My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Beau Fermor. The Dalby born and raised second rower joins the Titans NRL squad on a three year deal in 2020 after two outstanding seasons with the Newcastle Knights in the U20 Jersey Flegg and Canterbury Cup competitions. Beau Fermor sought and gained a release from his NRL Development contract to sign with the Titans.

In 2019 Beau Fermor was outstanding for the Knights Canterbury Cup side and as a result started in the second row for the New South Wales Residents against their Queensland Resident counterparts in a State of Origin curtain raiser.

In the 2019 Canterbury Cup competition, Beau Fermor played in fifteen matches starting the first thirteen in the second row and his final two matches including Round Twenty One, when he suffered a serious knee injury from the bench.

On eleven occasions, including his first eight 2019 Canterbury Cup matches of the 2019 season, Beau Fermor played the entire 80 minutes of the match. In total Beau Fermor was on the field in the 2019 Canterbury Cup for 1 095 out of a possible 1 200 minutes being 91.25%. An impressive statistic considering Beau Fermor sustained a serious knee injury early in Round Twenty One.

In his 1 095 minutes on the field Beau Fermor ran for 1 797 metres (587 post contact, being 32.67%), broke thirty three tackles including eight in Round Three against the Mounties, offloaded the ball on ten occasions, broke the line on four occasions, had a line break assist and made 454 tackles at an impressive tackling efficiency of 91.6%.

Beau Fermor finished the 2019 Canterbury Cup season with a try scoring strike rate of 26.67% after scoring in Rounds One, Three, Five and Seven against the Newtown Jets, Mounties, Blacktown Workers and the Western Suburbs Magpies respectively.

Beau Fermor’s 2019 Canterbury Cup per game averages included playing 73 minutes, running for 119.8 metres and making 30.27 tackles. Thus per eighty minutes, Beau Fermor, in 2019, ran for 131.29 metres and made 33.17 tackles.

On eleven occasions in 2019 Beau Fermor ran for in excess of 100 metres, including a 175 metres effort against Blacktown in Round Five and 160 metres in Round Three against the Mounties. On nine occasions Beau Fermor made in excess of thirty tackles in 2019 including making forty tackles in Round Three against the Mounties and Round Fourteen against the Magpies and a season high forty three tackles in Round Thirteen against the Rabbitohs.

For the New South Wales Residents representative side in 2019 Beau Fermor started in the second row in the interstate match against Queensland Residents playing 67 minutes. In that time, Beau Fermor ran for 95.5 metres (twenty eight post contact), scored and made thirty two tackles at an 88.9% tackling efficiency.

Beau Fermor made his Canterbury Cup debut for Newcastle in 2018 playing in six matches scoring twice. In the 2018 Canterbury Cup competition, Beau Fermor ran for 531 metres, broke the line on three occasions, offloaded the ball five times and made 145 tackles at a solid tackling efficiency of 85.8%.

Thus Beau Fermor in 2018 in the Canterbury Cup ran for 88.5 metres and made 24.17 tackles per game whilst playing approximately 65 minutes. Thus per eighty minutes, Beau Fermor, in 2018, ran for 108.92 metres and made 29.75 tackles.

Beau Fermor had an outstanding first season in 2018 with the Newcastle Knights U20 Jersey Flegg squad, including not just being named Newcastle Knights 2018 Jersey Flegg Player of the Year but also the New South Wales Rugby League 2018 Jersey Flegg Player of the Year.

In the 2018 U20 Jersey Flegg competition for the Knights, Beau Fermor started in the second row in all seventeen of his matches including Newcastle’s three Finals matches. Beau Fermor finished the 2018 Jersey Flegg season with an impressive strike try scoring rate of 76.47%.

Included in his thirteen tries was a Round Six hat trick against the Cronulla Sharks and a Round Twenty One double against the Mounties. Beau Fermor also scored in Round One (Manly), Round Two (Wests Tigers), Round Three (St George Dragons), Round Eight (Norths Sydney Bears), Round Eleven (Canterbury Bulldogs), Round Twenty (Parramatta Eels), Round Twenty Two (New Zealand Warriors) and Week One of the Finals against the Mounties.

Beau Fermor also started in the season row for the Queensland U20 State of Origin side in 2018 in the annual U20 State of Origin interstate match. Team mates in the Queensland side in their 36 – 10 win were AJ Brimson who started at five eight and 2021 Titans NRL signing Tino Fa’asuamaleaui who started from the bench.

In 2017 Beau Fermor was part of the Melbourne Storm NYC squad starting in the second row in all twenty two NYC matches that he played in 2017. Beau Fermor finished the 2017 NYC season with seven tries including a Round Fifteen double against the North Queensland Cowboys.

Beau Fermor also scored in Round Four (Wests Tigers), Round Five (Cronulla Sharks), Round Eighteen (Broncos), Round Twenty One (Manly Sea Eagles) and in Round Twenty Four against the Newcastle Knights.

In 2016 Beau Fermor played for the Sunshine Coast Falcons and even though he was still U18 eligible was named the Falcons Colts best forward.

For the Sunshine Coast Falcons Beau Fermor played in fourteen matches, commenced the season on the bench before coming into the falcons starting line-up in the second row in Round Six against the Burleigh Bears. In 2016 Beau Fermor also started four of his fourteen matches in the centres with his first coming in Round Thirteen against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

In total Beau Fermor, in the 2016 Queensland Colts competition started six matches in the second row, four in the centres and the remaining four from the bench.

Beau Fermor finished the 2016 Queensland Colts season with a try scoring strike rate of 50%, including a Colts debut double in Round One against Souths Logan. Beau Fermor also scored in Round Five (Redcliffe), Round Eight (Ipswich), Round Nine (Norths), Round Twenty Three (Western Mustangs) and Round Twenty Five against the Easts Tigers.

In 2016 Beau Fermor also kicked two conversions with both coming in Round Fourteen against the Souths Logan Magpies for his only two goals kicked in the senior rugby league ranks.

The speed and power in terms of how Beau Fermor runs the ball is the outstanding feature of his game, he takes the ball to the line with speed, especially off the mark, but he does not just put his head down and rush forward, he uses quick and subtle footwork prior to the line and seems to targets the gaps between defenders and will actively seek out opposing forwards who are slow to move up.

When the opposition are on the back foot Beau Fermor will target the smaller defenders on the edge of the ruck and burst through and for a young bloke he has very good speed over the medium term and has the strength to drag defenders with him.

I would consider that Beau Fermor’s speed would be considered above average for a backrower but plays faster as a result of him timing his runs so well that the dummy half can present a flat pass to him and also as a result of the power that he runs at. What is in the above average to plus category in relation to Beau Fermor is his speed off the mark.

Beau Fermor’s offloading ability is also improving as he refines his game. Earlier in his junior career, he was almost too good at offloading compared to his team mates as he would pop some passes that they were not expecting but as he has matured and the quality of the opposition and his own team has increased so has the selective nature of his offloading.

The defensive side of Beau Fermor’s game is similarly impressive, He does not just charge wildly up looking for a huge hit, but is calculating in where and when to hit. Beau Fermor drives hard with his legs and always uses his shoulder and core body strength to drive into his opponent.

Beau Fermor sets a strong lower base by setting his legs and generating force by driving through the tackle with his lower body, gaining leverage and momentum to complete the tackle. Beau Fermor is also comfortable making contact with either shoulder and maintains good head position regardless of the type of tackles he makes.

Beau Fermor is now part of the Titans NRL Top 30 squad for 2020 and beyond but he may miss the early rounds of the NRL season after suffering a knee injury (ACL) whilst playing for the Newcastle Knights Canterbury Cup side in late 2019.

On a number of occasions in 2019 Beau Fermor was considered very close to making his NRL debut for the Newcastle Knights but his NRL debut will surely come in 2020 with the Titans, it is a case of when not if.

At 189cm and 99kg with the capacity to add additional weight without compromising speed and mobility Beau Fermor is the ideal size for a modern day NRL second rower and with his burst of speed particularly off the mark Beau Fermor certainly has the potential to be a representative level second rower as well.

I appreciate that Beau Fermor played a number of matches in the centres for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Colts competition in 2016 but I think that his centre days are now surely in the distant past as he heads towards the NRL.

Beau Fermor shapes as a key member of the Titans NRL forward pack over the coming seasons if not as early as the 2020 season and is one of a number of talented young forwards that the Titans are currently stockpiling for their push up the NRL ladder in the coming seasons as his NRL career progresses with the Titans. Barring injury I would argue that Beau Fermor would have been a near certainty to be part of the Titans squad for Round One of the 2020 NRL season against Canberra.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style for me in relation to Beau Fermor is Newcastle Knights second rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon. Like Fitzgibbon Beau Fermor shapes as a talented young modern day second rower who just needs the right opportunity to highlight his burgeoning skill set and insatiable determination to succeed. Another player with a similar playing style is Sydney Roosters representative second rower Angus Crichton.

I would argue however that Beau Fermor is a touch calmer on the field and a touch quicker, especially off the mark than Lachlan Fitzgibbon but has the capacity to be as equally effective in the NRL as his former Newcastle Knights team mate.

[mdrew]

Reef Sommerville. The young second rower or centre made his Titans debut in early 2019 when he started from the bench for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights Harold Matthews U16 squad in Coffs Harbour.

Reef Sommerville came onto the field in the match towards the end of the first half, playing in the second row and also at times during the match spent some time in the centres when starting centre Ezra Ubaldino was having a spell.

Reef Sommerville was also part of the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour.

Reef Sommerville started in the second row for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park with the Titans running out 44 – 12 victors on the Friday night.

Late in 2018 Reef Sommerville was selected in the talented Northern Rivers Titans U16 side for the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition. Fellow Titans linked players in the Northern Rivers Titans U16 side were Jack Cullen, Ryan Foran, Keegan Pace, Riley Lack, Thomas Weaver, Noah Johannsen and Rowan Mansfield.

In Round One of that competition in 2019 Reef Sommerville started from the bench for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad. When he came on Reef Sommerville operated on the right side of the field both in the centre and in the second row and scored an impressive try when he took a flat pass from the dummy half, Jordan Gallagher and caught the Newcastle defence back peddling and was able to break a number of tackles in a thirty metre run to the try line.

Round Two of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Reef Sommerville once again start from the interchange bench in the Northern Rivers Titans match against Parramatta and once again he was a handful for the opponent’s defensive line on the right side of the field.

Reef Sommerville deservedly broke into the Northern Rivers starting line-up in Round Three against the North Coast Bulldogs starting the match at right centre and went very close to score the Titans first try when he was dragged down just short of the try line in the opening minutes.

Reef Sommerville made amends however in the second half scoring a powerful try when he smashed through the North Coast defence in a typically powerful try on the right of the ruck.

In Round Four even though he was not named in seventeen, Reef Sommerville started from the bench and made a big impact when he came on in jumper 23.

In Round Five against the Greater Northern Tigers Reef Sommerville started at right centre for the Northern Rivers Titans and as usual proved to be a handful for the opposition defence.

Reef Sommerville was named to start at right centre in the Northern Rivers Titans semi-final against Penrith but in fact started from the bench in the Titans 26 – 14 victory. When he came on, Reef Sommerville, playing on the right made a difference including pouncing on a grubber kick late in the first half from five eight Riley lack and late in the match when Penrith were pressing Reef Sommerville took an outstanding hit up making around twenty metres most of that was in relation to post contact metres to get the Titans well out of their own territory and put Penrith on the back foot.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Grand Final against the Western Rams Reef Sommerville started at right centre in the Northern Rivers Titans outstanding 18 – 6 victory.

In the match Reef Sommerville had some big moments including two big runs down the right one of which was a seventy metre run which almost lead to an outstanding long range try.

Post the victory Reef Sommerville was named in the centres for the New South Wales Country U16 side for their November 2019 three match tour of the United Kingdom flying out in mid-November from Sydney.

Reef Sommerville started at right centre in Game One of the tour scoring New South Wales Country U16’s second try of the match (and tour) in their big 62 – 0 win over the U17 Community Lions. The ball went through hands to the right for NSW Country before Reef Sommerville ran a straight hard line to break the initial defensive line around ten metres out from the line and power over from there.

Reef Sommerville also started in the centres and scored his second try from as many matches in Game Two as New South Wales Country U16’s defeated the Leeds Rhino’s 32 – 10, Reef Sommerville scored when Leeds failed to take a bomb cleanly early in the second half with Reef Sommerville retrieving the ball and powering his way over with two defenders hanging off him as he surged to the try line to extend the NSW Country lead to 24 – 6.

Reef Sommerville also started at right centre in Game Three of the New South Wales Country U16’s tour of the UK as they finished undefeated on the back of a 62 – 6 victory over a British Community Lions squad consisting of players from the Lancashire and Cumbria region of England.

The New South Wales Country U16 side played a New South Wales U16 Harold Matthews squad as a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match on a Friday night at Penrith Park in May 2019. Reef Sommerville started the match at right centre.

After that match, Reef Sommerville was selected in the New South Wales U16 side that played a U16 Pasifika team at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday 9 June 2019. In the match that the New South Wales U16 side won 36 – 6, Reef Sommerville started on the right wing.

Reef Somerville was also part of the dominant Cudgen 2019 U16 Group 18 side that won their Grand Final 44 – 6 against Byron Bay/Lennox Head.

In 2018 the St Joseph’s College Tweed Heads student played for the Group 18 U15 side in the New South Wales Country U15 Championships, playing in matches against Groups Two, Four and Twenty One crossing against Group Twenty One.

2018 was the second season in a row that Reef Sommerville had represented Group 18 after playing three U14 matches in 2017 at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, scoring against Group One.

2018 also saw Reef Sommerville named in the centres for the Lismore Dioceses U15 Northern Country Representative side for the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) trials and post those trials was named in the NSW CCC U15 Country Tour side, being named in the second row.

After the completion of the 2018 season Reef Sommerville and fellow Group 18 U15 team mates headed overseas to play in the Battlefield Challenge to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, a competition that the side won including victories against Emory Moor 12 – 6 and Leigh East 18 – 12.

In a warm up match in England prior to the Tournament they defeated a Hemel Stags U16 side and post the Tournament defeated French side Aude Cat hare. A number of other Titans players were also involved in the tour including Thomas Weaver, Keegan Pace, Jack Cullen, Ryan Foran, Riley Lack, Byron Jones and Bailey Cox.

Reef Sommerville is a wide hard running backrower who runs a good line on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into thus making the play makers on his team look good. Where he really excels though is his footwork, obviously playing in the backline has assisted greatly.

Reef Sommerville also has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late, just as he did for his try in Round One of the Andrew Johns Cup this season against Newcastle.

Even when he is taking a hit up in the centre of the ruck, Reef Sommerville’s feet are always moving and he is constantly making slight corrections to his running direction and he is also able to maintain his speed regardless of the multiple directional changes.

As you would expect, due to his size and strength, Reef Sommerville is a very good defender regardless of position. He will not necessarily hit hard, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing attacker and wrapping him up ball and all. Reef Sommerville is also quick enough to recover and chase if the opposing players gets on the outside.

From a team defensive methodology stand point, Reef Sommerville seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage.

Reef Somerville will move to PBC in 2020 and will be a key piece in their Langer Cup and GIO Cup school boy rugby league campaigns and in relation to representative rugby league will play for the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side which whilst young will be an immensely talented side. Reef Sommerville will also be U18 eligible in 2021.

With his build and speed I think that Reef Sommerville can continue to play in the second row and the centres over the next couple of seasons, but by the time that Reef Sommerville reaches the senior rugby league ranks I would anticipate that Reef Sommerville will have made the transition to the second row full time.

With his mobility and hardworking mentality Reef Sommerville’s playing style reminds me of recent Penrith Panthers signing and former Cronulla Sharks second rower and reasonably regular centre Luke Capewell who it should be remembered has been 18th man for the Queensland State of Origin side on a number of occasions.

Both are hardworking players who give everything they have every time that they step onto a rugby league field doing a lot of the little things well and will sometimes be unfairly overlooked by everyone but their team mates.

[mdrew]

Brock Priestley. The former Northern Territory youngster moved down to the Gold Coast midway through the 2017 season playing the 2018 season in the GCRL U15 Division One competition for the Ormeau Shearers and enjoyed success straight off the bat, starting the U15 Division One Grand Final in the centres and scoring as the Shearers defeated Runaway Bay 38 – 20 to make it two from two Grand Finals since his arrival on the Gold Coast.

Brock Priestly converted that success into an opportunity with the Titans U15 Development squad and was part of the side that played against a Balmain Tigers U15 touring side in 2018 with the Titans winning 16 - 10.

As a result of his performances Brock Priestley late in 2018 signed a Titans contract to join an outstanding crop of 2019 U16 players who are contracted to the Titans.

In January of 2019 Brock Priestley started from the interchange bench for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights U16 Harold Matthews squad and once on the field showcased his ability with an outstanding display especially defensively.

On at least three occasions that I recall, Brock Priestley flew out of marker and got to the Newcastle ball runner prior to them making any ground at all. I am not sure whether I was just not paying attention or not but on each of the occasions that I have noted above, Brock Priestley exploded out of the marker position to his right.

The first involvement that Brock Priestley had in the game was also a moment to remember, Brock Priestley had come on after the Knights had scored their first try and on the subsequent kick return, Brock Priestley and Nicholas Hilton lined up the Knights forward returning the kick-off and hit him front on in an outstanding tackle.

Running with the ball in the match, Brock Priestley showcased some neat and subtle footwork prior to impacting the Newcastle defensive line and on more than one occasion looked to target the area behind the Knights play the ball either by stepping back towards the ruck or by running an inside shoulder route.

On each of the occasions that he used this tactic Brock Priestley made ground and was also in a position for a quick play the ball because by using his footwork and targeting sparely populated areas of the Knights defence he was not gang tackled and thus was able to generate the quick play the ball.

Brock Priestley’s most recent match for the Titans was when he started at right second row for the Titans U16 squad in their early October match against PNG at Pizzey Park.

Brock Priestley started Round One of the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One competition in the second row for Ormeau against Currumbin.

In total in the GCRL U16 Division One competition for Ormeau Brock Priestley played in nine regular season matches including a big Round Nine match when he started at lock and scored two tries and kicked a conversion against Helensvale.

Brock Priestley also scored against Helensvale in Round Thirteen and in Round Fourteen against Coomera.

In Week two of the U16 Division One Finals series, Brock Priestley started at lock against Currumbin as Ormeau progressed directly to the Grand Final with a solid win.

In the GCRL U16 Division One Grand Final against Coomera, Brock Priestley started at lock had was having a very good game until injury struck late in the match. His Ormeau side went on to win the U16 Division One Grand Final in golden point 22 -20.

This season also saw Brock Priestley play for the Somerset College First XV in the Associated Private Schools competition, being a group of eight schools across the Gold Coast including starting in the Grand Final against All Saints Anglican School. For the first time in the competitions history the Grand Final ended in a 17 all draw with Brock Priestley prominent in attack especially in the second half.

Post the season Brock Priestley was named the Somerset College First XV Best Forward and was also named the 2020 Rugby Captain.

Brock Priestley was named in the 2019 South East Queensland Green U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships starting in the second row for the representative side scoring a first half double on Day Three against South East Queensland White. Post those Championships Brock Priestley was selected in the second row in the Queensland Country U16 side.

Brock Priestley had an outstanding match for Country as they defeated City 44 – 4 with Brock Priestley playing fifty five minutes at right second row. In his fifty five minutes on the field, Brock Priestley ran for 121 metres (thirty four post contact), had a line break early in the second half and made five tackles, one of which was an outstanding tackle early in the first half when he used a perfect technique to smash fellow Titan Brody Smitka just as he received the ball.

For Ormeau in the U15 Division One competition in 2018, including finals matches, Brock Priestley played in twelve matches scoring six tries for a solid 50% strike rate.

In Week One of the U15 Division One of the Finals Brock Priestley started in the centres and scored as Ormeau defeated Runaway Bay 28 – 12. Brock Priestly backed that up in Week Two starting in the centres and scoring once again as the Shearers qualified for the Grand Final with a 44 – 6 win over Coomera.

In addition to his three finals tries (from three finals matches), Brock Priestly scored three U15 Division One regular season tries including a double against Robina and a late June try against Southport.

To cap off an outstanding 2018 season Brock Priestley was named in the Gold Coast Vikings U16 Training Squad of the 2019 U16 South East Queensland Challenge and as a result of his play in that competition Brock Priestley was named in the South East Queensland U16 train on squad.

In addition to playing rugby league for Ormeau in 2018 Brock Priestley also played club rugby on the Gold Coast for the Griffith University Colleges U15 side who won the Grand Final which ended in a 47 – 19 victory over the Helensvale Hogs in a match that was curtain raiser to the Wallabies v Argentina test at Cbus stadium. Brock Priestley started the match at lock.

In total for the Griffith University Colleges U15 side Brock Priestley played in eight matches including the Grand Final starting five and coming off the bench in the remaining three.

Brock Priestley’s first match with the Griffith University Colleges U15 side was in Round Eleven when he started at lock against Wollongbar/Alstonville with his first match from the interchange bench being in Round Fourteen against the Gold Coast Eagles.

Brock Priestley scored two tries for the Griffith University Colleges side, the first coming in Round Fourteen against the Gold Coast Eagles with his second try coming in their semi-final victory over the Helensvale Hogs.

Brock Priestley played his first rugby league game in the Gold Coast in late June 2017 after his move down from the Northern Territory. Brock Priestley played one U14 Division Three match in 2017 for Ormeau scoring a try and kicking two goals against Mudgeeraba.

Brock Priestley in 2017 also played in six U14 Division One matches and scored his first try in that age group actually in the Grand Final when he started a lock as Ormeau overcame Burleigh 31 – 16.

In 2017 prior to his Gold Coast move, Brock Priestley played for the Litchfield Rugby League club in the Harvey Norman U14 competition in Darwin, playing in seven matches and scoring eight tries and kicking nine goals to finish his abridged 2017 season with 50 points, scoring in each of his matches.

Brock Priestley scored doubles against the Palmerston Raiders and the Nightcliff Dragons and also scored against South Darwin in two matches, Darwin Brothers and Litchfield Red.

Brock Priestley in 2017 impressively also played in four U16 matches and scored in just his second match against the Nightcliff Dragons after making his U16 debut a fortnight earlier against the Northern Sharks.

Brock Priestley also played some representative rugby league in the Northern Territory including in 2017 representing the Northern Territory in the U14 Norther Queensland Junior Championships.

Brock Priestley played for the Good Shepherd Lutheran College including being named their Most Valuable Player in the final of the 2015 Palmerston with Good Shephard defeating Bakewell 28 – 12 in the final.

The outstanding feature of the attacking game of Brock Priestley is his ability to continue to make ground after contact with the defensive line especially when he isolates a defender and attacks him in a one on one situation.

Brock Priestley will continue to pump his legs post contact and if a defender looks to engage him around the chest Brock Priestley has the core strength to shrug off the defender and continue with limited loss of momentum.

A solid hard straight fend is also a key component of his ability to make ground after contact. Brock Priestley’ s speed off the mark and for that matter his speed overall can probably be consider a tick above average but plays faster as a result of his strength and power.

The best strategy for defending against Brock Priestley is for the defence to get up on him before he has the opportunity to generate momentum, the flip side of that is that Brock Priestley has the ability to skip outside if the defensive is not on him as he receives the ball. If he has time and space, Brock Priestley can be devastating when running with the ball.

Defensively Brock Priestley can defend against any size opponent, from small quick outside backs to big strong powerful backrowers running wide of the ruck. Brock Priestley uses this strength to move up and hit just under the ribcage, redirecting the momentum of the ball carrier and thus eliminating the attacking threat in the short term. Defending out in the centres, Brock Priestley sets a good base and uses his leg strength to direct his strength through the core of his body into his opponent.

Brock Priestley will play the 2020 season with Ormeau in the U18 Division One competition and is also part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2020 MM Cup squad.

Brock Priestley will also continue to play for the Somerset College First XV in 2020 and in fact will be their Rugby Captain next year.

In the Northern Territory Brock Priestley played primarily in the front row but this season with Ormeau in the U15 Division One competition this season played primarily in the centres. I envisage that he can stay in the centres for the next couple of seasons due to the fact that he knows his way to the try line and his solid one on one defence but ultimately I believe that he will end up in the second row in the long term.

A player comparison for Brock Priestley is an interesting one as few players even at the NRL level have the same combination of raw skill, strength, power and intensity that Brock Priestley displays. I guess however a player who as least has a degree of similarity from a playing perspective is Sydney Roosters backrower Nat Butcher.

[mdrew]

Caleb Gould-Waiariki. (Revised) Titans contracted Caleb Gould-Waiariki has already played a number of matches in Titans colours including starting at hooker for the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020.

Caleb Gould Waiariki started from the bench for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights in January 2019.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki came off the bench to play in the dummy half role mid-way through the first half spelling Kaden Somerville and made an immediate impact with his speed out of dummy half.

In the second half Caleb Gould-Waiariki made an outstanding run out of dummy half after a quick play the ball from left winger Dayton To’a.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s most recent match for the Titans was when he started at hooker for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park scoring an outstanding try in the first half. Caleb Gould-Waiariki dated out of dummy half to his left sixty metres out from the line, running right through the centre of the PNG ruck before swerving to his left to round the fullback to score in the left corner in a display of individual brilliance and some impressive speed both off the mark and sustaining it for the duration of his run to the try line.

The local young hooker also started from the bench for the Titans U15 side as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 in late 2018.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki came onto the field mid-way through the first half moving into the dummy half role and in his first run made 20 metres or so from dummy half splitting the Tigers defence right down the middle through the centre of the ruck.

Later in the first half Caleb Gould-Waiariki played his part in the Titans second try with a great long pass out of dummy half to his right to Titans five eight Riley Lack who threw an equally good long pass to winger Timothy Seilaff-Burns to score in the left corner.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki had an outstanding start to the 2019 season in the South East Queensland U16 Challenge when he scored a hat trick and kicked a conversion on Match Day One as his Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side defeated Brisbane Red 32 – 10 at Mudgeeraba.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also scored on Match Day Three against Brisbane Red and added a fifth try in Round Four as his Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side defeated Brisbane Green 44 – 4.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki is also part of the 2019 Queensland U16 Emerging Origin squad, with the squad completing their first camp of the year recently on the Sunshine Coast. On the last day of the camp the squad was split into two sides for an opposed session. Flynn Daniel started in the centres for one of the squads that contained fellow Titans Brody Smitka and Flynn Daniel.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker in Round One of the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One for Runaway Bay against Mudgeeraba.

In total for Runaway Bay, Caleb Gould-Waiariki who also played a fair bit of five eight, played in six matches scoring five tries and kicking a solitary goal against Burleigh to finish the regular season with twenty two points.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored doubles against Mudgeeraba and Southport and also scored in the regular season against Burleigh.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named in the 2019 South East Queensland Green U16 side the for the Queensland Age Championships starting for them at hooker. Post those Championships Caleb Gould-Waiariki was selected at hooker in the Queensland City U16 side for their match against Queensland City U16’s.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki played the entire sixty minutes of the match running for forty three metres (twelve post contact), broke a tackle when he dashed twenty metres through the centre of the ruck from dummy half in the first half and made a team leading twenty one tackles at a tackling efficiency of 95.28%.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki finished the 2018 GCRL U15 Division One season with Runaway Bay as the competitions equal leading try scorer with fifteen, a feat he accomplished from just twelve matches. Caleb Gould-Waiariki also kicked two conversions in the competition, both coming in a late season match against Coomera to finish with sixty four points.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki had a huge match in early August when he scored five tries in a match against Currumbin, scored a hat trick against Burleigh and also scored a double against Helensvale. Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s other tries came in matches against Mudgeeraba, Ormeau and then in a three match span scored against Burleigh, Coomera and Ormeau in consecutive weeks.

In Week One of the U15 Division One Finals series, Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker as Runaway Bay went down 28 – 12 to Ormeau. With Caleb Gould-Waiariki once again at hooker, Runaway Bay bounced back in Week Two of the finals defeating Burleigh 34 – 24 with Caleb Gould-Waiariki scoring in the win.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also started at hooker in the U15 Division One Preliminary Final scoring a try and kicking two goals as Runaway Bay qualified for the Grand Final courtesy of a 58 – 14 victory over Coomera,

In the Grand Final Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker but could not prevent Runaway Bay going down 38 – 20 to the Ormeau Shearers. Caleb Gould-Waiariki did however cross for one of Runaway Bay’s four tries in the Grand Final.

In addition to his club duties with Runaway Bay in the GCRL U15 Division One competition, Caleb Gould-Waiariki played four matches of club rugby on the Gold Coast with the Griffith University Colleges U15 side.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s first game was in Round Nine against the Gold Coast Eagles when he started from the bench and he also started from the bench in Round Eleven against Wollongbar/Alstonville.

Round Thirteen saw Caleb Gould-Waiariki start at fly half (No.10) against the PBC Alleygators and he also started at fly half in Round Sixteen against Casino.

Caleb Gould Waiariki is also an outstanding touch player, making numerous representative sides including being named in the 2020 Australian U18 Mixed Touch side that will play in the 2020 Youth Trans-Tasman Touch competition.

In 2017 Caleb Gould Waiariki played for the South Queensland Sharks in the Queensland U14 Touch Championships, being named Player of the Final and subsequently was named in the U14 Titans representative touch side.

In 2015 Caleb Gould Waiariki played for the South Queensland Sharks in the Queensland U12 Touch Championships and was named Player of the Competition.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki is quite an elusive runner of the ball and some good foot work in confined space. He will take on the line regularly and has a very good step off both feet but his left foot step seems to be the preferred step based on the games that I have seen at least.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s passing game is what I would consider above average and he will drift across the field looking for runners to run into holes and has the ability to hold the defensive line in place as he develops the play in front of them, making to easier for his support runners to get a clear passage through the line, especially when a defender comes out of the line and commits to Caleb Gould-Waiariki.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki will also wait until the last possible moment to release the football. His best attribute in his passing game is the speed, timing and accuracy when he passes to his outside backs. Caleb Gould-Waiariki gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s defence for a hooker is very good, for a hooker his size his initial contact is more than solid and he can defend effectively one on one against far larger forwards, he sets a good base with his lower body and explodes upwards with his shoulders to drive into opposing forwards.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s intensity and continuous effort means that he will track the ball across the field and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside. Caleb Gould-Waiariki literally tackles everything that moves in the centre of the ruck and displays a solid repeatable defensive technique and is able to make multiple tackles in any given defensive set of six tackles.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki has been named in the 2020 Burleigh MM Cup side and post that competition will play for Runaway Bay in the GCLR U18 Division One competition. Caleb Gould-Waiariki is also MM Cup eligible in 2021.

Prior to the last season or two I was of the opinion that Caleb Gould-Waiariki would ultimately find himself at half back in rugby league but playing the last couple of seasons at hooker he has been quite outstanding and as a consequence may just have found his ideal position in that role.

Based on my observations of Caleb Gould-Waiariki playing at hooker, I would suggest that a current NRL player with a similar playing style would be new St George signing and former New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International hooker Isaac Luke. Like Isaac Luke, Caleb Gould-Waiariki is a more than capable runner out of dummy half and a very solid defender with developing distribution skills.

[mdrew]

Keegan Pace. The Cudgen Hornets and PBC centre linked with the Titans in early 2019.

Keegan Pace was part of the Titans U18 side for their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020.

Keegan Pace’s first match in a Titans jersey was against a Newcastle Knights select U16 side in Coffs Harbour, in January 2019.

In the match Keegan Pace started on the right wing for the Titans and was solid defensively and took a number of runs from dummy half to give his forwards a deserved break in the hot difficult conditions on New South Wales mid North Coast.

Keegan Pace also showed solid positional sense in the match, dropping back at the correct time and fielding a number of the Newcastle Knight’s clearing kicks on the full and then running the ball back with vigour.

Keegan Pace also played for the Titans was when he started on the wing for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park which resulted in a big Titans victory on the Friday night.

Late in 2018 Keegan Pace was selected in a talented Northern Rivers Titans U16 side for the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition. Fellow Titans linked players in the Northern Rivers Titans U16 side are Bailey Cox, Jack Cullen, Ryan Foran, Reef Sommerville, Byron Jones, Riley Lack, Thomas Weaver and Rowan Mansfield.

In Round One of that competition in 2019, Keegan Pace partnered fellow Titans Rowan Mansfield in the centres in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad with Keegan Pace operating on the right. In the match Keegan Pace was one of the Titans try scorers when he took a pass from fullback Jaylan DeGroot to crash over near the right corner from close range.

Round Two of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Keegan Pace once again line up in the right centre position in their match against Parramatta. In the match, Keegan Pace did not see too much of the ball but threw the last pass to one of the Titans tries. In a set play from a scrum, Keegan Pace doubled around to the left, creating an overlap and drew the Parramatta winger to send Jack Field away to score.

After being rested in Round Three, Keegan Pace started at left centre in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters and had an outstanding first half scoring a hat trick. His first and third tries were almost identical.

With Titans half Thomas Weaver drifting across field causing the Central Coast defensive line to backpedal, Keegan Pace ran a crash line and when Keegan Pace received the ball from Thomas Weaver and was just too big and strong for the defence on both occasions.

Keegan Pace’s second try came through backing up. Thomas Weaver made a huge break from around twenty metres out from his own line, Keegan Pace backed up and received an inside pass from Thomas Weaver when he was approaching the fullback to score untouched under the posts.

To cap off an outstanding match, Keegan Pace, converted the Titans final try after the final siren to push the score out to 52 – 0. In the match Keegan Pace also was involved in forcing a Central Coast line drop out when he chased a Thomas Weaver kick in the first half to pin the Central Coast fullback in his own in-goal after a fifty metre chase.

After his Round Four hat trick, Keegan Pace started Round Five against the Greater Northern Tigers from the bench and played right centre when he came onto the field making his presence felt with some telling runs especially when he was bringing the ball out of his own territory both from dummy half and one off the ruck.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup semi-final against Penrith Keegan Pace had been named on the bench but started the match at right centre and whilst he did not get too many opportunities with the ball held up well defensively against the big Penrith Panthers centres.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Grand Final against the Western Rams Keegan Pace started from the inter change bench in their outstanding 18 – 6 victory with Keegan Pace playing right centre when he came on.

Post the victory Keegan Pace was named on the interchange bench for the New South Wales Country U16 side for their November 2019 three match tour of the United Kingdom flying out for the tour from Sydney in mid-November.

Keegan Pace started on the interchange bench in Game One of the tour scoring New South Wales Country U16’s second try of the match in their big 62 – 0 win over the U17 Community Lions.

Keegan Pace started Game Two of the tour in the centres scoring in each half as his Country U16 side defeated the Leeds Rhino’s 32 – 10. Keegan Pace scored Country’s first try of the match in the corner after some good ball movement and also scored their last when scooped up an errant Leeds pass to score a simple try.

Keegan Pace started on the bench in Game Three of the New South Wales Country U16’s tour of the UK as they finished undefeated on the back of a 62 – 6 victory over a British Community Lions squad consisting of players from the Lancashire and Cumbria region of England. Keegan Pace converted New South Wales Country’s tenth try of the match which was scored by Thomas Weaver with four minutes remaining to round out his scoring on the highly successful overseas tour.

The New South Wales Country U16 side played a New South Wales U16 Harold Matthews squad as a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match on a Friday night at Penrith Park in May 2019. Keegan Pace started the match on the interchange bench for the Country side.

Keegan Pace made his NRRRL U18 debut in Round Five for Cudgen from the bench as they defeated Ballina 18 – 12 and made his starting debut in the NRRRL U18 competition from the wing in Round Eleven and maintained his starting spot for Round Twelve against Lismore Marist Brothers.

Keegan Pace’s first NRRRL U18 points came when he scored a try and kicked two conversions in Round Fourteen against the Byron Bay Devils.

Keegan Pace had a day out in Round Fifteen scoring a hat trick after starting the match against Kyogle on the wing in a big 64 – 0 Cudgen victory.

Keegan Pace maintained his rich vein of form in Round Sixteen when he came off the bench to score a try and kick three goals against Murwillumbah.

Keegan Pace rounded off the NRRRL U18 regular season by scoring a hat trick in Round Eighteen in a 46 – 4 win over the Tweed Coast Raiders.

In total in the 2019 NRRRL U18 regular season competition Keegan Pace played in ten matches scoring thirty eight points from seven tries (70% strike rate) and five goals with the tries noted above.

Keegan Pace was also part of the Cudgen side that defeated Lismore Marist Brothers 24 – 10 in Week One of the NRRRL U18 Finals series and was also involved in Week Two of the Finals as Cudgen went down 26 – 20 against Ballina.

In the Week Three Final, being the Preliminary Final, Keegan Pace scored a try and kicked a conversion as Cudgen booked their place in the U18 NRRRL Grand Final against Ballina with a 24 – 4 win over Byron Bay.

Keegan Pace started the NRRRL U18 Grand Final on the right wing scoring all of Cudgen’s points as they went down 24 – 6 to Ballina. Keegan Pace scored the first points of the Grand Final when he kicked a penalty goal early in the match from around thirty metres out, just to the right of the goal posts, and scored early in the second half when, after a good Cudgen backline move, flashed down the left touch line to score in the left corner showcasing his speed and balance.

Keegan Pace was also part of the dominant Cudgen 2019 U16 Group 18 side that won their Grand Final 44 – 6 against Byron Bay/Lennox Head.

In late 2018 the PBC student represented Group 18 in the U15 age group at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, starting all three of their matches against Groups 21, Two and Four in the centres.

After the completion of the 2018 season Keegan Pace and fellow Group 18 U15 team mates headed overseas to play in the Battlefield Challenge to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, a competition that the side won including victories against Emory Moor 12 – 6 and Leigh East 18 – 12.

In a warm up match in England prior to the Tournament they defeated a Hemel Stags U16 side and post the Tournament defeated French side Aude Cathare. A number of other Titans players will also be involved in the tour including Tom Weaver, Jack Cullen, Ryan Foran, Byron Jones and Bailey Cox.

Keegan Pace also represented Group 18 in 2017 on that occasion in the U14 age group and scored against Newcastle in one of his three matches in those Championships.

In terms of his attacking play Keegan Pace is a smooth runner of the ball who has above average to plus top end speed and good evasiveness to get on the outside of his opposing defender with a decent fend that enables him to keep all but the strongest outside backs at a distance and away from his body.

Keegan Pace has quite a good step, predominately off the right foot, so he certainly has the skills to adjust his running line as he gains more experience and develops a better rapport with his teams play makers and progresses to a higher level in competition.

When defending in the centres, Keegan Pace really does look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop.

Keegan Pace does not let the play unfold in front of him, he looks to disrupt as early as possible. With his size and defensive tendencies when defending in the centres, he is more suited to an up and in defensive methodology compared to a sliding system.

Keegan Pace will play the 2020 season as part of the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side and post that competition will line up for Cudgen once again in the Hornets U18 NRRRL side.

Keegan Pace will also be involved in the various rugby league school boy competitions that PBC is involved with over the course of the 2020 season including the Langer Cup and GIO Cup with PBC looking to continue their success of recent years at both the State and National level.

With his speed and elusiveness, Keegan Pace has the skill set to play effectively on the wing or in the centres however ultimately I believe that his best opportunity to progress his career in relation to the best possible outcome is on the wing.

In many respects the way Keegan Pace plays on a rugby league field resembles that of Titans NRL outside back Brian Kelly as a speedy, elusive player with some size about him and with some real potential moving forward in both attack and defence as well as a bit of an aggressive streak when the occasion warrants.

Like Kelly, I believe that Keegan Pace’s defence is definitely under-rated as is his ability to field bombs as was evidenced in Round One of the 2019 season’s Andrew Johns Cup against Newcastle.

[mdrew]

Riley Lack. The young Murwillumbah five eight, centre or fullback is a Titans contracted player who started from the bench for the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020.

Riley Lack had an outstanding 2018 season including playing for the Titans U15 Invitational side in a match against the Western Mustangs in March 2018 when he started at fullback.

Riley Lack has played in additional matches for the Titans since then starting a number at five eight, the first being against the Balmain Tigers in late 2018 (Riley Lack spent some time at fullback in the second half of that match) and in January of 2019 when he started at five eight against the Newcastle Knights in Coffs Harbour.

Against the Knights Riley Lack primarily operated on the right side of the field with half Thomas Weaver playing on the left. Riley Lack had a solid match and even though he had the No. 6 on his back fed the ball into the scrum for most of the match but on occasion packed in at lock when the Titans had the scrum feed so that he could distribute the ball from the back of the scrum immediately.

Riley Lack also showed his rugby league intelligence in the match, in the second half a Knights second rower ran at him and was dragging Riley Lack with him, Riley Lack got his hands around the ball and stole it in a one on one strip around the half way mark to give the Titans good field position. Riley Lack also had a try assist when he threw the inside ball to Brody Smitka for the big front rowers second half try.

On the Thursday Night match at Cudgen in September 2018 against the Balmain Tigers Riley Lack recorded a try assist when late in the first half he threw a great long pass to Titans right winger Timothy Seilaff-Burns who was able to freeze the Balmain defender and then beat him on the outside to score in the right hand corner from close range.

Riley Lack’s most recent match for the Titans was when he started at five eight for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park.

In Round One of the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition Riley Lack started at five eight for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad and just like for the Titans U16’s operated on the right with Thomas Weaver on the left and showcased his footwork on a number of occasions.

Round Two of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Riley Lack once again line up at five eight in their match against Parramatta having an outstanding game including throwing the last pass for two of the Titans tries. In the first half Riley Lack took the ball to his left inside his own half and sliced through the Parramatta defence before getting the ball away on his inside to fullback Jaylan DeGroot to score.

Late in the second half, Riley Lack had his second try assist of the match when once again operating on the right, he threw a great cut-out pass to winger Jake Coleman to score untouched in the right corner.

In the match Riley Lack also showed some good kicking skills including forcing a line drop out from a deft right foot kick.

For the third week in a row, Riley Lack started at five eight against the North Coast Bulldogs in Round Three, setting up two tries and kicking two from three conversions, with his only miss being from right on the left touch line.

Riley Lack’s first try assist came in the first half when he took the ball right to the defensive line before popping a good short ball to his left to send second rower Nicholas Troy over. In the second half with the Titans pressing Riley Lack took a pass high above his body with the North Coast defence converging, Riley Lack was able to bring the ball down and pop a good short pass almost instantaneously to his left, under extreme pressure to fullback Jaylan DeGroot who scored under the posts.

In Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters Riley Lack started in his customary five eight position scoring once again and split the Central Coast defence from about forty metres out on the left side of the field in the first half.

Riley Lack also started at five eight in Round Five against the Greater Northern Tigers scoring the first try of the match when he pounced on a deft kick from Thomas Weaver. Riley Lack also added a conversion from the left touch line after Ryan Foran had scored out wide.

Riley Lack really did display outstanding game management skills in the match. When Thomas Weaver was sent to the sin-bin, Riley Lack took over the running of the side and controlled play very well.

Riley Lack had another try assist in the Northern Rivers Titans 26 – 14 semi-final victory over Penrith which came from a first half attacking kick down the right side of the field with Reef Sommerville able to dive on the ball to ensure that the Titans went into half time with a two point lead.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Grand Final against the Western Rams Riley Lack started at five eight in the Northern Rivers Titans outstanding 18 – 6 victory.

Riley Lack was a major contributor to the victory including one towering bomb which the Western Rams fullback could not handle in the first half, with Rowan Mansfield scoring from the resultant scrum.

Post the victory Riley Lack was named at five eight for the New South Wales Country U16 side for their November 2019 three match tour of the United Kingdom and was also named in the New South Wales U16 36 man train on squad and was one of only four New South Wales Country players in the squad, two others being fellow Titans Thomas Weaver and Ryan Foran.

Riley Lack started at five eight in Game One of the UK tour scoring New South Wales Country U16’s second try of the match in their big 62 – 0 win over the U17 Community Lions. Riley Lack also started at five eight in Game Two as NSW Country ran out 32 – 10 winners against the Leeds Rhino’s and operated primarily on the right of the field.

Riley Lack also started at five eight and scored a double in Game Three of the New South Wales Country U16’s tour of the UK as they finished undefeated on the back of a 62 – 6 victory over a British Community Lions squad consisting of players from the Lancashire and Cumbria region of England. Riley Lack’s first try came three minutes from half time when he darted over after a probing run from ten metres out to score near the right upright.

Riley lack’s second try came in the second half from a scrum move. Riley Lack fed the ball into the scrum and shaped to pick the ball up from the base of the scrum but instead backed away to his right on a wide blind side on that side of the field. The lock picked up the ball drawing the Lions half for Riley Lack to score wide out in the right corner.

The New South Wales Country U16 side played a New South Wales U16 Harold Matthews squad as a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match on a Friday night at Penrith Park in May 2019. Riley Lack started the match at five eight and put in a couple of good kicks two of which resulted in line drop outs.

Riley Lack made his NRRRL U18 debut in Round Ten for Murwillumbah in their 28 – 10 victory over the Tweed Coast Raiders and also played in Round Eighteen, being the last regular season round against Tweed Heads when he kicked three goals from as many attempts to score his first career NRRRL U18 points.

Riley Lack was selected in the 2018 New South Wales Combined High Schools U15 side for the U15 ASSRL National Championships. He was named to start from the bench but started a number of matches.

Titan’s team mates in the NSW CHS side were fullback Rowan Mansfield and second rower and fellow Murwillumbah High School student Ryan Foran and was one of nine Titans contracted U15 players that participated in the U15 ASSRL Championships.

On Day Three in a semi-final against NSW CCC, Riley Lack started the match and kicked two from two including converting a 9th minute try from fellow Titans contracted player Ryan Foran. Unfortunately after leading 8 – 0, NSW CHS went down 10 – 8.

On the final day of the Championships being Day Five, Riley Lack started against NSW CIS kicking two conversions in a 12 – 0 victory for his NSW CHS side.

After the completion of the 2018 season Riley Lack and fellow Group 18 U15 team mates headed overseas to play in the Battlefield Challenge to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, a competition that the side won including victories against Emory Moor 12 – 6 and Leigh East 18 – 12.

In a warm up match in England prior to the Tournament they defeated a Hemel Stags U16 side and post the Tournament defeated French side Aude Cathare. A number of other Titans players were involved in the tour including Tom Weaver, Keegan Pace, Jack Cullen, Ryan Foran, Byron Jones and Bailey Cox.

In 2017 Riley Lack represented Group 18 at the U14 level in the New South Wales Country Age Championships, playing three matches in the centres and scoring against Group One.

Riley Lack is a quick centre with a fluid running style with a classic centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. In term of his play, the in and away is his bread and butter, he has very good speed off the mark and can break to the outside quickly, couple that with long arms, which he uses to great effect with a powerful fend makes him difficult to tackle. When opposing centres are able to get hold of him, he usually is able to maintain his balance and keeps an arm free, looking to offload.

Riley Lack has more tools though than just an in and away, he will also use his strength to run straight over smaller opposing centres as well as also having the skill to step back inside of the defender if he is pushing to the outside too early. What Riley Lack is also adept at doing is timing his pass to his outside supports if the outside defender looks to come in and help defend him allowing an overlap to develop.

Riley Lack will not necessarily hit hard in defence, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing centre and wrapping him up ball and all. He is also quick enough to recover and chase if the opposing centre gets on the outside and his long reach is also a positive attribute in those situations.

From a team defensive methodology stand point, Riley Lack seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage.

In 2020 Riley lack will line up for the Northern Rivers Titans in the U18 New South Wales Country Laurie Daley Cup competition. Post either the U18 Laurie Daley Cup Riley Lack will be a stand out in the NRRRL U18 competition for Murwillumbah.

Riley Lack can play either five eight, centre or fullback, but I am leaning more towards a permanent spot at five eight over centre or fullback for the Northern New South Wales youngster, but only just.

For me with his ability to slip through gaps in the defensive line especially close to the line and a solid repeatable defensive technique, Riley Lack has a playing style similar to that of Penrith Panthers rookie five eight Matt Burton as a solid reliable player who finds his way to the try line on a regular basis.

Like Burton, Riley Lack however will display tantalising flashes of exquisite skill whether that is in relation to a deft kick, scything run or beautiful pass at a time that is pivotal to his side’s success.

Riley Lack is just a footballer’s footballer.

[mdrew]

Orlando Swain. The Ipswich youngster signed with the Titans in 2018 after a standout campaign with the Queensland Maroon side at the U15 ASSRL Championships. A team mate in the Queensland Maroons side was fellow Titans contracted youngster the outstanding Burleigh lock Bailey Martin.

Orlando Swain’s most recent match for the Titans was when he started at left centre for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG U16’s at Pizzey Park scoring in the second half when he ran onto a straight pass from Syris Schmidt to crash over out wide.

In January of 2019 Orlando Swain started at right centre for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights in Coffs Harbour. Orlando Swain did not keep too many opportunities with the ball in space but was effective none the less in terms of bringing the ball out of the Titans territory.

Orlando Swain also started in the centres for the Titans U15 side in their match against a Balmain Tigers U15 touring squad. Like in the Newcastle match Orlando Swain was partnered in the centres by the equally talented Ezra Ubaldino.

Orlando Swain is also part of the 2019 Queensland U16 Emerging Origin squad, with the squad completing their first camp of the year recently. At that camp, in the opposed session was on the same side as Kaleb Ngamanu and Bailey Martin.

Early in 2019 Orlando Swain was part of the Ipswich side that contested the South East Queensland U16 Championships scoring on Match Day Four in a tough 14 – 4 loss against Gold Coast Vikings White and subsequently was named in the 2019 South East Queensland White U16 side the for the Queensland Age Championships starting in the centres.

Post those Championships Orlando Swain was selected to start at right centre in the Queensland City U16 side in a match that was the curtain raiser to the 2019 Queensland Cup Grand Final but had only limited chances as City went down 44 – 4 to Country. Orland Swain did however make eight tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.89% as well as running for seventy five metres.

Orlando Swain started in the centre in Round One of the Ipswich Rugby League U16 competition for Norths Ipswich scoring against Fassifern in a 34 – 22 victory and backed that up by scoring a double in Round Two against West End as Norths prevailed 40 – 12.

After missing Round Three Orlando Swain scored again in Round Four as his Norths side defeated Ipswich Brothers 78 – 4.

Orlando Swain also scored in Round Six against the Springfield Panthers and Rounds Nine, Ten and Twelve against West End, Rosewood and Redbank Plains respectively and kicked his only two goals of the season in Round Six against Springfield.

In total in the 2019 Ipswich Rugby League U16 regular season competition, Orlando Swain played in twelve matches scoring eight tries to finish with a 67% strike rate.

In the Ipswich Rugby League U16 Grand Final Orlando Swain started at right centre against Redbank Plains with Norths winning 34 – 26 and Orlando Swain contributing a try to the Premiership victory.

At the late September 2019 Norths Ipswich Junior Rugby League Awards Night, Orlando Swain was awarded the Rod Kelly Junior Representative Player of the Year Award.

Orlando Swain was also part of the Ipswich Grammar School U16A GPS school boy rugby side this season but made his deserved First XV debut on the right wing in Round Eight of the 2019 season against TSS on the Gold Coast.

Orlando Swain had a great debut including a first half try assist when he threw a left arm over the head flick pass to Roosters bound Sam Walker to score in the first half. Even though he was playing on the right wing, Orlando Swain had a licence to roam on the match, regularly chiming into the backline on the left side of the field after set pieces.

Orlando Swain played his second GPS First XV match in Round Nine against Gregory Terrace, once again starting on the right wing and scored his first try when he was on the end of an Ipswich Grammar School movement to score wide out on the right in the first half.

As a result of his outstanding performances on the wing for the 2018 U15 Queensland Maroon side Orlando Swain was selected in the Australian U15 Merit side where he was named on the wing.

Orlando Swain started all four of Queensland Maroon’s matches on the wing and scored two tries, the first coming on Day One against New South Wales Combined High Schools and his second try was in the 4th minute of the final against New South Wales Combined Catholic College, a final which Queensland Maroon won 36 – 10.

The Ipswich Grammar School student this season played for Norths Blue in the 2018 Ipswich U15 competition and through nine matches, including the finals series scored 56 points from twelve tries and four goals.

Orlando Swain scored a hat trick against Fassifern and has also scored doubles against Norths Gold, Rosewood and Redbank. Orlando Swain’s other two tries came against West End and Brothers.

In Week Two of the Ipswich Rugby League U15 Finals series, Orlando Swain started on the wing and scored as his Norths Blue defeated a determined Redbank side 30 – 26 to progress to the Grand Final.

In the Ipswich U15 Grand Final Orlando Swain started on the wing for Norths Blue against West End with Norths Blue going down is a close match 28 – 22 with Orlando Swain scoring one of North’s Blue’s four tries on the Sunday morning.

Orlando Swain has an extensive representative resume including representing the Ipswich Diggers at the U14 level in 2017 and earlier this year represented Met West U15’s.

Even though he does not necessarily plus top end speed (It is certainly in the above average category though but probably just falls a touch below the plus category) Orlando Swain is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing outside backs.

Orlando Swain’s bread and butter play in the centres is a good in an away to hold the defender and beat him on the outside, Orlando Swain then has the ability to draw and pass to his winger if the opposing winger looks to come in, thus creating an overlap on the outside.

When playing on the wing Orlando Swain always seems to stick to the sideline which means his inside attackers will know where he is at all times, thus allowing them to confidently off load the ball if an overlap is created.

When defending in the centres, Orlando Swain really does look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop, his timing in those situations is quite good to the extent that he does not often over comment thus allowing his opponent to get on his outside.

Orlando Swain does not let the play unfold in front of him, he looks to disrupt as early as possible and usually does so effectively.

With his size and defensive tendencies when defending in the centres, Orlando Swain is more suited to an up and in defensive methodology compared to a sliding system, where quicker opposing centres look to get on his outside and try to use their pace against him although he is not necessarily a slouch in that department.

2020 will see Orlando Swain line up for Ipswich in the MM Cup competition which will see him up against multiple Titans contracted boys in the Tweed Heads and Burleigh sides.

Post the 2020 MM Cup competition Orlando Swain will play for Ipswich Norths in the Ipswich Rugby League U18 competition and later in the year will be a likely starter for the Ipswich Grammar School First XV in the GPS school boy rugby competition after making two starts on the right wing late in the 2019 season.

Over the course of his junior rugby league career Orlando Swain has played fullback, centre and wing at a very high level and for me his best position at least in the short term is in the centres but he can play all three with quality outcomes for both himself and his team.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style to Orlando Swain is for me Sydney Roosters New South Wales State of Origin and seen to be Parramatta Eel’s winger Blake Ferguson, like Ferguson Orlando Swain is a very good kick return and has the size, strength and speed to be a real handful for an opponent’s three quarter line, especially when he looks to run straight at the defensive line.

Like Ferguson, Orlando Swain is also very good in the air both from an attacking and defensive point of view.

[mdrew]

Jack Cullen. He is a Northern New South Wales born Titans contracted front rower who started in the front row for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights in January 2019.

In the match, Jack Cullen was his usual busy and effective self, including along with Bailey Martin being one of the forward leaders from both an attacking and defensive perspective.

One aspect of Jack Cullen’s game against the Newcastle Knights that I had not seen a great deal of prior to the match was Jack Cullen ball playing before the line. One a couple of occasions in the match Jack Cullen looked like he was going to take a hit-up, once he received the ball he quickly pivoted on the spot and passed out to his backline, the times that Jack Cullen ball played like this was seemingly all to the left side of the field.

Jack Cullen also played for the Titans when he started in the front row for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park with the Titans coming away from the match with a big win 44 - 12.

Jack Cullen also started in the front row Titans U15 side as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 in late 2018 and for me was one of the best for the Titans that night at Cudgen.

After left second rower Ryan Foran fielded the kick off, Jack Cullen took the next hit up and set the scene for his match with a great first run into the teeth of the Balmain Tigers forward pack.

Jack Cullen was at it again after the Titans first try scored by left winger Kaleb Ngamanu, taking the first and third hit-ups. Jack Cullen was outstanding in both of his stints for the Titans U15’s but his first 20 minute stint was exceptional. Jack Cullen also scored in the match after he was brought down just short of the line after a strong run where he stepped back behind the ruck off his right foot.

Post the Balmain Tigers match, Jack Cullen and fellow Group 18 U15 team mates headed overseas to play in the Battlefield Challenge to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, a competition that the side won including victories against Emory Moor 12 – 6 and Leigh East 18 – 12. In a warm up match in England prior to the Tournament they defeated a Hemel Stags U16 side and post the Tournament defeated French side Aude Cathare.

In Round One of the 2019 U18 Andrew Johns Cup competition Jack Cullen started in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad and had a great game including throwing two outstanding short balls prior to the defensive line.

His first pass was to lock Bailey Cox who as a result found himself in a big gap and was able to draw the fullback for fullback Jaylan DeGroot to score the first try of the match under the posts. Jack Cullen’s second impressive pass, also to his right set left centre Rowan Mansfield on a forty metre run down the left tough line.

Round Two of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Jack Cullen once again line up in the front row in their match against Parramatta and once again he had an outstanding match.

The match was the second in a row that Jack Cullen was heavily involved in setting up a try with a great ball prior to contacting the defensive line. In the second half, Jack Cullen took the ball off the dummy half and popped a great ball around the half way mark to interchange forward Byron Jones who charged to within a few metres of the Parramatta line before offloading to Thomas Weaver to score. Just like his two outstanding passes in Round One his great second round pass was to his left.

In Round Three against the North Coast Bulldogs Jack Cullen started in the front row for the third week in a row and once again provided an outstanding pre-contact pass to his left to set up a try, this time to Rowan Mansfield who sprinted sixty metres to score down the touch line.

I have mentioned his pre-contact offloading a few times but Jack Cullen in all of his Andrew Johns Cup matches in 2019 was outstanding in making ground through the centre of the ruck a lot of which was post contact.

After being rested in Round Four Jack Cullen started Round Five of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition in his usual front row position against the Greater Northern Tigers and was rewarded for his outstanding match when he crashed over in the second half after a powerful surge.

Jack Cullen was also strong in the Northern River Titans 26 – 14 semi-final victory over Penrith and one run in particular stood out for me. Jack Cullen took the kick up after the Titans first try and charged head long into the Penrith defence, making a twenty run knocking defenders out of the way and then drawing a penalty when he tried to get a quick play the ball and was prevented from doing so by the Panthers defence.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Grand Final against the Western Rams Jack Cullen started in the front row in their impressive 18 – 6 victory.

Post the victory Jack Cullen was named in the front row for the New South Wales Country U16 side for their November 2019 three match tour of the United Kingdom flying out for the tour from Sydney in mid-November.

Jack Cullen started in the front row in Game one of the Tour scoring NSW Country’s first and last try in their 62 – 0 with over the Community Lions with his first try coming just three minutes into the match when Jack Cullen twisted 360 degrees clockwise to crash over from close range mid-way between the left corner post and upright.

Game Two saw the New South Wales Country U16’s defeat the Leeds Rhino’s 32 – 10 with Jack Cullen once again starting in the front row and producing a typical hard uncompromising performance.

Jack Cullen also started in the front row in Game Three of the New South Wales Country U16’s tour of the UK as they finished undefeated on the back of a 62 – 6 victory over a British Community Lions squad consisting of players from the Lancashire and Cumbria region of England.

The New South Wales Country U16 side played a New South Wales U16 Harold Matthews squad as a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match on a Friday night at Penrith Park in May 2019. Jack Cullen started the match in the front row.

Jack Cullen made his NRRRL U18 debut in Round Nine for Cudgen starting from the bench in their 10 – 6 win over Lower Clarence at home with his first try coming in his 4th match being Round Fourteen against Byron Bay.

Jack Cullen made his first NRRRL U18 start in Round Sixteen when he started in the front row against Murwillumbah.

In total in the U18 NRRRL competition Jack Cullen played in nine matches and scored just the one try as mentioned above in Round Fourteen against Byron Bay.

Jack Cullen was also part of the Cudgen side that defeated Lismore Marist Brothers 24 – 10 in Week One of the 2019 NRRRL U18 Finals series and was also on the bench as Cudgen defeated Byron Bay 24 – 4 in the Preliminary Final.

Jack Cullen was also part of the dominant Cudgen 2019 U16 Group 18 side that won their Grand Final 44 – 6 against Byron Bay/Lennox Head.

In 2018 Jack Cullen started in the front row for the Group 18 U15 representative side at the New South Wales Country U15’s Championships playing matches against Group 21, Group Two and Group Four.

Jack Cullen is a solidly built young front rower with a low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle as he is also adept at dropping his shoulder into defenders as he impacts the defensive line. There is not a great deal of subtlety to his game, he runs straight and hard, with the only concession to this being a slight step off his left foot in occasion prior to impacting the defensive line.

One thing that Jack Cullen does do will however is continuing to pump his legs once his initial momentum is halted by the defensive line, he makes more metres than he should as a result and also forces defending teams to commit multiple defensive assets to stopping his progress. He does not have a real off load to his attacking game, but that is not his role, his role is to take the ball into the heart of the opposition’s defensive line and make as many metres as possible.

For a player of his size and position Jack Cullen actually has decent speed off the mark but obviously does not necessary have great top end speed. Jack Cullen shows flashes of the ability to off load the football when engaged with the defensive line but it is not a skill attribute that you see often not are you likely to into the future as that his not his primary role on a rugby league team.

When Jack Cullen hits you you stay hit, due to his height he is able to drive into the ribs of larger forwards and as his centre of gravity is usually lower than that of the person that he is defending against he is able to negatively impact on their momentum and balance and bring them to ground very quickly and is strong enough to win the wrestle and slow the play the ball down to allow his sides defensive line to re-establish itself before the opposition run their next play.

Jack Cullen will move to PBC in 2020 and will be a key piece in their Langer Cup and GIO Cup school boy rugby league campaigns and in relation to representative rugby league will play for the 2020 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side. Jack Cullen is also U18 eligible in 2021.

In addition to playing in the front row Jack Cullen has also spent some time at lock but currently in rugby league the lock plays as a third front rower so regardless of whether he is wearing jersey 8, 10 or 13, Jack Cullen will be lining up in the centre of the ruck on a rugby league field in both attack and defence for the foreseeable future.

From a player comparison perspective for Jack Cullen, I would consider that a player with a similar build and a similar playing style is North Queensland Cowboys, Queensland and Australian front rower Matt Scott as a big strong front rower who is not flashy but works hard to put his team on the front foot through gaining ground through the centre of the ruck, a lot of which are post contact metres.

The most impressive thing for me about Jack Cullen is the integration of a pre-line short passing game into his game, it just adds to both his individual effectiveness and that of his team.

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Rowan Mansfield. (Revised) After being involved in both the Titans and Bronco’s Development Squads in recent years it was great to see Rowan Mansfield sign with the Titans in early 2018.

Rowan Mansfield also played for the Titans when he started at right centre for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park scoring in the first half in the right corner from a run five metres out.

Rowan Mansfield started at fullback for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights early in 2019. Unfortunately an injury meant that Rowan Mansfield was not able to see out the match.

Rowan Mansfield also was part of the Titans U15 side when they defeated the Western Mustangs six tries to three at Nerang in March 2018. In that match Rowan Mansfield lined up at right centre where he opposed the talented Blake Cesseri from the Western Mustangs and more than held his own over the course of the match.

In late 2018 Rowan Mansfield started at fullback for the Titans U15 side as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 with Rowan Mansfield scoring an outstanding try.

In the first half Rowan Mansfield was dangerous with the ball and also scored early when he looked to step his way through the Balmain Tigers forward pack from close range and was also dangerous chiming into the backline off Titans scrum wins especially to the right side of the field.

In the second half Rowan Mansfield moved onto the right wing and scored an outstanding try highlighting his outstanding speed. The try was constructed in the inside through a chain of passes from Thomas Weaver through Jye Gray to Kaleb Ngamanu who put Rowan Mansfield into a gap down the sideline. Rowan Mansfield used an outstanding in and away to beat the Balmain fullback to score untouched after a seventy metre run just to the right of the goal posts.

In Round One of the 2019 U18 Andrew Johns Cup competition Rowan Mansfield partnered fellow Titan Keegan Pace in the centres for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad, with Rowan Mansfield operating on the left side of the field.

Even though he was playing on the left, Rowan Mansfield’s first break was made on the right when he looped around a Titans scrum win on their own twenty metre line and drove twenty metres down field before being brought down.

Rowan Mansfield also made a great break down the left tough line after a great pre-line Jack Cullen offload and was a deserved try scorer for the Titans when he took a pass off the dummy half around twenty metres out from the Newcastle try line and proceeded to power through the defensive line to score.

In the match, Rowan Mansfield on two occasions was able to pin Newcastle defenders in the in goal highlighting his enthusiasm to chase kicks. Both kicks were from fellow Titan Thomas Weaver.

Round Two of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Rowan Mansfield once again line up in the left centre position in their match against Parramatta. Rowan Mansfield did not see too much of the ball in the match but was still able to score for the Northern Rivers Titans in a try that was similar to his Round One try as he exploded onto a dummy half pass and through sheer speed and power dragged a couple of Parramatta players over the try line.

Round Three against the North Coast Bulldogs once again saw Rowan Mansfield start at left centre for the Northern Rivers Titans and once again he was outstanding on the way to scoring a double. Rowan Mansfield’s first try was a long range effort when he took a pass from fellow Titan and front rower Jack Cullen to spring sixty metres down the left touch line. Rowan Mansfield also scored the final try of the match when he pouched on a North Coast mistake in their own in goal.

After starting the opening three rounds of the Andrew Johns Cup at left centre, Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters saw Rowan Mansfield move back to fullback.

After a week at fullback, Rowan Mansfield moved back to the centres for the Round Five match against the Greater Northern Tigers starting at left centre and scored an outstanding long range try when he exploded down the left touch line in a seventy run to the line easily outpacing the Greater Northern Tigers cover defence.

In the semi-final against Penrith Rowan Mansfield had arguably his best match of the Andrew Johns Cup competition (which is saying something) from his usual right centre position. He was aggressive in both attack and defence and made some telling runs out of dummy half for the Northern Rivers Titans as well as some aggressive defence on his opposite Penrith centre.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Grand Final against the Western Rams Rowan Mansfield started at left centre and scored an outstanding try, the second of the match for the Titans in their outstanding 18 – 6 win.

At a scrum in front of the Western Rams posts, the Titans stacked the right side but instead the ball went to Rowan Mansfield on the left, he got outside of his direct opponent with speed before close to the line opposing winger came in to make the tackle. Rowan Mansfield literally ran straight through him to score in the corner.

Post the victory Rowan Mansfield was named on the wing for the New South Wales Country U16 side for their November three match tour of the United Kingdom.

Rowan Mansfield started on the wing scoring a double in Game One of the tour scoring New South Wales Country U16’s second try of the match in their big 62 – 0 win over the U17 Community Lions.

Rowan Mansfield’s first try of the match was a sixty metre effort which he was able to bring around to under the goal posts (after crossing the try line in the left corner) in the first half after eluding the Lions fullback. Rowan Mansfield’s second try was scored when he leapt in the air to claim a Thomas Weaver cross kick on the full to score in the corner.

Rowan Mansfield also started on the left wing in Match Two of the tour and scored his third tour try late in the match from close range in the left corner as the NSW Country U16’s defeated the Leeds Rhino’s 32 – 10. Rowan Mansfield scored literally right in the left corner after a three metre after a chain of short passes to the left of the field by the New South Wales Country U16 side.

Rowan Mansfield finished the tour with five tries when he scored a double after starting the third and final match on the wing as the New South Wales Country U16 side defeated the British Community Lions 62 – 6. Rowan Mansfield’s first try (and the first of the match) was the result of a great back line move to the left in just the second minute and he completed his double in the twenty first minute when another backline movement saw Rowan Mansfield in space from where he was able to score.

The New South Wales Country U16 side played a New South Wales U16 Harold Matthews squad as a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match on a Friday night at Penrith Park in May 2019. Rowan Mansfield started the match on the left wing.

In the match Rowan Mansfield did not get a lot of opportunities but went looking for the ball and did make one good break down the left touchline before kicking inside to keep the ball alive.

Impressively less than 48 hours later Rowan Mansfield lined up for Ballina in their 58 - 0 NRRRL U18 Round Seven win over Tweed Coast and scoring in the big win.

Even though Rowan Mansfield was still U16 eligible in 2019, he made his NRRRL U18 debut in Round Four for Ballina in their 18 – 12 win over Murwillumbah.

In total in the 2019 NRRRL U18 competition Rowan Mansfield played in twelve regular season matches scoring seven tries including a double in Round Sixteen against Tweed Heads.

In 2019 Rowan Mansfield also scored against Lismore Marist Brothers in Round Six (his first U18 NRRRL try), in Round Seven against Tweed Coast, Round Twelve against Casino RSM, Round Thirteen against Murwillumbah and in Round Seventeen scored against Tweed Coast.

In Week Two of the NRRRL U18 Finals Rowan Mansfield was part of the Ballina side that defeated Cudgen 26 – 20 to progress directly to the Grand Final with Rowan Mansfield one of Ballina’s try scorers in their hard fought win.

From his fullback position Rowan Mansfield was hunting around the ruck and followed a break made by the Ballina hooker to receive a pass to race fifty metres to score untouched adjacent to the right upright.

In the 2019 NRRRL U18 Grand Final Rowan Mansfield started at fullback for Ballina as they won the premiership on the back of a 24 – 6 victory with Rowan Mansfield being a menace for the Cudgen defence constantly backing up his forwards through the centre of the ruck.

Rowan Mansfield also started for Ballina in Round One of the 2019 Group One U16.5 competition in their 26 – 4 loss to South Grafton.

Rowan Mansfield scored seven Group One regular season 2019 U16.5 tries from nine matches tries in 2019 including a Round Seven double against Kyogle, also scoring a double in Round Ten against Casino RSM.

In Week One of the Group One finals series, Rowan Mansfield was unstoppable on his way to scoring a hat trick as Ballina defeated Clarence Coast 20 – 8 to progress to Week Two with Ballina also winning then in the Preliminary Final 21 – 14 over South Grafton for Rowan Mansfield and his team mates to progress to the Grand Final.

In the 2019 Group One U16.5 Grand Final against Lismore Marist Brothers Gold Rowan Mansfield started at fullback as Ballina ran out winners 12 – 4.

At the 2019 Group One Junior Rugby League Awards night Rowan Mansfield was named Group One Junior Rugby League Representative Player of the Year. Rowan Mansfield also received an award at the 2019 Ballina Coast High School Sports Awards night.

In 2018 in the Group One U15 competition, Rowan Mansfield played in eleven matches, including the finals scoring five tries. Each of Rowans Mansfield regular season’s tries came from individual matches and were scored against, South Grafton, Clarence Coast on two occasions and against Casino RSM.

On the first Saturday of the Group One finals, Rowan Mansfield scored for Ballina in their 26 - 4 Group One U15 semi-final victory over South Grafton.

In the Grand Final Rowan Mansfield and his Ballina team mates went down to a committed South Grafton Rebels side 16 – 0 in a defensive tussle.

Rowan Mansfield also played in three Group One U16.5 matches, making his debut against Clarence Coast in early August scoring on debut.

Earlier in 2018 Rowan Mansfield was part of the New South Wales Combined High Schools (NSW CHS) U15 side that participated in the ASSRL U15 national Championships, being one of ten Titans involved in the Championships. NSW Combined High School Titans team mates were second rower Ryan Foran and fullback/centre Riley Lack.

At the 2018 New South Wales Country U15 Championships Rowan Mansfield was named in the centres for the Group One U15 side.

In Group One’s Round One U15 match against Newcastle Rowan Mansfield started in the centres with Group One winning 22 – 18 against Newcastle and Rowan Mansfield scoring a double.

In Group One’s second match of the Championships Rowan Mansfield kicking a conversion as Group One ran out 28 – 6 winners against Group Three.

Group One won their Northern Cup semi-final against Group 19 before going down 10 – 6 against Group Two in the U15 new South Wales Country Northern Cup Final.
Rowan Mansfield played four matches at the U16 ASSRL Championships primarily at fullback and scored against New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges.

Early in 2017 Rowan Mansfield represented Group One U14’s in the New South Wales Age Championships were he was named in the centres. In those Championships, Rowan Mansfield was absolutely outstanding on his way to scoring four tries from just three matches, including a Round One hat trick against Group 14 and in Round Three he scored against the Central Coast.

For the 2017 season Rowan Mansfield was the leading try scorer in the Group One U14 competition scoring 23 tries from just twelve matches. Rowan Mansfield scored five in a match against Marist Brothers and also had hat tricks against the Grafton Ghosts and South Grafton Rebels.

In a seven match span to start the 2017 season Rowan Mansfield scored an incredible nineteen tries. Rowan Mansfield was in fact named the U14 Ballina Seagulls Best and Fairest for the 2017 Group One U14 season.

Rowan Mansfield also played eight matches in the 2017 Group One U15 competition scoring against Casino RSM. On six of the eight occasions that Rowan Mansfield played U15’s he was backing up from the U14 contest earlier in the day.

In the 2016 season Rowan Mansfield scored an amazing 35 tries in only 13 games to finish the leading try scorer by 13 tries, adding in his two conversions, Rowan Mansfield had a total points tally of 144 on the season in the U13 Group One Junior Rugby League competition and added another six tries from as many games in the U14 age group.

In the U13 competition in 2016, Rowan Mansfield was only kept try less on one occasion in 2016, being against Lismore Marist Brothers in the last match of the season. Rowan Mansfield scored six tries in a match against Kyogle and five also against Kyogle earlier in the season and on four occasions, scored four tries in a match which came against Casino RSM on two separate occasions and against Grafton and South Grafton.

Rowan Mansfield also scored two hat tricks, coming against Lismore Marist Brothers on two separate occasions. At the U14 level, Rowan Mansfield scored two doubles which came against Grafton and Kyogle.

In attack his speed off the mark is the first attribute that you will notice when you see him play live. Only watching him play live will do his speed off the mark justice, watching him play live, it is great to see when he takes off. He also has an extra gear once he is through the defensive line and has the ability and endurance to maintain his speed over a long distance. Couple his speed with a very good right foot step and you have a young player who seemingly makes breaks at will.

Rowan Mansfield can and will beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies. He also backs up any line breaks that are made by his forwards. Yes I know that he is still very young but Rowan Mansfield has absolutely blazing speed already, which would have to be considered in the plus-plus category.

For the Titans U15 side in March Rowan Mansfield expertly got on the outside of his Western Mustangs opponent down the right hand grand stand side of the field at Nerang beating his opposing centre with speed and guile and even with a lot of cover defence coming across expertly set up his fullback with a great pass back on the inside. Even though the fullback was pulled down just short of the try line it was a great piece of play by Rowan Mansfield and personified his style of play perfectly in that brief moment of brilliance.

Rowan Mansfield also has very good hands for such a young player and when he retrieves the ball from an opponent’s kick he simply just takes off and is difficult for the opposition to get his hands on as he nears top speed.

Rowan Mansfield is not the biggest or necessarily strongest player but will take the hit when needing to make the tackle in the last line of defence and has the recovery speed to compensate if he needs to turn and chase an opponent’s break. Rowan Mansfield is also adept at using the sideline to his advantage when he is defending against opposition breaks.

Even against such a talented centre as Blake Cesseri (the best U15 centre in Queensland) Rowan Mansfield held his own for the Titans U15 side, especially considering that Rowan Mansfield has not spent a great deal of time in the centres over the last couple of seasons.

Moving towards the 2020 season Rowan Mansfield is part of the Northern Rivers U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad and will play in the NRRRL U18 competition for Ballina for the second season in a row and may even get a match or two in the NRRRL First Grade competition. Impressively Rowan Mansfield is also U18 eligible in 2021.

From a position perspective, I would suggest that he will continue to play fullback and centre for the foreseeable future, although I believe when it is all said and done Rowan Mansfield will ultimately end up at fullback although with how he played in the centres for the Titans U15 side and in 2019 for the U16 Northern Rivers Titans Andrew Johns Cup winning side it cannot be ruled out that Rowan Mansfield will not stay in the centres and perform very well there as well.

From a player comparison perspective, think along the lines of Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote as a fullback with outstanding pace and footwork in attack and who is also courageous when it comes to his defensive duties and on kick returns.

There is just something about how this young man moves that is impossible not to be impressed by and the scary part of me is that even though he was solid for the Titans U15’s and U16’s over the last couple of seasons there is plenty more to come from Rowan Mansfield, plenty more indeed.

[mdrew]

Noah Johannssen. The young front rower from the South Tweed Bears club in Northern New South Wales most recent match for the Titans was when he part of the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour. Noah Johannssen was named the Titans best forward for the match. In a piece of trivia, Noah Johannssen played against his older brother Tim in the match who was part of the Knights side.

Noah Johannssen made his deserved Titans debut when he came off the bench for the Titans in their U16 clash against the Newcastle Knights in January of 2019 in very very hot conditions.

In the match, Noah Johannssen had spells on the field in both halves and took the ball into the Knights defensive line with a hard straight running mentality and also was on hand to back up at every opportunity including taking a good one hand pass from Joseph Shannon in the first half to get the ball into the Knights twenty metre defensive area.

Noah Johannssen also started in the front row for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park when he scored a barnstorming try under the posts dragging three PNG defenders with him from ten metres out.

In fact Noah Johannssen was specifically mentioned by Jamie McCormack as one of the Titans best in the match.

In Round One of the 2019 U18 Andrew Johns Cup competition Noah Johannssen started in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad and to say he had a dominant first half would be a massive understatement.

You can probably already mark down Noah Johannssen down for try of the year at any level. Early in the first half, Newcastle were forced to drop the ball out, Noah Johannssen took the ball from Riley Lack who fielded the drop out near the half way mark and simply powered his way through the Newcastle defence to score near the left upright.

The try was not as a result of Noah Johannssen just breaking the Newcastle line once and scoring, at least twice it appeared that Noah Johannssen would be dragged down but he kept pumping his legs and broke tackle after tackle on his way to the line.

Noah Johannssen also took the hit-up after the Newcastle kick off and once again provided a difficult proposition for the Newcastle defence. Add in a great second half off-load and you have a great game by Noah Johannssen.

Round Two of the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Noah Johannssen once again line up in the front row in their match against Parramatta and was once again heavily involved making ground in the centre of the ruck, making significant metres post contact.

Noah Johannssen also made a great heads up play in the second half when after one of the Parramatta front rowers made a strong run, Noah Johannssen stripped the ball in a one on one tackle and then charged fifteen metres in the opposite direction to totally change the momentum of the match.

Noah Johannsson also had a solid match in Round Three against the North Coast Bulldogs once again starting the match in the front row alongside fellow Titan Jack Cullen.

Noah Johannsson also started in the front row in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters and had a huge match especially in attack when he consistently made significant metres post contact and also had a try assist. In the last minute of the match, Noah Johannssen broke through the Central Coast line, drawing the fullback to send Northern Rivers Titans right centre Blake Marrison away for the Titans to top the fifty point mark.

Noah Johannsson also started in the front row in Round Five against the Greater Northern Tigers and was near unstoppable constantly gaining ground after contact and scored a deserved first half try when he powered over after a long break from Ryan Foran. The break from Ryan Foran was from a scrum thus the effort of Noah Johannsson to break from the scrum and run eighty metres to take the ball and subsequently score was certainly impressive.

Noah Johannsson also had a strong match against a huge Penrith pack in the Titans 26 – 14 semi-final victory with Noah Johannsson forcing the defence to commit multiple defensive resources every time he took the ball into the defensive line.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Grand Final against the Western Rams Noah Johannsson started in the front row in the 18 – 6 victory and was certainly a key part in the outstanding victory.

Post the victory Noah Johannsson was named on the interchange bench for the New South Wales Country U16 side for their November 2019 three match tour of the United Kingdom.

Noah Johannsson started from the interchange bench and scored in Game One of the tour scoring New South Wales Country U16’s second try of the match in their big 62 – 0 win over the U17 Community Lions. Noah Johannsson’s try came early in the second half when he was too strong for the Lions defence after a charging run from close to the line. Game Two saw the New South Wales Country U16’s defeat the Leeds Rhino’s 32 – 10.

Noah Johannsson also started from the bench and scored in Game Three of the New South Wales Country U16’s tour of the UK as they finished undefeated on the back of a 62 – 6 victory over a British Community Lions squad consisting of players from the Lancashire and Cumbria region of England.

Noah Johannsson scored the first try of the second half when he crashed over from close range. Noah Johannsson also had a try assist in the match. After splitting the Lions defence through the centre of the ruck, Noah Johannsson rumbled down field thirty metres before drawing the fullback and sending his support runner away to score under the posts.

The New South Wales Country U16 side played a New South Wales U16 Harold Matthews squad as a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match on a Friday night at Penrith Park in May 2019. Noah Johannsson started the match on the interchange bench for the Country side.

Impressively less than 48 hours later Noah Johannsson lined up for Tweed Heads in their 30 – 6 NRRRL U18 Round Seven loss to Cudgen.

Incredibly the day after the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup final, Noah Johannsson was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 NRRRL side that defeated Kyogle 24 – 16 in Round two of the NRRRL U18 competition, talk about a young man who obviously just loves playing rugby league.

Noah Johannsson played in thirteen matches in the 2019 U18 NRRRL regular season competition with the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 side scoring his first try in Round Seven against Murwillumbah, adding a double in Round Fourteen against Tweed Coast and also scoring in Round Fifteen against Lismore Marist Brothers.

In the Group 18 U15 competition in 2018, Noah Johannssen was part of the South Tweed Premiership winning side with the Bears defeating Byron Bay Lennox Head 22 – 16 in the Grand Final.

Over the previous two seasons Noah Johannssen has represented Group 18 at the U14 and U15 levels.

Noah Johannssen is a big and I mean big strong front rower who is a powerful runner of the football, who knows only one way and that is straight ahead and can offload once he has impacted the defensive line or has crashed through it, in addition he is quite effective when his team is attacking close to the try line. Noah Johannssen can either take the ball himself, and when he gets low he is very difficult to stop or he can run as a decoy and attract defenders away from the real axis of attack.

For a big front rower Noah Johannssen does actually have quite decent speed and footwork, certainly well above average for a player of his size. He does however seem to carry the ball in his right hand away from his body which whilst it can make offloading easier once he engages the defensive line it can lead to a number of dropped balls when opposing defenders engage him.

Noah Johannssen is obviously suited to defending in the centre of the ruck rather that the fringes and will understandably have some trouble with nippy runners out of dummy half. His calling card though is the strength and power to effectively engage the opposing forward early in their run and use his natural strength to win the forward battle in the centre of the ruck.

Noah Johannssen can defensively handle any one on one battle that presents itself. At times in games Noah Johannssen really does prevent opposing gaining any ground at all through the centre of the ruck at all.

Noah Johannssen will line up for Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side in 2020 and post that competition will continue to play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 side that plays in the U18 NRRRL competition.

Noah Johannssen is a giant of a young man but also has outstanding mobility for a player of his size and strength and certainly will continue to play in the front row in any team, representative, school boy or club, that he is involved in for the remainder of what is shaping to be an outstanding rugby league career.

What really stands out for me in relation to Noah Johannssen is his exceptional mobility and stamina for a player of his size and strength it is truly and impressive trait.

From a player comparison perspective for Noah Johannssen, consider someone along the same lines of Wests Tigers and New Zealand International’s Ben Matelino and Russell Packer as no nonsense types of front rowers with size, strength and power and a hard tough uncompromising attitude to go along with other attributes.

[mdrew]

Josh Bevan. The former Titans (and Brisbane Broncos) Junior Development Squad member and PBC student is currently contracted to the Sydney Roosters until the end of the current 2020 season.

Josh Bevan was to commence the 2020 season starting at hooker for the Roosters in their U18 SG Ball Round One match against the Norths Sydney Bears however the match was cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions in Sydney that weekend.

In Round Two against the Western Suburbs Magpies Josh Bevan was once again named to start at hooker for the Roosters.

In 2018 and 2019 Josh Bevan was a key member of the PBC Open school boy side that had so much success including in 2018 starting in their GIO Cup National Final victory against Patrician Brothers.

In 2019 Josh Bevan was also part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup Queensland Grand Final and National Final winning U18 sides. In the 2019 Queensland MM Cup competition Josh Bevan was part of all eight of Tweed Heads matches including starting from the bench in their 28 – 24 Queensland MM Cup Grand Final victory over Wynnum Manly.

Josh Bevan started six of his eight 2019 MM Cup matches from the bench scoring in Round One against the Western Mustangs when he started from the bench. Josh Bevan’s two starts were in Round Three against Burleigh when he started at hooker and Round Four against Central Queensland when he started in the front row.

In the 2019 U18 National Final against the Illawarra Steelers, Josh Bevan came off the bench for Tweed Heads to play thirty three minutes (including some time at dummy half) running for fifty one metres (eighteen post contact), was credited with a line break on his way to scoring and made eleven tackles at a 91.67% tackling efficiency.

In 2018 Josh Bevan plyed his trade with the Bilambil Jets in the GCRL U16 Division One competition and was part of the U16 Northern Rivers Andrew Johns Cup side starting in the front row in their Round One clash against the U16 Newcastle Knights Development squad.

Post the 2018 Andrew Johns Cup competition Josh Bevan was selected in the front row for the New South Wales Country U16 side at played matches against PNG and a Titans U16 side at Cudgen late in the season. Josh Bevan in fact scored for New South Wales Country in their 30 – 14 win against the Titans in that match.

Late in 2017 Josh Bevan was selected in the New South Wales U16 Emerging Origin Squad, highlighting the high regard that he is held in across junior rugby league circles and has also been selected in the 2020 Emerging Blues squad. Also in 2017 Josh Bevan was 18th man for the New South Wales U16 side for their match against Queensland.

In 2017 Josh Bevan represented Queensland Maroons at the U15 ASSRL Championships being named on the bench for Queensland. Josh Bevan had an outstanding Championships being named in the front row in the 2017 U15 ASSRL Pool A Merit Team.

Josh Bevan played four matches for the Queensland Maroon U15 side scoring on Day Three against Queensland White and Day Six against the ACT. In addition Josh Bevan was named Queensland Maroon Player of the Match on Day Four against NSW CHS.

The 178cm, 96kg wrecking ball and former Titans Development Squad member had an outstanding 2017 rugby league campaign ending in his selection in the U15 ASSRL Merit side after a standout performance in the front row for the U15 Queensland Maroon side. Josh Bevan made the Queensland Maroon side after starring for South Coast in the QSSRL U15 Championships from PBC.

Josh Bevan is a hard ball runner who is adept at using late and quick footwork just prior to contact line which he hits with power and force in absolutely every hit up that he makes dropping his shoulder into the first defender that is looking to make the initial contact.

Josh Bevan’s ability to get low to engage the defenders with his shoulder rather than allowing them to get in and under his ribs and also a substantial leg drive means that he drives defenders backwards even after they had engaged him with significant force rather than allowing them to impact on his momentum.

A skill that I saw from Josh Bevan over recent seasons was Josh Bevan looking to off load prior to the line. On a couple of occasions especially for PBC Josh Bevan would look as if he was going to take the hit-up, but just prior to the defensive line he popped a couple of good short balls to fellow forwards looking to move the opposing forward pack around.

Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Josh Bevan his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Josh Bevan has a tough edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier when defending in the forwards. Josh Bevan sets a very good base defensively as well and uses it to maintain his balance when setting up for a tackle.

Defensively Josh Bevan hits very hard and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in. He is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier’s momentum.

Defensively the most impressive aspect of Josh Bevan’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. Josh Bevan continually makes up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions and still back up looking to take a hit up the next set of six tackles.

Whilst his stamina is very impressive, so is his initial contact, Josh Bevan uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier. Josh Bevan is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role he is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward he has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.

Josh Bevan’s good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork.

Josh Bevan is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

Josh Bevan really has mastered using his low centre of gravity to his advantage both in attack and defence.

I note that Josh Bevan is representing the Sydney Roosters in the 2020 U18 SG Ball competition this season but if the Titans are a shot at grabbing him in 2021 to continue to “buy back the farm” so to speak signing Josh Bevan once his contract is up with the Roosters they will I am sure jump at the opportunity.

With his ability and perigee however Josh Bevan will be in demand, including by the Broncos who also had him in their Junior Development system prior to his signing with the Roosters. Of course I am sure that the Roosters will also not let him go without a fight and no doubt also other NRL clubs will also be looking to add such a talented young man to their club set up.

Josh Bevan has played a fair bit in the front row over the last couple of seasons but I would still prefer for him to be able to operate a touch wider of the ruck, at least for the short term at least. To that end I would like to see Josh Bevan in the No. 13 jersey for any side that he is playing for.

I do note that Josh Bevan played hooker of the Rooster in 2020 in the U18 SG Ball competition and also spend some time at dummy half for PBC and Tweed Heads in 2019 and whilst that is a great skill for him to have I just think that Josh Bevan is a better fit at lock for the majority of his playing time in a match. At lock Josh Bevan has the freedom to make a determination on which side of the field his presence gives his side the best possible advantage.

It will do Josh Bevan absolutely no harm however having the ability to slot into dummy half should injuries occur over the course of a match or if the tactical situation requires it for any given period of time.

From a player comparison, a perfect comparison for me is Titan (for the moment), Queensland State of Origin and Prime Ministers XIII Jai Arrow. Like Arrow, Josh Bevan is a strong tough hard tackling forward with underrated ball running and offloading skills. In saying that however, Josh Bevan is in all likelihood going to be considered a defence first player whether that is warranted in relation to this talented young man or not

[mdrew]

Ethan O’Neill. Prior to his move to up Tweed Heads from Sydney to play for the Seagulls 2020 Queensland Cup side the former Marcellin College Randwick student spent five years in the Sydney Roosters junior system, playing the 2019 season in the NSWRL U20 Jersey Flegg competition.

From a trivia perspective, Ethan O’Neill is the son of former Brisbane Bronco’s and Queensland State of Origin fullback, Julian O’Neill.

For the Roosters in 2019, Ethan O’Neill played in twelve Jersey Flegg matches starting the season in the centres before moving to the second row in Round Twenty Two against the New Zealand Warriors and staying there for Round Twenty Four against the Rabbitohs.

Ethan O’Neill started the 2019 season off as the Roosters primary goal kicker, kicking seventeen from twenty (85% conversions rate) through the opening six rounds, before injury, including a six from seven effort in Round Two against the Manly Sea Eagles. Ethan O’Neill returned from injury in Round Fifteen against the Sea Eagles but did not take back the goal kicking duties upon his return.

Ethan O’Neill scored in Round Three against the Parramatta Eels and also scored in Round Twenty Two against the Warriors to account for his two 2019 Jersey Flegg tries.

In 2018 Ethan O’Neill was only able to play in one U20 Jersey Flegg match for the Roosters when he started in the second row in Round Eight against the Mounties.

In 2017 Ethan O’Neill started in all eleven of the Roosters U18 SG Ball matches, starting the eight regular season rounds in the second row before starting the Roosters three finals matches in the centres including their Preliminary Final loss to the Parramatta Eels. Ethan O’Neill’s sole try of the 2017 SG Ball season came in Round Eight against the Newcastle Knights.

Ethan O’Neill’s first season in the U18 SG Ball competition was in 2016 when he played in five matches for the Roosters coming into the side on the bench in Round Three against the West Coast Pirates.

Ethan O’Neill started on the wing in Round Five against St George scoring his first career SG Ball try before moving to the centres for Round Seven against the Centurions and Round Eight against the Magpies when he scored his second try of the season. Ethan O’Neill’s third 2016 came in Round Ten when he scored after coming off the bench in Round Ten against the Parramatta Eels.

Ethan O’Neill’s first season at the Roosters was in 2015 when he was part of their U16 Harold Matthews squad playing in all nine of the Roosters matches starting four in the second row including Round One against Parramatta one at lock (Round Three against the Raiders), Round Five against the Steelers on the wing and one in the centres in Round Seven against the Rabbitohs.

In those nine matches Ethan O’Neill crossed for five tries including a Round Three double against the Raiders and also scored in Round Six against Penrith, Round Eights against the Wests Tigers and Round Nine against the Norths Sydney Bears.

In a fascinating situation in 2015 Ethan O’Neill has named in the centres for both the Queensland and New South Wales U16 side for their match against each other.

Of course Ethan O’Neill also had a very impressive school boy rugby league career with Marcellin College Randwick including in 2015 leading Marcellin College Randwick to a win in the New South Wales Combined Catholic College Grand Final.

Ethan O’Neill split his playing time in 2019 both in the centres and in the second row and in either position is a strong runner of the football. Whilst in does not have blinding speed off the mark, Ethan O’Neill does have decent speed overall but I would not consider it at the plus level and can break tackles by running over his direct opposite defender.

Ethan O’Neill also utilises a very good fend, when he gets to the outside of his direct opponent, this prevents defenders from getting under his ribs and thus Ethan O’Neill can maintain his running line under defensive pressure.

One skill that Ethan O’Neill does possess when playing in the centre position is a decent in and away and he will wait until the last possible minute to step to commit the defender before getting on his outside.

When he plays second row Ethan O’Neill has got very good feet, in terms of not just charging straight at the set defensive line. Ethan O’Neill uses foot work before and after the defensive line to assist in breaking tackles and is adept at offloading in traffic.

In terms of his defence, Ethan O’Neill obviously during the course of the 2019 season, defended in the second row but obviously his skill set indicates that defending wider out in the centres does not cause him too many issues at all. Ethan O’Neill’s initial contact is more than solid and is more than enough to stop the momentum of the ball carrier. He is also effective at wrapping the ball up and preventing offloads.

Ethan O’Neill is a solid left footed goal kicker who is unlikely to end up as a team’s primary goal kicker but is more than good enough to be a secondary option if an injury befalls the primary goal kicking option during the course of a particular match.

Ethan O’Neill is part of the 2020 Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad and will be looking to break into the Seagulls Queensland Cup backline as early in the season as possible in the regular season.

Ethan O’Neill primarily played either in the centres or the second row in his time at the Roosters but Ultimately I think that his best opportunity to back into the Queensland Cup with Tweed Heads is in the centres. Personally I just do not think that he has the overall size to be a first choice second rower in the Queensland Cup.

For me, Ethan O’Neill has a playing style similar to that of former Roosters club mate Billy Smith who burst onto the NRL scene in the centres with the Roosters in 2019. Like Smith Ethan O’Neill works exceptionally hard and really does consistently charge at the defensive line forsaking any thoughts of self-preservation. Unfortunately Billy Smith has done an ACL and will miss the entire 2020 NRL season.

[mdrew]

Damon Coldwell. The outstanding young Lismore Marist Brothers flyer was due to commence his 2020 season starting in the centres for the Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side in their Round One match at Cudgen against the Parramatta Eels tomorrow however the match has been cancelled due to the wet conditions.

Damon Coldwell played an incredible amount of football in 2018 both rugby league and rugby and 2019 it was a similar for the Ballina Coast High School student with his selection in the Titans 2018/19 Group 18 U15 Development Squad kicking off a busy but productive 2019 season.

Late in 2019 Damon Coldwell played for a Titans combined U14/U15 NRRRL Invitational side against a Titans U14 Gold Coast/Brisbane based side with the Titans U14 side prevailing 32 – 10 in a high quality encounter.

Damon Coldwell was also a solid contributor to the Titans U15 side that played a fellow Titans side and Western Mustangs side at Mudgeeraba in February 2019.

2019 also saw Damon Coldwell named in the Australian Secondary School U15 side for the ASSRL U15 Championships, starting Day One from the bench coming on to score a second half double as the Invitational side defeated Northern Territory 36 – 6.

Both tries came with Damon Coldwell playing right centre, his first when he got outside his direct opponent near the try line and was able to stretch out his right arm out to score in the right corner.

In relation to his second try of the match, Damon Coldwell ran a great straight crash line to split the defence from around twelve metres out and easily round the Northern Territory fullback to score midway between the uprights and the right corner post.

Damon Coldwell’s 2019 Group One U15 rugby league campaign got off to an impressive start in Round One when he scored a double for Lismore Marist Brothers as they defeated Clarence Coast 20 - 14.

In total for Lismore Marist Brothers in the 2019 Group One U15 competition Damon Coldwell played in seven matches scoring nine tries for a season total point’s tally of 36 and an impressive try scoring strike rate of 129%.

In addition to his Round One double, Damn Coldwell also scored doubles against Casino RSM on two separate occasions and also scored in matches against Kyogle and Ballina in the regular season.

Damon Coldwell also scored in Week One of the Finals series as Lismore Marist Brothers went down 42 – 10 to Clarence Coast.

Damon Coldwell also played four regular season matches in the Group One U16.5 competition, scoring his first try in that competition in Round Eleven against Clarence Coast.

Damon Coldwell added a further U16.5 try in Week One of the Finals in a 32 – 0 Lismore Marist Brothers victory over South Grafton but unfortunately was on the losing side as Marist Blue went down 12 – 4 to Ballina in the Grand Final.

Some of Damon Coldwell’s tries in both the Group One U15 and U16.5 competitions over the course of the 2019 season are highlighted below to provide context for the subsequent discussion about Damon Coldwell’s playing attributes:

Playing at right centre against Clarence Coast, Damon Coldwell received the ball from the dummy half on the right side of the field about forty metres out from the line and broke two tackles with right arm fends on the way to the line to score.

Playing five eight against Casino RSM, Damon Coldwell received the ball on the left side of the field two passes off the ruck twenty metres out from the line. Damon Coldwell ran at the defence on a 45 degree angle with the ball held out in front of his body in two hands. As he came to the defensive line Damon Coldwell dummied to his left and sliced through the resultant gap to score untouched. After crossing the try line Damon Coldwell cheekily brought the ball around to put it down under the posts evading multiple Casino RSM defenders on the way.

Playing right centre against the Clarence Coast Magpies, Damon Coldwell received the ball off the dummy half a few metres out from the line in the real corner of the field. Immediately upon receiving the ball Damon Coldwell cut back to his left by way of a left foot step, close to the play the ball to crash over from close range.

Playing five eight against Clarence Coast Damon Coldwell received the ball from the dummy half around fifteen metres from the line to the left of the play the ball accelerating immediately to drag three defenders over the line with him.

A rampaging run from the left centre position against Casino RSM of thirty metres down the left touch line which included breaking three tackles led to an outstanding try long range try for Damon Coldwell.

After coming off the bench against Casino RSM into the left centre position Damon Coldwell stayed out wide near the left touch line receiving a great pass from his five eight to run ten metres to score untouched in the left corner.

Against Ballina in the Group One U15 competition Damon Coldwell was defending at left centre. As Ballina threw the ball to their right, Damon Coldwell positioned himself to take an intercept and showcased his speed to run sixty metres to score untouched.

Against Central Coast Damon Coldwell went into dummy half when a team mate was brought down a metre out from the try line. Damon Coldwell threw a big dummy to his right before diving over close to the play the ball with two defenders hanging off him.

Playing right centre against Casino RSM, Damon Coldwell scored a simple try from around five metres out scoring after an impressive Lismore Marist Brothers back line movement.

Against the Kyogle Turkeys in the Group One U15 competition Damon Coldwell produced an outstanding fifteen metre run from the left centre position including stepping back inside near the line and dragging three Turkey’s defenders over the line with him to score in the left corner.

Damon Coldwell was loitering behind the play the ball against Ballina and was on hand to receive an inside pass just behind where the ball was played. Even though he was stationary when he received the ball Damon Coldwell highlighted his explosive acceleration to take off and crash through a number of tackles to score adjacent to the left up-right from four metres out.

Damon Coldwell scored an outstanding individual try against Casino RSM in the Group One U15 competition when he ran from dummy half to the left around thirty five metres out. Damon Coldwell broke through the initial Casino RSM defensive line with a subtle dummy to his left before stepping off his right foot to beat a second defender. Damon Coldwell then accelerated between two defenders leaving them clutching at thin air before beating a fifth defender by dummying past the fullback to score a scintillating try in the left corner.

With the Casino RSM defence scrambling after a long Lismore Marist Brothers break, Damon Coldwell, playing left centre received the ball from the dummy half down a shortish left blindside and took advantage of the confusion in the defensive line to easily cross after a ten metre run (read jog) to score near the left corner.

Damon Coldwell scored an outstanding individual try against the South Grafton Rebels. Damon Coldwell took the ball off the dummy half down a short blind side on the right of the field and produced an outstanding chip with his right foot from ten metres out and with the subsequent regather was able to barge his way over from close range to score in the right corner.

Damon Coldwell was named on the interchange bench for the Group One U15 Taipans for the New South Wales Country Age Championships that were held in Port Macquarie in late September. Damon Coldwell scored in Group One’s Northern Plate 40 – 10 win over Group 19 and scored again in Group One’s Northern Plate semi-final loss 38 – 12 to Central Coast.

In May 2019 Damon Coldwell was named in the NSW Country U15 Gold side for the NSW Rugby Age Championships after representing the Far North Coast Dolphins in the 2019 NSW Country Championships held in Lismore.

Damon Coldwell also represented Ballina Coast High School in multiple school boy competitions in 2019 including being part of the Ballina Coast High School side that won the 2019 U15 Titans Cup when they won all four of their matches on the day and in fact Damon Coldwell was named player of the day.

Ballina Coast’s wing were against Alstonville High School 11 – 10 in Round One, St Joseph’s Banora Point 20 – 4 in Round Two, Woodlawn College 12 – 6 in the semi-final and Alstonville 18 – 6 in the Grand Final.

2018 saw Damon Coldwell represent Group One in the 2018 U14 New South Wales Country Age Championships.

From a club rugby league perspective, Damon Coldwell played the 2018 season with Lismore in the U14 Group One competition, finishing as the competitions fourth highest try scorer with 17 tries from just fourteen matches finishing with a 121% strike rate.

Damon Coldwell scored a late season hat trick against Grafton and doubles against Casino RSM, Kyogle, Grafton and Ballina two matches in consecutive matches in July 2018. Damon Coldwell also scored in matches against Ballina, Kyogle and Clarence Coast.

In addition Damon Coldwell played in three Group One U16.5 matches in 2018, making his debut against Kyogle in May and also playing in matches against South Grafton and Casino RSM over the course of the season.

In the U14 New South Wales Country Age Championships for Group One Damon Coldwell played in all four of Group One’s matches including the Northern Plate Final against Group 19 which Group One won 38 – 12. In the Final Damon Coldwell scored an outstanding hat trick and also scored earlier in the Championships against Newcastle, a try which he scored with five minutes to go to seal the victory for Group One.

Damon Coldwell also played club rugby in 2018 in two separate competitions being the U14 Far North Coast competition for Wollongbar/Alstonville where a team mate was fellow Titans Development Squad member and Ballina Coast High School student Desmond Ferguson and the Gold Coast U15 rugby competition also for Wollongbar/Alstonville with Desmond Ferguson once again being a team mate.

In the 2018 U14 Far Norther Coast competition, Damon Coldwell played in eight matches, including starting the Grand Final in the centres in their 15 – 0 loss against Casuarina/Tweed and scored sixteen tries.

Damon Coldwell scored four tries in Round Ten against Lismore, hat tricks against Lennox Head in Rounds Five and Nine and also scored doubles in matches against Lismore in Rounds Four and Seven and against Lennox Head in the first week of the Finals.

Damon Coldwell came into the U14 Wollongbar/Alstonville side in Round Four against Lismore starting on the bench. He started on the right wing in Round Five against Lennox Head for his first start before starting on the bench again in Round Seven against Lismore.

Damon Coldwell broke into the starting side for good in Round Eight against Casuarina/Tweed when he started in the centres where he stayed for the remainder of the season.

In 2018, Damon Coldwell also played eight matches for Wollongbar/Alstonville in the Gold Coast Rugby U15 competition playing his first match in Round Two against the Helensvale Hogs celebrating with a try after starting the match on the right wing.

Damon Coldwell also scored a double in Round Nine against Casino and also scored in Rounds Three and Eight against the Gold Coast Eagles and PBC Alleygators respectively.

Damon Coldwell played four matches on the right wing, one on the left wing (Round Three against the Gold Coast Eagles) and three at outside centre in Rounds Eight to Ten against PBC Alleygators, Casino and Surfers Dolphins respectively.

2018 also saw Damon Coldwell represent Far North Coast region in touch alongside Titans contracted Rowan Mansfield.

From a running perspective, Damon Coldwell just seems to glide across the field and it appears effortless, no matter who is chasing him, they will not catch Damon Coldwell, I am talking James Roberts type of pace but he has a much more effortless running style to that of the current Brisbane Bronco.

Damon Coldwell does not necessarily have a side step per say, it is more of a swerve and he has a number of variations, with the scary part being that there is absolutely no loss of speed at all, making him incredibly difficult to stop when he is in open space and is moving towards a fullback who is near stationary.

Damon Coldwell’s passing skills are also developing into those of the highest quality, he can pass equally well from either side of his body and can throw every type of pass imaginable, he can chime into a back line at full pace and then decelerate quickly to maintain his balance a pop a good short ball to his supports, he can throw a great spiral pass to his backline or he can quickly anticipate the numbers a throw a great cut out pass to exploit over laps.

Defensively Damon Coldwell also stands out, with his closing speed and recovery speed he makes an impact on that side of the ball as well. With his speed, Damon Coldwell has the luxury of being able to stand a touch deeper than some fullbacks yet still be able to close quickly to negate breaks by reducing the decision making time of the attacking player.

Similar to the attributes that make Damon Coldwell such an effective defender, Damon Coldwell is as you would expect a great returner of the ball. His sense of timing, speed and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of kicks on the full and then accelerates looking to exploit any gaps on the kick chase.

Damon Coldwell exceptional lateral movement and sure hands means that he is a danger to make a large amount of ground from short attacking kicks by the opposition as he comes forward at full speed and retrieves with absolutely no loss of momentum and then will surprise the attacking team well before they can reorganise the defensive line.

As noted Damon Coldwell is currently playing for the Northern Rivers Titans in the 2020 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition. Damon Coldwell will also play the 2020 season with Lismore Marist Brothers in the Group One U16.5 competition and may also get a match or two in the NRRRL U18 competition. Damon Coldwell will also be a key member of the Ballina Coast High School Open Rugby League side this season.

The 2018 and 2019 seasons saw Damon Coldwell play in the centres and on the wing in both rugby and rugby league but with his outstanding speed, body control and balance, I would think that he will be given every opportunity to stay in the centres long term. Although I note that Damon Coldwell also spent time at five eight for Lismore Marist Brothers in 2019.

If for whatever reason a move away from centre is considered, Damon Coldwell projects as an outstanding try scoring winger who if he gets the ball early will tear opposing defences apart, you just have to consider what he did in the New South Wales Country U14 Plate Final as an indicator of Damon Coldwell’s immense potential.

For me, when he is fit and firing new Souths Sydney Rabbitohs and former Sydney Roosters and New South Wales State of Origin’s Latrell Mitchell is the best centre in the game at present and therefore is a more than apt comparison for Damon Coldwell.

They both play at left centre (although Damon Coldwell did also spend time at right centre this season) and the skill set, power and sheer potential are eerily equilivant.

[mdrew]

Edward (EJ) Finau. The hard hitting front rower or second rower was part of the Titans U16 side for their annual match against the Newcastle Knights Harold Matthews Cup (U16) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020. The Titans came away from the match with an 18 – 14 victory in wet conditions.

The superbly talented young forward is a rare combination of size, strength, speed and power on a football field and that was on display for the Titans U15’s early in 2019 at Mudgeeraba against the Western Mustangs and another Titans U15 development squad.

In the match EJ Finau scored an outstanding try against the Western Mustangs in the last half of one of the U15 matches. EJ Finau stood on the left side of a scrum with a Titans feed about twenty metres out, he received the ball two passes wide of the scrum and simply powered his way over to score mid-way between the posts and the touch line after easily disposing of a Western Mustangs attacker on the way to the try line.

Subsequent to that match the Titans were able to secure EJ Finau to a two year contract, a deal which will I am sure will pay huge dividends for the Titans in future years leading all of the way up to the NRL level and potentially beyond in relation to this outstanding young talent.

In early October 2019 EJ Finau was part of the Titans U15 side that played a Balmain Tigers U15 side at Piggabeen in Northern New South Wales with the Titans winning 34 – 16 in impressive fashion and EJ Finau putting on a damaging and powerful display making significant ground through the centre of the ruck, a lot of which were post contact metres.

For the 2019 GBJRL U15 Division One season EJ Finau moved from Logan Brothers to Redcliffe starting Round One in the left second row position for Redcliffe White making an immediate impact against Mitchelton scoring a double on debut.

EJ Finau’s first try came when after Redcliffe received a penalty around forty metres out from the line, he took the first hit-up and burst through the defensive line before using his speed to easily beat the fullback to score.

EJ Finau’s second try was from a play closer to the Mitchelton line, the ball was delivered to Redcliffe’s left for EJ Finau to receive the pass when running a straight crash line to break through the defensive and then just prior to the line, spun 360 degrees to score whilst dragging three defenders with him.

EJ Finau also had an outstanding game late in the season, Round Fourteen in fact against Redlands where in my opinion was clearly the best player on the field, by far.

The former Logan Brothers product and Marsden State High School student in 2018 was a key member of the Logan Brothers GBJRL U14 Premier Division side and also represented South East Queensland Green at the Queensland U14 Age Championships, starting all four of their matches in the front row including the final against SEQ White which ended in a 16 all draw.

In 2018 EJ Finau was a standout member of the Marsden U14 Michael Hancock Cup side after moving from Wavell State High and in 2016 represented Queensland at the U12 level, in the second row I believe in his first taste of representative rugby league.

EJ Finau’s style of play is that of a powerful wide running back rower with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average to plus for his position.

EJ Finau is quite quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, he has an extra gear again which is a plus attribute for such a strong powerful second rower, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Against Redcliffe in a Logan Brothers trial match two years ago (To this day the sequence is still etched in my mind) EJ Finau took a kick-off on the full and burst down the left hand touch line at Civic Park in Logan and it was only a last ditch tackle from the Redcliffe fullback that stopped an amazing try from being scored.

Defences had all sorts of trouble trying to contain him during 2018 and in previous seasons both in terms of him taking the ball up into the centre of the ruck, but he was almost untouchable when he ran on the fringes of the ruck and he used his foot work to beat defenders with a variety of moves, including a step off both feet and a very good in and away as well as simply running over people.

Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a big strong powerful young player who can cause nightmares for any defensive line. EJ Finau seems to line up on the left side of the field more so than the right, but I have no doubt moving forward that he will be able to play on either side of the field, he seems to be just so skilful.

For a forward of his size, EJ Finau runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball during a game. For a young player, EJ Finau seems to have a good understanding of when to off load the ball, currently most of his off loads occur when he is part way through the defensive line and can get his right arm free to pass to his outside support runners.

At this stage EJ Finau does not off load a great deal prior to the line, but again we are talking about a young player here, who is still developing his skills and understanding of the game. I do not necessarily think that offloading is ever going to be a major part of his game but if this attribute continues to progress it will compliment other aspects of his game.

EJ Finau is aggressive in defence whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or on the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks and targets the area around where the attackers carry the football. His speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half.

I have noted that EJ Finau is aggressive and seems to want to win every one on one battle and he invariably does. He does however tend to drift inside and defend in the centre of the ruck as games progress rather than hold his spacing on the edges of the ruck, but heck that seems to be more to do with enjoying the physical aspects of rugby league and wanting to be in the thick of the action.

EJ Finau also innately knows when a big hit in defence is needed such as in a trial match against Redcliffe two years ago when Redcliffe came back into the trial match I mentioned earlier EJ Finau came up with a huge hit on his own try line halting Redcliffe’ momentum immediately.

Another impressive that EJ Finau has is stamina, he just keeps going in both attack and defence regardless of the conditions or opposition. EJ Finau is just an impressive rugby league player, it is as simple as that.

EJ Finau will play the 2020 season with Redcliffe in the GBJRL U16 Division One competition and be in line to represent one of the three Brisbane Stingers U16 sides in the South East Queensland pre-season Challenge against two Gold Coast Vikings sides and a side from Ipswich.

EJ Finau is perfectly suited to the second row in rugby league with his size, aggressiveness and speed. I do note however that EJ Finau has played a lot of rugby league in the front row in the last year in relation to representative rugby league or so, but for me I believe that he can stay in the second row for the short to medium term at least.

I appreciate that EJ Finau played in the front row for the Titans U15 side at Mudgeeraba and against Balmain at Tweed Heads, but I would not pigeon hole him to play only in the front row just yet, not by a long shot.

The power, speed and strength of EJ Finau lends itself to a comparison from a playing perspective to Brisbane Bronco front rower Payne Hass as a powerful young natural rugby league player and an immensely skilful one at that. I appreciate that EJ Finau is a lot smaller than Hass (and likely will always be) but the power and speeds that he displays are not far off at all relatively speaking even taking into account the overall size differential between the two.

EJ Finau just oozes class and the scary thing is that I do not think that he has even come close to realising his potential, his ceiling is just out of this world, as for that matter has been his development over the last couple of seasons. I am really looking forward to seeing EJ Finau’s continued development in the coming years in a Titans jersey.

EJ Finau is without doubt one of my favourite players within the Titans JTS program and entire system as a whole. I have not been as intrigued with a Titans prospect since I saw Ryan James tearing apart the U18 SG Ball competition a number of years ago at Cudgen.

[mdrew]

Josiah Pahulu. The powerful Ipswich youngster was a member of the 2019 Queensland U15 Emerging Origin Squad and was part of the Titans U16 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights Harold Matthews Cup (U16) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020. The Titans came away from the match with an 18 – 14 victory in wet conditions.

Josiah Pahulu was one of the standouts for the Titans U15 sides in their February 2019 matches against another Titans side and the Western Mustangs at the U15 level at Mudgeeraba where he started at lock and produced an outstanding display of rugby league.

In the match, Josiah Pahulu scored a barnstorming try against the other Titans side, taking the ball off the dummy half on the right side of the field and crashing over from around ten metres out.

Josiah Pahulu made another powerful run of about thirty metres later in the day when he took a short pass inside his own twenty metre line and smashed his way to around the half way line before being brought down in a tackle that required multiple defenders to complete.

Josiah Pahulu also had two try assists in his matches, both coming from off-loads close to the opponents try line, on each occasion the support player was able to score reasonably easily. The first pass was popped out around one a metre from the line with Josiah Pahulu engaged with three defenders and the second was when he got halfway through the line before offloading.

As a result of his performance in that game and over recent seasons, Josiah Pahulu, in early 2019 signed a multi-year contract with the Titans.

In early October 2019 Josiah Pahulu was part of the Titans U15 side that played a Balmain Tigers U15 side at Piggabeen in Northern New South Wales with the Titans producing an outstanding display to win 36 – 14 with Josiah Pahulu starting the match for the Titans.

Early in the 2019 season Josiah Pahulu trialled for a spot in the Met West U15 rugby league side and to say he was dominant at the trials would be an understatement including an outstanding try when he received an inside ball easily broke through the defensive line before scoring under the posts from around thirty five metres out.

Josiah Pahulu represented Met West, where for me was the stand out Met West player at the 2019 U15 QSSRL Championships, in particular Josiah Pahulu was outstanding in matches against Peninsula and Met East. Subsequently Josiah Pahulu was selected in the Queensland White side for the 2019 U15 ASSRL Championships.

At the 2019 ASSRL U15 Championships Josiah Pahulu played primarily in the right second row position for the Queensland White side, playing particularly on Day Two against New South Wales Combined High Schools.

Late in 2019 Josiah Pahulu was also named in the Ipswich Diggers U15 Development Squad. Josiah Pahulu was also a standout player for the Ipswich State High School Year Ten side in 2019.

Josiah Pahulu also had an outstanding year in relation to school boy rugby league in 2019 including starring for the Ipswich school and leading them to the Quarter Finals of the Brisbane Broncos Cup competition.

In 2018 Josiah Pahulu played for Springfield Panthers Black in the Ipswich U14 competition playing in ten matches and scoring eight tries including a try in the Grand Final that his Springfield side was able to win 24 – 4 against Redbank Plains.

2018 also saw Josiah Pahulu represent Met West at the U14 level and from there he was selected in the South East Queensland U14 side for the Queensland Age Championships, where he played all four of their matches starting each in the front row.

In 2017 Josiah Pahulu represented the Ipswich Diggers at the U13 level and prior to that Josiah Pahulu represented Toa Samoa in a two day tournament in Auckland. In 2017 Josiah Pahulu was also named the Springfield Panthers International Player of the Year.

The pace and power in terms of how he runs the ball is the outstanding feature of Josiah Pahulu’s game, he takes the ball to the line with speed, but he does not just put his head down and rush forward, he uses quick and subtle footwork prior to the line and seems to targets the gaps between defenders and will actively seek out opposing forwards who are slow to move up.

When the opposition are on the back foot Josiah Pahulu will target the smaller defenders on the edge of the ruck and burst through and for a big young bloke he has very good speed over the medium term and has the strength to drag defenders with him.

I would consider that Josiah Pahulu’s speed would be considered about average for a backrower but plays faster as a result of him timing his runs so well that the dummy half can present a flat pass to him and also as a result of the power that he runs at. In terms of when he operates in the front row his speed would be considered above average for that position.

Josiah Pahulu is also very effective close to the opposition try line with his ability to burst through tackles. If the defenders do not rush off their line he will just drag them across the try line with brute force and power.

With his continued development of which running lines he can utilise, such as running an inside shoulder line when close to the opposition try line Josiah Pahulu will become even more effective and will be an asset to the entire team as defences compress to combat his running thus leaving more room our wide for his play makers to exploit.

The defensive side of his game is similarly impressive, Josiah Pahulu does not just charge wildly up looking for a huge hit, but is calculating in where and when to hit. Quite a few of his tackles resulted in a knock on by the opposition as the ball came loose as a result of the impact of the tackle, he just hits so hard.

Josiah Pahulu drives hard with his legs and always uses his shoulder and core body strength to drive into his opponent. With his strength and technique he should likely always be considered a plus defender regardless of the quality of opponent that he is up against.

Josiah Pahulu will play the 2020 season with the Springfield Panthers in the Ipswich U16 competition and will also play for Ipswich State High School in the Langer Cup and GIO Cup school boy competitions and is a real chance to break into the First XIII side as a 16 year old for the Langer and GIO Cup school boy competitions.

2020 will also see Josiah Pahulu play for the U16 Ipswich Diggers side in the 2020 U16 South East Queensland U16 Pre-season Challenge where he will be up against multiple fellow Titans contracted players in the two Gold Coast Vikings sides and the three Brisbane Stingers sides.

Josiah Pahulu has spent time in the second row in previous seasons but I believe going forward that he will find his niche at either lock or in the front row and be a dominant representative level one at that.

Josiah Pahulu is as near a carbon copy for Brisbane Broncos forward and Samoan International Tevita Pangai Jnr as I have ever seen. Both are unbelievably powerful players who can smash through a defensive line themselves and then have the outstanding speed and mobility to convert their own breaks.

In defence both have strength, power and an outstanding front on tackling technique which means an opposition player will know that they have been hit and hit hard. Equally impressively both can make multiple hard tackles in a row and both shown the ability to completely take over matches on their own in both attack and defence.

I would argue however that Josiah Pahulu is far less prone to penalties or errors that Tevita Pangai Jnr due to his relative calmness on the field which should not however be mistaken for anything but a cold calculating mind set and steely fire and determination.

The Titans have a very special player on their hands with Josiah Pahulu, of that there can be absolutely no doubt, definitely no doubt at all.