NATIONAL Rugby League stars such as Wests Tigers trio Luke Brooks, James Tedesco and Mitchell Moses all had to start somewhere.
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In their case, they were involved in the Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League Championships which kicked off in Port Macquarie on Sunday.
Tigers recruitment officer Warren McDonnell has been casting a keen eye over the pool of talent on show in the hope of unearthing the next star.
He said the championships were a bit more than just 15-year-old’s running around playing football.
For any NRL recruitment officer to consider a prospective player they had to tick a lot of boxes.
“The fact is they’re only 15 so we’re out here looking for someone with a bit of athleticism and someone that’s willing to get involved and shows a keenness to win a game,” McDonnell said.
He said the championships were a good breeding ground for young players as it gave them a brief insight into what is required to make the top grade.
“It gets them away from home for the first time with a group of boys where they have the intensity of a camp,” he said.
“For these kids it’s about backing up and it’s tough on 15-year-old kids to have to play day after day, but that’s what the National Rugby League is all about. This carnival is about experiencing these types of things for the first time.
“All the time kids have come from these championships into our program.”
Cronulla Sharks recruitment officer Grant Jones was another who cast his eye over the teenagers at Regional Stadium.
He said not only was a decision on whether a player would make the grade based on their ability to back up, it was also how they reacted to carrying injuries.
“They’re playing four and five games in a week and playing intense football, so we want to find out how they get through that type of football and how do they back up,” he said.
“They’ll also carry injuries, they’ll get fatigued and they’re not living at home so there’s a lot of challenges thrown at the boys so how do they adapt to those challenges?”
Jones said one of the other challenges players had to overcome was learning to play with a new team in a short time.
“They’ve had minimal preparation, a new coach, and they may be shown something like a different structure for the first time so there’s a few challenges out there for them.”
The tournament heads into the finals on Wednesday.