The footy talent of Sonny MacGregor has been recognised with the young star making his first grade debut with the Parkes Spacemen. It comes after months of training and playing with the Illawarra Steelers, an opportunity which Sonny said was beneficial to his development as a rugby league player. Last November Sonny began training with the Illawarra Steelers 40 man squad with hopes to be picked in the team and represent the Steelers in the Harold Matthews Cup. Sonny was successful and became a vital player in the Steelers round game success only losing one game out of nine, earning the team the minor premiership. "It was definitely a lot tougher than country footy, although country footy is rough and all the boys will have a go, it's sort of a lot more structured down there and higher match fitness," Sonny said. The final rounds were a different story for the team losing in week one and two of the finals which ultimately lost their spot in the grand final. "We finished on a bit of a crappy run in the finals, we just had a couple losses and it ended the season a bit short for us which is not how a lot of us probably thought it was going to go, we thought we would have gone all the way." Although missing out on the premiership win, Sonny said a highlight for him was having the opportunity to play in New Zealand. "It was my first time outside of the country so I was pretty happy about that and it was just a fun experience with my new mates from the team." Now Sonny has his sights set on making the team to represent in the SG Ball Cup. "I will go back down at the end of the year and try-out for SG Ball teams, and see sort of where I'm at," he said. "I'll be a year young for that so if I make it I have this year and next year but if I don't I've just got next year to go back down and have a crack." By playing in the Harold Matthews Cup with the Steelers, Sonny said it has 100 per cent improved his skills as a player. "We were training three to four times a week and the coaches and facilities down there are great so I reckon it has improved and developed my skills as a player a lot. "I've come back to Parkes and tried implementing the things that I learnt down there as well with a few of the boys." The Parkes Spacemen have obviously seen all of the hard work Sonny has been putting into his footy and realised it was time for the footy star to make his debut in first grade. "I was pretty excited, they rang mum and dad and as soon as dad told me they rang I was pretty happy about it." As the big day came closer Sonny said he was starting to get nervous but the nerves went away as soon as he stepped onto the field. "I just had a crack and had fun," he said. Sonny made his debut with the Parkes Spacemen against the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders in round 4 on 18 May. "It was rough and a bit faster than the under 18s footy game I'd been playing before. They're obviously grown men so a bit stronger and a bit harder to get around in attack." Sonny played as a wing, recalling he only had to catch two kicks but thought he was going to get hammered with kicks all day - and was pretty happy with that outcome. "It was good out on the wing, I'd much rather be there than in the middle of the field in first grade." Sonny said he was pretty happy with his performance saying he did his job and had a few good defensive efforts. Sonny almost scored a try but unfortunately it was disallowed and the Spacemen went down 34-28 to Dubbo. Parkes Spacemen were proud to congratulate Sonny on Facebook for making his debut and were confident to announce that it "definitely won't" be Sonny's last appearance on the side. Feedback from the captain-coach was great too, he praised the teen for stepping up against the men. "Sonny's 17 and plays in the 18s - we fell short on players so we called on him to play in first grade which was big for him," Sam Dwyer said. "He played really well." Sonny added: "It's definitely something that I want to keep doing whenever they need me. I'll always throw my hand up for another run because it was good fun."
