LAVINGTON Panthers rugby league rising star Ben Hall has taken his first steps towards realising his NRL dream.
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Hall, 17, attended the Wests Tigers annual scholarship camp at Concord Oval, Western Sydney, in January.
The five-day invitation-only camp is one of the club’s major pathways towards finding its next crop of NRL stars.
Not only did Hall receive elite-level training and ply his trade against some of Australia’s most exciting talent, but he also rubbed shoulders with some childhood heroes, including Wests and New Zealand champion Benji Marshall.
Hall said the camp was an invaluable experience but he felt comfortable among the elite.
“It was great to meet all the other boys and to know the opposition,” Hall said.
“It’s good to sort of know what level you have to be at.
“The skill level you have to be at is so high.”
Hall was lucky enough to meet and spend time with all of the West Tigers stars, with Marshall leaving a strong impression.
“He’s my favourite player,” Hall said.
“I just love the way he plays and the way goes about it.
“The players and coaches talked us through fitness rights and wrongs and the way we should be doing things in our training to make us better players.”
Hall is something of an all-round sportsman, having been a member of the Murray Magpies under-17 Hume league premiership last year and a former North Albury cricket junior.
But NRL now comes first.
“Since I was little, I think as young as five, I’ve always wanted to play league,” he said.
“I was hoping the (Sydney) Roosters were going to be my team to go to but it was the Wests Tigers that had the most interest in me and asked me first, so the Tigers it is.”
Hall came to the attention of several NRL clubs after an impressive 2008 for the Panthers.
He was named best back in the Group 9 under-16s, starred in Group 9’s narrow grand-final loss to Group 1 at the under-16 Cup Country Championship and was a member of the under-16 NSW Country rugby league side that toured Queensland.
He also managed to beat fierce treatment from South City to score a try in his debut senior match for the Panthers.
“I want to play as many senior games as I can this year and go to another scholarship camp later in the year,” Hall said.
