Van Veen Brothers Getting Up To Speed

Newcastle Herald

Thursday April 12, 2007

Neil Goffet - THE REAL NRL

LITHGOW boys Johnathan and Brendon Van Veen are yet to convince Nelson Bay coach Robert Relf they are the real deal, but the pair are expected to feature on the representative scene this season.

Older brother Johnathan, known as Jono, has been in the Group 10 senior side since he was a teenager and rose to higher representative honours in the last two years as the Western Division fullback.

Jono, 23, was named Group 10 Player of the Year in 2005 and last year was the leading tryscorer in the competition.

Brendon, 22, made his debut in the Group 10 side in 2005 and last year played in the second row for Western Division, which has long been regarded as one of the strongest regions in the Country Divisional Championships. Western Division won the country title in 2004 after scoring a first-round win over Newcastle, who were attempting to capture their fourth crown in a row.

"They are good players and they are going quite well, but, like I said at the season launch, I will wait to see how these young guys are going after eight or 10 rounds," Relf said.

"It's a tough competition and a lot of young blokes just aren't ready to play at this level for the whole season."

The brothers have already caught the eye of Newcastle selectors after some impressive performances despite taking a bit of time to adjust to the pace of the game.

"The game here is a lot faster. You have to think a lot quicker, and the players are a lot fitter, but I wouldn't say it's any tougher," Brendon said.

"But it's been great fun up here at the Bay so far, and we are really settling in."

Jono also admitted the main difference between the Group 10 competition and Newcastle was the pace of the game.

"The main thing is the speed, but the other thing is teams here have 13 players about the same standard," Jono said.

"The top five or six players in each team in Group 10 would probably be as good as here but not the overall team."

Jono said the pair had not considered representative selection.

"If it happens, I'd love to play," Jono said. "But we'll see what happens and it won't be too disappointing if we miss out."

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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