Germany will be seeking to maintain their unbeaten run against the Netherlands when the sides meet in Gnarrenburg, north of Bremen, on Saturday.
The match will be the third between the rivals, with Germany looking to build on their impressive recent win over Spain. Their squad shows few changes, with Wolfgang Polte and Max Froeschner replacing the UK-based Keinhorst brothers.
“We are really looking forward to the game and the players putting into practice what we have been teaching them,” said co-coach and veteran German player Simon Cooper. “Myself and (co-coach) Bob Doughton were very pleased with the performance in Spain and we expect a similar level on Saturday. Our aim is to keep improving as individuals and as a team.”
Cooper added, “It’s great for rugby league in Germany that of the 19 players named all but one live here. That helps us to build a solid platform and reward the commitment of those who often travel many hours to train and play rugby league. Mawuli Amefia has been chosen as the skipper and we believe he is the first black player to captain a German national team in any sport.”
The Dutch, who are now under experienced coach Kane Krilic, have not won on the international stage since 2006, when they beat Serbia in a qualifying match for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.
“We are looking forward to testing ourselves against a very strong German team,” said Krilic. “We have talked about doing the small things well and then the bigger stuff will take care of itself. The team selected for this match is very different to the one we had against Belgium earlier in the year. Part of our development process is trying to evaluate as many players as possible within our international set up.
“It’s important for us to put the right structures in place that allows us to have sustainable success in the future.”
GERMANY
Karsten Brüning, Simon Cooper, Mitchell Evers, Jannek Hagenah, Marco Kühne, Max Froeschner, Sebastian Peter (Karlshöfen), Mawuli Amefia, Matej Beslic, Wolfgang Polte, Sebastian Roczyn (Karlsruhe), Ben Behr-Heyder, Felix Buhla, Liam Doughton, Arne Falk, Fabrice Fehlemann, Vivien Seelweger, Marc Zupan (NRW Broncos), Andrew Hoggins (Oxford RLFC)
NETHERLANDS
Marijn Steenland (Amsterdam Cobras RLFC), Timothy Ddumba, Amasa Naiuyaga, Tui Naituyaga, Patrick Neuteboom (Den Haag Knights RLFC), Rogier Baakman, Uri Breman, Jason Bruygoms, Ben Dommershuijsen, Jan Harmen Fokkens, Edson Neves, Jaco Pattikawa, Jededaih Timisela, Evert van Bochove, Gerbert van Bochove, Thijs van der Zouwen, Jorge Vazquez, Emerson de Werk (Rotterdam City Pitbulls RLFC)