Young star under siege
JOSH Seage's ability to juggle work, study and footy could prove a boon for the Swifts Rugby League Club next season.
The third year Human Movements in Education student was preparing for his end-of-semester exams when he spoke to the QT on Monday.
It is a tough time for a bloke who trains three evenings a week at Wynnum-Manly and once a week with the Brisbane Broncos under-20s.
It is that drain on Seage's time that has him wondering where he will play footy next season.
"It's a bit difficult but uni's got to come first, as Dad says," Seage said.
Making life easier is the form of his Wynnum-Manly Colts team, which leads the competition and is on an eight-match winning streak.
"It's real good," Seage said.
"We're going pretty well at the moment."
Better than Seage was when he got dropped from the Broncos under-20 team last month.
Seage admits at one point this season his affection for the game began to wane.
"It was at the start of the season," he said.
"With the Broncos 20s.
"It was a lot more serious and there was a lot more pressure."
Getting sent to play Colts for the Seagulls may have been the best thing for him, if not his tight schedule.
"It's a lot easier because you can try more things," the 19-year-old prop said.
"You get a bit more ball play so I can work on passing more towards the line. In the first 20 minutes, they want us to take it up the middle. But in the second half we can start to play a bit more footy if we're winning."
The former backrower is not worried about losing his spot in the Broncos under-20s.
"They brought some young guys in and they've been doing well," Seage said.
"At Wynnum we've got a tighter group so it is a lot more enjoyable.
"We've won a few games and played some good footy (with Wynnum-Manly).
"That's the main thing.
"It's good at the moment."
What happens next season is another matter, though Seage admits going around with the ladder-leading Seagulls again has become a more attractive proposition.
Seage's contract with the Broncos ends this season and he has even considered returning to the Ipswich Rugby League for a year to ease his university burden.
Seage played for Swifts in their 2010 premiership-winning A grade campaign.
The Ipswich Jets is another option, which would save Seage about eight hours in the car a week.
"It's pretty hard to study, play footy and work at the same time," he said.
Work has been sacrificed this year but Seage knows that can't continue long.
"At the end of the season I've got to decide," he said.
"It depends on whether I want to play or take it less seriously.
"Next year is important at uni and I've got to start earning money. I'll talk it over with a couple of people.
"I probably can suck it up and get through it (another season playing with Wynnum-Manly).
"It will depend on what I want to do."
Asked if that meant a possible return to play with Swifts, Seage said he wasn't ruling anything out yet.
