Southwell returns to the Jillaroos halves

Jesse Southwell returns to Australia’s starting side alongside Tarryn Aiken for the women’s Rugby League World Cup final against New Zealand. The November 10 team announcement makes one change to the Jillaroos side that faced Fiji in the semi-final, with Jocelyn Kelleher moving to the reserves.

NRL’s official final team list says the Kiwi Ferns retain the same starting and interchange group that beat Samoa. Raecene McGregor and Chantay Kiria-Ratu are named in the halves, while Brooke Anderson is the listed 18th player. These are the announced teams for a future fixture, not a final result or a guarantee that every named player will take the field.

Mulitalo comes back into New Zealand’s men’s side

Ronaldo Mulitalo returns on the wing for the Kiwis in the men’s final, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad listed among the reserves. Jahrome Hughes and Kodi Nikorima are named in the halves, and Kalyn Ponga is at fullback.

Australia keeps the side that defeated Samoa in the semi-final. Reece Walsh is named at fullback, Cameron Munster and Tom Dearden in the halves, and Isaah Yeo at lock and as captain. The men’s team-list page specifies a six-player interchange bench, of whom only four may be used; the women’s competition uses four interchange players and an 18th player. Do not treat the two bench rules as identical.

Two Sunday kickoffs, with Brisbane on standard time

Both finals are scheduled for Sunday, November 15 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The women’s final starts at 3:10 p.m. AEST in Brisbane, equivalent to 4:10 p.m. AEDT in Sydney and Melbourne, or 05:10 UTC. The men’s final starts at 6:35 p.m. AEST, equivalent to 7:35 p.m. AEDT or 08:35 UTC.

NRL’s women’s and men’s team-list articles give the times in AEDT; the Kangaroos media release separately confirms the men’s 6:35 p.m. AEST kickoff. Brisbane remains one hour behind Sydney and Melbourne on this date. The listed times are match kickoffs, not television programme start times.

Check the linked official team-list pages again near kickoff for any changes to the announced sides. This report covers the new final selections and schedule; the earlier semi-final reports remain separate records of those completed matches.