James has been named in the St George Illawarra Dragons National Youth Competition run on team to play Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Saturday.

Dragon’s head youth competition coach Ben Hornby named James in the run on side.

James will slot into the second row and will wear the number 11 jersey.

The match will be a test for James and the Dragons as last week they were smashed 60-10 by the Raiders.

James is used to winning.

The 18-year-old  had a massive 2014 season; winning a grand final with the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets, where he was named man of the match and also took out the Roy Stewart Rookie of the Year award at the Group 7 presentation.

James has been on a bit of a rugby league journey since he first pulled the boots on for the Bomaderry Swamp Rats in the under sevens.

He played with the Swamp Rats until the under 11s and then spent a year with the Nowra Warriors in the under 12s.

James divided his time between Illawarra Sports High in Berkeley and Bomaderry High while he was at school and finished his junior football with Albion Park-Oak Flats.

At Albion Park, he won premierships in the under 15s, 16s and 18s and won another 18s premiership with Shellharbour.

While he had lived in Wollongong when he attended Illawarra Sports High, a move back to the Shoalhaven saw him join the Jets at the start of 2014.

He started training with the Dragons in November last year and wants to play in the NRL

“It’s what I’ve wanted for a couple of years,” he said.

“You can get subbed in and out, or I might be lucky enough to get a starting position all year, but I’ll just have to see how I go,” he added.

While he is confident he is good enough to make the step up with the Dragons, he would be happy to go around with the Jets again in 2015.

“I’ll be more than happy to come back down here and try to go back to back with the Jets,” he said. 

“I think everyone wants to play NRL. After the 20s, if it’s not NRL, I’ll try and break into NSW Cup and go from there.

“But I’ve got to make the under 20s first, so I’m just taking it one step at a time.”