He said there would be a raft of Green Machine players in representative contention next year from the halves, centres and forwards, but he was especially looking forward to getting powerhouse prop Junior Paulo into the NSW City team he coaches for the final City Country Origin.

The Raiders enjoyed a stunning 2016, finishing the home-and-away season second before narrowly missing out on the NRL grand final.

Only Queensland star Josh Papalii played Origin last season, but Fittler expected that to change next year if their rise to form continues.

He expected halves pairing Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer to be in the mix, along with Raiders captain Jarrod Croker and barnstorming centre Joey Leilua.

Fittler also felt the Raiders pack didn't get the credit they deserved last season - with the exception of England international Josh Hodgson, who announced himself as one of the best hookers in the world.

Having made 41 appearances for the Kangaroos and played in 31 Origins for NSW, Fittler will mentor the next batch of potential Blues stars, along with Andrew Johns, Danny Buderus, Mark O'Meley and Anthony Minichiello.

​There were "four or five" Canberra juniors in the group of 14-22-year-olds who worked with the legends in Sydney this week.

Fittler knows exactly what Leilua was capable of, having signed the Raiders' destructive centre when he was the Sydney Roosters coach.

Canberra had one of the best centre pairings in the NRL last season, with Leilua forming a potent pairing with winger Jordan Rapana and Croker quietly accumulating points on the other edge.

Croker has been a model of consistency, which led to him breaking the Raiders' all-time point scoring record that was previously held by former coach David Furner.

"If they can continue the form of what they did last year - the halves did a fantastic job, BJ [Leilua] was obviously spoken a lot about and the forwards are doing a great job without getting that much credit really," Fittler said.

"I know the hooker [Hodgson] got a lot of credit, but Junior Paulo is a NSW boy, so there's plenty of people there.

"The key is if they're playing well every week they're putting pressure on players that in the team currently, and also the selectors, and that can only mean a better quality game for everyone.

"[Leilua] was obviously on the fringe of getting it done this year, but if he keeps playing well and keeps putting pressure on then they can't not pick him.

"If you really want it bad enough then you get to a point where they don't get a choice. If they keep winning, Canberra, you can't deny them."

Fittler wanted Paulo to play for his City side this year, but he was unavailable due to his commitments with the Samoan team playing Tonga the day before City Country.

The pair grew up in the same area of Sydney - Ashcroft.

Fittler expected both Raiders starting props would be in the mix for a Blues jersey.

Shannon Boyd looked right at home playing for Australia in the Four Nations after making his Kangaroos debut against New Zealand in Perth in October.

"Boyd played for Australia so he's definitely in the mix. Junior Paulo, we were looking at him last year for the City [game], but it fell on the same day as the Samoan [Test]," Fittler said.

"I'd love to be able to see how keen he is to play Origin and try and get him to play in the City game this year."