Mercer, along with Campbell Page, Nate Boyan and Ty McGibbon will head to Coffs Harbour in October after being selected in the Northern NSW under-14 and under-15 national boys football squads.

Nate played with Camden Haven Redbacks, Liam and Campbell played with Port Saints and Ty was with Port FC.

Englishman Danny Barratt was also selected although he won't make the trip.

Football Mid North Coast technical director Larry Budgen said it was "very strange" for the region to have such a high representation in the squads.

"It's a combination of a lot of things; that group were our under-13s in the NPL (National Premier League) that won clearly last year so it's a really good group," he said.

"But midfielder Liam Mercer is a standout, he's some player."

Budgen said the selection in the squads was largely a result of the teenager's willingness to learn and improve.

"It's a credit to their work; they all have a great attitude and work really hard," he said.

"They're doing additional sessions on top of squad training so they can be at that level. They do individual work just to keep them up to speed. The attitude is right for all the boys ... they are great kids."

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