Raiders sign CherrypickerTHE Young Junior Rugby League Club’s rich vein of talent has once again been targeted by the NRL with the recent signing of 15-year-old Patrick Schiller to the Canberra Raiders Under 16’s Harold Matthews team for the 2011 season.
The talented lock forward/second rower caught the attention of the Raiders talent scouts following a strong performance for the Group 9 Under 15s against the Raiders Development Academy in August, 2010.
Schiller then attended the Raiders selection trials and has been training with the extended squad since October. Several days before Christmas he was informed by the Raiders that he had made the team for the 2011 season.
Schiller began playing rugby league with Young’s juniors at the age of seven and has steadily developed both his skills and fitness levels over the years.
Adding to the many challenges faced by an athlete, Schiller also had to deal with an ongoing growth restriction in his lower left leg that he has carried since birth.
Schiller’s mother, Leigh, said her son was born with Talapias in his foot, which required numerous amounts of therapy and surgery in the first two years of his life.
“We were unsure as to whether he would even be able to walk properly, so to see him running and being actively involved with any form of sport has been wonderful. I am so proud of his achievements,” said Leigh Schiller.
Schiller’s father Noel attributes a large amount of his son’s success to the ongoing support he has received from the entire community, in particular the Young Junior Rugby League Club.
“Patrick is very fortunate to live in a town that supports its junior sporting clubs so strongly,” said Noel Schiller.
“Over the years he has been nurtured along by some excellent coaches who have always been very positive and supportive,” Noel Schiller said.
“In recent years he’s gained some excellent exposure through representative football, which has enabled him to enjoy coaching at a higher level.
Experienced guys like Roy Jewitt and Peter Stimson have been wonderful in helping to fine tune his skills and the technical side of forward play,” he said.
Schiller follows in a strong Rugby League tradition with the Raiders; his uncle Brett Mullins spent over 10 years at Canberra and won an NRL Premiership with the Raiders in 1994.
His grandfather, Bill Mullins, enjoyed a career with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters teams of the 1970’s, was part of two grand final winning teams and was recently named in the Roosters Team of the Century.
Both Bill and Brett Mullins are extremely proud of Schiller’s progress.
Schiller will return to Young to play the remainder of the Group 9 season with the Cherrypickers Sullivan Cup team at the conclusion of the 2011 Harold Matthews season in April.
Source:The Young Witness
Topic: Raiders sign Cherrypicker
