Dre a player of many talents
Dre Melvin has got a foot in the door. Now he wants to push it wide open.
The talented Tawa College sportsman capped a memorable winter when named in the New Zealand under-18 rugby league team recently.
Melvin was also a key member of the Tawa College first XV that won the Wellington premier 2 competition and reached the Hurricanes final of the Co-ed Cup.
He showed sufficient talent in the 15-a-side code to make the Wellington under-18 squad.
But making the national league team had been his big target for the year and he withdrew from the rugby squad once he was named in the wider league squad.
When the league squad was reduced to 19 recently, Melvin made the cut.
He recently took part in a twotest series against the Taurahere Kiwis, an under-18 team selected from the New Zealand players based in New South Wales.
‘‘It was a massive goal to make that team, ‘‘ Melvin said.
‘‘It brought a tear to my eye when I got the phone call.’’
Melvin, who is in year 13, is hoping it will be the first step towards a professional career. ‘‘That’s the first step in the door.’’
The next step might come after trials for the Warriors later in the year.
He hopes to be picked up by the club as a potential Holden Cup (under-20) player.
‘‘I will be doing a lot of training towards that.’’
Hard work has underpinned Melvin’s success this year.
‘‘I did a lot of individual stuff, including gym work and running, outside the team training sessions. I was able to do some gym work at home, where I have a couple of weights and a push-up bar.
‘‘I worked hard and it definitely made a difference.’’
Melvin enhanced his prospects of making the under- 18 squad when he was one of the top four players in the Yo-Yo test at a training camp this winter. ‘‘ I wanted to be one of the fittest players there.’’
His decision to mix rugby and league resulted in some testing weekends, when he played senior reserve league for Porirua on Friday night and first XV rugby the following day.
But he relished being involved with Tawa, who had a tremendous winter.
‘‘It was awesome and definitely something to remember.’’
Melvin played rugby up to under-13 level, then concentrated on league till answering a call to play for the first XV last year.
‘‘I liked it and this year has been one of the best seasons of my life.’’
Melvin played mainly at fullback, but also at first five-eighth for the first XV and did the goalkicking.
However, there is no chance that rugby will overtake league as his preferred code.
‘‘We are definitely a league family and I’ve played it ever since I can remember. I love it and it’s my passion.’’
Melvin’s versatility helped him make the under-18 side.
‘‘He can play at half, as well as at hooker, and looks handy on defence,’’ under-18 coach Tom Ball said.