IT took a blunt phone call from Ricky Stuart to remind Josh Dugan of what was at stake. And the ultimatum could not have been any clearer: "If you don't play for Country, you won't play for NSW."
With City fullback
Jarryd Hayne out of form and out of favour, Dugan is primed to claim the NSW No. 1 jumper after Friday night's clash between City and Country.
Yesterday, Dugan revealed how his frank discussion with the NSW coach ensured that he rushed back from a calf injury.
"Ricky said, 'If you don't play Country you won't play for NSW this year - it's that simple'," Dugan told The Daily Telegraph.
"He said I need to get back and play for Country to be a chance.
"That spurred me on to get back to play a couple of games to make sure I was a chance of being picked for this match. It gives you a lot of confidence to know the coach of NSW wants you to be fit and ready."
Stuart phoned Dugan after the 21-year-old had struggled through 15 minutes for the Raiders against the Titans in round four.
The issue has been nerve damage to his calf, suffered while playing for the NRL All Stars in February.
That injury stopped Dugan - a revelation last season - in his tracks.
Scan after scan could not unearth the cause of the problem. And the more he didn't play, the more the conspiracies whirled that Dugan was simply lacking the hunger to return.
"When the doctor said two to four weeks for me to come back, I did everything I had to after I spoke to Sticky to make sure I got back as quickly as possible," Dugan said.
Since then, Dugan's form has been a single shining light in a poor Canberra side.
The same cannot be said for Hayne, who was overlooked for the Kangaroos team to play the Kiwis and faces the prospect of losing his NSW jumper to Dugan.
Stuart said he had long discussions with City coach Brad Fittler and Country's Laurie Daley about how best to use Hayne in Friday's match.
"He's no certainty [of NSW selection]," Stuart said. "He's got to put a quality game in front of the selectors and for myself to have a good look at
Jarryd Hayne playing fullback."
