed Friday night's playing group as the core of the World Cup squad. "It's going to be a long year so I'm going to have to bite the nails off waiting for everyone to be fit," Sheens said. I've probably jumped the gun with the selectors, but I'm sure they'd agree with me - most of those guys have got one leg on the plane. It's a good squad, it's been the basis of our squad for four years now. Australia's next game is against England in Cardiff on October 26. Broncos centre Hodges, who scored a runaway try against the Kiwis, said this 17 can win the World Cup. "This side has put its first foot in the door, we just hope everyone stays fit," he said. They tested us in that half. New Zealand will get better and have players return to the team.