Three seasons after being told he had no future in the NRL with South Sydney, blockbusting Penrith winger Josh Mansour is set to be rewarded for his persistence with a Kangaroos call-up.
After a stellar season with the Panthers, Mansour further enhanced his claims for a spot in coach Tim Sheens’ 24-man squad for the Four Nations tournament with another strong performance in the Australian PM XIII’s 34-16 win over Papua New Guinea in Kokopo on Sunday.
“It would be a dream come true,” Mansour told 2KY’s Big Sports Breakfast on Monday.
“Everyone wants to play for their county and if it does come I would take it with both hands. So fingers crossed.”
A Rabbitohs junior, Mansour, 24, was that club’s under-20s player of the year in 2010, but was cut at the end of 2011, after failing to make his first grade debut.
Penrith offered Mansour an NRL lifeline in 2012, and he made his first grade debut in round nine that season before becoming a key figure in the Panthers’ unexpected surge to the preliminary final this season.
If things had worked out differently Mansour may have been celebrating the Rabbitohs’ record-breaking premiership win last week.
Instead he will likely be toasting an international call-up when Sheens names his squad on Tuesday.
If he is selected, Mansour is set to celebrate by losing his trademark bushy beard.
“It is time to shave it off,” he said.
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