Albury Thunder coach Ben Jeffery believes there will be no better showcase of rugby league talent when NRL heavyweights Manly take on Canberra at Lavington Oval on Easter Saturday.

The Sea Eagles finished equal top of the ladder at the end of last season, with coach Geoff Toovey primed to launch another premiership assault with big-name players Daly Cherry-Evans, Jamie Lyon, David Williams, Kieran Foran, Willie Mason, Luke Burgess, Brett Stewart and Steve Matai.

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“It’s unbelievable to get these type of players coming to ­Albury,” Jeffery said.

“For the kids here to be able to see internationals like Cherry-Evans, Foran, Stewart, Lyon and Matai play is fantastic.

“City versus Country is special but you can’t beat clubs playing for premiership points.

“They will be going a hundred miles an hour at each other.”

Albury Thunder president Rick O’Connell had no hesitation in labelling the showdown the biggest to come to the Border, ahead of the NRL pre-season grand final between Brisbane and South Sydney in the mid-1990s and City versus Country in 2011.

Officials are hoping for a crowd of more than 15,000.

“It’s huge,” O’Connell said.

“It hard to believe, to be ­honest.

“We have had pre-season games and City versus Country, but when you get any competition game in elite sport it adds another dimension.

“This is deadly serious.

“It’s hard to get your head around.”

While Canberra will start underdogs, coach Ricky Stuart showed he had plenty of firepower after the Raiders recently beat Melbourne in a trial match.

Skipper Jarrod Croker, Cootamundra’s Glenn Buttriss and Josh Papalii shape as key players for the Raiders.

The match starts at 5.30pm.