Kevin Walters said James Tedesco earned his place in Australia's squad, describing his late appearance in the World Cup final as deserved.
Tedesco came off the bench in the closing minutes of Australia's 32-12 defeat of New Zealand after Latrell Mitchell was ruled out with illness.
The 33-year-old had started at fullback against Fiji, his first Test since 2023, but had mostly watched as Reece Walsh impressed.
Tedesco captained Australia to the World Cup title four years earlier.
After adding this year's World Cup to his State of Origin series and NRL premiership, he confirmed he would retire from representative football.
"That's me for any rep footy; I'm done with rep footy now," Tedesco told AAP.
"It's a good way to end it ... it's been a long season, definitely ready for a break now and I'm pretty proud of it."
"Things happened and I get five minutes or whatever it was; it's special for me," he said.
"It was always the goal to get back into the jersey (in this tournament), whatever that looked like."
Tedesco was player of the match in New South Wales' series-opening loss to Queensland and made several game-saving plays in the deciding match.
He has played 26 Origin matches and had to reclaim the Blues' fullback spot after Dylan Edwards rose to prominence in 2024 and 2025.
Tedesco kept his retirement decision private and hopes to play two more NRL seasons without representative commitments.
"I didn't tell anyone; I didn't want to make it about me, that was important," Tedesco said.
Walters said he had not known about Tedesco's plans and had put him on because he respected him and felt he should play.
Walters also said he hoped to continue coaching Australia while balancing the role with his new job at St Helens in England.