Australian Rugby League World Cup hopefuls will get the first indication as to whether they're being considered for the tournament when a preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad is announced on Friday.

Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart and ARL chief executive Geoff Carr will name the squad at 11am (AEST), just two months out from the tournament, which begins on October 26 in Sydney.

The squad will eventually be whittled down to a maximum of 24 players but Carr stressed players not selected in the squad could still make the final team.

"It's a start and it will give a lot of players an indication of who is being considered," Carr said.

"But the bottom line is, although it's a strong indication to those people that the selectors are watching, if someone pops up in the finals series, they can still be added."

The final Australian squad for the tournament will be announced on October 6, the day after the NRL grand final.

Australia, defending World Cup champions, begin their campaign against New Zealand at the Sydney Football Stadium on October 26.

They then meet England at Melbourne's Telstra Dome on November 2 and Papua New Guinea in Townsville on November 9.

The semi-finals of the tournament will be played at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium on November 15 and Sydney Football Stadium on November 16, with the final to be played on November 22 at Suncorp Stadium.

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