Northern Pride brothers aim to share Intrust Super Cup field

They shared many a backyard battle growing up in Weipa, and now Denzel King and Seamus King-Smith are hoping to share the field in the state’s premier rugby league competition.

They shared many a backyard battle growing up in Weipa, and now Denzel King and Seamus King-Smith are hoping to share the field in the state’s premier rugby league competition.

The stepbrothers have been training together with the Northern Pride’s Intrust Super Cup squad as they look to cement starting spots ahead of the new season.

Denzel returns to Barlow Park as a known member of the Pride system, while younger brother Seamus joins the club’s Intrust Super Cup development squad. Seamus said it had been good training alongside his older brother.

“He’s helped me settle in and he’s made it really easy for me,” he said.

Young gun Seamus King-Smith will join his stepbrother Denzel King playing for the Northern Pride in the 2021 Intrust Super Cup competition. Picture: Brendan Radke

Denzel said it had been “pretty special”.

“I never thought I’d be training with him or potentially playing football alongside him,” he said.

It’s a bit different to when they used to play together at the family home in Weipa.

“We used to play a lot of backyard footy, even in the house sometimes, on the mattresses,” Seamus said.

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“We used to run amok but he would bully me and that would be the end.”

Seamus last year graduated from Ipswich Grammar, where he predominantly played rugby union and was a key member of a red-hot Ipswich Grammar backline.

He also played for the Ipswich Jets’ under-18s Mal Meninga Cup side in 2019.

After completing his schooling, he wanted to ­return home to his family.

Young gun Seamus King-Smith will join his stepbrother Denzel King playing for the Northern Pride in the 2021 Intrust Super Cup competition. Picture: Brendan Radke

“(Northern Pride coach Ty Williams) got in touch with me and gave me an opportunity to come back,” he said.

“My parents came back home as well, so it made the decision easier, and Denzel was here too.

“I’m very proud to represent my region. It’s a good feeling being able to represent where I come from.”

At 18 years of age, turning 19 this year, Seamus will be eligible to play for the Pride U21s.

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“To get a lot of game time in the 21s and hopefully make my Q-Cup debut, that’s the goal for me,” he said.

Pride coach Ty Williams said the teen flyer “had a big future ahead of him”, but both the club and Seamus would need to “trust the process”.

“He would love to have the opportunity to play with his brother, but we’ll see how it unfolds over a period of time,” Williams said.

“He’s on a development pathway and he’s coming off a shoulder reconstruction, so it’s a slow process for him.

GPS First XV Rugby match between Ipswich Grammar and Nudgee. Ipswich Grammar’s Seamus King-Smith.

“He’s played a fair bit of a union over a period of time but as a young kid Seamus always wanted to play for the Northern Pride, hopefully over the next few years he gets that opportunity.”

Williams said Seamus would likely feature in the Pride U21 backline.

“He’s got some silky skills,” Williams said.

“He moves across the field really well and he’s a natural runner of the footy, but also the way he passes the football, the distance passes, he’s spot on, and he kicks the footy well.”

Northern Pride's Denzel King covers some metres in the Intrust Super Cup match between the Northern Pride and Norths Devils, held at Barlow Park. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

Williams said the brothers had been “inseparable” at training.

“They do everything together, and I think it’s an important ingredient,” he said.

“DK’s been around for a little bit, having his brother and family back, the surroundings will be a lot more comfortable for him now.

“I think both of them are really going to forge forward now with each other.”

Originally published as Northern Pride brothers aim to share Intrust Super Cup field