Six boys from the QBE Sydney Swans Academy Under 12 group have been chosen to represent NSW at the School Sport Australia national football carnival next month.

It’s a great honour and a big achievement for the boys, who will don the pale blue NSW jumper for the first time as they take on opponents from the other states and territories.

The selection process is rigorous, as the boys had to first gain selection to represent their school region, then impress the selectors at the NSW schools state carnival in Parkes in May.

The Academy boys selected are Nicholas Anderson from Waverley College, Henry James from The Scots College, Ned Hawkins from Crown St Public School, James Lugsdin from Oxford Falls Grammar, Ben D’Agostino from Stanmore Public School, and Koby Hedges from Our Lady of Fatima Caringbah.

Nicholas, Henry and Ned train with the Academy’s City Under 12 squad, while James is part of the Northern Beaches squad, and Ben and Koby are at South.

Ned Hawkins is originally from Perth, and has excelled since he moved to Sydney and became part of the Academy. He will be playing against boys from his former home state at the national carnival, which will be held in Darwin from August 12 to 18.

Academy general manager, Chris Smith, says Ned, who plays club football for the Moore Park Tigers, has been rewarded for his high level of commitment.

“Ned rides his bike to training, and he is always the first to arrive and the last to leave,’’ Smith said.

“He has a great attitude, is very determined and he works hard on his skills. He’s just a great competitor.’’

Smith said selection in the NSW PSSA team was a great credit to the six Swans Academy boys.

“They’ve all shown a strong drive to practice their skills as often as possible, and a commitment to listen and improve. It’s fantastic to see those traits in boys who are only 11 or 12.

“The national schools carnival is a wonderful opportunity for them to experience competition at a really high level against boys from around the country including Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

“The teams from the northern states are really making up ground against those more traditional football states, so it’s a great learning experience for our boys.’’

Many AFL players have started their representative careers in the 12 and Under national schools carnival including Swans star Isaac Heeney who represented NSW in 2008.