The Hazem El Masri Cup is a Rugby League tournament for high schools in the Canterbury Bankstown district that the Bulldogs will use to identify talent from the local area for inclusion in the Bulldogs development system.
Participation in the tournament is conditional on students having an attendance rate above 85% and the Bulldogs will also use the tournament to deliver important messaging around their three key social pillars – violence prevention, health and wellness and social inclusion.
The competition is named after Bulldogs legend and local junior Hazem El Masri who didn’t follow traditional Rugby League development pathways until he was spotted by talent scouts when he was 15 years old.
“It’s really honourable to have a tournament named after myself,” El Masri said.
“I remember when I was at school and I played for different shields named after ex-players.
“It’s very honourable and I just hope the kids can something out of it at the end of the day, because they look forward to it and hopefully it will grow in 2017.
“At the end of the day we want them involved in sport and we all know that sport unifies people.
“If they can participate in the tournament and put in a lot of good effort, hopefully there is a reward for them at the end of it.”
The under 13’s final was won by Birrong, while the under 15s was taken out by Holsworthy and at the conclusion of the tournament, three players will be selected to join the Bulldogs Harold Matthews development squad over the coming summer.
