Bears urged to sign phenom with crazy highlights reel
The Perth Bears are being urged to pick up the phone to a Queensland Cup rookie who is compiling an insane highlights reel this season(watch some of his highlights below).
Chris Woodbridge only debuted in the state’s big league this year but has already attracted the attention of NRL scouts, according to Brisbane’s The Courier Mail.
The 25-year-old fullback has scored 14 tries, set up 19 more and has registered 39 tackle breaks in his 17 appearances for the Western Clydesdales.
He appears on the QCup highlights packages pretty much every week and NRL legend Darius Boyd likens him to Dolphins and Queensland superstar Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow.
“You would love to see him get an opportunity at an NRL club, wouldn’t you?” Boyd told Wide World of Sports’ QLDER.
“The way he plays the game, it is free flowing, it’s high energy, it’s excitement.
“He reminds you of Hamiso, the way he glides across the park.
“He turns a small opportunity into points. He’s an exciting talent.”
According to The Courier Mail, Woodbridge’s top registered speed of 38.8km/h is faster than the NRL’s one-time fastest man, Josh Addo-Carr.
He wouldn’t be the first player in their mid-20s to land an NRL contract out of the Queensland reserve grade competition, following the likes of Cody Walker and Trai Fuller down that path.
QLDER host and Nine rugby league reporter Adam Jackson says he was convinced of Woodbridge’s NRL credentials when he saw him carve up the Seagulls at the weekend.
Woodbridge scored two tries and kicked seven goals for 22 of the Clydesdales’ 42 points for the game.
“I commentated that game, I went in there thinking he’s a pretty good player, but I was well and truly won over,” Jackson said.
Western Clydesdales star Chris Woodbridge. QRL
“The chip and chases, the grubber kicks. I said in commentary he was the best thing to happen to Toowoomba since (fast food outlet) Super Rooster... which actually wasn’t my line.
“But I can’t disagree. Super Rooster and Chris Woodbridge are now equal in my books.”
The QLDER panel all agreed Woodbridge deserves an NRL contract, especially with the competition expanding to 19 teams in the next two years.
Jackson wants Bears director and Nine TV host James Bracey to speak with Woodbridge and offer him a deal for next year, even if it means he plays as back-up fullback to Nick Meaney.
“I think we need to get on the phone to James Bracey and get the Bears to sign Woodbridge. Kind of like Trai Fuller as the back-up fullback,” Jackson said.
“You’re going to Perth, you need to entertain audiences, you need to sell rugby league to the AFL audience. He is a perfect example of someone who could do that.”
The Bears have so far signed 27 players for their inaugural season, but the quality of their overall squad has been heavily criticised.
