{"id":484811,"date":"2025-12-23T06:04:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T07:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=484811"},"modified":"2025-12-23T22:20:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T22:20:37","slug":"holbrook-granted-approval-for-17yo-suaalii-like-star-to-train-with-knights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=484811","title":{"rendered":"Holbrook granted approval for 17yo Suaalii-like star to train with Knights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"NRL\">NRL<\/a> has officially granted teen sensation Kingston Seve an exemption to train with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/newcastle-knights\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Newcastle\">Newcastle<\/a>&#x27;s NRL squad.<\/p>\n<p>Seve becomes only the second 17-year-old in NRL history to be given the greenlight to train full time with grown men, following in the footsteps of dual-code superstar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/person\/joseph-suaalii-25ty\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Joseph Suaalii\">Joseph Suaalii<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It&#x27;s a great boost for the young guy and will help fast track his professional development,&quot; a delighted Knights coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/news-2025-newcastle-knights-coach-justin-holbrook-roosters-assistant-michael-cheika-20250915-p5mv6a.html\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Justin Holbrook\">Justin Holbrook<\/a> told Wide World of Sports.<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:\ufeff<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/tennis\/news-2025-danielle-collins-miss-australian-open-recovery-broadcast-gig-tennis-channel-fertility-treatment-wta-tour-policy-20251223-p5npsf.html\"><strong>Collins breaks silence on Australian Open absence<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/football\/premier-league-2025-alexander-isak-surgery-on-broken-leg-sidelined-for-extended-period-20251223-p5nprj.html\"><strong>Liverpool rocked as $258m recruit undergoes surgery<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/motorsport\/f1-news-2025-mclaren-las-vegas-grand-prix-plank-wear-disqualification-max-verstappen-comments-20251223-p5npr4.html\"><strong>Verstappen&#x27;s damning insight into scandal that shook up title race<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&quot;You only worry about players his age if they are not physically ready and he is certainly that.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;He is big and strong and keen to learn so he will be joining the NRL squad when we resume training in January.&quot;<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"cb158230-e126-4e7c-8b22-0b2342c36cab\" src=\"https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/cb158230-e126-4e7c-8b22-0b2342c36cab\" alt=\"Kingston Seve, a former Dolphins junior.\" data-width=\"640\" data-height=\"358\" \/><\/p>\n<p>But Holbrook is in no hurry to rush the boom youngster into the NRL.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;He will probably start next year in the SG Ball and then play some NSW Cup against grown men,&quot; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;We will most likely wait until 2027 to blood him in the NRL and see how he goes.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Seve&#x27;s manager Mario Tartak likens the strongly built centre to a young Suaalii.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;There are definitely similarities there in terms of size, skills and maturity,&quot; Tartak said.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Everyone knew early on that Sua&#x27;ali&#x27;i would be a special talent and I think it will be the same with Kingston.&quot;<\/p>\n<h2>Maroons great reveals health battle\ufeff<\/h2>\n<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/state-of-origin\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Queensland Origin utility\">Queensland Origin utility<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/north-queensland-cowboys\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Cowboys\">Cowboys<\/a> captain Adrian Vowles has revealed he underwent open heart surgery after doctors discovered an abnormality that had gone undiagnosed his entire life.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I was born with a faulty valve in my heart &#8211; I knew nothing about it until recently when I started to feel poorly and doctors found the problem and I underwent a bypass,&quot; the 54-year-old, who also played Test football for Scotland, said.\ufeff<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It was the hardest hurdle I have had and I had some pretty dark days in hospital. Going from training most days to being flat on your back full of drugs, plus getting a clot in my calf and then into my lung must have made my body wonder what I was doing to it.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I had never been fitter or stronger than I have this year post football but I knew something wasn&#x27;t right and thankfully got it checked.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;A long recovery but so glad to be home again in my own house and bed. Have turned back time with Mum looking after me again.&quot;<\/p>\n<p><img data-id=\"c001ddcc-391d-4a45-8ce7-db115785fe2e\" src=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/c001ddcc-391d-4a45-8ce7-db115785fe2e\" alt=\"Adrian Vowles in action for the Castleford Tigers.\" data-width=\"679\" data-height=\"453\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Dragons lose another young talent\ufeff<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/st-george-illawarra-dragons\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Dragons\">Dragons<\/a> have lost another of their promising juniors &#8211; former Harold Matthews Player of the Year Alex Futialo.<\/p>\n<p>The big, raw-boned 18-year-old prop has gone to the Tigers &#8230; with a catch.<\/p>\n<p>Futialo has only signed a one-year deal as he is attracting plenty of interest from the rugby union ranks.<\/p>\n<p>And with Perth entering the premiership in 2027 when he is a free agent, don&#x27;t be surprised if Mal Meninga calls the boom front-rower for a sneaky chat.<\/p>\n<h2>Latrell&#x27;s cousin \ufeffreturns to the game<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/person\/latrell-mitchell-1n2p\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" title=\"Latrell Mitchell\">Latrell Mitchell<\/a>&#x27;s cousin has decided to make a comeback to the game after taking a two-year break to sort out his life off the field.<\/p>\n<p>Ethan Ferguson had the league world at his feet at Souths in 2023, playing for the NSW Blues in under-19 Origin and winning Australian Schoolboys selection.<\/p>\n<p>But he has prioritised his mental health over the past couple of years and now at 21, has signed with the Tweed Seagulls.<\/p>\n<p>The Seagulls are a feeder team for the Gold Coast Titans so the youngster could find himself back on track for the NRL if he impresses in the Queensland Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The NRL has officially granted teen sensation Kingston Seve an exemption to train with Newcastle&#x27;s NRL squad. Seve becomes only the second 17-year-old in NRL <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=484811\" title=\"Holbrook granted approval for 17yo Suaalii-like star to train with Knights\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":484813,"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\/484811"}],"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=484811"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":484816,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/484811\/revisions\/484816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/484813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=484811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=484811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=484811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}