A Bulldog born and bred from Under 16s to the NRL, Jake Averillo has cemented himself as a key component in their starting side since his debut in Round 2.
Averillo shot through the ranks in his Rugby League career, playing for Canterbury-Bankstown’s SG Ball side in 2018, graduating to Jersey Flegg in 2019 before finishing that season in Canterbury Cup NSW.
The talented outside back was selected in the Top 30 NRL squad heading into 2020 and participated in the NRL 9s tournament before going on to make his NRL debut in March.
Averillo started the year off with one NSW Cup game where he scored one try, converted two, had one try-assist and two tackle-breaks in their season-opener against the Parramatta Eels.
Four days later, he got the call up to debut for the blue and whites in their NRL Thursday night Round two clash against the North Queensland Cowboys before the season was paused due to COVID-19.
Averillo was called onto the field with 25 minutes remaining in the match to replace halfback Lachlan Lewis, where he kicked the ball for winger Christian Crichton to score in the 79th minute.
The 20-year-old has gone on to play 10 more games for the Bulldogs this season, scoring five tries, landing nine goals, making six line-breaks and 18 tackle-breaks, and is confirmed to be with the club until the end of 2021.
