Victorian junior Dean Ieremia has been promoted to the Melbourne Storm's top 30 squad for the 2021 NRL season.
A tryscorer in Melbourne’s 30-10 pre-season trial win against Newcastle in Albury on the weekend, Ieremia hails from the Sunbury Tigers - a club based around 40km north-west of AAMI Park.
The 19-year-old has been on a development contract with the Storm and takes up the 28th position in the side's roster for the upcoming season.
Melbourne confirmed the news on Monday afternoon and Ieremia will be available for selection in the side's round one match with South Sydney at AAMI Park on March 11.
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Ieremia will vie for a spot on the right wing with Reimis Smith, Isaac Lumelume and George Jennings after the departure of Suliasi Vunivalu.
Ieremia played for the Storm in the NRL Nines in Perth last year and in the trial game against the Warriors before being one of the players whose season was hugely impacted by COVID-19 competition shutdowns.
Storm General Manager – Football Frank Ponissi said it was very pleasing to see another Victorian junior become part of Storm’s top squad.
“NRL Victoria has done a great job in developing Dean through their junior grades and then into the Thunderbolts system,” Ponissi said.
“They identified him early on as a player with potential and he is starting to vindicate those predictions.
“Unfortunately he missed out on basically a year of football in 2020 but the time he spent with us in what was largely a training role throughout that season, and the continued improvement he has shown during this pre-season, has warranted this upgrade to our top 30 list.
“He will continue to work hard on his game and push for a spot in the gameday 17.
“We will also be looking to extend Dean’s contract past the 2021 season.”
Ieremia loved both AFL and league growing up and started playing the latter at age 11, representing the Sunbury Tigers.
"As a Victorian I did follow both AFL and NRL," he said.
"Richmond was my AFL squad and of course I followed the Storm.”
It was Dean's coach at the Sunbury Tigers who recommended he trial for the Under 14 Victorian Thunderbolts side.
"One week after the trial I found out I made the squad at fullback," Ieremia said.
"I developed through the system in the Under 15s, 16s, 18s and the 20s Thunderbolts squad, which is when I was picked up by the Storm."
As for his biggest inspiration on the field, Ieremia rates fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen as his number one influence.
"Paps is a talented player but his work ethic around the game motivates me as a young player to put my best foot forward in everything I do," he said.
"To be honest I’ve learned a lot from everyone in the Storm system, not only game related things but things outside of footy - the importance of family for one.”
