Australia coach Kevin Walters has confirmed that Canberra Raiders youngster Ethan Strange is a chance to make the Kangaroos squad for the 2025 Ashes Series at the end of this year.
Only in the third season of his NRL career, Strange has formed a formidable partnership with Jamal Fogarty in the halves, which has moved the Raiders to the top of the NRL ladder and has one of the best running games for a playmaker.
Approaching the upcoming NRL Finals series, in which the Green Machine are considered one of the favourites to clinch the premiership, Strange has taken his game to another level, which included scoring a hat-trick earlier this round.
Following his stellar showing against the Manly Sea Eagles, he has now emerged as a bolter to claim a spot in Australia's squad at the end of the year to take on England.
“We know how vocal English fans can be and how hostile an environment it is," the Kangaroos coach said on SEN 1170.
“The current halves that we have from NSW and Queensland are elite and they are all available.
“(Strange) is certainly a player that could force themselves into the touring party.
“A young player like Strange coming through and having a terrific finals series. That could project him into a 22-man party.”
The praise from Walters comes after Strange's coach, Ricky Stuart, compared him to rugby league legend Laurie Daley and said that he will earn representative honours for either Australia or New South Wales sooner than expected.
"I don't sit here gloating, I don't sit here as a happy coach saying that. I firmly believe that he's got Origin attitude, the way he defends, the way he runs the football," Stuart said on Friday evening at a post-match press conference.
"He's got qualities of a representative player already as a young person. I don't say that outlandishly.
"For a young player such as Ethan to be able to give off energy to his teammates, it's similar to Laurie Daley when he was a young player.
"I know I'm talking about big shoes to fill and 'are you putting too much pressure on Ethan?'. Well bad luck, handle it.
"If you're ever going to make it in this game, you have to handle pressure, and he will."
