More than 50 young rugby league enthusiasts attended the trials, from which the coaching team of Peter Stevens (head coach), Scott Bone (manager) and Richard Ingram (assistant coach) will select a squad of around 22.

Following on from last months Greater Northern Academy trials, the numbers were encouraging.

“The U18s we had over 120 kids and over 80 for the 16s, that’s great from a regional perspective,” Bone, who is also the GNA regional manager, said.

The Greater Northern program also includes players from the Group 21 area, and is separate to the NIAS program, but the idea is that the NIAS program will act as a bit of a foundation, being aimed at kids turning 15.

“It’s more about planting the seed for them that if you want to go forward this is the things you need to do,” Bone said.

Saturday’s trial started with an-hour-a-half skills session. They then finished some games.

Bone was impressed with what he saw and didn’t feel it was going to be an easy task whittling the squad down, although as he stressed to the players not making the squad “wasn’t the end of the road”.

“A lot of players don’t make rep squads,” he said.

“Trent Merrin is a classic example.” 

The Panthers prop never made a junior rep side. 

This years intake will be the second since the program was reintroduced and will follow a similar format to last year.

The exact program is still being finalised but Bone said they are looking to play the Far West Academy, and a series of games on the Central Coast.

“We’ll also try and tour some NRL clubs and go to an NRL game,” he said.

Mal Meninga meanwhile looks set to achieve his aim of piloting Australia back to the top of the rugby league heap in just six months.

The green and golds remain undefeated under the iconic Queenslander after cruising into the Four Nations final at Anfield with a patient and clinical 36-18 win over England at London Olympic Stadium.

With referee Robert Hicks insisting on squeaky clean rucks and at pains to protect kickers, fans came to see the likes of Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith in the wide open spaces, playing a style of football that was patient and clinical but still reassuringly entertaining.

After the sides traded early penalty goals, Hicks missed a blatant forward pass on the ruck before winger Jermaine McGillvary lipped outside the Australians' left-side defence to score the first try.

The response underlined the tourists fine balance between composure and spur-of-the-moment skill, five-eighth Thurston tapping on to Blake Ferguson to score in the corner. 

Thurston added a sideline conversion and a goal to bring the halftime ledger to 10-6 in favour of the Kangaroos.

After the break, the pressure the Australians had exerted in the first half bore fruit.

Inglis crossed from a scrum win at 48 minutes, after a Thurston stab kick was knocked down by Kallum Watkins. Matt Scott rumbled over defenders off the ruck to cross near the posts in the 58th and – almost from the resumption – Cronk broke free to release Josh Dugan for another four points.