Brisbane teammates Alex Glenn and Matt Gillett battle each other every week for a spot in one of the hottest back-rows in the NRL.
But later this month, the pair could be fierce enemies with Glenn in line to play his fifth Test for New Zealand and Gillett gaining admirers who believe he should be chosen in Tim Sheens’ Kangaroos squad for the April 20 Eden Park showdown.
Glenn is a Gillett admirer and, like former Brisbane, Queensland and Kangaroos captain Gorden Tallis, believes Australian selectors must pick his Broncos teammate to make his Test debut.
Test selection would complete an amazing journey from Bribie Island first grade to international rugby league in less than three years.
“Matt definitely deserves a bench spot on the Australian team,” declared 21-year-old Glenn, who is hoping his own outstanding start to 2012 carries weight with Kiwi coach Stephen Kearney.
A super-fit athlete, Glenn said he was “blown away” the first time he saw Gillett squat over 200 kilograms in the gym.
“He doesn’t really have the big legs to be lifting those kind of weights. People don’t expect him to be that strong on the field,” Glenn said.
Despite holding down a spot in Brisbane’s representative back-row, Glenn isn’t taking his Test selection for granted.
“I have to concentrate on doing my job for Brisbane. If I get to pull that black and white jersey on again, I will be overwhelmed,” he said.
Glenn has no regrets about turning down the chance to play Origin or Tests for Australia to stay loyal to New Zealand.
“Every player wants to play Origin football,” he said.
“I’d love to put on a maroon jersey but it just wouldn’t feel right.
“I’d have the same passion (as a Queensland player) but their drive, where they come from, where their families come from, that puts them well above me.
“I feel all those things and I’ve got the passion when I put the black and white jumper on for New Zealand.
“That’s when it feels right for where I come from and for my heritage.
“That’s what the Queensland players feel, I’m sure, when they play Origin.”
A junior Kiwi representative, Glenn declined selection in the Queensland Origin under 19s squad in the hope of one day playing for New Zealand.
“For me, it was an easy decision because from when I was a little kid, I’d always wanted to support that black and white jumper,” he says.
“For others, it’s a tougher decision, especially when you’ve come to Australia very young, but that’s something I wouldn’t understand.”