22 Oct 2009

Former Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) athletes Israeal Falou (Brisbane Broncos), David Taylor (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Scott Anderson (Melbourne Storm), and Daniel Mortimer and Joel Reddy (Parramatta Eels), are among the nation’s finest football talent, having made the transition to the elite ranks of the Australian Rugby League competition.

The next generation of talented rugby league players is ready to follow in their footsteps through the development pathway of the AIS Rugby League program.

The AIS Rugby League program was established in 2001 to support the training and development of talented footballers between the ages of 16 and 18 years based in rural and regional areas of Australia, while allowing them to study for an education through years 11 and 12.

More than 70 talented young rugby league players (including 24 current 2009–10 AIS scholarship holders and 46 rookies) took part in a national training camp in Canberra from 12 to 19 October to improve their skills and performance, and gain valuable experience in preparation for high performance competition.

The rookies, who came from across Australia, were also vying for selection in the 2010–11 intake of the AIS Rugby League program.

Current AIS scholarships holders have been training hard in preparation for a tour of France and the United Kingdom, where they will play international matches against France’s under-17s men’s team (17 November) and under-19s men’s team (19 November), British Community Lions (26 November) and the Wales national junior team (6 December).

Head coach of the AIS Rugby League program, Brian Johnson, is delighted with the program’s success in helping to develop talented players who have successfully made the transition to the top level of the NRL competition.

‘I think the large number of former scholarship holders playing in the NRL competition is an indication that the program is working,’ Johnson said.