Penrith Panthers prop Tim Grant gets call-up for NSW team for State of Origin II

PANTHER Tim Grant has been named in the NSW side for State of Origin II and in doing so has pushed captain Paul Gallen to lock.

BIG Tim Grant was biding his time yesterday afternoon in the countdown to the NSW team announcement when he looked down at his phone and realised he'd missed a call from Ricky Stuart.

"So I tried to ring him back but his line was busy," Grant told The Daily Telegraph last night. "I thought he must have been calling to say 'you were close but not close enough', that sort of thing.

"But then I got him and Ricky said 'you're in the team' ... I just couldn't say anything, I was speechless."

Not just in the squad, but in the team.

Stop for a moment and think what that must have meant to this 24-year-old who grew up at St Marys and only ever dreamed for two things in his entire life - playing for Penrith and owning a NSW State of Origin jumper.

And to get here he's now done the impossible by shifting Paul Gallen out of the front-row and back to lock.

This is the other wonderful story behind Grant's incredible rise.

Back in January, he was one of several contenders Stuart called in to attend the Blues' Emerging Origin squad at Coogee - and it was at that camp that NSW legends Steve "Blocker" Roach and Glenn Lazarus challenged the young props to stop embarrassing NSW.

The story goes Roach and Lazarus spoke about how they were insulted that Stuart had been forced to call on the inspirational Gallen to play prop last year, because no other front-rower had done enough to earn a place in the starting pack.

Gallery: Check out the NSW Origin side here

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Grant made a blazing start to the season before he was struck down by a calf injury.

That ruled him out of contention for Origin I - but then two weeks ago he returned for the Panthers with back-to-back man-of-the-match performances.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Grant recalled last night: "I've still got Blocker and Lazzo's speech in the back of my mind.

"It gave me goose bumps.

"They just said that there needed to be someone to stand up for NSW, who could it be?

"This is just a dream come true for me. Even now I still don't know what to say, I have never had this feeling in my life.

"I rang Mum and Dad (Kim and Peter) straight away after I got off the phone to Ricky and they were over the moon. They were at home with my brother and my nephew, so it was all pretty special," he said.

"We used to sit around growing up and dreaming of this like every kid does. And to get this now, I don't know, what do you say?"

Stuart said last night he was absolutely thrilled for Grant, while his message to young Tiger Aaron Woods was to keep his chin up.

"Let me say this, Aaron is a young guy who has started his first-grade career and is doing a great job and will play Origin but I just have a good gut feeling about Tim right now," Stuart said. "He is going to be starting and putting Gal back to the back-row.

"I'd like to think I could give Gal a break and looking at the quality of the bench, that shows I can."

Stuart admitted the loss of Tony Williams would hurt, but backed Anthony Watmough to cover the role off the bench.

"I don't think Queensland wanted to play against him," Stuart said of Williams.

"That's got to be fulfilled now by Tim Grant's input and Choc's input."

NSW team for State of Origin II - Wednesday June 13 at ANZ Stadium

Brett Stewart, Jarryd Hayne, Michael Jennings, Josh Morris, Akuila Uate, Todd Carney, Mitchell Pearce, Tim Grant, Robbie Farah, James Tamou, Glenn Stewart, Greg Bird, Paul Gallen (capt). Interchange: Trent Merrin, Luke Lewis, Ben Creagh, Anthony Watmough.

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