EELS PAYING FOR ‘SMALL’ ERROR
MELBOURNE sensation Ryan Papenhuyzen admits he is being driven by the same criticism that made Johnathan Thurston an NRL champion - the claim he was too small to make it.
When Papenhuyzen confronts the Eels in Saturday’s qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium, it will bring back memories of the moment he was rejected by Parramatta scouts.
As a teenager, Papenhuyzen was a gun touch footballer. Growing up in Eels heartland at Kellyville, he represented NSW Combined Independent Schools in the national youth championships at Port Macquarie in 2012. Three years later, at age 17, he played in the same Australian touch football side as current Queensland Origin star Kalyn Ponga.
But touch footy was one thing. In the tackle version, there was a view the slender Papenhuyzen had no chance of making it in a modern NRL era dominated by 100kgplus backline monsters.
“Although I made a couple of rep sides when I was a kid, there was still that doubt in my mind, when people tell you that you are too small.
“You’ve just got to keep adding to your skill-set and give it a crack and that’s something I’d like to show to all those little blokes out there that get told they are too small, that it’s not over and to just play tough.
“If you play tough there is no reason that they can’t pick you. Generally if you do that then you can make any side.”
Plucked from the Wests Tigers under-20s, Papenhuyzen’s rise at Melbourne is a tribute to the Storm’s ability to turn maligned talents into above-average performers.
Since his NRL debut last year, the 22year-old has been a revelation. He has scored 16 tries from 39 games and represented Australia at last year’s World Nines