Orange Emus centre Lachie Harris is "absolutely stoked' to earn his first NSW Country call-up, but said he's just as excited to see 11 more of his Blue Bulls teammates named in the Cockatoos squad, along with a plethora of Central West's colts and women.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Combined, 25 of Central West's best have been included across the three Cockatoos, colts and Corellas squads, released on Sunday evening, following the Blue Bulls' stunning Caldwell Cup and women's country week double over the long weekend.
Harris is one of a dozen Caldwell Cup-winning Blue Bulls to be named, among them Dubbo Kangaroos' Mark Baldwin and Shaun McHugh, Forbes' Charlie French and Mahe Fangupo, Bathurst Bulldogs' Joe Nash and Justin Mobbs and Harden duo Ben Lenehan and Shahid Khalfan.
Three of Central West's fifth-finishing colts side were named while 10 of the championship-winning women's side earned a call-up, including four of Harris' Emus clubmates in Em McDonald, Jacky Lyden, Nikki D'Aquino and rookie sensation Milika Tuinakauvadra.
"I'm pretty excited, there's been a lot of hard work going into getting to this point so it's nice to get the reward and it's great to see so many Central West players get picked across all the squads," Harris said.
"I think we kind of expected quite a few considering we won and the women did too, but to have [25] is a pretty huge number. It's great to see the Emus women get picked too, they all work hard and deserve it. I think Nikki was a late call-up to the Central West side too, so she's done incredibly."
Harris said he thought he'd done enough to put himself in the mix but wasn't genuinely expecting a call-up and actually went on to highlight one his teammates in particular who "finally got a deserved call-up".
"I thought I played well enough in the first day's win over Mid North Coast to maybe be among the conversation but I was a little more conservative in the final, and you never know which way selectors are going to go," Harris said.
"I'm really pleased for Joe Nash who finally got a deserved call-up. He's been in and around that Central West system for years now and he's flown under the radar a bit.
"The move to Bathurst Bulldogs I think has done him good and he was excellent at the country championships, he's taken his opportunity in a big way."
The 35-man Cockatoos squad, 32-strong colts group and 30-strong Corellas group will all go into training camp later this year, last year's was a three-day camp at Singleton, before the final squads will be announced.
Harris, who's battled wrist and knee issues recently but said he's "close to fully fit", said his goal is simple, and suggested the other Blue Bulls' will be similar.
"Going into camp with some of the best in country rugby will be an awesome experience, I just want to soak it up," he said.
"There's a month or so left until that camp so if I can stay fit and do a bit extra on the side, I think I can hopefully give making that final squad a really big crack."
- NSW COUNTRY COCKATOOS: Lachie Harris, Mark Baldwin, Shaun McHugh, Shahid Khalfan, Ben Lenehan, Dan Ryan, Joe Nash, Joe Dakuitoga, Justin Mobbs, Charlie French, Mahe Fangupo, Filisione Pauta (Central West), Tom Baker, Takunda Chimwaza, Jack Hobbs, Dane Netherey, Wayne Ngatai, Cody Roman, Aisake Tuevu, Henry Yuill (Illawarra), Josefa Bui, Tyrone Davis, Matt King, Ethan McGuinness, Kev McNamara, Macae Muru Teutau, Atuniaisa Turagabeci, Josh Vainakolo (Central Coast), Travis Brook, Vitori Buatava, Harrison Chapman, Ben Damen, Alex Gibbon, Sam Kerry (Far North Coast), Kye Marshall (Mid North Coast); Coaches: Shaun McCreedy, Michael Magriplis
- NSW COUNTRY COLTS: Harrison Lee, Jonah Ruzgas, Jack Bell (Central West), Toutai Aho, Sullivenusi Haklo, Harry Layton, Matt Martin, Morgan McWhirter, Viliami Muru Teutau, Adam Peruch, Sam Peruch (Central Coast), Jack Allen, Will Archer, Jordan Byfield, Zac Crowley, Jack Johnson-Holmes, Brady Mather, Beau Merrick, Jack Perry, Elias Pettigrew, Zac Robbins, Alex Vaughn (Newcastle-Hunter), Harvey Austin, Jack Dalon, Blake Gerney, Cooper Hansen, Soul Lauvi-Johnson, Atutahi Reti, Opeti Taufahema, Kyle Wasson (Illawarra), Ollie Gibbon (Mid North Coast), Tupou Lolohea (Far North Coast); Coaches: Brett Marchant, Gavin Holder, Neil McDonald
- NSW COUNTRY CORELLAS: Em McDonald, Jacky Lyden, Milika Tuinakauvadra, Nikki D'Aquino, Kimberley Fyfe, Krystal Fyfe, LillyAnn Mason-Spice, Kenesha Stevens, Sharnah Stevens, Mel Waterford (Central West), Shenay Ball, Elise Connolly, Naomi George, Lauren Linton, Renee Staben (Central Coast), Olivia Creswick, Ellie Johnston, Kaitlin Leaney, Jean Littlewood, Greta Smith (Mid North Coast), Britney Duff, Lakesha Nathan, Leilani Nathan, Nicole Nathan (Hunter), Lauren Nott, Phoebe McLoughlin, Amy Raphael, Amelia Tunamena, Miah O'Sullivan, Lucy Prudden (Central North); Coaches: Paddy Bowen, Tony Mills
WANT MORE ORANGE AND REGIONAL SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...