League: 17-year-old Bulldogs recruit breaks squat record with 190kg lift

Devontai Seumanutafa. Photo / Facebook

Meet Devontai Seumanutafa - possibly the strongest 17-year-old rugby league player around.

The New Zealand-raised forward - a product of famed Gold Coast high school Keebra Park - has been snapped up by NRL outfit Canterbury Bulldogs and it's easy to see why.

Video footage of the teenage powerhouse on the rampage has been doing the rounds, while a clip of him setting a new school record for heaviest squat - an astonishing 190kg - has just gone viral.

190kg - School Record! 😳 This grade 11 beast in his first year of periodised gym training with Keebra, has pushed the physical limits of himself all year. With a GIO Schoolboy medal already in his pocket and another year to develop, I can't wait to see what next year brings! 💪

Posted by Keebra Park Rugby League Academy on Monday, November 20, 2017

According to foxsports.com.au, Seumanutafa broke the record despite being only in his first year of periodised gym training. He signed a contract with the Bulldogs earlier this year after Bulldogs Head of Recruitment, Warren McDonnell, first spotted him playing for Keebra Park.

This year, he helped his team become the first Queensland school to win the GIO Schoolboy Cup three times.

"Obviously his size," McDonnell told foxsports.com.au when asked what first caught his eye.

"There's been some strong kids there [at Keebra Park] - Mosese Fotuaika and Issac Liu -
but this kid is as strong as any.

"For a big fella, he's got very good leg speed."

Meet Devontai Seumanutafa! 👊 Devontai attended the Keebra Park Open Trial last year and earned a Canterbury Bulldogs Scholarship. He has gone from strength to strength and will now start in the National Final on Wednesday. If you think you have what it takes, register for the Open Trial at the link below http://www.keebraparkrugbyleague.com.au/keebra-park-open-trial/

Posted by Keebra Park Rugby League Academy on Friday, September 1, 2017

"The best thing about the kid is he's willing to work hard, learn and he listens ... he knows he's got a long way to go."

Seumanutafa, an Australian resident with Samoan, Tongan and Maori heritage, is on a scholarship with the Bulldogs, and will relocate to Sydney late next year to begin pre-season training.

"He's very raw," McDonnell told foxsports.com.au.

"It's going to be a work in progress but his attitude and willingness to work is a big plus for him going forward."