Sharks centre
Jesse Ramien says it would be a "massive" honour to land a debut Kangaroos selection, but is refusing to look past Saturday's
NRL semi final in Canberra.
Australian selectors are on the hunt for outside backs given the
dearth of available centres following a number of withdrawals.
The likes of Tom Trbojevic, Latrell Mitchell, Valentine Holmes, and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow are all ruled out of the Ashes tour to England next month, while fellow gun centres Stephen Crichton and Robert Toia have pledged allegiance to other countries.
Broncos star Kotoni Staggs, Parramatta's Zac Lomax, Canterbury's Matt Burton and Newcastle's Bradman Best loom as centre options for new Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters.
But with Cronulla into the semi finals and Ramien in good form for the Shire side, the 28-year-old looms as an outside chance to score his maiden Australian jersey.
Ramien has played for the Indigenous All Stars four times but other representative duties have eluded him.
"It would be massive, it would mean the world," he told Wide World of Sports of a potential selection.
"I don't think there is a person playing the game who wouldn't love to get rep honours with whoever they choose to play for.
"If I was ever able to put on that jersey it would be massive, for sure.
"It's probably not something that I think about or take notice of. I always try to just be present at club land. If you're playing good footy for the Sharks the that stuff will come off the back of it.
"I never look too far ahead, I just worry about my performance each week for the Sharks and then if rep honours come, that's just a bonus."
After finishing the season in fifth spot on the NRL ladder, the Sharks stunned the Roosters last week to book a trip to the nation's capital.
The Cronulla win surprised many, including critics who spent the week pointing out the team's dire finals record in recent years.
Since winning the 2016 premiership the Sharks have missed finals only once, but have made a habit of being bundled out without firing a shot.
Ramien knows the team can't escape history but believes this year feels different.
"I feel like our team at the moment is in a good spot," he said.
"We're connected, we hit some form at the right time. A lot of people had us written off against the Roosters then we went out there and silenced a few critics, proved what we can do.
"That's just another step for us, we don't even feel like that was our best game.
"We're excited for the challenge, we haven't come this far just to come this far. Our finals record in the past, we've had plenty of experience.
"I feel like it's a good time for us, there is no saying 'next year is our year' or anything like that. We need to learn from our past finals games and apply it Saturday night."
Canberra finished on top of the ladder but
suffered a gruelling loss to Brisbane on Sunday in a contest that went for 94 minutes.
If the Sharks do make it to grand final week Ramien will have more than just footy on his mind.
He's also an ambassador for the Play Kids Festival which runs in Sydney that week, and this year features a new exhibition with giant puppets of sea creatures, including sharks.
"Myself being a Cronulla Shark I thought it was a good fit, and being an avid lover of the ocean," he said.
