Melbourne Storm commit to Sunshine Coast Falcons affiliation for three more years
Sunshine Coast youngsters will now have a pathway into the NRL after the creation of a new academy.
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The Sunshine Coast's best and brightest rugby league players will have a chance to make it big in their own backyard with an NRL club announcing a new Academy.
The Melbourne Storm's Tornados Academy will provide a new pathway for talented players into the Storm system.
Former Storm premiership player Tim Glasby will oversee the Tornados squad which will include up to 16 players from ages 16 to 19.
It comes after the Melbourne Storm announced an extension of the partnership with Sunshine Coast Falcons as its feeder club until the end of the 2024 season.
The southern outfit also committed to returning to the Coast for the next three years for training, preparation and promotional opportunities.
Storm chief executive Justin Rodski said the best few players from the academy would be invited to the Storm's camp in Geelong.
"It's a great opportunity for young talent from this region to be a part of the Melbourne Storm system," he said.
Storm general manager Football Frank Ponissi said the development of players in the region had been important to the club's successes.
Sunshine Coast Falcons chairman Ashley Robinson said the partnership extension was great news for locals.
"One of the reasons the Falcons was started was to stop our players going down to Brisbane," he said.
The Storm are currently staying on the Coast after a trip earlier this year was canned due to COVID concerns.
The region played a special role for the southern team last year as it was the club's base for much of the season to avoid restrictions in their home state.
Rodski said the group always feels at home whenever they're on the Coast.
"We have a great connection here on the Coast," he said.
"We've got a lot of fans and a lot of members - last year we had over 3000 members on the Coast and this year we're up to more than 2000 already.
"We're really excited to be here … we hope to be able to continue giving back to the Sunshine Coast community for many years to come."
Originally published as Melbourne Storm commit to Sunshine Coast Falcons affiliation for three more years
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