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Canterbury officials are understandably chuffed at linking with renowned NRL breeding ground Keebra Park State High earlier this year.
The school that once signed a teenage Benji Marshall, after watching him play a scratch game while on excursion from New Zealand, is rightly celebrated as one of rugby league’s best nurseries.
Keebra’s 30-odd NRL alumni in the past decade or so include Marshall, Jordan Kahu, Te Maire Martin, Greg Eastwood, Tautau Moga and Corey Norman among others.
In March this year the Gold Coast school ended a 13-year association with Wests Tigers by mutual agreement.
Bulldogs recruitment manager Warren McDonnell, who arrived at Belmore from Concord earlier this year, has picked up where he left off with the Tigers, helping Canterbury beat a number of interested rivals to link with Keebra.
The move won’t help ease blue and white gripes about a lack of local juniors at the family club.
But for the second year running Keebra have made the national final of the GIO Schoolboys Cup, beating Marsden High 28-10 to claim Queensland honours last week.
For what it’s worth though Brisbane have two of Keebra’s best products in years under lock and key, tying down teenage peaks Payne Haas and David Fifita.
Haas famously had 15 NRL clubs chasing his signature last year before signing with Brisbane, and in June the Maroons used his 194 centimetre, 117 kilo frame to mimic Andrew Fifita in an opposed Origin training run.
Australian schoolboy David Fifita is a cousin of the Cronulla and NSW wrecking ball and looks similarly lethal with ball in hand — scoring four tries in a recent semi-final win for Keebra.
Also on the Broncos’ books for 2018 is the school’s halfback Tanah Boyd, who played Queensland under 18s earlier this year despite being only 16 at the time.
The Dogs are hoping to reap similar rewards in coming years.
The school that once signed a teenage Benji Marshall, after watching him play a scratch game while on excursion from New Zealand, is rightly celebrated as one of rugby league’s best nurseries.
Keebra’s 30-odd NRL alumni in the past decade or so include Marshall, Jordan Kahu, Te Maire Martin, Greg Eastwood, Tautau Moga and Corey Norman among others.
In March this year the Gold Coast school ended a 13-year association with Wests Tigers by mutual agreement.
Bulldogs recruitment manager Warren McDonnell, who arrived at Belmore from Concord earlier this year, has picked up where he left off with the Tigers, helping Canterbury beat a number of interested rivals to link with Keebra.
The move won’t help ease blue and white gripes about a lack of local juniors at the family club.
But for the second year running Keebra have made the national final of the GIO Schoolboys Cup, beating Marsden High 28-10 to claim Queensland honours last week.
For what it’s worth though Brisbane have two of Keebra’s best products in years under lock and key, tying down teenage peaks Payne Haas and David Fifita.
Haas famously had 15 NRL clubs chasing his signature last year before signing with Brisbane, and in June the Maroons used his 194 centimetre, 117 kilo frame to mimic Andrew Fifita in an opposed Origin training run.
Australian schoolboy David Fifita is a cousin of the Cronulla and NSW wrecking ball and looks similarly lethal with ball in hand — scoring four tries in a recent semi-final win for Keebra.
Also on the Broncos’ books for 2018 is the school’s halfback Tanah Boyd, who played Queensland under 18s earlier this year despite being only 16 at the time.
The Dogs are hoping to reap similar rewards in coming years.