Australian rugby rising superstar Trayvon Pritchard has scored a major win by snubbing the PNG Chiefs and Sydney Roosters over a long-term contract extension with the Queensland Reds and Rugby Australia.
Pritchard became the most in-demand youngster in both codes this year after the Chiefs made him their first target ahead of the NRL expansion club’s arrival in 2028.
In his first year out of school, Pritchard debuted for the Reds in Super Rugby Pacific and the utility back – who plays centre, wing and fullback – was dominant for the junior Wallabies at the recent World Under-20s Championships in Georgia.
The Masthead revealed that 19-year-old Trayvon and his 21-year-old brother Kaden (who plays for the Brumbies) were pursued by the PNG Chiefs, and made a tax-free offer after meeting with club officials in Brisbane. The Roosters have also joined the chase and recently expressed an interest in bringing Pritchard to the Bondi club when his contract with Rugby runs out at the end of 2027.
But while Rugby Australia and the Reds fought off a strong offer from Tryon to extend his stay, the outstanding youngster agreed terms on a three-year deal late last week, with sources familiar with the matter unable to comment publicly due to the confidentiality of the talks.
PNG Chiefs, who saw Pritchard as a future in the halves as a league player, were informed of his decision last week. The Chiefs are currently finalizing a deal for cross-coder Zach Lomax after flying the Western Force star and his partner to Port Moresby at the weekend. The club is also in deep talks with Joey Manu over a return from rugby.
Securing Pritchard is a significant victory for Australian rugby, which has seen a number of junior teenage stars lured to play in the NRL over the past decade. The recent State of Origin series featured 11 players who had starred in the Sydney or Brisbane schoolboy rugby teams, and played junior rep rugby.
Pritchard’s retention value last year sat with Max Jorgensen, who re-signed until the end of 2031, but the real value is likely to increase in the coming years as the youngster continues to develop and earn more time on the game’s biggest stages. Like Jorgensen, he would become a face of the game in Australia.
Pritchard’s potential to become an Olympian in 2028 was undoubtedly one of rugby’s selling points, given that he is also an accomplished sevens player.
The junior Wallabies narrowly missed out on the semi-finals of the under-20 event in Georgia, but the teenager was named in the team of the tournament after some impressive performances, including one against final runners-up France.
Pritchard’s quick footwork, speed and strength in contact saw him beat 25 defenders in three pool games and run for 350 metres, 250 of which were after contact. But Pritchard’s tournament was cut short with a nasty broken leg, suffered in a hip drop tackle against Wales. He had surgery last week.
Pritchard is expected to return to action in late October, potentially playing for Australia “A” against the United States. If fit, some say Pritchard should also go on the Wallabies’ spring tour, even if only on a non-sporting development basis.
Former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika followed this path for several years, and between 2016 and 2018 took away future young stars such as Taniela Topo, Rob Velitini, Izzy Perez, Jack Dempsey and Andrew Callaway.
New Wallabies coach Les Kiss will assemble his first squad in Sydney this week, after naming a group of 34 players last week ahead of two Tests against Japan on August 8 (in Osaka) and in Townsville on August 15.
Discussing his selection plans for the first few months of his tenure, Kiss revealed he will continue to experiment with players to “find depth” ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
“It’s important to look at the players who played in the recent (Nations Championship) series, and [that] They see me and the new coaching team. But in the next, you know, 10 Test matches, I’m going to stretch it out a bit and make sure I get a look at some players as well as other positions,” Kiss said on Nine. The wide world of sports On Sunday
But who said five-eighths wouldn’t be a place he intended to cut and change unnecessarily?
“There have been challenges in the position over the last two years, injuries have come in the way and we haven’t been able to find consistency,” he said.
“I’ve stuck with the three they got in the Nations Cup. I want to try and keep it up as much as possible in the next few Tests.”
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect through X. or E-mail
