Contracts step towards NRLHalswell rugby league junior Jared McIlwrick will follow in his brother's footsteps when he takes up a three-year contract with the Canberra Raiders National Rugby League club.
The 16-year-old year 12 pupil at Christchurch Boys' High School leaves on Friday for a six-week preseason training programme with the Raiders' SG Ball under-18 squad.
McIlwrick and Halswell clubmate Jules Webley represented the New Zealand Residents 16s team against a Queensland Academy team late last month.
Webley, a year 11 pupil at Christchurch BHS, has also signed a contract with the Cronulla Sharks, a club which has forged an alliance with Halswell in recent seasons.
McIlwrick knows what to expect at Canberra. His older brother, Matt, a Junior Kiwi last season, has just completed a four-year stint as hooker for the Raiders' Toyota Cup under-20 National Youth Championship team. "He's signed again for another two years starting from November," Jared said of his 20-year-old brother. "It will be good to have him there. It will help me a bit, I reckon, with homesickness.
"He's helped me out quite a bit with training. He gives me heaps of tips."
McIlwrick has become a valuable rugby league utility, playing at standoff half, loose forward and "a little bit in the second row" this season. "I like loose forward because you can run all over the show and have a bit more freedom. But I will find out when I get over there where they want me to play."
Rugby league has been McIlwrick's main sporting focus since he pulled on boots as a four-year-old in Halswell's midget ranks. He said playing in the NRL was "a big goal". "I didn't really start thinking about it until I found out it could be a possibility. I want it real bad now and I will do my best to get it."
His training stint in Canberra means he will miss his NCEA exams but he has already picked up enough credits to pass Level 2.
McIlwrick will come home to Christchurch for Christmas but will return in January to Canberra, where he expects to board with a local family and finish his last year at school.
Webley and McIlwrick were team-mates in the South Island Scorpions Mark Graham Cup 17 years squad this season and were the only Canterbury players selected in the New Zealand Residents 16s.
McIlwrick said he had "never been as pumped" for a game as he was before the New Zealand Residents played their Queensland counterparts at Auckland on October 18.
The two teams drew 14-14 and both Canterbury boys won praise from New Zealand coach Jeff Whittaker.
"Jared played at stand-off then had 20 minutes at the end at hooker. Jules played loose forward and they both played very well," said Whittaker, who was also the Halswell club president this year.
Webley was also named in the New Zealand Merit selection 17 years squad after the Mark Graham Cup tournament, alongside South Island Scorpions team-mates Nu Brown and Thoren Fidow-Kele.
Jiordan Fidow-Kele and Sheldon Pitama were the two Scorpions selected in the New Zealand Merit selection 15 years team after the Nathan Cayless Cup tournament.
Source: Stuff.co.nz
Topic: Raiders add another McIlwrick to their ranks
