One of the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ best young prospects, front-rower Patrick Kaufusi, has agreed to a three-year NRL contract and will join the club’s full-time squad for the first time next month. The 19-year-old, who came to the Cowboys from the Bundaberg Brothers, has played for the Queensland under-18s and Queensland Junior Origin team over the past two seasons and will be a chief contender for North Queensland’s NYC Player of the Year award at next week’s Cowboys Presentation Ball. Kaufusi played 18 NYC matches in 2013 and was number one among the Cowboys forwards in total metres for the season and metres gained per match, as well as finishing in the top-three in offloads, linebreaks and linebreak assists. He will remain eligible for the under-20s competition in 2014, but will train with the NRL squad under new coach Paul Green, developing his game alongside Test and Origin front-rowers Matthew Scott and James Tamou. Kaufusi is the third member of this season’s NYC squad to sign an NRL contract with the Cowboys, joining Zac Santo and Javid Bowen. “Patrick’s now played 42 games in the under-20s, as well as some rep footy, and he’s reached the stage in his career where he’s ready to step up to our NRL squad,” Cowboys recruitment manager Adrian Thomson said. “We expect to see plenty of improvement in his game by being part of the full-time environment. “He’s a very professional young man who has a great future ahead of him and we’re happy it will be with us for at least the next three years.”
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 05:14:00 +0000
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