Raiders toiler Alan Tongue finally earned his first representative jumper as the individual honours continued to catch up with the under-rated Canberra skipper.

Tongue was named in the Prime Minister’s XIII to play Papua New Guinea on September 28 in a team that also includes former Wallaby Wendell Sailor in a shock return to rep football.

Versatile Canberra lock Tongue’s selection caps a superb 2008 for the workhorse just a week after he claimed the Dally M lock and captain of the year awards.

Tongue revealed on Tuesday he was called into the side last year but had to turn down the opportunity to travel to Port Moresby as he was already on a family holiday.

“Last year I did get a call to be a late inclusion because somebody pulled out through injury but I was actually on my family holiday on the other side of Australia when they called and I only had a couple of days notice to get there,” he said.

“It is my first team and I am looking forward to it.

“I won’t be missing this one.”

Tongue was one of four Raiders picked on Tuesday - along with Terry Campese, Joel Monaghan and Joe Picker - as Canberra had the largest representation in the 18-man squad.

St George Illawarra winger Sailor was included after just eight NRL games into his league comeback and seven years after he last pulled on a rep jumper in the 13-man game.

Parramatta star Nathan Hindmarsh reignited his rep career by being named captain while Jarryd Hayne, Scott Prince, Carl Webb, Luke O’Donnell and Craig Wing are the other former Kangaroos picked in the side.

Hindmarsh is one of eight members named on Tuesday who were not listed in the Australian World Cup shadow squad of 46 announced last month.

Dragons winger Josh Morris, Wests Tigers duo Chris Heighington and Chris Lawrence (18th man), Newcastle’s Cory Paterson and Canberra trio Tongue, Campese and Picker were also plucked from obscurity for the clash with the Kumuls.

The PM’s side is selected from the 10 NRL clubs no longer alive in the 2008 title race but there were notable omissions on Tuesday including Johnathan Thurston, Steve Simpson, Justin Poore, Anthony Laffranchi, Kurt Gidley, Ben Creagh, Matt Cooper, Petero Civoniceva and Danny Buderus.

Test incumbents Thurston, Gidley and Civoniceva are automatic World Cup selections if fit while Laffranchi, 18th man for the Centenary Test, is also expected to be in that 24-man squad named on October 6.

The clash with the Kumuls will be Australia’s only World Cup warm-up game and will help solve some selection headaches, but Tongue isn’t holding out much hope he’ll earn a shock Kangaroo jumper.

“That would be outstanding obviously, but I wasn’t named there (shadow squad) to start of with and I’m not thinking it will go much further than this,” Tongue said.

“Either way it’s a great honour to be able to do it. I’m really looking forward to getting over there and playing my first sort of rep game.”

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