Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has promised Connor Watson a place in his NRL side for this season after the Dubbo product was named Player of the Tournament at the Auckland Nines.
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Watson was instrumental on the weekend as the Roosters won its first ever Nines title, defeating the Isaah Yeo-captained Penrith Panthers 10-8 in the final.
The 20-year-old is the son of Mark ‘Wacky’ Watson, who played for a number of Dubbo clubs, and only made his first-grade debut last season, however Robinson said the young gun accelerated his development with a breakout campaign at Eden Park.
Now Watson is set to fill the all-important utility role in 2017, backing up first-choice halves Luke Keary and Mitchell Pearce, as well as hooker and captain Jake Friend.
"From the first game yesterday, to the last game (on Sunday), the kid grew within that time. And that's what I'm asking for Connor. He's a really important player in our team," Robinson said.
"Connor's got a big part to play in our team. He's going to play a lot of footy and he knows that, we've already talked about that.
Watson, who played 16 games for the Roosters in his rookie season, admitted he had a lot of fun tearing opposition teams to shreds in the shortened format.
His attacking game flourished the further the Roosters went in the tournament, something he showed flashes of last season in the NRL.
"Obviously I can cover a range of positions. Speed's one of my assets and there's a lot more space in the nines to use that," he said.
"I definitely thought this game's suited to the way I play. It was awesome today. Last year coming into first grade, we had some pretty disappointing results.
"But to be able to go out there and win six out of the seven games and then come away with the trophy, it's something pretty awesome.
"I didn't really know what to expect coming into the Nines this week, but we just got around each other and we did it in the end."
Watson joins some handy names on the Nines MVP winners list, with Shaun Johnson, Adam Reynolds and Corey Norman all having won the prize.
Watson wasn’t the only player with ties to the western region who starred at the Nines.
Yeo led his incredibly young side, which was written off by most prior to the tournament, all the way to the final while fellow Dubbo CYMS product Kaide Ellis got his first taste of the top flight and even managed a try for the Panthers.
Coonamble junior Braidon Burns enhanced his burgeoning reputation by performing well for South Sydney, also getting across the try line, while Wellington junior Brent Naden was one of the Canberra Raiders’ best.
Another Coonamble junior, Jesse Ramien, and William Kennedy Jnr both played for Cronulla.