Five boys from Northland have been selected to attend the NZRL National Performance Camp in Rotorua from July 21-24.
The five players are: NZRL 16s trialist Taui Arona (Marist RL, Pompallier College); NZRL 18s trailists Corey Naera (Otaua Valleys, currently attending the NZ Warriors RL Academy); Tumoana Halkyard (Muriwhenua, TKRangianiwaniwa), Joachim Edmonds (Hikurangi, Tikipunga High School), James Dean Fisher Harris (Marist RL, Whangarei Boys High School, ex Hokianga).
To profile one of the above players, Rugby League Northland picked out James Dean Fisher Harris as a great example someone being rewarded for their consistent hard work. Fisher Harris was the Swords 17s player of the year in 2012, and also Man of the Match in both Adam Blair XIII (Northland secondary schools selection side) matches against the Warriors development side earlier this year.
The players were all selected from the NZRL National Provincial Premiership in 2012 where they represented the Northern Swords at either 15s or 17s level. Every week all the coaches from the seven NZRL Zones dial into a conference call to select players. Two teams of 20 - Possible vs Probables - are selected to attend the NZRL performance camp.
The performance camp follows NZRL's motif of league being 'More than Just a Game' and incorporates workshops around leadership, lifestyle choices and future responsibilities. The camp is run by Kiwis' assistant coach and high performance manager, Tony Iro, and features presentations from some of the game's luminaries such as Warriors recruitment manager, Dean Bell, and Kiwi selector, Tawera Nikau, and his corporate team-/ culture-building company.
The camp runs for four days, the final day being trials for the Kiwis 16s and 18s teams with those successful in gaining selection going on to play a two-match series against their Australian counterparts in October. Previously Northland was represented at the 16s age group in 2011 and 2012 by Kadince Christensen, who captained the NZRL 16s last year. As a result, Kadince gained contract with the Parramatta Eels and now lives in Sydney.
For the record, the 2013 NZRL Premiership kicks off on Saturday, August 25, at Toll Stadium with the Northern Swords hosting the South Island Scorpions.
