Ten ACT Brumbies prospects have been named among the nation's brightest young talents but it's one name missing from the list which shows how close they are to a Super Rugby shot.
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A host of Brumbies academy players have been named in a 57-man Junior Wallabies squad on the road to the Oceania Rugby under 20s championship.
But left out is emerging playmaker Reesjan Pasitoa, who is eligible for the Junior Wallabies but will instead continue to train with the Brumbies ahead of their Super Rugby season opener on January 31.
Lachlan Albert, Tom Haddad, Tom Hooper, Zane Marolt, Callum McDonald, Billy Pollard, Luke Reimer, Rory Scott, Zeph Tuinona and Dennis Waight have all been named in the junior national squad.
But the bulk of that group will be absent from this week's camp at the AIS having been kept in Newcastle to train with the Brumbies.
Pasitoa is firming for a Super Rugby debut but would otherwise likely be locked into the Junior Wallabies squad.
Brumbies assistant and Australian Schoolboys coach Pete Hewat says the budding 18-year-old shows his mates in the Brumbies academy just how close they could be to earning a Super shot.
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"He's obviously just out of school so it has been a big learning curve for him over the past couple of months," Hewat said.
"He is progressing really well, he hasn't missed a beat with us at training. It's a really good experience.
"Hopefully if he does get back to those squads he can take that experience he has earned here and really perform at a national level in his own age group.
"It's something Dan has encouraged and promoted, trying to get guys from the top tier of the academy and put them with the main group.
"Firstly it's just to see how they go and react to certain situations, but also it's giving us a little bit of depth in positions.
"There's six of those guys who did the whole pre-Christmas with us.
"Billy Pollard, Lachie Albert, Luke Reimer, Tom Hooper and obviously Reesjan, they've been with us this week.
"It says a lot about them, that they have progressed and performed well at this level for us to still have them here training with us. They'll be around the squad as much as they can be."
Hewat led Pasitoa, Albert, Tuinona, Hooper and Pollard on an undefeated tour of New Zealand last year. That triumph at under 18s level followed the Junior Wallabies' appearance in the under 20s World Cup final.
"It's a really good sign for Australian rugby moving forward, now it's a matter of us keeping those young guys together," Hewat said.
"It's really important they win big games together, so they can transfer that through the 18s, through the 20s.
"Then they've got an experience moving into Super Rugby and then hopefully into Wallaby level. That's the thing, we've just got to get these young kids winning and making that a habit."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
