Junior league players get taste of higher level
FAR North junior footballers will be put to the test when they represent Cairns District at this weekend’s North Queensland Championships in Townsville.
Representative teams coordinator Paul Stevens said it would be the first time the Cairns District teams compete at the two-day tournament since bringing in new development squads after the 2018 junior season.
“When we went away last year we realised we were falling behind (compared) to the other regions,” he said.
“We thought something needed to be done locally with the Cairns District sides that we take away.”
The Cairns District Junior Rugby League started up its new development squads in September last year. “We had four sessions leading into Christmas and kicked off again before the season started,” Stevens said.
“It’s about making the junior competition stronger as well. If they’re playing tougher footy each week, it’s only going to help them improve.”
Former North Queensland Cowboys players and Northern Pride teammates during the club’s 2010 premiershipwinning season, Chris Sheppard and Joel Riethmuller, have also been helping out.
“They’ve come on just to mentor the kids and provide a bit of experience with what they picked up playing at a higher level,” Stevens said.
“They’ve got bucketloads of experience and they’ve been good enough and willing enough to want to pass that on to the juniors, which has been fantastic.”
Some homegrown talent tipped to impress at the weekend tournament includes Yarrabah’s Jarvis Yeatman, Ivanhoes’ Jesse Jackson, Brothers’ Jesse Bowie and Kangaroos’ Dakota Taputoa.
“She’s an outstanding young footballer,” Stevens said. “I think she’ll definitely be pushing for NQ selection.”
Players will be vying for further representative honours with the Northern Marlins.