We will see it. We have a couple of Victorians contracted and there's a chance at least one of them will make the grade down the track. As touched upon in this article, the Roosters tried to sign Jarrad Stack a while back but he turned them down. If a Sydney club wanted to recruit him and he's getting wraps off Bellamy and O'Sullivan then he must have a bit of potential. Whether he goes on with it remains to be seen but he's definately on the right track.
http://www.melbournestorm.com.au/default.asp?sec=1&ssec=1&pg=424
MELBOURNE Storm is looking for young players to step up in 2006.With one of the youngest lists in the NRL, Storm isn't afraid to continue developing its youth. Two such players are contracted local juniors Jarrad Stack and Adam Leslie, who have been training in Melbourne under the senior coaching staff over the summer. Stack is impressing despite being a couple of years away from first-grade selection.
Leslie is also impressing the coaching staff but, at 16, still has some development before his potential is fully realised. Stack is hoping to be the first native Victorian selected in a Melbourne Storm side and, according to coach Craig Bellamy, he's on the right track.
"Jarrad's been very impressive. He's turned up in good physical condition and he's done plenty of the running," Bellamy said. "His skill level is quite good for a kid of his age and certainly he's been very enthusiastic in the contact drills, which a lot of kids that age are a little bit overawed by making contact with some of our older players."
Stack was offered a spot with Storm's feeder club North Brisbane Devils late last year and is excited that his Melbourne roots are still intact. "I was supposed to go to the Roosters but ended up staying with the Storm. There's a chance here and I was born in Melbourne, so it's good," Stack said.
Aiming to continue his development, Stack rated himself a fair chance of improving and making first-grade selection. "I wasn't supposed to stay down here for the trials and they've asked me now, so I've got a chance I reckon," he said. Recruitment and list manager Peter O'Sullivan said Stack would benefit from the extra time in Melbourne with the senior team.
"He's going to Brisbane. It's just a matter of logistics, so in the meantime he trains with the top squad in Melbourne," O'Sullivan said. "It's of more benefit for him to be here in Melbourne training with them and as soon as we're ready, he'll be up in Brisbane getting ready to play in the competition up there, which will be in the next couple of weeks."
Leslie is hoping to follow Stack to Brisbane in the next year or two and has appreciated the opportunity of training in Melbourne. "This is pretty much a trial stage for me and then hopefully I'll go up to Brisbane next year with them (North Brisbane Devils)," Leslie said.
"I've just got to finish off the camp and see what happens this year and then come back again and train with the first-grade side." Being based in the AFL capital, the importance of a native Victorian player in the Storm's top 17 is not lost on Bellamy.
"It'd be great for this club and the club's profile in Melbourne to have a born-and-bred Victorian boy in our squad," Bellamy said. "To get in and play in our top 17, that'd be a big day for this club and for Jarrad."
