Rugby League Northland is celebrating the selection of Kaitaia's Kadince Christensen and Portland's Turanga Shelford-Morrell into their respective New Zealand Residents age grade squads.
New Zealand Rugby League announced the NZ 16s and 18s squads following recent high performance camps in Rotorua which Moerewa's Brodee Palmer and Kaitaia's Kahi Harawira also
attended. Cody Tikitiki was also invited but had to withdraw at the last minute.
Fifteen-year-old Christensen's selection in the 16s rep side, and 17-year-old Shelford Morrrell's inclusion in the 18s team are a watershed moment for Rugby League Northland after only a 12 month existence, RLN general manager Rob Wakelin said.
"We (RLN) have a mission that says we exist to create opportunities and pathways for people in Northland through rugby league and that is surely no better illustrated by an outcome like this as this is likely to change their lives - history tells us that 100 per cent of players named in NZ 18s teams go on to receive NYC contracts and the figure for 16s players is close to 80 per cent. We couldn't be happier for Kadince and Turanga," Wakelin said.
"They are so well supported by their whanau and clubs and have both made conscious decisions to put themselves into the picture for these squads by committing themselves to the training and lifestyle choices necessary to achieve this." Christensen and Shelford-Morrell could claim their success came directly from stand-out performances at the high performance camps.
Shelford-Morrell topped the yoyo beep test for his age and Christensen delivered a standout performance during the trial matches.
Shelford-Morrell has previously represented Northland in rugby for the under-12 Bruce McLaren side and last year for the under-18s, and was invited to trial for the Auckland Blues Development squad in both 2010 and 2011.
He has also represented Whangarei in the men's under-21 touch team at the Maori Touch Nationals for the past two years.
This year was his first year playing league after being invited to join the Portland Panthers under-17s.
Meanwhile, Whangarei Boys High School's Christensen is a Northland representative in swimming. Wakelin said he was convinced further successes were not far away and Northland will grow to be a key contender in NZRL competitions.
The NZ squads of 22 will be trimmed to 18 players before the NZ 16s play Queensland Academy on October 18, and the NZ 18s play Australian Schoolboys on October 2 and 8.
Meanwhile, the NZRL National Competition, of which the Northern Swords 15s, 17s and premiers will be contesting, kicks off on August 28 and concludes on October 16.
