St George Illawarra Dragons lock Trent Merrin admits that selection into the Australia Kangaroos squad is the ‘pinnacle’ of his career.
The NSW Blues representative, alongside teammate Josh Dugan, is part of an 18-man squad named by Head Coach Tim Sheens for the annual ANZAC Test fixture against the New Zealand Kiwis at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on Friday.
Merrin, 25, notes that he would not have achieved this career milestone if not for the recent form of the Red-and-Whites and more importantly his teammates.
“I got the initial phone call from our team manager at about midday and I had butterflies straight away as it’s a dream come true,” said Merrin.
“Every year you try and excel to do the best you can to try and put yourself in that position and while you always have it in the back of your mind, I wasn’t too sure.
“But when I got the phone call – words cannot describe the way I felt.
“Being selected is the pinnacle of my career and a goal I've been trying to reach for so long so its great that it had happened.
“At the moment I am getting used to training with everyone in the squad and getting the body right form the weekend.
“I owe a lot to the Dragons as I probably wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for the way we’re going at club-level and it’s a credit to all the boys.
“We didn’t have the best start to the year but we’ve picked-up on it and I definitely wouldn’t be here without them.
“I had to do a job for the Dragons and at the start that was coming off the bench.
“Every year I come in with ambitions to do the very best I can and I’ve now been lucky to get the spot in the Kangaroos squad.”
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