St George Illawarra Dragons winger Jason Nightingale is up for the challenge when he faces the Australia Kangaroos at Hunter Stadium, Newcastle on Friday.
The local Renown United junior is part of a 19-man New Zealand Kiwis squad named by Head Coach Stephen Kearney and will be the first encounter against their trans-Tasman rivals since the corresponding ANZAC Test last season.
Nightingale believes the main challenge he and his teammates will face is the short timespan they will be in camp together but he is going to make the most of the time provided.
“It’s a great opportunity and I’m very excited to be selected again as it’s a privilege to represent my country,” said Nightingale.
“I’ve been able to play at the venue in the past, once against England and once against Australia, so fortunately it’s not too much foreign ground for me.
“It’ll be great to catch-up with the other players in camp and the week ahead will prove a great challenge for us to pick-up where we left off from the last ANZAC Test.
“There are a few new faces within the side as well as others who were unavailable for the end-of-season tour who will be back too.
“The challenge with these one-off Tests is to get together in a short amount of time and put in a good performance on the field.”
