rebel State Development Series puts players, coaches RISE skills into action

Author: Jacob Grams QRL community content producer
Timestamp: Mon 16 Sep 2024, 02:15 PM

Three rebel State Development Series carnivals taking place around Queensland over the next fortnight will allow participants of RISE programs in 2024 to put their skills into action.

On the back of successful carnivals held last year each in QRL North, QRL Central and QRL South East, the events will return again - this time in Townsville, Sunshine Coast and Logan respectively - for more than 1500 players and coaches in under 13 to under 15 boys and under 13 to under 16 girls age groups.

Queensland Rugby League (QRL) pathways and performance general manager Glenn Ottaway said the rebel State Development Series was a valuable way to extend the learnings gained from RISE player and coach development sessions.

“RISE still for us is a relatively new program and we’ve tried different models over the years. Something we learned after the first year was that kids get great value and coaches get great value from a player development point-of-view from RISE sessions… but a way for them to put it into practice what they’ve learned is to play games at the end of it, so we created the rebel State Development Series," Ottaway said.

“Kids love to play, and then for coaches as well, it is important that they put in to practice what they have learnt through the program into a game environment.

"It’s one thing to coach at training, then it’s the way you support your team on game day as well. The Series allows a coach to put a practical application on what they’ve learnt through the program by taking a team through a game day preparation and responding to the dynamic environment gameplay offers.

“Any carnival, whether it be a participation carnival or in this case the start of our pathway program, it’s an opportunity for kids to interacts with kids from other areas.

"By testing themselves against different opposition they get exposed to players that they don’t get to play against week to week in club competition. Many will be able to reflect on where they’re at in their development journey and share the experience with likeminded aspirational players. This is the same for aspirational coaches that attend the carnivals.”

“For us, pathway wise, we’re exposing the entry point to our talent development programs to a big base of kids, which is really important.

“Historically, when you run selection-based events in the early stages of development the funnel gets narrowed too early and you end up with fewer kids getting an opportunity to develop.

“The funnel narrows after RISE within our statewide competitions programs, so for us, the more players and coaches we can develop through RISE and the rebel State Development Series, the greater the depth of talent is expected to be available for selection at 16 and 17."

QRL pathways and performance staff will also provide support at each of the venues to engage with coaches and players hoping to further their goals.

“We have a strong presence at the events as it highlights the credibility of the program," Ottaway said.

“People sometimes think that because you nominate for the program and you’re not selected, it’s not a representative team and therefore not a pathway.

"The goal for us is to create a great foundation for the pathways that come after RISE, when players are more likely to be specialising in fewer sports and investing more time in their rugby league development.

“Our pathway coaches engaging is really important, because it shows the players and coaches it’s a genuine stepping stone in the pathway.

"We expect that the coaches and players that are part of this program are our Cyril Connell Cup and Harvey Norman Under 17s players and coaches of the future."