NRL coaches hold session in Invercargill
A GROUP of Southland rugby league players got their unique chance to learn from NRL coaching staff on Saturday when Brisbane Broncos officials visited Invercargill.
A coaching group from the Broncos spent time in Dunedin on Friday before visiting Invercargill and Queenstown on Saturday.
About 30 players 13 years or older were on hand at Southland District Rugby League’s Elles Rd grounds on Saturday morning as the Broncos coaches put them through their paces.
Included among the three Broncos officials in Invercargill was former Broncos centre and English international Jack Reed.
Broncos life member Paul Dyer was another in Invercargill.
Dyer is the Broncos game development manager and Broncos women’s coach.
He said they were not in Invercargill in an attempt to unearth a potential promising prospect, but instead visited because of a desire to give back in the game.
‘‘We do recruit players from New Zealand, so if we are going to do that, we feel like we should spend some time giving back to the game. That is why we are here, Wayne [Bennett] was the one that pushed that,’’ he said
Included in those Southland players who showed up for the twohour session on Saturday were Southland Rams players and agegroup players.
The Broncos were presented a Rams jersey at the end of the session to thank the trio for making the trip to Invercargill.
The group was also scheduled to conduct a session in Queenstown.