Selwyn Cobbo's appearance – clad from head to toe in Australia's playing attire – only added further confusion on Saturday night momentarily during the national anthems following his omission earlier in the week from the Test match against New Zealand.
On an occasion where Indigenous rugby league celebrated the long-awaited Test match debut of Wiradjuri man Nicho Hynes in the penultimate battle of the Pacific Championships, Cobbo at first sight was not sitting in the stands with the rest of the Kangaroos squad.
The axed winger had been left out of not only the starting line-up but he was not named on either the interchange bench nor as the concussion reserve.
But Cobbo still walked out with the other 18 players from the dressing rooms.
While not appearing in the green and gold tracksuit, he strangely was in a playing jersey, shorts and socks. No explanation was given in coach Mal Meninga's press conference.
The Wakka Wakka man stood next to Indigenous brothers, Kotoni Staggs and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, for Advance Australia Fair, and for the second consecutive Test, the trio did not sing the words, as Kangaroos teammates on either side of them did.
But on Saturday night after the 36-18 victory over New Zealand, the solemn act did not raise the same furore in Melbourne than it did in Townsville across social media.
The silence while standing for the national anthem against Samoa a fortnight ago stirred up debate after former Australian Test star Max Krilich and ex-ARL boss Ken Arthurson criticising the men for not showing pride in representing Australia.
Cobbo's replacement, Valentine Holmes, playing his first competitive game in nearly three months, instead scored first on the end of a grubber kick to cross the line in just the 8th minute of the trans-Tasman match.
Fans had heavily criticised Meninga last week online over dropping Cobbo on debut for Holmes, who returned from a one-game ban for posing weeks earlier in a photo on Instagram while holding an unspecified small white bag of white powder.
While some on social media were upset over the immediate inclusion of Holmes, as setting a poor precedent, others were adamant Cobbo was made an example of and could be punished because of his subdued debut.
After confronting a face-to-face stare down several moments after the completion of the traditional Maori haka, Australia scored first and never gave up the lead despite the Kiwis constantly threatening the host's advantage.
Tabuai-Fidow, twice, had final hands in tries to Lindsay Collins, who scored twice in succession, and Edwards, both with brilliant offloads, either side of half-time.
Hynes came onto the field in the 55th minute and Meninga gave the utility a thumbs up for his performance after the Sharks star was previously criticised for struggling in past State-of-Origin appearances on the big stage.
The 27-year-old was forced to don shoulder pads to pack down in the back row of the forward pack for a scrum after Issah Yeo was quickly taken off the ground.
The temporary lock by game's end guided a deft short ball to set up Cameron Murray to equal an Australian Test record of crossing six straight times in as many matches.
"I thought he did a terrific job and for his first Test match in the green and gold, he did really, really well," Meninga said of Hynes.
"He's a smart footy player, played in the middle I know, but defensively he was very strong as well."
The two nations will travel to Hamilton in New Zealand to play off in the tournament cup final next Saturday after both sides won their games against Samoa.
Papua New Guinea is set to face Fiji in the bowl decider next Sunday in Port Moresby, ahead of both teams playing each other first in their preliminary clash on Sunday.
