Panthers trio Nathan Cleary, Dylan Edwards and Moses Leota have been selected by NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler in an Emerging Blues squad.
Players from 13 NRL clubs made the 38-man squad, which will assemble for a day of training in Sydney in January.
Andrew Johns, Craig Fitzgibbon, Matt King, Mark O’Meley and Anthony Minichiello will join Fittler and NSW Blues Assistant Coach Danny Buderus at the training day in specialist positional coaching roles.
In addition to undertaking skills work, Emerging Blues will attend presentations preparing the young stars for league’s toughest arena.
“I’ve brought these players in because they’re players I really respect and I believe they can learn a lot from the camp – both on and off the field,” Fittler said.
“The majority of these players are young stars already playing first grade, or on their way to the top grade.
“These players will be the backbone of the NSW Origin team going forward. They all have a big future.
“We’re hoping they get a lot from the Emerging Blues camp, about expectations, and learning from some of NSW Origin’s best former players, who I have played with and really respect.”
The 2018 Emerging Blues squad (in club and alphabetical order) is:
Payne Haas (Brisbane Broncos)
Tevita Pengai Jr. (Brisbane Broncos)
Michael Lichaa (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs)
Nick Cotric (Canberra Raiders)
Jayden Brailey (Cronulla Sharks)
Kyle Flanagan (Cronulla Sharks)
Jessie Ramien (Cronulla Sharks)
Lachlan Croker (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Jack Gosiewski (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Brian Kelly (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Luke Metcalf (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Curtis Scott (Melbourne Storm)
Brock Lamb (Newcastle Knights)
Daniel Saifiti (Newcastle Knights)
Connor Watson (Newcastle Knights)
Nathan Cleary (Penrith Panthers)
Dylan Edwards (Penrith Panthers)
Moses Leota (Penrith Panthers)
Bevan French (Parramatta Eels)
Tepai Moeroa (Parramatta Eels)
Mitchell Moses (Parramatta Eels)
Kyle Schneider (Parramatta Eels)
Jake Hazard (Sydney Roosters)
Latrell Mitchell (Sydney Roosters)
Victor Radley (Sydney Roosters)
Angus Crichton (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Tyrell Fuimanu (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Campbell Graham (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Cam Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Matt Dufty (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Jai Field (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Zac Lomax (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Reece Robson (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Hame Sele (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Jacob Liddle (Wests Tigers)
Bayley Sironen (Wests Tigers)
Moses Suli (Wests Tigers)
Alex Twal (Wests Tigers)
