The pair are today winging their way to the USA with the NSW Country Development Tour squad.

The tour is making a return to the Country program after a few years’ absence and will see the Cockatoos play four games – two against leading club teams, one against a regional representative side and the other a state representative team.

“I’m very excited,” Bartlett said.

“It’s a big opportunity.”

“I was pretty stoked when I got the call.”

It certainly wasn’t on his radar at the start of the year.

“At the start of the year my primary goal was to get to colts,” he said.

It wasn’t until a couple of his teammates mentioned the tour that he even found out about it.

Even then, he never really entertained the idea that he’d be part of it.

“It’s going to be a really good experience,” he said.

He is one of four from the colts squad promoted to the tour squad and said to get selected was a big boost.

The second year Sports Science student made a big impression in his first season with Albies, and even bigger in his second.

He was recognised as the New England rep player of the year for the U20s and also the player of most promise.

And while he is accustomed to playing against older and bigger guys, he is expecting the teams they play to be bigger again.

“Mainly I think, physically, the Americans will be a lot bigger,” he said.

The squad has a cross-section of players who have played for the Cockatoos previously, up and coming talent from the colts and players who  have been on the cusp of Cockatoo selection.

Douglas is one of the latter after being part of the wider Cockatoos’ training squad.

“I can’t wait. It’ll be good,” he said.

It won’t be his first time overseas for rugby – he’s had a couple of stints playing in Scotland – but will be his first time playing for Country.

Up until this year, he hadn’t even played for the Central North opens side before.

He just wanted to have a good crack at that.

The tour wasn’t even a consideration.

“I didn’t know about this trip until they told us about it at the first camp,” he said.

And being a late inclusion, he certainly wasn’t expecting to be on it.

He is also expecting the Americans to be big.

“I think they’ll be big, strong and fast – the big three,” he said.

Fellow Pirate Josh Stewart was also supposed to be heading over but has had to withdraw with injury.

The Cockatoos’ first game is on November 1 against San Francisco.

They then play Los Angeles on November 5, OMBAC on November 8 and Arizona on November 9.