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NEWCASTLE -- Wallabies playmaker Noah Lolesio has been cleared of any serious injury after he was stretchered off on Sunday, while coach Joe Schmidt again rejected suggestions Australia needed to add an experienced playmaker for the British & Irish Lions series. Lolesio was carted off McDonald Jones Stadium in the 61st minute of Australia's 21-18 victory over Fiji, the fly-half appearing to suffer whiplash as he was tackled beneath the visitors' posts, before they then surged up field and were only denied a sensational five-pointer by the TMO. While Schmidt told reporters at the post-match media conference he did not know the extent of Lolesio's condition, the Wallabies confirmed later Sunday evening that he had been released from hospital and cleared of serious injury. But it was the second time in the space of three months that Lolesio had been taken from the field in a medicab -- Lolesio was carried from HBF Park in Perth during the Brumbies' Round 13 win over the Force -- while he also suffered a head knock in the 11th minute of their semifinal defeat by the Chiefs. Those three separate incidents have led to questions about his ability to navigate what is expected to be an incredibly physical series against the Lions, which gets underway in Brisbane in 12 days' time. A Wallabies spokesperson said Lolesio would continue to be "medically monitored... with a follow up to be undertaken in the coming days." Lolesio was replaced by Ben Donaldson in Newcastle on Sunday, while Schmidt also had two-cap youngster Tom Lynagh in his extended squad to face the Fijians.  Questioned whether it might be time to add an experienced playmaker to the mix -- the Wallabies will name their squad to face the Lions on later this week -- Schmidt again stuck solid behind his young fly-half trio. "We obviously haven't selected our Lions squad," Schmidt said. "This was one game that sat before that, and we'll sit down and consider our options. But if you have a look at what Ben Donaldson did, I'm not sure that he didn't do exactly what he was needed to do. "He put us into the corner, he did what was needed to make sure that we were in the game at the end and got the game done. So, yeah, I think we haven't been together for six months, and to have five trainings and to be seamless would be an expectation that I'd hoped for rather than believed would immediately happen. "So, now we have another short runway to try and improve from where we were today." Rugby Australia on Monday confirmed the final make-up of the AUNZ Invitational squad, with neither James O'Connor nor Bernard Foley named among the group as expected. Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and Tane Edmed have instead been given the opportunity to impress, while it is understood that the cost of insuring Foley at age 35 and O'Connor at 34, was one of the key stumbling blocks prohibiting their inclusion.  On Sunday in Newcastle, meanwhile, Lolesio had earlier produced a steady first-half display as the Wallabies dominated possession and territory, but lacked the polish to build what would have been a commanding halftime lead. Instead, their 14-0 advantage was reduced to just nine points, a midfield chip from Lolesio 10 seconds from the hooter giving the Fijians an opportunity to counter - virtually their only attacking foray of the first half - from which debutant fullback Salesi Rayasi powered his way through three Wallabies defenders and into the corner. That late try seemed to embolden the visitors, who rode the momentum into the second half and later moved ahead 18-14. In the end, only skipper Harry Wilson's late five-pointer got the Wallabies out of jail in Newcastle, their second-half effort in particular offering little evidence to suggest they can be confident of upsetting the Lions in the three-Test series. "It's not really a mindset that we've had time to consider even, I'm sure externally it will look like that," Schmidt replied when asked whether the "underdog" position was one the Wallabies would relish. "We didn't play well enough today for people to have the expectation that we're going to come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over. I'm not sure that expectation was there before today. "As I said, we're just going to have to build that quiet resolve that inch by inch we can work our way toward that." The Wallabies also have concerns over hooker Dave Porecki, who was another player to suffer a head knock in Newcastle.
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