Lay-off blow to rising star’s Raiders dream
HE’S one of rugby league’s hottest rising talents but Xavier Savage could find it hard to get on the field at all this year as he prepares to take the biggest step of his young career.
The 18-year-old Cairns product signed with the Canberra Raiders on a two-year development contract last year, before attending pre-season with the club’s junior squads over the summer.
But, after he was unable to secure a transfer to finish his final year of schooling in the nation’s capital, he was forced to return to the Gold Coast.
“I think it was a bit of a too late decision for them,” he said.
“School was starting up in like two weeks, so they were trying to work out within two weeks how they could get me to start down there and I think it just became too much for them.
“I was going to fly down every weekend and play for the (Raiders’) SG Ball team, but I thought I’d be losing all my weekends as a teenager, all the activities and stuff they normally do.
“So I decided to stay up here and finish grade 12 and then move down to Canberra at the end of this year.”
The Queensland under-18s representative signed with Tweed Seagulls for the 2020 season, but won’t get the chance to play after the QRL cancelled its statewide competitions due to COVID-19.
In fact, he’s not sure when he’ll get to lace up his boots again.
It’s a tough spot for the promising youngster to be in, as he faces a lack of game time in what could be a crucial year for his development.
“It’s a bummer,” Savage said. “Hopefully the local league starts back up.
“If not, there’s some talk about the schoolboys knockout footy coming back this year. Most of the coaches are pretty positive about it.
“I hope we can play some footy soon.”
Savage, a former Queensland sprint champion, will need as much game time as he can get this season, with a big 2021 on the horizon.
“My (Raiders’) contract ends at the end of next year but I’ll in the top 36 for pre-season and then hopefully get a crack at the NRL Nines or something like that,” he said.
“If I don’t make the starting side for the NRL team, then I’ll be playing under-20s next year for Raiders.”
He said he couldn’t wait to move to Canberra and take another step towards his NRL dream in the pre-season.
“It’s going to be mentally and obviously physically tough going up with the big boys,” Savage said.