Date: 29/9/14
THE GYG Latin Heat will debut eight new players for the October 11 Mitchelton Rugby League Nines in Brisbane, after drawing both the USA and host club Mitchelton in its pool.
The new caps include Guyanese Commonwealth Games representative Kevin Mackenzie, former North Sydney Bears trialist Sean Day (Peru) and West Belconnen Warriors enforcer Eddie Wegener (Chile).
The tournament will also denote the first time players from Victoria and the ACT have been selected to represent Latin American Rugby League.
Indeed three players – JC Mendez, Dennis Ford and David Mora – will all travel from Melbourne for the event.
Other GYG Heat rookies include West End Bulldogs utility Eddie Ventura and Cabra Vale Cobras forward William Climpson.
With the Mitchelton Nines tournament held eight days before Latin America plays Portugal in a full 17-a-side contest in Rose Bay, Sydney, coaching staff will be eager to measure the newcomers’ ability.
Normal GYG Heat co-captains Jye Sommers-Ortega and Jonathan Espinoza will both be rested for the Nines, although gun teen duo Jaden Laing and Daniel Navarro are both set to feature.
GYG Latin Heat squad, Mitchelton Nines, October 11 2014, Frank Lind Oval, Brisbane:
CLIMPSON, William (Chile) – Based SydneyDAY, Sean (Peru) – Based Sydney
ESPINAL, Juan David (Colombia) – Based Brisbane
FLAMENCO, Mayer (Panama, Chile, El Salvador) – Based Brisbane
FORD, Dennis (Chile) – Based Melbourne
GIL VEJERANO, Diego (Colombia) – Based Brisbane
LAING, Jaden (Chile) – Based Sydney
MACKENZIE, Kevin (Guyana) – Based Sunshine Coast
MAYA JIMENEZ, Sebastian (Colombia) – Based Brisbane
MENDEZ, JC (El Salvador) – Based Melbourne
MORA, David (Chile) – Based Melbourne
NAVARRO, Daniel (Argentina) – Based NSW Central Coast
SARMIENTO, Daniel (Colombia) – Based Pine Rivers
VENTURA, Eddie (El Salvador) – Based Ipswich area
WEGENER, Eddie (Chile) – Based Canberra
The Mitchelton Nines will be the first time the GYG Heat unveils its official supporters group ‘Los Bomberos’, which translated to English means ‘The Firefighters’.
A Latin American squad for the Under 16 Harmony Cup, to be held in St Mary’s (west of Sydney) also on Saturday October 11, will be named later this week.
Please note the kick-off time for the Sunday October 19 senior men’s game versus Portugal has now been confirmed for 3pm, Woollahra Oval, Rose Bay. Please ignore any earlier advised times or dates for this clash.
Latin America Rugby League would like to thank sponsors Guzman y Gomez Mexican Taquerias, SHIELD Security, Rumba Latina Entertainment, Link Australia International Student Services, Chimi.com.au Gourmet Sauces, Gringo Media and Fighting for Fitness Gym for their ongoing support.
