Matt Burton and Isaah Yeo will represent Australia at the Rugby League World Cup

Pay represented Australia several times, including at the 1995 World Cup where this year's tournament will take place and once again Dubbo will be well represented.

Matt Burton and Isaah Yeo were both named in Mal Meninga's squad for the competition, and both are in line to make their international debuts throughout the tour.

For Pay, he said it makes him proud to see more Dubbo and Western products representing their country in front of the world.

"It's always good to see the local boys doing really well," he said.

"They've both played a bit of Origin now so this is the next step, it's good to see."

Neither of the two St Johns juniors will feature in Australia's opening match against Fiji after Burton was named 18th man while Yeo was left out of the side completely.

But the pair will get more opportunities as the World Cup continues which matches against Italy and Scotland to follow.

Orange's Jack Wighton has been named to start on the bench in the opening match and Pay believes there probably haven't been as many Western products in the NRL as there currently are.

"We had a few players, David Gillespie and Les Davidson were down there," he said.

"There were a few guys playing in Sydney but probably not as many as there are now."

Playing for Australia in England is almost as tough as it gets and Pay admitted he found the 1995 World Cup challenging after being in the country previously.

"We went on a Kangaroos tour the year before so we knew what was coming," he said.

"The World Cup was a different trip with a different group but they are always great trips to go on."

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Australia is heavy favourites for the World Cup and Pay believes the side can go all the way, even after the development of Polynesian nations like Tonga and Samoa.

"You'd think so, you've got your Tonga and Samoa who have weakened New Zealand a little bit," he said.

"You think they would be able to get it done."

Yeo will almost be a certain starter for Australia's second match of the tournament against Scotland on October 22 as will Burton.

After winning his third successive Dally M Lock of the Year honour, Yeo should play at lock during the tour while Burton's role in the side is relatively unknown.

Burton is able to cover any position across the backline if possible but is likely to play either centre or five-eighth if Meninga opts to rest Cameron Munster.

The pair are also the first Dubbo players to represent Australia since Andrew Ryan did so in 2007.

Australia's World Cup campaign begins against Fiji on Sunday, October 16 at 5:30am (AEDT).

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