JIMBOOMBA Thunder players Blake Scholten and James Blazek have been selected to attend the Gold Coast Academy of Sport in 2015.
The selection caps off a bumper year for the two 14-year-olds after their team played in the grand final and both were selected for the Brisbane Broncos development squad.
Blake said the try-outs for the academy were competitive, with only 20 players chosen from 50 of the region's strongest players.
"I tried out for a similar thing at the start of the year and didn't make it, so I just trained my guts out until I made it," he said.
Blake said he didn't know what to expect but hoped the academy would give him an opportunity to play at an elite level.
"I'm hoping that it's just going to be a bit of a better class of football," he said.
"I'd like to take footy as far as I can."
James said he hoped the academy would help him improve his technique.
"I think it will improve my game all round, in every way possible," he said.
Under 14s coach Bert Scholten said he was very proud of the boys' achievements.
He said in the last 12 months the club had been more focussed on player development.
"It's very much in line with what we're trying to do with the club, we're all about player development," he said.
The academy program will kick off in January with a two-day camp.
The boys will then train with the academy once a month.