He has lit up the rugby league world in his first two seasons in the top grade - but Ricky Stuart says the scary thing is Nick Cotric is only going to get better.
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The 19-year-old winger has been selected in an extended NSW Blues squad to face the Queensland Maroons in the State of Origin series opener at the MCG on June 6.
Blues coach Brad Fittler admits Cotric was unlucky to miss out on cracking the top 17 but the Canberra Raiders star arrived in Sydney with the rest of the squad on Monday.
Stuart has already declared Cotric "the best winger in the competition" and while the Raiders flyer looks set to spend the series opener on the sideline, just being in the arena could do wonders for his game.
"Personally I believe he should be in the team, but that’s not my decision," Stuart said.
"I believe he has done enough to be in the team, but whether he is in the team or he is hanging around in the camp, or he is 18th man, whatever part of it will be better for him as a player.
"Origin does it for you. Whether it’s your first game or your 20th game, Origin makes you a better player. It’s probably one of the toughest arenas to play a game of football in and I believe it just does it to you naturally.
"It makes you more of a footballer. You just cannot replicate that type of experience and intensity from an Origin point of view to any other type of game.
"It’s just the intensity, the collision, the game itself, even with the atmosphere and environment, really the next level of that is a grand final."
Fittler unveiled a staggering 11 State of Origin debutants in his side for game one, with Cotric ousted in the race to the flanks by a pair of fresh faces in Josh Addo-Carr and Tom Trbojevic.
Cotric has played just 36 NRL games but his representative debut is widely regarded as a certainty, having scored 23 tries during his short stint in the top grade.
