Kiwi flyer Shaun Kenny-Dowall has backed Sydney Roosters teammate Jared Waerea-Hargreaves for a return to the New Zealand Test team after a three hiatus.

The hulking prop, one of the premier bookends in the NRL, hasn’t been sighted in the black jumper since the World Cup Final in 2013.

He’d be the first person I pick,” Kenny-Dowall said.

“He’s one of the great leaders of our club and he’s a proud New Zealander and I know if he got chosen in that team that he wouldn’t let them down.”