TYLEE Donovan will make his return to the representative scene when he runs out at Ringrose Park in Sydney on Sunday.
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The Wauchope junior has been selected in the Indigenous under-16 team for the annual clash with the Western Australian Pirates.
It’s been a roller-coaster 12 months for the teenager who has overcome a severe bout of concussion to take his place.
The injury forced him to sit out the entire Harold Matthews season for the Newcastle Knights.
The stint on the sidelines provided a chance to assess what was important after he was set to make his mark in the second year of a three-year deal with the Novocastrians.
“It was a bad concussion, but they were concerned something had happened with my neck as well,” Donovan said.
“I wasn’t too happy about it at first, but I’m where I am now because I took that time off.”
He admitted he wanted to be a role model for younger players that looked up to him in a similar way he looks up to Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis.
“I want to keep paving a way for the younger kids and be a role model as best I can for my fellow brothers,” he said.
I want to keep paving a way for the younger kids and be a role model as best I can for my fellow brothers.
- Wauchope teenager Tylee Donovan
Respect was the word that came to mind when describing the reason why he looked up to Thurston.
“He is a player that I look up to – just the way he acts both on and off the field – he is a very respectful guy,” he said.
That same word – respect – was what he also took out of a brief chat with Brad Fittler a little under 12 months ago.
“He just said to respect everyone,” Donovan said.
“Be respectful to everyone in life – to people like your family, coaches and referees – even if you don’t agree with them at the time, respect them.”
The current Blues coach dragged Donovan aside during the trip to Wauchope after he was impressed with what he saw during a coaching clinic.
While he didn’t say a lot to the teenager, what he did say was important enough to stick.
“He talked about how good some of my skills were when we did some warm-ups against the other guys that were there,” Donovan said.
“He told me that he thought my skills could take me a long way because I could adapt easily.”
Donovan is now hoping to adapt into the Knights system again in 2019 after missing most of 2018.
What happens next, is anyone’s guess.
“We’ll see who knocks on the door when the time comes,” he said.
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