A member of the Canberra Raiders Harold Matthews Shield side, Lienesch was selected in the 17-man squad for the June 3 match at Etihad Stadium after impressing in a recent trial match in Sydney.

A powerfully built centre whose physique is perfectly suited to rugby league, Lienesch said he was ‘over the moon’ about his selection.

“I tried not to think about it too much after the trials,” Simon said.

“I was down at junior league training helping out the under 13s when mum came to the ground.

“My first reaction was she was going to tell me I missed out, but when she said I was in, it was an awesome feeling.”

Simon joined his NSW teammates in Sydney on Wednesday night for a medical and training session before linking up with the Combined Catholic Colleges side that is due to play in Tamworth today and tomorrow.

He’ll have little time to rest once he returns as he goes into camp at Narrabeen on Saturday week, before flying to Melbourne the day before the match.

Simon is the only Canberra player selected in the NSW side, the remainder of the team coming from six other NRL based clubs, including a couple of NSW-born players from the Gold Coast.

Unsure of what time his match is on Origin night, Simon said the opportunity to play in front of what promises to be a big crowd will be an excellent experience.

“We don’t know much about game times yet and there could be more than one curtain raiser, but the chance to play Queensland on an origin night is huge,” he said.