At 111kg, James to be a big hit

[DIEHARD]

At 111kg, James to be a big hit


Towering teenager Ryan James trains with the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park Picture: Jay Nel-McIntosh

THE man regarded as the best talent scout in the NRL believes explosive Titans rookie Ryan James is destined to one day play for Australia.

Recruitment guru Peter O'Sullivan, who signed James to his first contract as a 14-year-old for the Melbourne Storm, rated the Bilambil Jets junior the most exciting player to come out of the Gold Coast region in recent history.

Asked if he thought of 18-year-old James as an eventual State of Origin and Test player, O'Sullivan said: "absolutely."

"He is a special kid and he is going to play first grade for 10 years at least.

"Any rep footy that comes along the way, he will give a good crack."

A standout for the Titans under-20 side for the past two seasons, the former Australian Schoolboys star will make his NRL debut against the Manly Sea Eagles tonight at Skilled Park.

At 192cm tall and tipping the scales at 111kg, Sullivan is tipping James to make an immediate impact in the top grade.

"Watching him, every time he has gone up a cog in his footy he goes better," said O'Sullivan, who unearthed the likes of Israel Folau and Greg Inglis.

"So I am thinking that when he gets to the NRL he will go even better than what he is doing in the under-20s."

Big, fast, with good footwork and in-built aggression, James has been likened to a cross between Kiwi hitman Sonny Bill Williams and the Broncos' Australian forward Sam Thaiday.

He has been close to crippling players with his sledge hammer-like defence on several occasions in the National Youth Competition this season and also knows how to find the try line.

"He is a different type of player to Sonny," said O'Sullivan.

"But I know he is a damn good player and will continue to be a damn good player.

"When I think of Ryan James, I think of Ryan James rather than think of him being like anyone else."

Sullivan, who now works for the Sydney Roosters, first discovered James at a Northern Rivers schoolboy carnival in 2006.

James was contracted to the Storm for nearly three years before signing with the Titans at the end of 2008 because he wanted to remain home close to friends and family.

"It took about two seconds to work out he was going to be pretty good," he said.

"He is a great kid and a great person as well, which holds him in real good stead.

"I recently made an offer for him to come here (to the Roosters as well) but he was pretty hell-bent on staying at home.

"Not only with Ryan are you buying a really good player but you are getting a fantastic person and they are the ones you regret missing out on for sure."

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[Supergoose]

This is pretty exciting. Here's hoping we're not rushing him in after his knee injury and he has a blinder against the sea-eagles. I'm really confident about a better showing tonight than in recent times. That should worry most as my tipping has been nothing short of abysmal this season.

[isaiah]

had a very good and very busy cameo, 23 min on debut.
did enough to hold his spot over bodene when harrison slots back in

[karnage]

had a very good and very busy cameo, 23 min on debut.
did enough to hold his spot over bodene when harrison slots back in

Yes and No.

Yes - he was very conspicuous in his time on the field and just show so much promise for the future.

No - I wouldn't drop Bodene for him. I rate Bodene pretty highly and he is just that little bit more seasoned.

[patskE]

yeh ill still have bodene over him
he still has a long way to go
bodene sorta has confindence now, ofloading n stuff which james is yet to develop in 1st grade
but dnt get me wrong, he will be a star for us.

[Supergoose]

Isn't it great to have so many options. I think we should persist with tagataese in the centres for a few weeks. It gave us something extra out wide. I think less is more for many of our forwards and some are playing too long. We need to bring James along slowly giving him tastes every now and then. Bodene must be retained whether it be meyers or James or o'dwyer or white that we keep him in for is kind o irrelevant. Harrison is obviously going to play 60 odd minutes but mini should only play 40-50. We need quality over quantity with some of our forwards.

[titansrawesome]

birds form is gaining momentum, taga was outstanding last night, and i always love it when gordan is scoring tries.

[Chaos]

I have no doubt that James' aggression rubbed off on Bird last night...I think he's great for the team and believe he should stay.

[GOATUS]

He looks like a young kirk hammond from metallica