Boom Parramatta Eels prospect Cody Parry talks footy and hitting the books

On the cusp of his 18th birthday, that is quite an achievement for the Sydney-based former Farrer student and former Australian under-15 representative.

But while talking to the Leader over the phone on Thursday afternoon, Parry perhaps sounded most excited when the conversation turned to his school work.

In year 12 at famed rugby league nursey St Gregory's College at Campbelltown, the solidly built speedster revealed that there had been a pronounced spike in his grades.

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"We got our half-yearly results and I was top three in four out of five classes," he said, adding that he "didn't really care" about school work while at Farrer.

"But I got down here [Sydney] and I thought, "May as well have a crack."'

"Dad was pretty shocked too," he added, in reference to his better grades.

Parry's father, Troy, lives in Tamworth. As does the teen's elder brother Ethan, who was also a boom rugby league prospect at St Gregory's before playing two NRL games for the Eels in 2019.

The under-19 SG Ball Cup season concluded on the weekend. Parry's Eels finished 11th.

He played most of the season at centre, and will play fullback when St Gregory's commence their NRL Schoolboys Cup campaign against Hunter Sports High School in Cessnock on Wednesday.

Next week, he will also start training with the Eels' Jersey Flegg squad. That competition is ongoing.

"I could get a run," he said of Jersey Flegg, adding that only one, possibly two, of his SG Ball teammates had also been promoted to Jersey Flegg. "I think I couldn't really get much better," he said of his football.

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