Rugby scores big win as star teen turns down PNG Chiefs

Australian rugby has had a major win with rising superstar Treyvon Pritchard turning down the PNG Chiefs and the Sydney Roosters to extend with the Queensland Reds and Rugby Australia on a long-term deal.Pritchard became the most in-demand teenager across both codes this year after the Chiefs made him one of their first targets ahead of the 2028 arrival of the NRL expansion club.Treyvon Pritchard scores his first Super Rugby try for Queensland in May.Getty ImagesIn his first year out of school, Pritchard debuted for the Reds in Super Rugby Pacific and the utility back - who plays centre, wing and fullback - was dominant for the Junior Wallabies at the recent World Under 20s Championships in Georgia.This masthead revealed Treyvon, 19, and his 21-year-old brother Kadin (who plays for the Brumbies), were pursued by the PNG Chiefs, and made tax-free offers after meeting club officials in Brisbane. The Roosters also joined the chase and recently expressed interest in bringing Pritchard to the Bondi club when his deal with rugby expires at the end of 2027.But after Rugby Australia and the Reds countered with a strong offer for Treyvon to extend his stay, the outstanding youngster agreed to terms on a three-year deal late last week, according to informed sources unable to comment publicly due to the confidentiality of negotiations.Treyvon Pritchard makes a break against France at the Junior World Championship.World RugbyThe PNG Chiefs, who saw Pritchard as having a future in the halves as a league player, were informed of his decision last week. The Chiefs are currently finalising a deal with cross-coder Zac Lomax after flying the Western Force star and his partner to Port Moresby on the weekend. The club is also deep in discussions with Joey Manu to make a return from rugby.Securing Pritchard is a significant victory for Australian rugby, who have seen many junior teenage stars drawn to playing in the NRL in the last decade. The recent State of Origin series saw 11 players involved who’d been stars in Sydney or Brisbane schoolboy rugby teams, and played junior rep rugby.The importance of Pritchard’s retention sits alongside Max Jorgensen last year re-signing through to the end of 2031, but the true value will likely grow in the coming years as the youngster continues to develop and get more time on the game’s biggest stages. Like Jorgensen, he’ll become a face of the game in Australia.The potential for Pritchard to become an Olympian in 2028 was no doubt one of rugby’s selling points, given he is also an accomplished sevens player.The Junior Wallabies narrowly missed the semi-finals of the under 20s event in Georgia, but the teenager was named in the team of the tournament after some eye-catching performances, including one against eventual runners-up France.Pritchard’s sizzling footwork, speed and strength in contact saw him beat 25 defenders in three pool games and run for 350 metres, of which 250 metres were post-contact. But Pritchard’s tournament was cut short with a nasty broken leg, suffered in a hip-drop tackle against Wales. He underwent surgery last week.It is hoped Pritchard will be back in action to potentially play for Australia “A” in late October against the USA. If fit, some argue Pritchard should even go on the Wallabies’ Spring Tour, even if only on a non-playing development basis.Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika followed that path for several years, and took young future stars like Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Izzy Perese, Jack Dempsey and Andrew Kellaway away between 2016 and 2018.New Wallabies coach Les Kiss will gather with his first squad in Sydney this week, after naming a 34-player group last week ahead of two Tests against Japan on August 8 (in Osaka) and August 15, in Townsville.Speaking on his selection plans for the first few months of his tenure, Kiss revealed he would continue to experiment with players to “explore the depth” ahead of the Rugby World Cup next year.“It’s important that the players that played the recent (Nations Championship) series are seen, and [that] they see me and the new coaching team. But over the next, you know, 10 Test matches, I’m going to stretch it out a bit and make sure I see a few players as well in other positions,” Kiss said on Nine’s Wide World of Sports on Sunday.But Kiss said five-eighth would not be a spot he plans to chop-and-change with unnecessarily.“There have been challenges in that position over the last two years. Injuries have got in the way, and we haven’t been able to get consistency,” he said.“I’ve stuck with the three that they had in the Nations Cup. I want to try and keep that as consistent as possible in the next few Test matches.”From our partners