Five of Newcastle's finest emerging talents have been selected in the NSW Under 18s squad to face Queensland in the curtain raiser to Origin I.
Coached by former Blues enforcer Mark O'Meley, the young nib Newcastle Knights have been named as part of a 20-man squad.
That list will be reduced to 18 players in the coming days ahead of the June 6 blockbuster at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Knights boast the most players from any club with Bradman Best, Phoenix Crossland, Brock Gardner, Jock Madden and Jaron Purcell named in the Blues side.
Best and Purcell were part of the Under-16s side which lifted the Origin shield last series.
Best is a versatile back who scored the last-minute, length-of-the-field match-winner in the 2017 Origin clash.
The teen also claimed the Knights' Harold Matthews Players' Player award and the Danny Buderus encouragement award.
Both Best and Purcell are graduates of the successful Harold Matthews Cup side where Purcell scored the match winner in the grand final.
The Under-18s State of Origin clash will kick off at 5.15pm.
