Youngsters vie for selection

Youngsters from Broome and Hedland travelled to the under-12s 2018 State championship trials last week for their shot at making the team.

The day could not have been much hotter as the sun beat down and young rugby players hit the Marie Marland Reserve fields last Sunday to be selected to travel to Perth.

Games development officer Mitchell Kurtz said it was one of the biggest turnouts Hedland had seen for a one-off trial of the under-12s.

“First time we have had some Broome kids come down as well — most of the kids here are the kids we are looking to play year to year,” he said.

“We are getting bigger squads and more competitive, going into next year, we will have North West champions to select for as well.”

He said players were often selected based on passing, catching and tackling fundamentals but outstanding athletes risked being left out if their attitude did not match up.

“At these trials, we are looking for the fundamentals mainly just that the kids can catch and pass, tackle and can get along with each other,” he said. “The biggest thing that we are trying to get in all our teams is just to have the right attitude. Over the last few years, we have had to drop about 10 to 15 kids in our older age groups because they just didn’t have the right attitude such as not turning up, not being there for each other.

“For us, it’s better to go away on a trip with all the kids that want to be there, all want to compete and be involved in the sport, rather than just being there because they are good athletes.

“We usually have a mini camp where we look at how kids interact off the field as well, before we pick our leaders and look for people that are confident enough to build a team around.”

Selections had already taken place for the under-15s side, who completed training drills after the under-12s left the playing field.

“The 15s was a good trial as well — that was over a weekend to narrow it down to a squad from about 20 or 30 players,” Mr Kurtz said. “During the pre-season, teams will be playing each other locally, then in Term 3, we will look to have a Karratha versus Hedland competition and a North West championships in the middle at Karratha playing for two days, next year in Hedland and then in Broome.”