First-time Blue Nick Cotric has revealed how he learnt of his maiden call-up for the Origin opener.
The 20-year old recalls being in Sydney with friends and seeing his phone going off.
“I was in Sydney with a few mates,” Cotric tells foxsports.com.au.
“And I had this text from a limo driver saying: ‘Hey, meet me up in Coogee’. I didn’t know who it was I’m there thinking: ‘What do you mean Coogee?’ I wasn’t sure what was happening. I thought it was a prank call so I tried to block the number.”
Texts and calls continued coming in for Cotric, which is when his Origin dream started becoming a reality.
“Then my Raiders manager phones me up,” Cotric said.
“He was telling me I’d been selected in the squad for Origin. So I drove back to Canberra that day, got my stuff and came back to Sydney next day again.”
Cotric was 18th-man for the Blues in their series win last year, and the youngster feels better prepared for this campaign having been through that experience.
“I was in Canberra relaxing after our game,” he said. “And Freddy gave me the call.
“Thankfully this year I had his number saved and picked up. I was overwhelmed. I was so happy.”
