Junior Sharks on trial

The Sharks junior representative teams took on South Sydney last weekend in their first trial matches ahead of the 2013 season.

The under-16 Matthews Cup Sharks and the under-18 SG Ball side both more than held their own against strong Rabbitoh squads in encouraging hit outs.

While scores weren’t too closely monitored on the day, with coaches Darren Capovilla and Dave Howlett more intent on assessing the abilities of their squads, the Matthews Cup Sharks were edged out by Souths by a couple of tries, while the SG Ball clash proved to be an evenly matched contest.

On the day 14 youngsters from Queensland and New Zealand were also given the opportunity to participate in the trials

The young players, identified by Sharks scouts and invited to take part in a four-day camp, had the opportunity to see how the Sharks system works before heading home where their progress will be monitored.

“They were brought in to get a taste of our program,” Collins said. “They trained with the junior rep sides, had some private coaching with our 20’s coach James Shepherd and were able to watch the NRL team train as well. We also put them through an education and welfare seminar.”

As for the Souths trials, Collins and the respective coaching staff’s were pleased with what was achieved on the day.

“They were competitive matches and it was a good hit out for both our teams,” he said.

The Sharks junior representative teams will complete training this week before taking a break for Christmas and New Year, returning in early January.

They will play trials against Canberra, the Bulldogs, Tigers and Magpies before their season kicks off on February 9 with matches at Toyota Stadium against South Sydney.