But that doesn't mean he's going to go into tomorrow night's clash with City with a make-or-break mentality.

For Tongue the annual NSW trial game at Wade Park in Orange is all about having fun and soaking up an opportunity that has been a long time coming to him.

''It's just an opportunity for me to do the best that I can and show that I'm relishing the opportunity and I'm just playing my heart out,'' Tongue said. ''If you do that everything takes care of itself.

''If you're playing as best as you can and enjoying yourself as much as you possibly can everything else just falls into place.

Tongue's attitude isn't surprising considering the number of times he has been overlooked for representative honours.

The 28-year-old has been an ultra-consistent performer at the Raiders throughout his nine-year NRL career, but up until now his greatest representative honour was serving as 18th man for Country two years ago.

He also played for the Prime Minster's XIII against Papua New Guinea last year, but as far as the serious fixtures are concerned he's regularly been stuck on the outer.

This year, calls for Tongue to play representative football have come thick and fast from some of the most respected minds in rugby league.

But he didn't take notice of any of it until he got the call on Sunday afternoon to tell him he was in the Country team.

''I never really was overly confident about getting picked,'' he said. ''You hear your name get thrown up and that type of thing, but it's probably been thrown up like that for the last couple of years.''

While Tongue is loathe to talk about his own State of Origin prospects, the fact he is lining up at lock for Country means he is now closer than ever to winning NSW selection.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times