Several players jostling for a starting spot against England in the October 27 tournament opener were outstanding in Fiji including Wade Graham, Tom Trbojevic and James Maloney.

Australia beat Papua New Guinea 20-4 before backing up with an 18-0 triumph over Fiji, playing without star quintet Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Will Chambers and Michael Morgan.

James Maloney played the entire game at halfback and captained for long periods when Boyd Cordner was on the bench, and the Cronulla veteran was in sublime form, putting his hand up to challenge Morgan for the five-eighth jersey against England.

Graham spent most of the second game against Fiji at five-eighth, while Trbojevic scored a try in the centres against PNG before shifting to his preferred fullback for the second game.

Depth: Mal Meninga and his star-studded bench watch the Kangaroos roll PNG. Photo: NRL Photos

"It makes it hard, you would think that we'll have a pretty good side when we play against England," Meninga said.

"There's some really good players playing in our footy team. We'll make some decisions over the next week or so.

"The versatility works for us as well. We've got some really good rugby league players who can play a number of positions and are happy to.

"When we ask them to fill in a position, they readily do it, do it to the best of their ability and we don't lose much every time we move people around."

Meninga will draw upon all 24 members of his World Cup squad throughout the tournament, while the make-up of his best 13 still remains to be seen.

Smith and Cronk have a mortgage on hooker and halfback respectively while Slater looks very difficult to dislodge from fullback despite pressure from Trbojevic and Valentine Holmes.

It gives Meninga and his coaching staff plenty of thinking to do over the next week while the squad disbands before reassembling in camp on October 22.

Saturday's unique trial against PNG and the Bati marked the first time the Kangaroos had played in Fiji.

All three sides played against each other across 40-minute stanzas, with PNG kicking things off with a hard-fought 10-0 win over Fiji.

The Kangaroos then made short work of the Kumuls, barring a spectacular Rhyse Martin try in the corner, before running in three tries to nil.

"What I was really happy about was the commitment and attitude in defence," Meninga said.

"We can execute better, there's no doubt. Defensively we were outstanding across the park, I think everyone did their job.

"I thought from a conceptual point of view I think we got a lot out of it. The concept works: 40 minutes against each side that makes it competitive and keeps both teams in the game."

Australia 20 (T Trbojevic, Mansour, Gagai, Graham tries, Maloney 2 goals) def Papua New Guinea 4 (Martin try)

Australia 18 (Dugan, Maloney, Hunt tries, Maloney 3 goals) def Fiji 0