15 year old Year 9 Hennessy Catholic College student Patrick Smith will be taking his Rugby League career to the next level.
Patrick spent three years playing soccer in Primary School before converting to Rugby League. He has played in the centre position but enjoys playing in the forwards.
Patrick has been selected to represent the U16 Country Rugby League Riverina Academy side in the 2014/2015 season.
The Academy held several trials throughout the region in October with over 130 players trialling at Griffith and Wagga. Prospective players faced over 4.5 hours of training and fitness tests before the sides were narrowed down to the current squads. Jonah Potts and Will Quinn also trialled strongly but were unfortunate not to make the side.
Patrick will now undergo four months of training with several competitive matches to be played during this time.
Patrick said, “Our first game will be against the Melbourne Storm’s U16s side in December before we take on a Western Academy side before coming up against the Canberra raiders U16s in February.”
Patrick’s training will include fitness work, ball skills and lectures conducted by NSW High Performance Unit Staff.
Patrick displayed some impressive performances for the U15s Young Cherry Pickers in 2014 and said, “I would like to thank my coaches Andy Stewart and Mick Quinn as well as Daniel Baker from Young for encouraging me to try out.”
