PETER Stevens has seen most of the Greater Northern Tigers Under 18s develop and grow at a close hand.
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The Warialda-based CRL coaching and development officer has also been one of the head coaches of the Greater Northern Academy and been a part of a marvellous institution that has given so many young men extra and different skills.
Whether they take that on to the NRL or just back to their local club isn’t the main aim.
Providing those skills and developments is what the academies are all about and that was abundantly clear at Jack Woolaston Oval last month where so many talented young men ran on for their Group 4, 19 and 21 Under 16 and 18 sides in the Greater Northern Regional Championships.
Stevens has been running the younger sides at the Greater Northern Academy and profits from his own input as coach of the 18s.
A number of players from Group 4, 19 and 21 have come through the GNA and will line up for the Tigers in their Under 18 Country Championship opening game against East Coast Dolphins in Armidale next Saturday.
Tonight the 18s, as well as the Gary Jones-coached GN Tiger 16s, have another training session at Jack Woolaston Oval.
Last weekend’s Good Friday session was about welfare and a few former Tiger juniors stars such as Dennis Moran, Ben Smith and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs were there to talk of their young days and progression to the NRL and beyond.
“They’ve been training well,” Stevens said of the two sessions so far.
“It was a real good run last Friday.
“They are a young squad – the majority are still 17 –but that won’t affect us too much.
“If they get into it early they’ll get a bit of confidence,” he said of the opening salvos in next Saturday’s Country Championship opener.
“I’m confident.
“They will play some footy too. There is plenty of talent in this side.
“However it will also come back to us getting though our sets and controlling the ruck.”
He thinks Lewis Hamilton might be one of his key attacking weapons, the second-rower capable of causing damage “on an edge”.
“James Fisk at lock does a lot of link stuff for us too,” he said.
“The front row is strong and most of them have good feet at the line.
“Our backs are good too.
“They’ll have a fair bit of fun out wide if we can win the middle.
“Hayden Loughrey (fullback) can give us that flair at the back too.
“But we just need to get the job done in the middle.”