TARNEIT is home to the Jackson boys.

Evander, 16, and twins Sebastian and Abraham, 14, all have a passion for rugby which has developed over time as part of a family obsession.

Fortunately, the boys all have a knack for it, with Evander making the Victorian Secondary Schools Under 18 team and the twins selected for the Under 15 side.

“I am pretty excited,” Evander said.

“Pretty happy that I did all the training and it paid off.”

It has been a hard road for the Year 12 Galvin Park Secondary College student.

In 2007, he made the Under 15 side and backed it up with selection for 2008. But a broken collarbone suffered in a club game quickly put an end to any plans he had for that year.

“I had to wait five or six months - I couldn’t play.

“I did heaps of recovery and when I came back, I was pretty scared.

“I didn’t want to hurt it. I was a bit wary, it took me a while to get back into it.”

At 16 years of age, Evander weighs in at 91kg and is just under 180cm tall. He said the NRL player he would be most comparable with is the Sydney Roosters Anthony Tupou.

“He plays a running game and his defensive game is good. I’m more of a running player.”

After the 2007 tournament he was also selected in the Under 17 Melbourne Storm Academy – a clear indicator of the teenager’s talent.

This year he hopes to gain selection into the Storm Under 18 side to play in the national SG Ball competition.

Evander plays club rugby for the Altona Roosters on the weekends, taking up a spot in the Under 16s on Saturdays and Under 20s on Sundays which leaves him “pretty sore” on Mondays.

His younger brothers are also part of the Under 16 side, with Evander proud of their first state selection.

“This is their first time. I tried to push them and encourage them. We do extra bits of training together, like running in the morning. They are good to play with, we connect well.”

The twins hope to “play good” at the National tournament. Abraham said it was dad Ray who convinced them to give the state team a shot.

“Dad said to go and have a go, so we went to trials and got in. We had to go through a lot of training,” he said.

Sebastian revealed the training required to staying fit for rugby at club and now state level was intense.

“We do weights with my dad and state training Wednesday and Sunday, then we have club training Monday and Friday.”

The Under 18 National Secondary Schools competition will be held from 10-17 July in Adelaide while the Under 15s from 26 June to 3 July.