Hennessy Catholic College student Zac Rumble is preparing to swap the classroom for the footy field after signing a four year contract with the Canterbury Bulldogs in the NRL.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He will complete the term at Hennessy and make the move to Sydney to start training with the team in October.
The Year 11 student will initially be part of the Bulldog’s Under 20s squad and will hopefully play in the SG Ball team in 2019 to further improve his fitness and skill level.
However is keen to progress on and is hoping to one day play first grade.
“It’s a bit nerve racking but I’m keen for it, it should be a good experience and something I can say I did, I would be a bit upset if I didn’t try it so see how it goes,” Zac said.
“I haven’t really thought about it (first grade) much but it’s the sort of thing that may happen, it would be unreal if it happened but I’ve got a few other things that I like so I should be right either way hopefully.”
Growing up in a footy household, Zac started playing footy at the age of five.
“I lived in Canberra and we used to do “midgets”... played with my brothers a lot in the backyard, it’s always been a thing that I have done and it’s big in my family,” he said.
“I lived in Canberra until Year 2 then moved to Yass and now I am living in Cootamundra but I come over to school here.”
Zac has impressed scouts at the Bulldogs after playing for the Cootamundra Bulldogs and in the Riverina Bulls Under 18s side.
“One of the Bulldogs’ scouts sent video to one of the people up there and they called me and I went to camp with a few of the people that are from there that are signed so I did that camp and they liked me. I said I would be willing to move up,” he said.
"It was a high performance camp… They just got me to come down and join in the training.”
He said the camp was an opportunity to hone his skills as a fullback.
“It was the little things, they want you to do the little things right just like hitting them on the chest perfectly… it helps you a lot, they drilled that into me which was good,” he said.
While he will be leaving school, Zac will continue his education and finding employment to fall back on.
“I am leaving school but I am going to TAFE and doing business project management and real estate so I will pump out those courses and hopefully find some work,” he said.
He said he was excited to follow in the footsteps of fellow Coota players.
“I look up to the Coota boys who played so Glen Buttriss and Jack de Belin, those are some great players who have come through Coota,” he said.
“I know Glen pretty well because he came and coached here, they are nice people and they have had good careers so I look up to them.
“I do like the younger kids like Kayln Ponga.”
