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Message: [QUOTE="Danoz Direct, post: 2885424, member: 8457"] We wouldn't even have Corey Oates if it wasn't for Bunn! [I]Then 16, Oates had raw promise but he also had a stack of injuries. The gangly kid from Biloela looked washed up. Brisbane even drafted a termination letter advising Oates’ Broncos scholarship would unfortunately be rescinded. Thanks to one man, the letter never reached the Oates household. Paul Bunn, the former assistant to legendary Broncos scout Cyril Connell, put his job on the line to ensure Oates stayed in the Broncos system. The ultimate dividend will be paid on Wednesday night when Oates, now 21, runs out in the Maroon No.2 jumper representing the Queensland people. “I fought for that kid to stay there,” said Bunn, who also signed retired Maroons centre Justin Hodges as a teenager. “I had no doubt Corey would be a first-grader and possibly more than that. “He was athletic, a physical specimen. There’s a lot of big, tall lanky kids who struggle with speed but he had speed. He could play fullback, wing, centre, back row. He could goal kick at the time. The kid had it all. “Someone at the Broncos had a letter written to say don’t bother to turn up again, we’re not interested in moving forward. But I vetoed that. I asked the club to give the kid a chance. “Tonie Carroll (former Broncos lock) had a lot of injuries and he went on to play for Queensland and Australia. It’s been great to see Corey kick on because for a few years there he was going nowhere.”[/I] [URL]http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/state-of-origin/maroons-debutants-corey-oates-justin-oneill-are-united-by-hardship/news-story/204b0294290062b1f376660b3ae1cde2[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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