Courtesy of the Mackay Daily Mercury
THE opportunity to play in a NRL trial for the Cowboys has Mackay junior and foundation Cutters player Todd Seymour on the verge of creating history.
Seymour, 22, was yesterday named as one of three STM Cutters who will play against Wests Tigers at Walkerston on February 12.
Cutters recruits, halfback Justin Hunt, 21, and second rower Tyson Martin, 20, will also play in the trial after undergoing pre-season training with the Cowboys before Christmas.
Martin is a former Proserpine junior and ex-Cowboys under-20s player while Hunt was recruited from North Sydney.
Seymour first played with the Cutters as a 20-year-old against Redcliffe in round five of their debut season in the Queensland Cup two years ago and now has more than 50 matches in the competition, playing mostly at halfback.
While all three players have the opportunity to impress in the trial and gain a call-up, the Souths player’s possible future selection with the NRL side would create history as no player has yet risen from Mackay’s junior ranks to the Cutters and then on to the Cowboys.
“It’s surely my big opportunity,” Seymour said of the match which is expected to attract 5000 people to Wests ground Tiger Park.
“It’s my chance to get a foot in the door, set something up for years to come.”
Cutters coach Paul Bramley felt that Seymour – whose cousin Brett will play five-eighth for the Warriors this season – was most deserving of the opportunity to play in the trial because of his work ethic and attitude to training.
He said Cowboys coach Neil Henry had always planned to give Martin and Hunt the opportunity to trial but he recently extended the offer to include a local player of the Cutters’ choosing.
“Todd has been a consistent performer for the Cutters for the past two seasons,” Bramley said.
“He rarely misses a training session and always gives 100%.
“He is one of those players who has never been in a NRL system so it’s great to be able to offer this kind of incentive to him.
“I must commend the Cowboys for giving us this opportunity.
“It will be a great experience for all three boys and hopefully they can bring some of that back to the Cutters.”
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