Parker tipped to excel in NRL debut

BRAD Parker will make his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles on Saturday against the Warriors – a feat which does not surprise Antony Charles.

Debutant Brad Parker will no doubt lean on Jorge Taufua for advice ahead of Saturday.

BRAD Parker will make his NRL debut for the Sea Eagles on Saturday against the Warriors – a feat which does not surprise Antony Charles.

The schoolteacher at St Paul’s Catholic College Manly was Parker’s first XV rugby union coach – and said he always thought the now 19-year-old was destined to play at the highest level.

“He is a natural athlete – a strong runner of the ball and brilliant defensively,’’ Charles told the Manly Daily.

“I tried to get in his ear last year to follow a rugby pathway once he finished school.

“But Brad has ­always had rugby league as his main focus.

“I remember, he stood out in a rugby game and at fulltime he was ­approached by a representative from the Australian sevens – he politely told him playing (rugby league) for Manly was his dream.

“I have no doubt he will hold his own. This has been his dream for many years.”

Fellow young gun Tom Trbojevic with teammate Jamie Buhrer.

Charles plans to watch the game at his home with a number of his colleagues as they celebrate the success of one of their former students, who completed his Higher School Certificate in 2015.

Parker, a Manly Christian Brothers junior, will mark fellow excitement machine Ken Maumalo at Perth’s NIB Stadium.

The Sea Eagles will start the must-win round 19 encounter as outsiders, and the loss of key duo Dylan Walker and Brett Stewart to injury couldn’t have come at a worse time.

In a positive look to Manly’s future, Tom Trbojevic will start the clash at fullback.