The school captain of Macarthur Adventist College, Jerome Harrison, recently played in the Under 18 Australian Rugby League Championships, as part of the NSW Combined Independent Schools (CIS) team. The championships were held in Cairns and included amalgamated high school teams from around the country.

“The championships were a lot of fun, but very tiring,” says Jerome. “We played for three days in a row, making it to the semi-finals.” The championships comprised six teams, including the NSW Combined High Schools team, Queensland State Secondary Schools team and Combined Affiliated States team. The six teams were separated into two pools, with teams from each pool playing each other. The first and second teams from each pool played in the semi-finals, with the winners playing in the finals.

Jerome was chosen as one of 20 players for the NSW Championship CIS team after attending a special training camp as part of the NSW CIS Under 18 Rugby League squad, which contained 35 selected players.

“Jerome has excellent rugby league skills, and we’re really proud of his achievements in continuing to be selected as a talented player and now making it to the Australian Championships,” says Mr Brayden Morton, teacher and sports program coordinator at Macarthur Adventist College. “And to confirm his skills, he even scored a try during the competition, which is really great.”

Jerome is currently a member of the Liverpool Catholic Club C Grade rugby league team. He hopes to pursue a sporting career with the National Rugby League (NRL).