By Nick Wright
New Zealand Warriors chief executive Cameron George insists the club’s move to forge an outreach into south-east Queensland is not a poaching raid of the Broncos’ heartland, as he plots to engage with a host of Kiwi rugby league greats to help make the initiative a success.
On Monday, a training academy and community program was announced in Logan, which would provide a hunting ground for new talent from a community that produced Cameron Smith, Josh Papalii and Corey Parker.
And George confirmed his intention to reach out to past players such as former Warriors star Mark Tookey and Test hooker Issac Luke in a bid to take the pathways forward.
Warriors CEO Cameron George said former Kiwi stars such as Issac Luke (pictured) would be engaged as the club’s academy in Logan took off.Credit: Getty Images
Luke forged an illustrious NRL career, amassing 286 games and 43 Test caps, and has since coached at Marsden State High School, along with fellow Kiwi international Zeb Taia.
George described Tookey, born and bred in Logan, as “a great part of our history”, along with Luke.
“There’s a lot of ex-Warriors that are in and around the area,” he added. “You’ll see us slowly start to build a program and a presence here, and really connect locally and work with the kids and families.
“Those guys will play a part in it for sure.”
Australia’s NRL clubs are littered with athletes who have been identified in New Zealand – dating back to Benji Marshall’s move to Keebra Park, and continuing with Broncos enforcer Xavier Willison, Cowboys prop Griffin Neame and Titans fullback Keano Kini.
However, while Queensland Cup side Souths Logan Magpies are a Broncos affiliate, George stressed they were not moving into the region “just to pinch everyone and take them back to New Zealand”.
When asked if there would be scope for the academy to spread into Queensland’s western corridor, George said: “We’ve got people everywhere, but our focus on a community-driven program and our partnership with this region is to do what we can for this region … it’s exclusive to this region”.
He said the initiative was also tailored towards providing career pathways through its partnership with Logan City Council and Warriors sponsor Ausbuild.
“I don’t know about pinch from the Broncos or Titans ... our job is just to inspire the community,” George said.
“If that means we do get some exceptional young girls and boys coming out of here to play in our colours, that’ll make us all proud and make the community proud.
“It’s a nursery, it’s a rugby league hotbed, so it is a strategic move, absolutely. We’ve been offered opportunities on the eastern seaboard before, but we’ve never taken them up.
“We’ve got so many kids in New Zealand throughout our academies who are fit for purpose, but that doesn’t mean we can’t come here and attract some of the kids to come back home too.
“If we get outcomes that suit our NRL program, so be it. If we provide the pathways and the right training and mentoring, the kids with talent will take up those opportunities.”
The academy, which will offer elite training and talent identification, will be based at Logan Metro Sports Park, with mayor Jon Raven hinting further investment in the facility could be on the horizon “if we see the community loves this, and supports the Warriors”.
However, he said hosting Warriors’ NRL games in the future was still a way off.
“I would love to see us host some NRL games, but what we’d have to do is get a media tower and a grandstand in there,” Raven said.
“These are things we already started looking at last term, and we’re happy to continue investigating it.”
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