AFTER making the phone call to Wayne Bennett that secured Reece Robinson his start at the Broncos just two months ago, Anthony Mundine was on hand at Suncorp Stadium yesterday to help the 20-year-old rookie winger prepare for his NRL debut.
Robinson, whose mother, Christine, is a sister of South Sydney star Nathan Merritt's mother, Tracey, was not wanted at Cronulla and without a club when Mundine phoned Bennett on his behalf in mid-January. After a two-week trial, Robinson was signed to a one-year contract and now seems destined for a successful NRL career after impressing Bennett in pre-season matches against North Queensland, Canberra and Redcliffe and again yesterday, when he turned in a solid performance in Brisbane's 48-12 thrashing of Penrith.
"I spoke to Wayne and he just said to send him up, he knows that I'm a good judge of talent," Mundine said. "I hadn't actually had that much to do with him, it was more Nathan Merritt and Wes Patten, but I knew he could play.
"I played footy for 20 years and played at the top level so I know a star when I see one, and I've been proven right. He just needed some guidance, so I rang up Wayne because he's really good with young guys in that situation and he can obviously see his ability and potential."
Initially intending to spend Saturday night with Robinson, the Waterloo junior was so relaxed that Mundine didn't feel the need to do so. "I just spoke to him a few times on the phone," said the WBA super-middleweight world champion and former NSW Origin star. "He's a quiet but confident kid. I just said to him to treat it like a normal game. I said, 'You know you're fit and you know you've got talent and ability equal if not better than a lot of people so just go out there and play your natural game and enjoy it'.
"It was his first game in first grade so he will learn from that and grow with experience."
While the Broncos' left winger, Darius Boyd, finished the match with three tries, Robinson didn't get many chances with the ball on the right side. Playing outside Test centre Justin Hodges, Robinson did get over the try line in the 57th minute only for video referee Graeme West to rule that he had lost the ball. But despite the bombed try, Bennett described Robinson's performance as "solid".
"I felt pretty comfortable playing with those guys [like Hodges] and I was happy with the way I went," Robinson said. "I was surprised to get the chance in first grade so soon but I've been busting my arse at training and I want to stay here now. I'm looking forward to a big game next week in Sydney against the Roosters, hopefully in front of a big crowd of my friends and family."
