QUEANBEYAN Blues coach Simon Woolford believes Levi Freeman is the most skilled and damaging forward in the Canberra Raiders Cup, and this earned him his first overseas call-up to Hawaii this week.
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Freeman was selected in an 18 man squad to play two matches against the Hawaiian Chiefs rugby league side in Honolulu, with the second game to be the curtain raiser for the test match between the United States Tomahawks and Samoa at Aloha Stadium on Saturday.
Freeman scored a try in his side's 58-6 demolition of the Hawaiian men in the first match of the series on Tuesday, which would have been one of his proudest moments in sport, but this effort came as no surprise to Woolford.
"When he puts his mind to it, Levi is capable of anything, and by all reports he played well for the Canberra team against Newcastle a few weeks ago, and that was enough to get selected for Hawaii," said Woolford.
"I heard that he was close to getting picked for that tour last year, so it doesn't surprise me at all that he's there this year."
Freeman played with the Canberra Raiders under 20s squad in 2007 before being overlooked and restrained to the Canberra Raiders Cup competition, where he has played for the West Belconnen Warriors and the Blues.
He also represented the Australian Schoolboys team against their Great Britain counterparts in 2010.
"It's a bit surprising he has been overlooked by the Raiders...his attitude is spot on, and there's no doubt there's no more damaging forward in the competition. We're very lucky to have him in our back row," said Woolford.
Meanwhile, the Canberra Raiders Cup top four has already been decided with four rounds to go.
The Queanbeyan Kangaroos returned to the winners list with a 28-10 triumph over Belconnen last Saturday, while the Blues took one point from a 10-all draw against Woden to stay on top.