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KYLE O'Brien is flying towards his NRL dream. The Townsville rugby league player will be flown to Sydney every week for SG Ball games with the Sydney Roosters next year after the Bondi club secured his signature recently.
O'Brien - who is about to finish Year 11 at Kirwan State High School - will play in the under-18 competition while completing his Year 12 studies.
The 17-year-old Mackay junior said he was pumped to have landed the unique opportunity.
"It's like having a dream come true," he said.
"I never really expected to get something like this and everyone in my family is pretty psyched about it.
"It's exciting and I'm just rapt to be given a chance like this."
The SG Ball competition is a NSW-based league that also features a Melbourne Storm outfit and another side from Western Australia.
The competition's closest Queensland equivalent is the under-18 Mal Meninga Cup, which is played between representative teams such as the Townsville Stingers, Northern Pride and Mackay Cutters.
"When I was about 14 they (Sydney) wanted to sign me to a scholarship but I said no," O'Brien said.
"But this year they got in contact with my manager again and (I) decided it was a good opportunity.
"I'll probably get flown down on Friday mornings to train and come back on Saturday or Sunday."
Kirwan rugby league coach Dave Ackers said O'Brien had the potential to make an impact in the SG Ball.
"He's six foot four (195cm), 106kg and he's still got a fair bit of growth left in him," he said.
"The Roosters are very impressed with his potential and what he could grow into.
"He's progressing nicely in terms of attitude and he's a good trainer, and he was probably the best player in our (GIO Cup) schoolboys quarter-final against Ignatius Park."
Ackers said O'Brien's arrangement with the Roosters was very rare for a player based more than 2000km from Sydney.
"It happens in southeast Queensland and I'm pretty sure they (Sydney) have a couple of Brisbane players in the SG Ball squad," he said.
"But it's very rare for a kid from north Queensland to be flown to those games on a weekly basis."
Another notable Kirwan name signed to an NRL club next year is Francis Winterstein, who joins the Brisbane Broncos' national youth competition squad.
Francis is the younger brother of Cowboys winger Antonio, who began his NRL career at the Broncos
O'Brien - who is about to finish Year 11 at Kirwan State High School - will play in the under-18 competition while completing his Year 12 studies.
The 17-year-old Mackay junior said he was pumped to have landed the unique opportunity.
"It's like having a dream come true," he said.
"I never really expected to get something like this and everyone in my family is pretty psyched about it.
"It's exciting and I'm just rapt to be given a chance like this."
The SG Ball competition is a NSW-based league that also features a Melbourne Storm outfit and another side from Western Australia.
The competition's closest Queensland equivalent is the under-18 Mal Meninga Cup, which is played between representative teams such as the Townsville Stingers, Northern Pride and Mackay Cutters.
"When I was about 14 they (Sydney) wanted to sign me to a scholarship but I said no," O'Brien said.
"But this year they got in contact with my manager again and (I) decided it was a good opportunity.
"I'll probably get flown down on Friday mornings to train and come back on Saturday or Sunday."
Kirwan rugby league coach Dave Ackers said O'Brien had the potential to make an impact in the SG Ball.
"He's six foot four (195cm), 106kg and he's still got a fair bit of growth left in him," he said.
"The Roosters are very impressed with his potential and what he could grow into.
"He's progressing nicely in terms of attitude and he's a good trainer, and he was probably the best player in our (GIO Cup) schoolboys quarter-final against Ignatius Park."
Ackers said O'Brien's arrangement with the Roosters was very rare for a player based more than 2000km from Sydney.
"It happens in southeast Queensland and I'm pretty sure they (Sydney) have a couple of Brisbane players in the SG Ball squad," he said.
"But it's very rare for a kid from north Queensland to be flown to those games on a weekly basis."
Another notable Kirwan name signed to an NRL club next year is Francis Winterstein, who joins the Brisbane Broncos' national youth competition squad.
Francis is the younger brother of Cowboys winger Antonio, who began his NRL career at the Broncos
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