The Dubbo product has been named as the NSW under 19s coach for next year's State of Origin battle with Queensland.

The St John's junior represented NSW 12 times from 2001-2007 and was part of the Blues sides which won back-to-back Origin titles in 2004 and 2005.

He's since done plenty in coaching and development, having briefly been a part of the Newcastle Knights system while he has also coached in the Newcastle Rugby League first grade competition.

"When 'Freddy' (NSW coach Brad Fittler) called me I was stoked to get that opportunity because I've been coaching for the past 10 years, but to be handed the honour of coaching the NSW under 19s really blew me away," Ryan said.

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"I've been fortunate enough to have been involved in previous camps with True Blue Mark O'Meley for the NSW under 18s and NSW under 20s teams and I absolutely loved my time doing that.

"The representative pathways games have always been a breeding ground for rugby league stars and we had players come through including Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton, Blake Taaffe and Spencer Leniu who have now gone on to successful NRL careers.

"I'm looking forward to working with the next generation of stars coming through and I can't wait to get started."

A proud supporter of bush footy, Ryan would well get the chance to work with some fellow western area juniors given the huge amount of young players from the region who have linked with NRL clubs in recent years.

Ryan played 291 NRL matches in an 11-year career that featured successful stints at Parramatta and the Bulldogs.

He shot to fame with the Dogs, captaining the club to its grand final win over the Roosters in 2004.

The under 19s State of Origin match between NSW and Queensland will be the first time an interstate pathways match has been played since 2019, with the last two editions cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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