Southcity winger Jack Lyons, Temora halfback Sam Elwin and Tumut front rower Zac Masters have all been chosen to tour Papua New Guinea later this season.

The trio were selected following the conclusion of the Country Championships on Saturday.

Lyons and Elwin have been named in the starting side with Masters named on the bench for the under 23s team.

Elwin was thrilled to earn the representative nod.

“Growing up it the the jersey that means more to you than anything else,” Elwin said.

“I’d rather an Country jersey than an Australian jersey any day.”

Elwin had been critical of the clash between Riverina representative duties and Group Nine season games.

However being selected has made the effort more than worth while.

“It definitely was a surprise and one that makes everything all worth it anyway,” he said.

“All the hard yards are definitely worth it.”

The Country team will be coached by Albury’s Josh Cale.

He’s looking forward to the tour in October.

“I’m really excited by the talent that we’ve got at our disposal for the tour to Papua New Guinea,” Cale said.

Monaro, who knocked Riverina out in round two of this year’s championships, fell at the last hurdle to claim back-to-back titles after doing down to Northern Rivers 26-22 in the final on Saturday.