Mal Meninga has given Daly Cherry-Evans the first shot at staking a claim to become Australia's halfback when they kick off their Rugby League World Cup campaign. 

Australia face their toughest assignment in Group B when they take on Fiji at Headingley in Leeds on Sunday (AEDT) in their first game of the tournament.

Meninga made a point when naming his team on Tuesday evening to rest all grand final players, giving them an extra week to recover from the October 2 decider.

He also confirmed all players not named for the tournament opener will play the following week against Scotland, giving every player a chance to make their case.

"This is an extremely strong team and suits what we are trying to achieve over the whole tournament," Meninga said.

"We have three pool matches and I aim to play every player during the pool matches.

"The grand final players will not play against Fiji, while a number of the players we have named have not played in weeks.

"It's important to give them match time as we look at our combinations."

Meninga has long resisted the temptation to declare whether Cherry-Evans or Penrith halfback Nathan Cleary partner Cameron Munster in the halves deeper into the tournament.