Melbourne Storm centre Curtis Scott has set his sights on emulating team-mate Josh Addo-Carr's 2018 rise and winning an Origin jersey for the first time this year.
Addo-Carr won a premiership in his inaugural season with the Storm in 2017 and followed that up by helping a new-look Blues outfit to Origin success in his first taste of rep football last year.
While Scott debuted in 2016, he didn't really rise to prominence until the following campaign when he played 11 matches for Melbourne and helped them defeat the Cowboys in the premiership decider.
Scott ran in six tries in that 2017 season and another 10 four-pointers last year to put him firmly in the sights of Blues selectors less than three months out from Origin One on June 5.
And the confident 21-year-old has declared he wants to be there at Suncorp Stadium to help NSW win a second consecutive Origin series for the first time since 2004-05.
"I will be doing everything I can to hopefully get a jersey," Scott said.
"I will be putting my hand up. Let’s put it that way.
"But its only round one, so I have got to put my head down and work really hard for that."
Scott got his 2019 season off to a flyer when he swooped on a mistake by Jack Bird to run 50 metres to score during the Storm's 22-12 victory over the Broncos at AAMI Park.
It was reward for the mountain of hard work that Scott has put in over the summer, which has included a gruelling pre-season under the watchful eye of veteran mentor Craig Bellamy and an attempt to bulk up.
"I have been trying my best (to put weight on)," Scott said. "But it’s pretty hard. It’s like a full-time job trying to keep weight on, especially in the pre-season.
"It’s up and down, but I am feeling strong and feeling fit, so I am really excited."
If Scott is to make his Origin dream a reality he knows he must remain focused on performing for the Storm on a weekly basis.
That starts with a trip to Canberra on Friday to face a Raiders outfit also coming off a round one win.
"We will have our hands full this week. They have a very aggressive forward pack and I think it’s going to be a good battle between the forwards," Scott said.
"They kept the Titans to nil and they have a lot of strike power in their outside backs.
"We are confident that if we hang on to the footy and compete, we will go a long way to winning the game."
