He has been selected the fullback for the All-Stars team in their clash with the Indigenous All-Stars in the now annual pre-season clash, and he is hoping to use that berth, as a chance to stake his claim to be the NSW fullback.
That man is Canberra Raiders fullback Josh Dugan, and he is eager to make a good first impression on NSWÂ Blues coach Ricky Stuart, and his plan is to use the All-Stars clash as his springboard to the NSW fullback position.
“If I can make a name for myself in this game and have a good game then there’s no knowing what’s going to happen,” Dugan said.
“I played pretty well in the Country side last year and then got picked in the extended squad for New South Wales.
“This year I want to focus more on making my mark in getting into that squad rather than being in the extended squad.”
Dugan is ecstatic at being picked in the All-Stars team and believes that it is a huge honour for him to further his representative career.
“It’s not picked by players or anything like that or coaches. It’s picked by the fans,” said the 20-year-old.
“So to know that I’m one of the most voted players in the comp is pretty exciting.”
Dugan is jumping in his boots and frothing at the mouth, eager to get the chance to play with Benji Marshall, Cameron Smith, and his childhood idol, Darren Lockyer.
“It was pretty surreal to even think about playing with them,” he said.
“But I guess when I get up there, if I’m not too starstruck I think, I’ll see how I go.
“They’re the sort of players you never want to play against because they can always do something special. So to have the sort of players like Benji and Lockyer in the same team alongside you it’s going to be good fun.”