Wallabies up for a fight to block PNG poaching raid on rookie phenom

Incoming Wallabies coach Les Kiss is up for a fight to retain one of Australian rugby’s most promising prospects, declaring the allure of the NRL’s newest and most ambitious venture would not be an insurmountable roadblock for the code.

This masthead revealed on Wednesday morning Queensland Reds flyer Treyvon Pritchard had met with the Papua New Guinea Chiefs about a defection to rugby league when the club launches in 2028. The poaching raid was pitched as a package deal with the 19-year-old’s brother, Kadin, a centre playing with the Brumbies.

Pritchard has shown fleeting signs of talent in his first season at senior level, culminating in a magical step to evade All Blacks star Damian McKenzie on Friday to score his first Super Rugby Pacific try.

He grew up playing league and union, but as both the Reds and Rugby Australia face a fight for his services, Kiss stressed he was not surprised by the interest in the young tearaway.

“There are people talking behind closed doors on a lot of things in this area. All I’ll say is Treyvon having that attention does not surprise me. That’s always going to happen when you’ve got the qualities he does,” he said.

“He’s a superb young man first and foremost, so coachable, great in the locker room, and, to boot, he’s bloody good on the footy pitch. No doubt there are machinations under the radar going ahead to try and make sure we can get some solution.

“All I’ll say is the attention is warranted, that’s for sure. He’s made it pretty clear to date that he loves what it is here at the Reds, and he loves the game of rugby.

“He’s played a lot of league and rugby, we’re giving him as much opportunity to grow and get the experience that he needs.”

Rugby Australia confirmed work is already underway to extend the contracts of both Treyvon and Kadin Pritchard, who are contracted through to the end of 2027 with the Reds and Brumbies respectively.

Contract extensions in Australian rugby are almost always negotiated in their final year but a RA spokesman said the Pritchard brothers are both very highly regarded, and plans to lock them away for 2028 and beyond had already been worked on prior to them meeting with PNG officials this week.

The Chiefs’ trump card comes with their ability to offer tax-free financial incentives for recruits, a tempting carrot enabling players to earn the full income of their contracts.

When asked if it was time for the game to throw the chequebook at Pritchard, despite being just eight games into his career, Kiss joked that his “chequebook isn’t that big”, before confirming he remained in Test contention, as soon as this year, on the path to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

“There’s always pressure around trying to retain and recruit, that’s the nature of the business. We keep a level head – not only here but also Rugby Australia – and make sure we approach things in the right manner,” Kiss said.

“We know our product is brilliant, we know the world game that we offer is so seductive to a lot of players, so I think we just focus on what we have to do to make sure people want to stay with us.

“There’s no doubt he’s in what we call the depth chart and the selection window. When that happens, we’re not sure.”

Pritchard will come off the bench for Kiss’ Reds against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday, which will also mark hulking prop Massimo De Lutiis’s return to Super Rugby.

The 126 kilogram 22-year-old has battled wrist and hamstring injuries this year, but has now featured in club rugby for three weeks and lock down in the scrum. Halfback Tate McDermott will make his comeback from a serious hamstring tear with the University of Queensland.

Fraser McReight and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – who is expecting the birth of his third child – will be rested.

Queensland need to win all three of their remaining fixtures if they are to have any chance of staking a claim to a top-three finals spot, after some contentious refereeing decisions cost them in the 31-21 defeat to the Chiefs. 

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