Penrith hit by age-old mystery over Panther Wellington Albert JOSH MASSOUD AND JAMES HOOPER THE DAILY TELEGRAPH MAY 09, 2014 HIS passport says 19. His bio on the official RLWC website says 20. His PNG coaches say 21. There’s no doubt Wellington Albert’s arrival at Penrith is a great rugby league story, with the Panthers having to order custom-made boots to fit his size 15 feet. But confusion over Albert’s real age raised doubts over whether he was eligible for the U20s competition. Recruited from the PNG southern highlands in January, Albert featured in five Holden Cup matches prior to suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. NRL rules deem players who turn 21 in the same calendar year as too old to participate. That would appear to exclude Albert, provided his 3 September 1993 birthdate on the Kumuls section of last year’s RLWC website is accurate. That would have made him 20 years old when the tournament took place last October. However, one former PNG staffer on Thursday said he was of the belief that Albert was actually 21 at the time of his International debut. Reports of his signing for Penrith early this year, from PNG-press and the team’s official Facebook page, also claim the 194cm giant is 21. His PNG passport, lodged as part of Penrith’s two-year contract, states his birthdate as 3 September 1994. The NRL said it was content to rely on the document. Familiar with the problem of less-than-fastidious record keeping in some foreign countries, Panthers boss Phil Gould felt the difference of one or two years was not as great once players progress into their late teens. “The elite kids are starting to play against older men anyway,” Gould said. “But from ages 5-16 the physical difference of a year or two can be quite dramatic. “It’s a matter well worth discussing. I’m not sure what the answer is, though.”
Posted on: Sat, 10 May 2014 20:15:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015