Talented teen footballer leads Aussie, USA teams to victory

With the family – Dad Mick, Mum Katina, sister Eleni, 12, and brother Jeremy, 10 – returning to Australia and settling near the grandparents in Sydney, George is hoping to join the Bulldogs or the St George Dragons, his Dad’s boyhood team, in March.
The All Saints Belmore student is a humble teen who is passionate about his sport and a natural with the ball, according to Mick.
“My wife was working at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and junior rugby union is very strong there but there is no league,” he said.
“So George joined the Phoenix Firebirds, had only played a handful of union games before, but impressed the selectors so much that within four weeks, he was picked for Arizona Bobcats State Team and played in the Las Vegas Sevens which is the curtain-raiser to the world championships of the seniors games.
“He did so well there that he was picked for the 15 a side team to play in Denver, Colorado, where they played the best teams from six states and again, George led them to victory.
“He was awarded Man of the Match which was a wonderful moment for him and me too as it was American Father’s Day.”
George, an accomplished cricketer and aspiring singer too, was then selected to play in Salt Lake City, Utah, but got a nasty gash on his leg which got infected and he was hospitalised.
Shortly after in August this year, the family returned home and Michael says that George has now recovered all of his strength and is itching to play again.
“George was close to making the American National Team in the U19s, which he would love to do, with many of his Arizona Bobcat team-mates encouraging him to return but we would like George to finish high school at All Saints, play footy here for a while and see what happens,” Mick added.
“He’s still got plenty of time.”