Young rugby league product Jack Hetherington is in line for a State of Origin debut in 2019 after being named in the emerging Blues squad to take part in a training camp at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Thursday, December 13.
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NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler named a 23-man squad which includes rising stars on the cusp of NSW selection for State of Origin and others who have been identified as potential players for the future.
Hetherington, a 22-year-old front rower for Penrith Panthers, made his NRL debut in the 2018 season and went on to play 13 games throughout the year.
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He is on the path to establishing a career similar to his father, uncle and grandfather.
His father Brett played for the Canberra Raiders and North Queensland Cowboys during the 1990s and early 2000s, his grandfather is Roosters legend Bill Mullins was and his uncle is Brett Mullins – one of the most exciting players in the 90s.
Jack’s father and uncle were both part of the Canberra Raiders premiership winning team in 1994.
The emerging Blues squad is the second group of players that Fittler has picked in the past few days. The extended Origin train-on squad named on Friday, November 23 will come together at the CoE on Friday, December 14.
It includes Angus Crichton who grew up in Young and Jordan McLean who played many junior seasons for the Cherrypickers.
"The majority of players named are young, have stood out in their age groups and representative teams and had a big influence, and any time they make these types of squads is important," Fittler said.
"We're giving time to meet these players and while we don't have time to train it's very important to get to know them for the future plans of NSW."
The NSW Emerging Blues squad:
- Payne Haas (Brisbane Broncos), Matt Lodge (Brisbane Broncos), Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos), Jayden Brailey (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), Kyle Flanagan (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), Curtis Scott (Melbourne Storm), Jesse Ramien (Newcastle Knights), Daniel Saifiti (Newcastle Knights), Mitchell Moses (Parramatta Eels), Waqa Blake (Penrith Panthers), Shawn Blore (Penrith Panthers), Jack Hetherington (Penrith Panthers), Dylan Edwards (Penrith Panthers), Moses Leota (Penrith Panthers), Campbell Graham (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Robert Jennings (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Euan Aitken (St George Illawarra Dragons), Blake Lawrie (St George Illawarra Dragons), Zac Lomax (St George Illawarra Dragons), Cameron McInnes (St George Illawarra Dragons), Reece Robson (St George Illawarra Dragons), Victor Radley (Sydney Roosters), Luke Brooks (Wests Tigers)
The NSW Blues training squad:
- Jack Bird (Brisbane Broncos), Reagan Campbell-Gillard (Penrith Panthers), Nathan Cleary (Penrith Panthers), Josh Addo-Carr (Melbourne Storm), Damien Cook (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Nick Cotric (Canberra Raiders), Boyd Cordner (Sydney Roosters), Angus Crichton (Sydney Roosters), Jack De Belin (St George Illawarra Dragons), Dale Finucane (Melbourne Storm), Blake Ferguson (Parramatta Eels), Tyson Frizell (St George Illawarra Dragons), Wade Graham (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), Ryan James (Gold Coast Titans), Josh Jackson (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), Luke Keary (Sydney Roosters), David Klemmer (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs), James Maloney (Penrith Panthers), Jordan McLean (North Queensland Cowboys), Latrell Mitchell (Sydney Roosters), Cameron Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Tyrone Peachey (Gold Coast Titans), Mitchell Pearce (Newcastle Knights), Tevita Pangai Junior (Brisbane Broncos), Matt Prior (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks), James Roberts (Brisbane Broncos), Tariq Sims (St George Illawarra Dragons), James Tedesco (Sydney Roosters), Jake Trbojevic (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles), Tom Trbojevic (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles), Paul Vaughan (St George Illawarra Dragons), Aaron Woods (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)
