Knights chase Cup of dreams
BUDDING gridiron players Sam Kenner and Enzo Balducci are preparing to clash shoulder pads with teenagers from five other countries at the under-19 World Cup next month.
Kenner, 17, and Balducci, 18, both from the Hobart-based Knights, will play for Australia against teams from the US, Canada, Sweden, Japan and host nation Mexico. They leave on Sunday for a training camp in the US before heading to Mexico City for the championship.
The pair has worked hard preparing for the lifechanging experience.
“To be able to experience that level of competition at such a young age will be fantastic,” Mr Kenner said.
The US is expected to be the team to beat and Canada also rates highly. Mr Kenner said Australia would hope to cause a few upsets, or at least be the best of the rest.
“We are probably in the middle, skill-wise,” he said.
Mr Kenner is an offensive lineman, the same position played by Michael Oher (Baltimore Ravens), whose life story went to Hollywood in the movie The Blind Side.
“I got selected at the original round of selection after our state competition last year and Enzo got his call-up at the selection camp earlier this year,” Mr Kenner said.
“I played AFL for a couple of years and then decided to try gridiron. It’s the next level, not just for the physical part but also for the mental part.”
Mr Kenner said the local gridiron competition was on the way up, with four teams in the senior league and ambitions for expansion.