ACT Brumbies hooker Lachlan Lonergan eyes future in Canberra as race for places heats up

Brumbies coach Dan McKellar is set to contend with a major selection headache during the looming Super Rugby Pacific season with Test-capped trio Lonergan, Folau Fainga'a and Connal McInerney all pushing for a start in Canberra.

McInerney is signed with the Brumbies until the end of the 2023 season while Fainga'a, who re-emerged as Australia's first-choice hooker this year, and Lonergan are off-contract at the end of 2022.

Lonergan and McInerney both came through the ranks in Canberra and broke through to earn maiden Wallabies caps this year.

Twenty-two-year-old Lonergan is keen to stay long-term as competition for places heats up with emerging prospect Billy Pollard nipping at the heels of the established hookers.

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"We've been talking about it quite a bit actually, but we're all good mates," Lonergan said.

"We won't take it to heart or anything, we know we all want to play but at the end of the day, whoever gets selected, good on them and respect to them. It's going to make the team even better. All four of us are just going to be pushing each other to play. If you look at the big picture, it's just going to make the team better.

"We've got four good hookers now at Brums so we'll just keep challenging each other. Obviously the goal is just to win the Super comp. If you're playing good footy and you get selected for the Wallabies, it's just that extra bonus. Everyone is pushing for that jersey and only so many people can get it, so we just need to make sure we're playing good footy.

"It would be awesome to stay here for as long as I can. I grew up watching Brums and obviously I was a massive fan of them, the whole family was. To continue playing footy here would be awesome."

Whether the Brumbies can manage to retain all three players beyond the 2022 season remains to be seen given each has a desire to play big minutes at Super Rugby level, while a mooted move to a centralised model would see Rugby Australia keep clubs from stockpiling elite talent in the same position.

The Brumbies have invested heavily in Lonergan, who rose from relative obscurity less than 12 months ago to become a bolter in Dave Rennie's Test side.

Lonergan entered the year thinking there would be "no way" he would find himself in Wallaby gold so soon.

"I had a couple of goals set out for myself but that definitely wasn't on my paths, I didn't think that was going to happen. For it to happen was pretty awesome and I'm pretty grateful for it," Lonergan said. "It was pretty awesome. It was everything you think of. It's a dream everyone has, but to actually do it, it's pretty special."

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