WOLVES' under 16s jet out to Australia today, Thursday, for their first tour Down Under.

The 20-man squad will travel around the country - playing matches in Sydney, on the Gold Coast and on the Queensland border - before returning on August 18.

They will also get the chance to train with NRL clubs Brisbane Broncos and Parramatta Eels and study the skills of their first-team players - including the likes of Darren Lockyer and Nathan Hindmarsh - at close hand.

Academy coach Dave Elliott, who has thanked the Vice Presidents' Association for the fund-raising efforts that have made the tour possible, said: "It will be a great experience for the players and hopefully it will help them kick on when they get back. They have been getting excited about it as it has got closer this week.

"But I have said to them that whatever happens when they come back - whether they end up as a professional or not - it will be something they will never forget, so they should enjoy it.

"There will be a lot of social things, such as with Shaun McRae (coach of South Sydney) and with Sydney Roosters because of our contacts with Adrian Morley, and hopefully they will pick up some tips there as well.

"It's vital for the club to have a trip like this and hopefully we can make some good publicity for ourselves over there and establish a lot of contacts."

Squad for the tour: Chris Murphy, Yaad Johal, Stephen Taylor, Taylor Welch, Nick Touhey, Alex Hurst, Liam Duffy, Will Stringer, Chris Dean, Adam Neal, Daniel Martin, Mark Smith, Daniel Brown, Mark Thomas, Andrew Webb, Alex Thompson, Simon Counsell, Callum Casey, Josh Cullen.

Wolves' under 18s will host Castleford at Wilderspool on Saturday at 12.30pm and five of their players will be on a high after their involvement in Lancashire under 17s' 24-22 victory against Yorkshire at Odsal on Sunday.

Michael Cooper captained the side and Matty Blythe, Joe Gandy, Jake Emmitt and Lee Mitchell were also in the starting line-up as Lancashire recovered from 22-6 down to win.

Wolves' under 21s are not in action until they travel to Salford on August 11.

Friday's match against St Helens was postponed and will now take place at The Halliwell Jones on August 23.