Sports Stars of Tomorrow

[Jake the snake]

Sports Stars of Tomorrow: Rulon Nutira


01.09.2006
By JERRIE ANDREWS

Move over Sonny-Bill Williams, another Kiwi league star is on the rise.
Rulon Nutira has just turned 16 and is already well on track to his dream of becoming a professional league player.

Nutira was the youngest member of the Hornby Panthers premier team that won the grand final last weekend against Linwood 32-28 and is the only South Island player named in the Kiwis Under 16 team for the second consecutive year.

After two matches against Queensland Academy in Auckland at the end of this month, Nutira will head to Parramatta where he has been signed for three years with the junior and reserve grades of the NRL.
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[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-2] [/SIZE][/FONT]According to Panthers coach Brent Ringdahl this boy is one to watch.
“He’s easily measured up to the rest of the boys this year (in the Panthers) and outshone some of them,” he said.
“We’ll be sad to lose him, but he’s got to go. He’s going to go places”.
Nutira said being the youngest in the premier team had helped his game.
“I was always learning,” he said.
“Every word any of the boys said I would just learn from them and that’s a good thing.”
“I was always nervous, just not wanting to stuff up, but I knew the coach and the boys must have trusted in me and that’s such a privilege.”
And trust him they must have as he’s now in charge of looking after the Pat Smith Challenge Trophy the team won in the final.

That’s a role he might have to give up when he heads to Parramatta, but Nutira was excited about the opportunities the move presented.
“It’s awesome,” he said.
“Just the experience, the coaching… they’ve got everything you’d need, everything is just right there.”

Ringdahl believed Nutira had the potential to make it in the NRL, and compared his skills to Kiwis and Melbourne Storm player David Kidwell, who started his career with Hornby.
“At the same age (when Kidwell was 16), this boy’s better,” he said.

http://www.starcanterbury.co.nz/localsport/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3699369&thesection=localsport&thesubsection=
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[jason taylor]

This guy sounds Great

 

[Y2Eel]

the next fluffy kitten?

 

[jason taylor]

Doe sthat mean he will be injured like Sonny??

 

[eel4life]

Cant wait to see him run around next year ...

 

[Stagger eel]

he looks to have the package..let's hope he's not affected by the presence of a certain coach in SG Ball.

 

[Kornstar]

he looks to have the package..let's hope he's not affected by the presence of a certain coach in SG Ball.

It is a bit worrying isn't it?

 

[Stagger eel]

although it doesn't indicate this I believe he plays in the backrow.

 

[Stagger eel]

It is a bit worrying isn't it?

mm! yeah.

well he is a second rower so lets hope he plays there.

 

[Mr_E]

Sorry guys can't remember, but who's the SG Ball coach?

 

[Stagger eel]

Sorry guys can't remember, but who's the SG Ball coach?

Troy Pezet.

 

[Utey]

hmmm....

 

[Kornstar]

So if he is a second rower, i guess he will be playing centre then, and if he is better than Tony Williams, i guess he will definitely be playing off the bench