RUGBY LEAGUE
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BATHURST Panthers halfback Anthony Farah will be a part of rugby league history next month when he takes the field for Lebanon in a Test match against France.
The one-off Test match will be played at the Tripoli International Stadium on November 2 and will be the first ever rugby league match played on Lebanese soil.
Farah will leave Australia on Sunday as a part of a 16 man Cedars squad, which will be skippered by Bulldogs winger and NRL leading pointscorer Hazem El Mazri.
Farah gets his chance to play for Lebanon, the country of birth of his father, after sending a tape to officials in September.
"We heard Anthony was playing well out in Bathurst, so we asked him to send a tape down and we liked what we saw, so we invited him to trial,” Lebanon team manager Anthony Elias said.
Now Farah is on the verge of playing international football and is hoping to impress enough to be able to play in Sydney next year.
"Hopefully I can get the chance to play in Sydney after this. I'm pretty good chance of making it if I play well, I hope,” Farah said.
Farah's parents emigrated to Australia 30 years ago and this trip will be the first time Anthony has been to the homeland of his father.
Farah is proud to represent the country of his father, but he said Australia is always where his allegiances will lie.
"I was born in Bathurst and I'll always be a Bathurst boy,” he said.
The 18-year-old is the only country player in the squad, which is made up mostly of first division and Jersey Flegg players, but also includes NRL players Hassan Saleh from the Wests Tigers and Brisbane Broncos' Michael Coorey.
Three players from the Lebanese national league, which has only just been formed, will be added to the squad for the Test match.
The starting line-up has yet to be determined and will be decided when the team meets up with coach John Elias, who is currently coaching Pia in France, in Lebanon.
Farah is battling for the Cedars' number seven jersey with another youngster, Robert Farah, (no relation) from Sydney.