KEMPSEY football prodigy Triston Reilly has recently returned from a rugby league tour of New Zealand with the Queensland Indigenous (Murri) under-15 schoolboy’s team.
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The talented Kempsey teen, who moved to Townsville to continue his education at Kirwan State High at the beginning of 2014, was offered a spot in the Indigenous Sate squad after a starring display playing at the Queensland Murri Carnival in September. Reilly played halfback for the Mackay Stallions and scored an amazing 10 tries in four games.
"I played fairly consistently over the carnival. I scored a few tries too, but during the last 15 minutes of our final game I strained my groin which limited my kicking and running game for the possibles v probables game for QLD selection,” Reilly said.
“I was stoked to be part of the team and tour to New Zealand with the indigenous boys. We won our first game and went down in the second game against the New Zealand Maoris, both teams scored four tries but our goal kicking let us down."
Reilly travelled with 20 team mates from across Queensland on the NZ tour which made a big impression on the 15-year-old Dunghutti man.
"I got to be coached by former NRL player Sid Domic, he was awesome. Going into camp with QLD schoolboys was amazing but the camp with all the Indigenous boys was completely different,” Reilly said.
“We all had something in common with each other and not just wanting to be the best rugby league players; we shared a bond of playing for our people.“
He said the New Zealand Maori cultural experience made just as big an impact on him as the football.
"We were billeted out with Maori families and got to experience a bit of their culture. I cannot believe the way all New Zealanders have embraced the Maori heritage,” he said.
Reilly has won selection in the North Qld (Townsville Stingers) Rugby League representative team to play in the under16 Cyril Connell Cup in 2015.
The winner of the competition will play the winner of NSW based u/16 Harold Matthew Cup for national glory.
Reilly will now be looking forward to playing for u/16 Queensland Murri against NSW Koori as the pre-game to the Indigenous All Stars game which returns in 2015 to be played at Suncorp Stadium on February 14.
