Graham Croker
Tighthead prop Laurie Weeks, who anchored the scrum in Sydney University’s past two Sydney Shute Shield rugby union premierships, has been named Australian Super 14 Rookie of the Year.
Weeks, who was signed up by the Queensland Reds for the 2009 season after being the dominant prop in the Sydney competition for two seasons, had a solid introduction to Super 14 football, packing down against some of the best scrummagers in the world.
Others nominated for the rookie award were NSW Waratahs hooker Damien Fitzpatrick and second-rower Chris Thompson.
Unlike the Waratah pair, Weeks was a first choice selection in the Queensland pack after a debut game off the bench.
Meanwhile, Weeks’s Sydney University teammate Phil Waugh, the NSW captain, witnessed the highs and lows of the sport last week.
After leading the first team from any of the New Zealand or Australian franchises to go through the three-leg South African Super 14 campaign undefeated, Waugh then watched other results unfold to keep NSW out of the finals series.
However, that was somewhat tempered when he was selected in a Barbarian team to take on Australia in Sydney on June 6.
