'It has to be fair': Calls for kids' footy to be sorted by weight after 'huge' boy, 7, smashes opponents
Video of an under-8 match in the Canterbury Bulldogs junior rugby league has sparked debate as to whether young footballers should be separated in weight divisions instead of age.
A Samoan juggernaut is seen sweeping through an entire opposition, swatting away like flies much smaller defenders, on his way to scoring a long-range try.
Radio 4BC host Ben Davis said players needed to be separated into weight and size divisions but it should stop once kids hit their teens.
“At the moment you can hit high school or puberty - that’s when you start playing in your age group,” he said on Sunrise.
“That’s not fair because all the other kids who are deemed normal size they’re thinking, ‘how are we going to stop him? Where are we getting the enjoyment out of playing somebody that size?’”
The boy plays for St Johns Eagles and his club chairman Nasser Matta said he would never intentionally hurt anyone and understands his size advantage.
“We just follow the rules,” Mr Matta told News Corp.
“And there are some even bigger kids playing.
“This boy’s a gentle giant. He doesn’t just run through the opposition to hurt other kids.”
News Local editor-in-chief Kathy Lipari said while she didn’t want to discourage children from playing sport it's "got to be fair".
“How do those kids stop someone like that?” she said on Sunrise.
“If you walk onto the field and see that you’re up against a guy who’s that size, your heart would just sink. As a mother on the sideline watching that I’d just be terrified.
“I’m sure the kid is a gentle giant and is lovely, but there just needs to be a level playing field when it comes to kid’s sport."
Sunrise host Samantha Armytage said she didn't like the attention the boy was getting for his size because, "it's not his fault" and hoped he would succeed as an athlete.
"He's fantastic," she said.
The boy's age has been confirmed by the club from his passport and he is entitled to play under-8s.
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