NEWSOME Panthers junior Ben Warrilow is a rugby league natural.

The All Saints High School pupil didn’t start playing the game until last season, making his debut for the club’s Under 13s side.

But 12 months later the rising wing star is already on the verge of playing for England!

After a successful start to the Under 14s season, he was selected to train with the national camp in preparation for a game against Wales early in the new year.

That appearance would crown an incredible rise up the rugby league ladder, with Warrilow having made an immediate impact when he turned out for the Panthers for the first time.

At the end of his first season with Newsome, he had helped the Under 13s remain undefeated throughout their First Division campaign, having scored 642 points and conceded just 18!

As a result, the natural-born flier – he holds the record for the fastest Under 14 in West Yorkshire with 12.2 seconds for the 100m – was picked for the Kirklees Service Area side before progressing up to the Yorkshire squad.

Warrilow grabbed a try on his county debut in the 6-6 draw against Lancashire and was also in the Yorkshire squad that beat Cumbria.

And now he is hoping to enjoy even more success on the international stage.

The youngster is just the latest player from the town to gain representative honours, with Huddersfield Amateur Rugby League Association officials hopeful there will be even more junior success in the years ahead.

This year, a total of 43 junior sides from the Huddersfield area are in regular action, with several more ready to get started in 2008.

And Association secretary Stuart Greaves is delighted with this continued expansion on the juniors front.

“I’ve followed the junior game in the town for many years, and this is the first time I can remember this number of sides playing rugby league,” he said.

“It’s another clear sign of the way the sport is flourishing in this part of the world, and everyone involved with the Huddersfield Amateur Rugby League Association is absolutely delighted.

“Newsome Panthers obviously lead the way with 11 sides, but I know other clubs are determined to built up to that figures as well.

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if, at some stage, we had every club in the town fielding sides at every age group! That has to be our ultimate aim.”

Meanwhile, the draw for the semi-finals of the Huddersfield Cup have now been made and are as follows (sides Under 12 don’t play competitive matches):

Under 12s: Slaithwaite v Moldgreen, Newsome v Sharks or Meltham.

Under 13s: Slaithwaite v Underbank, Meltham v Newsome or Sharks.

Under 14s: a round-robin competition is taking place between Newsome, Moldgreen and Meltham.

Under 15s: Slaithwaite v Newsome, Sharks v Underbank.

Under 17s: St Joseph’s v Underbank, Slaithwaite v Newsome.