With Australia seemingly in the box seat to claim another World Cup victory, there's only one major debate left for the Kangaroos and it's being stretched out for all it's worth. 

The battle between Nathan Cleary and Daly Cherry-Evans for the halfback jersey is still in the balance after Mal Meninga named the two to play alongside one another in the halves against Italy on Sunday at 5:30am AEDT.

All through the tournament, Meninga has remained coy on who he'll prefer for the knockout stages – not just at halfback, but across the paddock — and that didn't change when he spoke the day before the match.

"We're still on that rotation policy and things are bubbling along nicely," Meninga said.

"I'm getting closer to what we will do with our best 19 players to take us forward. But it's still another important game this week. There's still a few positions I feel are up for grabs.

"We'll make those decisions next week. It's going to be a tough job, singling out players. But that's what I do."

A matter of opinion might keep a centre here or a backrower there out of the Kangaroos side.

But the battle between Cleary and Cherry-Evans to pair with Cameron Munster in the halves isn't just the main event, it is like something from another time.

In the 1980s, the great halfback debate was between Peter Sterling and Steve Mortimer before Ricky Stuart and Allan Langer duked it out in the 1990s.

After nearly 25 years of excellence between Andrew Johns, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk, it was a long time before there was a true showdown for the Australian halfback spot and it means every moment matters, even if the Kangaroos are all but certain to overwhelm the Italians.

"The rotation policy has worked really well. Everybody's gotten two games out of three, it's been really fair and we'll make some decisions next week," Meninga said.

"It's all about on-field and it's all about off-field. It's about how they mix together socially and how they support each other with their footy. That's how you make your judgements.

"Everyone's doing exactly what's necessary for the team, so it'll be hard to tell someone they're going to miss out because they've all done the right thing by the team.

"They've [Cleary and Cherry-Evans] bonded really well. They knock around together all the time, they've sorted out their roles and it's been fantastic."

Meninga is fond of infusing magic from the past into the present and he'll do the same for the clash in St Helens in playing the two men together.

Back in 1990, when Meninga was captain of the Kangaroos, Australia did the same thing, as Stuart and Langer played side-by-side in the halves for the first Test against Great Britain.