Australian Schoolboys union flyer Nate Thompson reveals why he quit rugby for the NRL’s Bulldogs
A highly touted Australian Schoolboys rugby union star and 100m sprinter has made a cross-code switch to join a powerhouse NRL club. Read his decision behind the move.
Sunshine Coast
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sunshine Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News.
An Australian Schoolboys rugby union speedster who walked away from the sport to sign with the Bulldogs has revealed that greater opportunities in rugby league were the key factor that drove him to abandon his childhood code.
Sunshine Coast product Nate Thompson, 17, started on the wing for the Australian Schoolboys in Fiji just two weeks after news of his rugby league defection broke in September this year.
Initially scouted by South Sydney after a breakthrough Cyril Connell Cup (under-17) campaign with the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Thompson’s name was referred to Gus Gould and the Bulldogs because the Rabbitohs’ development program had filled up.
A strong performance at Bulldogs Queensland Academy trials was the sliding doors moment that delivered Canterbury one of Australia’s most promising rugby union flyers on a three-year contract.
“I’m very excited and grateful for the opportunity,” Thompson told this masthead.
“Having played union my whole life it was not easy to step away from it, however I’m very excited to keep going down the rugby league pathway with this opportunity.
“Ultimately it came down to believing there is more opportunity in playing rugby league than currently in rugby union.
“It is hard when you love both sports but there comes a time when a decision needs to be made.”
Despite playing for the Australian schoolboys team a year younger than his teammates, Thompson said no formal contract was offered from RA or the Queensland Reds.
“No formal contract, the opportunity to be in the Queensland Reds academy was offered but the training and games clashed with the Falcons training for the upcoming season of the Mal Meninga Cup,” he said.
Thompson began playing union at six years of age but picked up league at 11, juggling both - alongside cricket and athletics - ever since.
He ran 100m in 11.61 at the Queensland state track and field championships - within two-tenths of a second of the times posted by past Bulldogs speedsters Josh Morris (11.44) and Ben Barba (11.45) during 2010’s ‘Gatorade Bolt’ race.
The Courier-Mail named Thompson as a ‘wildcard player to watch’ of the Cyril Connell Cup in 2024 shortly before his selection for the Australian Schoolboys rugby team.
That was the highest accolade of Thompson’s rugby league journey until he joined the Bulldogs.
His Bulldogs contract will allow the one-time Brisbane Boys’ College student to remain on the Sunshine Coast during his senior year at Siena Catholic College before relocating to Belmore.
“I’m hoping to play good footy and show off my skills in a different environment with the goal to keep moving up the ranks at the club,” Thompson said.
“[This year has been] lots of hard work, and narrowly missing out on some teams.
“Having the opportunity to go to Fiji and play Schoolboys was an absolute highlight.”
Fluoride would cost Qld councils less than $5 per person
It costs local councils less than the price of a cup of coffee per resident to fluoridate the water supply for a whole year, new analysis has revealed.
Man dies after shock crash on busy Sunshine Coast road
In a tragic outcome, a man has died after a ute crashed on a busy Sunshine Coast road.