Emerging Canterbury forward and newly-minted Country representative Adam Elliott has been given the chance to follow in the footsteps of his childhood idol Andrew Ryan.
Elliott was the sole Bulldog permitted by coach Des Hasler to play in the final City Country fixture in Mudgee.
The 22-year-old second-rower enjoyed his best game yet last weekend, scoring two tries in the Bulldogs’ 16-10 win over Canberra.
It was just his second start in 17 games and secured him a place in Sunday’s rep clash.
‘I played in the under-16s country side, so to get this jersey means a lot to me and the family,” Elliott told AAP.
‘It could be the last one ever, so I’m even more grateful for the opportunity to get a chance to play in it.”
It also gives him the opportunity to emulate Ryan, a NSW Origin and Kangaroos forward, who played in the fixture six times between 2002 and 2009, twice captaining Country.
“Andrew Ryan was the captain of the Bulldogs and I grew up supporting the Bulldogs when I was a young fellow,” Elliott said.
“I knew he was a country boy. He’s from Dubbo and my old man is from Dubbo as well so I followed Bobcat (Ryan) through his whole career up until when he retired.
“I always aspired to be the captain of the Bulldogs then step in his footsteps and hopefully be near the calibre of player that Bobcat was.”
Elliott has already displayed his captaincy credentials at Belmore.
“I was captain of the under-20 side at the Bulldogs and really enjoyed that and then my first year out of 20s I was captain of the NSW Cup side,” he said.
“Obviously there’s a lot of leaders in our first-grade side at the Bulldogs at the moment, but I’m still only young.
“I’m sure there’s a lot I can learn from those boys that will influence me down the track and hopefully I can learn a few lessons from them that will help me with the leadership.
“I’m happy to bide my time and play week in and week out at the moment.
The Bega product, who made his NRL debut in the opening round of last season, is off-contract at the end of the year.
“We’re in negotiations, it’s going pretty solidly,” he said.
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