ACT Griffins coach Wayne Southwell says the return of the ACT representative side will give club players the opportunity to show why they should have been selected in the Canberra Vikings' National Rugby Championship team.
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The Griffins will play five games from August 29 to October 10, with three of those games curtain-raisers to NRC matches.
Players from all seven John I Dent Cup teams have been included in the 26-man Griffins squad, which will also include players from the Canberra Vikings who aren't picked for the NRC.
The Tuggeranong Vikings dominated the Canberra Vikings squad, with 18 players from the 37-man squad coming from their club.
In contrast, the Canberra Royals - who broke a 24-year drought by beating Tuggeranong in a thrilling grand final this month - only had three representatives in the NRC squad.
Southwell - who is also the coach of the Royals - said the return of the Griffins would allow club players to showcase their talent at the next level.
"For them, I think the pressure valve will be off a little bit," Southwell said.
"That's always a good thing when people start to enjoy the game.
"We needed to showcase what is at club level and if anything, that grand final showed the level that is here in Canberra."
Asked if Royals deserved to have more players in the Canberra Vikings squad, Southwell said: "It's easy to say in hindsight.
"It was selected fairly early, well before the finals series.
"The important thing is that these clubs are getting an opportunity."
One of the Royals players in the Griffins squad is premiership match-winner Ben Johnson, who scored the decisive try in the 80th minute of the grand final.
"It'll be a step up from club rugby and for those guys who are on the fringe and didn't make NRC, it's a good chance for them to show off those skills," Johnson said.
"I love the guys I play with at Royals, but in terms of putting consistent performances on the board week in and week out, Vikings were obviously up there for that.
"People perform in this team and they definitely get looked at for next year."
Wests loose-head prop Harry Lloyd, 20, is enjoying the chance to train alongside former Wallabies prop Ben Alexander in the Canberra Vikings squad.
"Ben pushes all the guys in fitness and he's good to have around in the gym," Lloyd said.
"It's a good opportunity for the club guys who missed out on the NRC to get a bit more game time.
"A squad with 14 Brumbies is going to be hard to crack, so the Griffins will be a good opportunity to step up."
