7th Tackle: Great White Shark alert

Those who really know rugby league weren’t in Brisbane for the Origin decider this week.

Instead, they were prowling the outskirts of Western Weekender Stadium in St Mary’s, on the look-out for the Next Big Thing at the code’s most prestigious junior carnival – the Australian Schoolboys finals.

And this year’s consensus has awarded that tag to Sharks 17-year-old Bronson Xerri.

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• Eels and Watmough finally make peace

• Storm lock-up talented youngsters

• NRL and players' union break bread

Representing the NSW Combined High Schools team, Xerri was close to unstoppable over the first part of the week.

The Year 11 student is big enough to play front row, but has enough speed and agility to be selected in the centres at the tournament that blooded current first graders Nathan Cleary and Curtis Scott just two years ago.

Scott was also a Sharks junior at the time, but defected to Melbourne a few months after making headlines at the carnival.

But there’s no chance of Xerri leaving – at least not straight away. Cronulla have him locked away until his studies at Endeavour High are complete next October.