TAMWORTH will get a sneak peek at some future NRL stars next month when the National Under 15 Rugby League Championships are held at Scully Park.
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Australia’s best U15s are currently being selected into ten teams to compete at the event.
Each team will carry 20 players meaning that the country’s best 200 young stars will be in town.
Organiser and Combined High Schools (CHS) selector David Gale said that Tamworth was quite lucky to host the event.
“Originally it was meant to be in Victoria but apparently there was not a single available ground,” Gale said.
“It got opened up to the rest of Australia and Scully Park came out as the best venue.”
CHS has selected two Sydney sides, a Northern, Western, and Southern side, as well as a Presidents team which are playing a round robin in Toronto this week.
A 20-man squad will be chosen from those trials to play in the Scully Park tournament that is the peak of schoolboy rugby league in Australia.
Queensland has already selected its two squads, Maroon and White who, like the top level, are very competitive every year.
Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) also send a team.
Every player is after a jersey in the Australian Schoolboys side which will be selected on the final day.
The carnival attracts representatives from every NRL club to watch the matches.
“Most of them are checking on the players they have already signed,” Gale said.
“In the U18s, where a lot of these kids will go, 10 out of every team of 20 will play NRL within three years.”
NSW CHS has won the championships more than any other team, although Queensland Maroon beat NSW CHS 26-12 in the final in Canberra last year.
Special guests this year include Alan Tongue and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs from the Canberra Raiders.
NRL Commissioner Dr Chris Sarra will be there on finals day.
Local schoolkids will all be there to watch the semi-final day on Wednesday.
The event will kick off when South Australia plays Western Australia at 10.30am on Sunday June 22.
The carnival is open to spectators, with a chance to watch future Origin stars run around at Scully Park until the final at 1.15pm on Friday June 27.