New South Wales Origin coach Laurie Daley has lauded the strong Blues representation in the Kangaroos squad announced by Tim Sheens on Tuesday.
Fourteen of the 24 players in the squad are NSW-aligned, with nine members of the victorious 2014 NSW Origin squad included along with six rookies who have yet to play Test or Origin football.
The inclusion of the rookies is a testament to the strength of the NSWRL pathways across under-age representative and VB NSW Cup levels, the NSWRL said.
"They all dream of playing State of Origin for NSW and Test football for their country and this is a great result," Daley said of the squad.
"I know just how hard they have all worked to get the job done for their clubs and state and it's a wonderful reward for the players."
Six of the Test rookies – Josh Jackson, Alex Johnston, David Klemmer, Josh Mansour, Dylan Walker and Daniel Tupou – have played in the VB NSW Cup at some stage over the past three years.
"That's so exciting for them and also for New South Wales," Daley said.
"It’s a great effort to get into the squad and it will be fantastic for them to get experience at Test level and learn from some of the best."
NSW-aligned players in the 2014 Holden Kangaroos Four Nations squad:
Greg Bird, Boyd Cordner, Robbie Farah, Jarryd Hayne, Ryan Hoffman, Josh Jackson, Michael Jennings, Alex Johnston, David Klemmer, Josh Mansour, Sione Mata'utia, Beau Scott, Daniel Tupou, Dylan Walker and Aaron Woods.
