Two Goulburn Junior Stockmen – Menker Lowah and Jack Peppernell – have been selected for the NSW Country Under 16s side.
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The team, which will play against Papua New Guinea and the Gold Coast Titans junior sides, is made up of players from all over regional NSW.
It is a huge step for the two youngsters, who were both shocked and ecstatic to hear of their selection.
Menker, who is quietly spoken and prefers to let his football do the talking, simply said that it felt “pretty good” to have been named, while Jack said it felt “heaps good”.
“Like, my coach told me, and I had a couple of tears in my eyes and all that,” Jack said.
“It felt heaps good.”
The competition will take the boys up to the north coast of NSW in October.
They are both looking to take away different outcomes from their time with the team.
“[I’m looking forward to] playing with new people,” Menker said. “And making new mates.”
“I’m keen to verse Papua New Guinea. I reckon that’ll be pretty cool,” Jack said.
“And, like, the Gold Coast. I reckon that’ll be really good experience.
It’ll just be something to learn off and build on.
- Jack Peppernell
Having played the sport since he was six years old, Jack was optimistic about his chances of making the team, but said he was not sure that he’d done enough during the qualifying tournament to earn selection.
“I thought I played all right during the tournament, but we didn’t make finals,” he said.
Both of the boys play a straightforward brand of football. Menker was unsure of how to describe his style of play and said instead that he simply focused on doing whatever the team needed from him as a centre.
Meanwhile, Jack described his style of play as “run hard, tackle hard, pretty much,” which is a good motto to have as a young up-and-coming lock.
The dates for the matches are yet to be confirmed. However, the boys do know that training is scheduled to start in September, so they will have a full season of football to help warm them up ahead of the trip to the north coast.
Earning selection in a representative side offers both boys a chance to test the waters of high level sport, and Jack is certain he wants to have a crack at professional rugby league in the future.
“NRL’s the dream, but I couldn’t really care who I play for,” he said.
“As long as I’m still playing rugby league, I’m happy.”