Young Newcastle Knights prop Pasami Saulo will get an opportunity to play on the big stage after being drafted into the Maori All Stars squad for the clash with the Indigenous All Stars on the Gold Coast on Saturday.
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The 21-year-old prop has played just six NRL games off the bench over the past two seasons but has just signed a new two year deal and is highly regarded by the club.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien confirmed Saulo's All Stars call-up after he was among a host of players to stand out for the club in their run to the quarter finals at the NRL Nines in Perth.
"I was really happy with Pasami and he's got himself a start in the Maoris All Stars team so he'll be playing in that game which will be a big thrill for him,"O'Brien said.
"I thought he really stood up for us and both he and Jirah [Momoisea] didn't look out of place at all. Their careers are just starting out but they didn't look out of place and we are going to see plenty of them at this level.
"They physically handled it and you couldn't fault the effort from them but the effort from everyone across the two days was really good."
The Knights, spearheaded by retired veteran Kurt Gidley, left many of their big names at home but opened the tournament with a 34-0 thumping of the Warriors before setting up a quarter final clash with pre-tournament favourites Parramatta with an impressive 16-4 win over Penrith to top their pool.
The Eels ended Newcastle's campaign 14-7 after a tight quarter final contest.
