Siblings take on best
THEY grew up sidestepping each other in the backyard, now the Martin- Savage siblings are looking to dominate the nation’s best.
Kai, 15, Jairel, 13, and Jake, 16, will compete at the national junior Oztag titles at Coffs Harbour this weekend.
The younger siblings of Townsville Blackhawks Queensland Cup star Sam, the trio will represent Sunshine Coast and Brisbane outfits, with Townsville not fielding any teams in the 184side event.
Jairel has been chosen for Queensland twice, the first for the under- 10s when she was still just eight, and all three players have been playing in junior and now senior Townsville competitions for the past five years.
“Sam’s played Blackhawks Oztag when he was younger, won state cups and played for Queensland as well,” Townsville Oztag venues co- ordinator Craig Allen said.
“We try and get kids across a range of sports, but it’s definitely a breeding ground for some of the league guys to come through.
“They get a lot of confidence in themselves without the contact and defensively they can square up like they’re going to tackle, and run the same lines.
“We have nine teams going to the states next March, but for the nationals we struggle with the finance side of it. Because we didn’t have any team, our players go into a pool and they got picked up by Brisbane and Sunshine Coast teams.”
Australia under- 16 and 18 teams will be chosen after the carnival.
IT’S DEFINITELY A BREEDING GROUND FOR SOME OF THE LEAGUE GUYS TO COME THROUGH... CRAIG ALLEN