Australia cricket all-rounder Dan Christian was NRL star-in-the-making according to father

Dan Christian showed all the traits of being an NRL player in the making.

But the Australian cricket fraternity can forever be grateful to the selectors of the Australian under-19s side a decade ago, which was the catalyst for Christian to give up his promising rugby league future.

“He told me if he made the Australian under-19s side, he would concentrate on cricket and give up footy,” Christian’s father Clem said.

“Whatever he was playing, football, cricket, I always knew he was going to make it.

“I thought he would [play league], but I left it up to him.

“He could kick the ball over from halfway like it was nobody’s business.”

Christian and former Australian back-rower Ryan Hoffman, who went on to win two NRL grand finals with Melbourne Storm before they were stripped of the titles, were unstoppable for St Gregory’s College in the 2000 Australian Schoolboys Cup.

A slick five-eighth, Christian helped the famous league school to their ninth and last national schoolboys title.

He had captained the school’s under-15 league side two years earlier, but also in his final year starred for their first XI cricket side that went through three competitions undefeated.

It has been a rollercoaster fortnight for Christian, whose boxing champion uncle Trevor passed away last Sunday week while Christian was with the Australian team in Hobart.

“He spent four days with us last week, he was close to both my brothers,” Clem said.

“The day I rang him when he made the Test squad, Trevor was in hospital, Dan was quite upset about that. Then a few days later he passed away.

“My older brother played 21 first-grade games for Newtown, and Trevor was an Australian boxing champion.

“Dan is named after Trevor, his full name is Daniel Trevor Christian.”

Christian grew up in Narrandera but wanted to attend St Gregory’s to play league, so he left for Sydney aged 13.

Christian’s mother Toni spent hours driving him from Campbelltown to Kensington when Christian joined the University of NSW cricket team, where he was mentored by Geoff Lawson and Michael Slater.

She added: “The move to Sydney was a big thing for him at 13, he had to make a whole lot of new friends, but that was his dream, going to St Greg’s mainly to play footy. Cricket came second back in those days.

“He broke a leg playing footy when he was 14, he had to get screws put in but came back from that fairly well,” she said.

Then after he played for the Australian under-19s cricket side, he was playing rugby union in the off-season and broke his other leg.

He had to get screws again.

“He is a very determined person, he didn’t let the broken legs get to him.”