Aaron Woods learning off Queensland rivals Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Sam Thaiday

THEY might not know it but Queensland superstars including Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston could be laying the foundations for the next NSW captain.

Aaron Woods is relishing his time with Maroons rivals on the Kangaroos Tour.

THEY might not know it but Queensland superstars including Cameron Smith, Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston could be laying the foundations for the next NSW captain.

Blues prop Aaron Woods has emerged as the leading contender to replace the retiring Paul Gallen as NSW skipper. On tour with the Kangaroos squad, the Wests Tigers captain is using every opportunity to watch, observe and note the leadership styles of his Australian teammates.

Unlike NSW who have a dearth of leaders outside of Gallen and vice-captain Robbie Farah, the Queensland side is made up of a host of club captains. Smith, Inglis, Thurston and Matt Scott have led their side as has Sam Thaiday.

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Woods has been touted to succeed Paul Gallen as Blues captain.

Woods, Matt Moylan and Jake Friend are among the least experienced club skippers on tour.

Woods said he was picking the brains of the Queenslander’s as well as taking plenty from coach Mal Meninga’s leadership style.

“I love watching how they go about it,” Woods said. “I like Smith as a captain. He is nice and laidback but on the training field it’s ‘boom boom boom’. When he says something to you, you don’t want to let him down. It’s very similar to Mal. He doesn’t overload you with lots of information but the points he gives you, you need to nail. Two points here, two points there you know you need to knuckle down.

“Less is better sometimes. They all prepare different for games and each captain is different. Greg is a laidback captain too. During Origin time I would never say it would be cool to play with Cameron smith, but what an honour it is to play with blokes like him, Thaiday, Thurston. Greggy. They are all legends. It’s a dream come true.

“It’s not always the footy side of things (which you learn about). Rugby league is physical, but the mental side of rugby league there’s a lot more to it. If you can get your mind right. If you bring little things to your game, it’ll help you be better.”

Aaron Woods is relishing his time with Maroons rivals on the Kangaroos Tour.

After handling the Tigers ongoing problems this year in his first season as captain, Woods has set himself up to become the Blues long-term skipper. He joins the likes of Farah, Boyd Cordner and Josh Jackson as potential NSW captaincy options for Blues coach Laurie Daley.

“You always want to be NSW captain,” Woods said. “I just love being in that squad. I haven’t thought about it all. Laurie is a very good coach, whoever he picks will have the faith (of the side).”

Woods is enjoying an unbeaten start to the tournament after a hostile initiation into the international arena. He was one of a host of rookies thrown into the 2014 Four Nations tournament, which saw Australia lose to New Zealand twice. He ended his own three match losing streak against the Kiwis last week.

“Going two from four that series was pretty disappointing,” Woods said. “To go two from two is cool. When you win games footy is always a lot more fun.

“It’s not that it’s good to lose, but you find out your true character in those situations. We had a lot of debutants in that series.”