Rising rugby league stars to make first grade debuts for Warringah Rats

TWO 19-year-old rising football talents with strong rugby league pedigrees will make their Shute Shield debuts for the Warringah Rats on Saturday.

Emerging Warrringah Rats rugby players Ezera Chee Kam and Max Girdler, Picture: Troy Snook.

• Warringah prop Rory O’Connor joins Melbourne Rebels
• Manly Marlins red-hot start

TWO 19-year-old rising football talents with strong rugby league pedigrees will make their Shute Shield debuts for the Warringah Rats in Saturday’s game against Penrith at Nepean Rugby Park,

Backrower Max Girdler, the second cousin of former NRL star Ryan Girdler, will come off the bench.

And Ezera Chee-Kam, whose brother Michael is the former Sea Eagles and current Wests Tigers forward, will start in the centres.

Rats coach Darren Coleman is giving the pair a taste of first grade as part of their footballing development.

The 113kg Girdler combined both codes growing up, playing league with the Avalon Bulldogs, Mona Vale Raiders and the Sea Eagles Harold Matthews side and rugby with the Rats.

Ryan Girdler in his playing days with the Penrith Panthers.

And he said when he was younger his cousin Ryan would offer a few tips

Girdler won two GPS premierships at Scots College, where their coach, the former Wallaby Brian Smith, did a lot for him and worked as a mentor.

“You can’t play two codes once you get older so I chose rugby purely because of going to a rugby based school and it took me down that path,” Girdler said.

And he is ready to make the step up this afternoon in the top grade.

“I’m very keen to get out there,” he said.

Brothers Livingson, Michael and Ezera Chee-Kam. Picture: Phillip Rogers.

After two years with the Sea Eagles SG Ball Chee-Kam made a big impact with the Warringah Colts and played with Girdler in the NSW Under 20s.

“One of my goals this year was to play a couple of first grade games so I am pretty excited, pulling on that white jersey means a lot,” he said.

And he has the full support of his brother Michael.

“I think he was thinking of making the switch, it would be weird seeing him in a Rats jersey,” he laughed.