Manly Sea Eagles' young gun Josh Schuster has spoken out about his future representative eligibility following a surprise inclusion in New Zealand's wider 38-man squad for the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.
Schuster burst onto the scene in the NRL this year, taking the NRL by storm on the Manly left edge.
A second-rower who can also play in the halves, Schuster is a former captain of the New South Wales under-18 team, having played there in 2018 alongside the likes of Bradman Best, Mathew and Max Feagai, Tyrell Sloan, Jayden Sullivan, Jackson Topine and Ben Trbojevic.
That team was coached by Michael Ennis, while he also played in the under-16s team two years earlier under Brad Fittler, who is known to be a big fan of the 20-year-old.
It had been previously reported Schuster was in the reckoning to be in this year's New South Wales squad until injury hit.
He has now been named amongst a 38-man wider squad for the Kiwis, which Michael Maguire will use to select his 2022 World Cup squad.
Schuster told The Sydney Morning Herald though that he would love to play Origin and for Australia.
“It came as a big shock to me,” Schuster said.
“I think it is more to honour my grandfather and his brother who played for the All Blacks; to be named in the squad is pretty surreal.
“I’m not going to lie, one day I’d love to play Origin footy and for my country, Australia. It’s good that my options are open.”
