Jack Debreczeni impressed in his first season with Northland and reckons he'll come out stronger during the next Mitre 10 Cup campaign.
Photo/Otago Daily Times
Jack Debreczeni impressed in his first season with Northland and reckons he'll come out stronger during the next Mitre 10 Cup campaign.
Photo/Otago Daily Times
Northland unearthed the next nugget of gold at flyhalf with the signing of Jack Debreczeni this season and he's promising more fireworks alongside a young crop of up-and-coming boys for the next Mitre 10 Cup campaign.
The former Melbourne Rebels pivot's control, communication, speed, vision, goal-kicking, defence — go through the list and the ticks keep coming — have been instrumental in the team reaching the semifinal for the second year in a row.
Northland bombed out in the semis to Waikato last weekend but Debreczeni said a lot of new players that had game time would be better for the experience going forward.
"Mitre 10 Cup is a really fun competition, there were different challenges for me every week facing new teams and going to new grounds, around the travels. For me, that kept things pretty exciting and fresh every week.
"It would have been nice to play in the final this week but I was happy with my experience, both on and off the field.
"It's good attacking rugby, a lot of teams have an attacking mindset, they run the ball from anywhere but still implement a lot of structures in their play. I found the comp very exciting and very rewarding. A good competition to be a part of."
Unlike in Australia, Debreczeni found the speed of play "quite quick" with teams looking to get the ball back in play quickly after stoppages but his main challenge was getting used to the way the Taniwha players operated.
Jack Debreczeni lines up a kick for Northland against Hawke's Bay in Napier during the Mitre 10 Cup competition.
Photo/Hawke's Bay Today
Having had a taste of the domestic comp in New Zealand, he is already looking forward to next year and was full of praise for club rugby players who are playing for the Taniwha.
"The pleasing thing for the group is a lot of guys who haven't had much time in the Mitre 10 Cup level got to experience a lot of game time this year which will only add to the depth moving forward so I'd say that's a positive."
Players like halfback Jono Kitto and first fives Myles Thoroughgood and Wiseguy Faiane were learning off seasoned campaigners and against quality opposition each week.
He made particular mention of Northland's depth at centre with Tamati Tua, Blake Hohaia and Scott Gregory coming through and being guided by the likes of Rene Ranger.
Likewise, Kitto playing alongside the vastly experienced Sam Nock will ensure Northland have two quality nines who complement each other well.
"The experience we've grown this year, we just have to learn from it. The losses we have to learn from, why we lost, and to look at getting better. As long as you're learning always from your lows, it makes those times important.
"You can't hold on to any good games, you can't dwell on any bad games. You just have to move on and not overthink the season too much and try and get better over the offseason and come back a better player next year."
Debreczeni hates to compare the Australian National Rugby Championship with the Mitre 10 Cup for various reasons.
"There's competitions going on in New Zealand for a long time. You've got the Ranfurly Shield which has a lot of history to it. There's unions and provinces that have a lot of rich history whereas in Australia we've implemented the NRC only a couple of years ago so it's hard to compare the two competitions.
"You've just got to give Australia time. It's a positive thing that we have the NRC in Australia, there's that middle competition. New Zealand has a lot of depth in their rugby which makes them so good.
"Every week, I was playing against top quality players and players that I know about. The support up here playing at Okara Park, the home games was unbelievable and the travelling around the rest of the competition.
"We've got one of the better fan bases up here. They're passionate, they're proud and to be able to play for Northland Taniwha, I feel really grateful and honoured."
Debreczeni signed a two-year contract with the Northland Rugby Union.
Better luck and body maintenance ensured he survived the rigours of Mitre 10 Cup comp without serious injuries and is heading back to Australia for a break before returning to Northland next year. He's yet to land a Super Rugby contract.
Northland finished this year's Mitre 10 Cup comp with four wins and seven losses.
