Jacob Kiraz has confirmed his desire to represent Lebanon at the Rugby League World Cup this year, provided his body pulls up.
Kiraz, who has regularly been discussed in State of Origin circles over the last two years although is yet to make a debut at that level, has been one of the key men for the Canterbury Bulldogs.
With the club in a desperate struggle to make the finals, Kiraz will need a pair of enormous games over the next fortnight on the wing for Cameron Ciraldo's side.
He is able to play for either Australia or Lebanon, but told ESPN that he is keen on playing for Lebanon provided he is fit.
"Yes, I'm playing for Lebanon at the end of the year," Kiraz said.
"Obviously, hopefully the body pulls up, but it feels pretty good now. I'll worry about this season and hopefully going all the way with the Dogs, but I'm keen to put the Lebanon jersey on again."
Kiraz, who has played 96 NRL games, has 9 tries to his name this year to go with 64 tackle breaks and 177 metres per game.
Kiraz also confirmed he is hoping Mitchell Moses will don the Lebanese jersey for the tournament, although is yet to receive a commitment for the halfback.
Moses played State of Origin for NSW in this year's series, but with the Parramatta Eels out of finals contention and others ahead of him, he is highly unlikely to be included in Kevin Walters' Australian Kangaroos squad.
Lebanon sit in the convoluted Group B and C for the tournament, with their games to come against France, Papua New Guinea and Tonga, while England and Samoa are the other two teams in their group.
Of the six teams, only two will qualify for the semi-finals to play the top two teams in Group A, which consists of Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Fiji.
The tournament will commence on October 15 in Sydney, with the final to be held a month later in Brisbane.
