Campbell Magnay knocks back Brisbane Broncos deal to sign with Queensland Reds
“BIG Red” Campbell Magnay knocked back an offer from the Brisbane Broncos to sign a three-year deal with the Queensland Reds.
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“BIG Red” Campbell Magnay knocked back an offer from the Brisbane Broncos Under-20s to grab the three-year pathway that can turn him into a Queensland Reds regular in rugby.
Signing a 17-year-old to a full contract over three years is a huge vote for the potential of a kid who is already taller than Israel Folau and will play at a bigger weight than the Wallaby ace when he finishes growing.
Magnay’s seven-game stint with Queensland Country as the youngest of the 324 players used in the National Rugby Championship was shrewdly used as an extended trial to show he was made of the right stuff.
The flame-haired teenager already packs a punch at 98kg and 1.95cm, dream specifications for a young outside centre to develop into the same bulldozing force that 1999 World Cup-winner Daniel Herbert once was for the Reds.
The strong-running youngster was named after cousin Campbell “Zulu” Dews, the former Norths and Wynnum-Manly rugby league hardman of the 1980s.
His own background as a Norths rugby league junior also put him on the Broncos radar. He declined their overtures and also spurned approaches from a rival Super Rugby club and the Australian sevens team.
For Magnay, settling his future is a perfectly timed birthday present because he turns 18 on Monday.
“Awesome ... signing for the Reds is not something I even dreamt of at the start of the year,” Magnay said.
“There was an offer from the Broncos Under-20s but rugby is what I enjoy.
“Playing alongside Super Rugby players and the best from club rugby in the NRC just gave me so many ideas about how I can build my game in defence, in attacking skills, decision-making and the rest.
“Developing my game in club footy (at GPS) next year and all I can learn training with the Reds is going to be exciting.”
One of the biggest surprises for Magnay was not getting sledged more because as a raw rookie he figured on being more of a target.
“I was expecting a bit more. I actually copped as much from my teammate Beau Robinson as any opposing player,” Magnay said with a laugh.
Robinson started a “Big Brad” nickname for Magnay in a salute to towering redhead Brad Meyers, the former Broncos and Gold Coast Titans forward who was a standard-bearer for footy’s rangas.
Being signed to a full contract at 17 is rare. Only Caleb Brown and Chris Feauai-Sautia have been contracted by the Reds at such an age over the past decade because Quade Cooper was only signed to a training contract at the same age.
“Part of my responsibility is to ensure the best young talent remains in our programs. At only 17, this is a strong recognition of his talent and the three-year deal means he’ll be able to develop his skills really well with the quality of players around him,” Reds coach Richard Graham said.
Originally published as Campbell Magnay knocks back Brisbane Broncos deal to sign with Queensland Reds
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