The Stan Sport Rugby Heaven panel have moved early on the only Wallabies discussion that gets traction this far out from a July Test series — the back-line. With Joe Schmidt entering his last three Tests in charge before handing over to Les Kiss, and a Six Nations-style Nations Championship looming as the opening salvo of the 2026 international season, the panel's first attempt at a way-too-early backline is, predictably, anything but consensus.
The loudest debate centred on outside centre. One pundit moved aggressively away from current Wallaby Joseph Suaalii at 13 and instead put Waratahs back-three flyer Josh Fluke into the No. 13 jersey — a selection he knew would be picked apart on air.
"I want to mention my team because I know the two of you are going to point the finger at the fact that I've picked Josh Fluke at 13 and not Joseph Suaalii or not Filipo Daugunu," the panellist said.
The defence of the selection rested on form rather than reputation, an argument Stan Sport's panel has been increasingly comfortable making over the past 12 months. Suaalii remains a star in green and gold and Daugunu's combination of size and footwork has won him a long list of cult supporters, but the Fluke pick reflected the panel's view that the Wallabies' most reliable Super Rugby Pacific outside back has earned a swing.
The other selection that drew real heat was at fullback, where one panel member ignored Test history and went hard on a comeback.
"Big call at 15. I went with Jock Campbell, who hasn't played Test rugby since 2022, but I think he has been vital for the Wallabies this year," the panellist said.
Campbell's omission from the most recent Wallabies squad has been a long-running line of editorial commentary on Stan Sport, and the tone of the panel was that this was not the time to keep punishing him. The competing argument from a co-panellist accepted the merit, framing the call in terms of philosophy rather than faces.
"That's a form pick. Reward form," the second voice said.
Elsewhere in the back-line, the panel converged. Kalani Thomas's recent run for the Reds put him into pole position at scrum-half.
"Kalani Thomas — I think his form the last three or four weeks has been great," one of the panellists said.
Waratahs flyer Max Jorgensen and Reds wing Filipo Daugunu — two of the most-feared back-three runners in Super Rugby Pacific — were nailed-on in two of the panellists' selections. The third gave Daugunu the No. 13 jersey rather than the wing, conceding the call was "controversial".
"I feel like Daugunu at 13. That's called a controversial pick. You've got to find a way to get him in the team," one of the pundits said.
At 12, To'omaga earned a vote on the strength of his finishing. Tom Wright held the inside lane on form, and the panel acknowledged that Schmidt's familiar inner circle of trusted players will weigh heavily on selection until the final whistle of his tenure.
"Joe Schmidt, don't forget, has got his favourites and what he's comfortable with," the panel agreed. "Les Kiss coming in [will] have a bit of an influence over maybe the second Test match against France in Brisbane. Definitely the third."
The sub-text of the entire discussion was the Wallabies' need to push their back-line through to 2027 with options rather than locked spots. The panel even suggested that NRL convert Zac Lomax should be part of the Wallabies conversation if injuries open up minutes.
"If there's an injury to Hodge or Jorgensen, yes — I'd throw Zac Lomax in. I've seen enough of him," the panellist said.
None of these calls will go in print on a Schmidt teamsheet anytime soon. The Wallabies' first three Tests of 2026 — at home against three of the four Northern hemisphere sides who beat them in the 2025 spring tour — will be coached by a man who picks on hard evidence, not way-too-early panels. But the panel's conversation tells a wider story: the depth of Australian back-line options is genuinely competitive again, and the loudest internal debates among pundits and supporters are now over which form-line to back, not which absences to mourn.
