{"id":351505,"date":"2023-12-04T18:07:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T19:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=351505"},"modified":"2023-12-04T21:02:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T21:02:23","slug":"young-aussie-rejects-nfl-to-take-nrl-gamble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=351505","title":{"rendered":"Young Aussie rejects NFL to take NRL gamble"},"content":{"rendered":"

A youngster chosen to represent Australia in American football has decided to go with rugby league after signing a trial contract with Parramatta<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jai Camilleri, a powerful running back and linebacker in American football, was recently named MVP at the national schoolboy gridiron championships after starring for Queensland and chosen in the Australian merit team.<\/p>\n

But league has always been the 18-year-old hooker's first love and when the Eels offered him a trial, he didn't hesitate.<\/p>\n

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"I've enjoyed combining league and NFL but knew eventually I would have to pick one or the other," Camilleri told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n

\"Jai<\/p>\n

"The two codes complement each other well and playing both has been great for my fitness.<\/p>\n

"But now I'm with the Eels I am going to put all my energy into that.<\/p>\n

"I finished school at Wavell High in Brisbane a few months ago and have made the big move down to Sydney.<\/p>\n

"I hope to play SG Ball and then Flegg Cup next year – playing against 21-year-olds would be great for my skill set."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CsLg6VSJCIs\/?igshid=ZWI2YzEzYmMxYg==<\/a><\/p>\n

The Eels have helped Camilleri get a job as a teacher's aide for kids with special needs and he is working hard establishing himself for life after football.<\/p>\n

And will he ever follow the path of several league players to try his hand in the NFL?<\/p>\n

"You never say never but right now my dream is to play NRL," this mature teenager said.<\/p>\n

"If one day the chance comes up to go to the USA \u2026 who knows \u2026 you never say never."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A youngster chosen to represent Australia in American football has decided to go with rugby league after signing a trial contract with Parramatta. Jai Camilleri, […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":351507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351505"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=351505"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351508,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351505\/revisions\/351508"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/351507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=351505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=351505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=351505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}