NRL 2020: Dragon Jason Saab transforms from bullied kid to rising star
He was a scrawny kid who got picked on because he couldn’t tackle, couldn’t catch and generally wasn’t that good. So how did Jason Saab rise to the top?
NSW
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He’s been head and shoulders above his rivals for a few years now but it took a long while for Jason Saab to standout in a crowd.
The rising star of rugby league said he was once so little and scrawny he was scared to go out and tackle the opposition.
Now an aerial threat, Saab said only his pride kept him in the game when his skills failed to develop as fast as his teammates and he was picked on and bullied because of his lack of talent.
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“I wasn’t very good,’’ said the Australian schoolboy and St George Dragon’s gun, born in Newtown but brought up in Parramatta and Granville as a diehard South Sydney Rabbitohs fan.
“I was very unconfident, I didn’t take risks, I couldn’t catch. I couldn’t tackle and generally I was too scared to go out and play. I was worried about playing bad and letting people around me down.
“There would be these big Islander kids on the other side looking twenty and I was little and scrawny.
“I was 12, 13, 14. But I hung in there. It was about persistence. I just wanted to get better.
“I didn’t really think I would get this good. But I had too much pride to give up.’’
A former Merrylands Rams junior, Saab said his breakthrough came when he was around 15.
“I wasn’t good at all until this game and I remember something just clicked for me,’’ he said.
“I think some kid took an intercept and I ran him down and I realised, maybe I can kind of be fast. It boosted my confidence.
“I had been at school for three years and hadn’t scored a try and I was a winger. It is pretty funny.’’
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Saab said his advice to youngsters playing the game is to never give up.
“Kids who aren’t as good or smaller, or like me, they get picked on a lot and it hurts your confidence,’’ he said.
“If I had a bad game now, no one would laugh.
“But kids can be cruel. It can affect me.
“The one bit of advice is to not give up and keep working hard. If you really love footy just keep going.’’
A sudden growth spurt at 15 saw Saab shoot up from 187cm to 199cm with the 19-year-old now the second tallest player in the NRL behind Nelson Asofa-Solomona at 200cm.
“I haven’t measured myself for six months. People say I have grown but I haven’t checked since the last time when I was 199cm,’ he said.
“I don’t want to grow any more. You get a bit taller you get less co-ordinated. This height is just perfect.’’
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