Before making the biggest decision of their young professional careers, Treyvon and Kadin Pritchard thought back to two important lessons taught to them by their parents, Daniel and Brenda: never leave a job half done, and always show loyalty to those who backed you from the start.
The brothers ultimately turned down the lucrative offer tabled by the PNG Chiefs to join the NRL expansion franchise for its inaugural season in 2028, opting instead to remain at their respective rugby clubs, with Treyvon signing an extension with the Reds until 2029 and Kadin remaining at the Brumbies until 2030. Both brothers also have the opportunity to play sevens in the 2028 Olympics.
“I think from a young age mum and dad have always instilled in us the value of finishing what you’ve started and never doing a half job,” Treyvon told this masthead.
“Our parents taught us to finish what we’ve started. Loyalty does come into play, too. It’s a big part of our everyday lives and something that our parents have made us follow, and it’s led into our everyday life.
“Also, coming through from being a 15-year-old in the Reds environment to moving up and training with the older boys while I was still in school with a couple of my mates.
“We all have come through at the same time and we have those connections, and I think a big thing with footy is being able to trust your teammates. If you already have something in place, there’s no real reason to kind of change that and switch it up.
“So I think the friendships and the connections that I already have are also a big part of my reasoning to stay in Australian rugby.”
The brothers spoke highly of their dealings with the Chiefs, but ultimately turned down the lucrative offer because they felt they have unfinished business in rugby together – and believe the money will follow them eventually.
“Obviously, it was exciting [to get the PNG offer] and yeah, we did meet with them, and I think that was probably both our first real kind interest from league. So we tested the waters and we were trying to see what it was all about,” Treyvon said.
“But I think Rugby Australia had a lot to offer as well. Like I said before, loyalty played a big part in where we are now and that helped us to a decision on where we wanted to be for the next couple of years…
“The money is going to come, it’s probably not the biggest worry at the moment. We need to focus on establishing ourselves in our respective teams.”
Kadin said that beyond immediate financial rewards, rugby will offer the brothers a chance to travel the world while playing the game they love.
“I love rugby union and the possibilities that it can bring with the worldwide game were a big thing for me to stay here,” Kadin said.
“To travel around the world, playing international teams – and even if it’s club level, you can go over somewhere like France. The possibilities of doing that sort of thing, you don’t get that in other sports.”
The Ella brothers brought an almost telepathic understanding to the Wallabies back line in the 1980s and the Pritchards believe they can eventually replicate that synergy as a centre partnership for the Australian Test team.
“It’s definitely a dream of ours to link up at some point,” Kadin said. “We’ve been separated for a reason: to build ourselves up in our own teams and build the groups around us.
“By the time we get to the Wallabies, we’ll be set to go, because we’ve got that brother intuition … we want to play together in the centres, with Trayvon at inside centre.
“It’s definitely been a thought in my mind becoming that 12 and 13, and you probably don’t see it too often having brothers in the centres with that connection. We’re just almost interlinked and we know how each other plays from doing it so often in the backyard.”
Having spent endless hours playing together as kids, the two brothers came up against each other for the first time last season, when the Reds faced the Brumbies in Super Rugby. But Treyvon says it is when playing together on the same side that their close relationship brings an extra edge.
“We probably don’t have to speak as much as other players would; we can communicate with our body language and trust is a big factor in the connection that we have over other players,” Treyvon said.
At 22 years old, Kadin has always felt protective of Treyvon, who is three years younger than him.
Treyvon affectionately calls Kadin the family’s “test dummy”, the older brother who had to forge the way into professional rugby before passing on the lessons learned along the way. Though separated by distance, the brothers still speak regularly and operate as a unit when it comes to making decisions on their rugby future.
The brothers have been brought up to support one another, wary that there will always be others outside the family who want to tear one or another of them down.
“We know what each other can do and why should we hate on our family when you’ve got haters outside already,” Kadin said. “The tightness of our family, it’s just been brought through by our dad.
“We’re our own biggest supporters, we’ve got to support each other and build each other up so there’s no hate coming from within, and we have a support group here.
“There’s no way I’m going to hate on what my bro’s doing. I’m just going to hype him up to be the best player in the world. What’s the point of trying to pull him down when everybody else is trying to do that?”
Both brothers are currently recovering from injuries. Kadin is nursing a hamstring strain but hopes to return to play for the Brumbies in the Super Rugby AUS competition, while Treyvon is recovering from an operation after breaking his right leg ain a hip drop tackle while representing Australia Under 20s. Treyvon’s current recovery timeline is between 12 and 18 weeks.
Both brothers are focused on establishing their positions with their respective Super Rugby clubs ahead of a new season, but Treyvon is aware there will always be future possibilities, whether in rugby or the NRL.
“We’re definitely not closed off to playing overseas, and I think once we make a decision on that, I think we would probably look to play together, I don’t see why we wouldn’t,” Treyvon said. “I think living in a different country is hard enough, so I think being with the older bro would be awesome.
“I’m [also] not closed off to the NRL. Obviously all the noise that’s been happening recently probably sparked a bit of interest for everyone, but it’s definitely an option down the track. I’m with the Reds for three years and with Aussie rugby for three years, so whatever happens after that happen.”
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