My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Stanley Jackson. (Revised) The powerful young right sided second rower is a former Titans U14 development squad member who until recently continued to elevate his game with the incredible Logan Brothers Club in Brisbane’s south.

It was exciting to see Stanley Jackson playing on the Gold Coast and dominate in his second GCRL U17 Division One match for Helensvale as they defeated Mudgeeraba 58-16 in Round Ten. In the Round Ten match he was unstoppable on his way to scoring four tries.

Stanley Jackson’s first match for Helensvale was in Round Nine against Runaway Bay when he started in the second row.

Earlier this season Stanley Jackson was part of the Easts Tigers MM Cup side, playing all seven of their matches. He started one match at lock being Round One against Central Queensland, one in the second row, four in the front row and one from the interchange bench.

I did not see all of his MM Cup matches this season but he certainly was outstanding for Easts in their Round Seven match against Tweed Heads and even though the Tigers were defeated Stanley Jackson stood up well to the powerful Tweed Heads Seagulls forward pack.

Stanley Jackson scored tries in Rounds Five and Six against Redcliffe and Northern Pride respectively.

Stanley Jackson was a standout for Logan Brothers U16’s in 2017 and in one game against Carina that I saw was at his rampaging best as Logan Brothers put Carina to the sword with Stanley Jackson being prominent on the right side for Logan Brothers both in attack and defence.

Earlier in 2017 Stanley Jackson was part of the Brisbane Red U16 representative side for the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition.

In 2015 Stanley Jackson started in the front row for the Titans U14 development squad in their 28-10 win against Samoa. He also captained his U14 Logan Brothers club side in their GBJRL grand final that same year at Nundah against Wynnum Manly.

Stanley Jackson made numerous representative sides in 2015 including U14 Stingers and U14 South East Queensland for the Queensland age championships in June, starting in the front row for both of those representative sides. Previously Stanley Jackson has been part of the Titans, Broncos and Cowboys development squads.

Stanley Jackson is a big powerful young man who whilst using his size to his advantage by running hard and straight, he does have quite decent footwork prior to the defensive line, which he uses to cut back behind the play the ball to take advantage of defenders who are slow to get back into the defensive line.

In the GBJRL grand final in 2015 Stanley Jackson played a major role in South’s Logan wrestling back the momentum from Wynnum Manly in the second half by running straight and hard into a Wynnum defensive line that had their tails up after closing the gap on the score board.

Where Stanley Jackson’s game has really developed over the last couple of seasons his ability to play wider of the ruck, which is where he is primarily playing for the U16 Logan Brothers Premier Division side this season. With his size and strength wider of the ruck Stanley Jackson attracts defenders and thus is in a position to use his ball skills to set up his outside supports early in a match.

When defences start to try to anticipate that Stanley Jackson is going to pass then he can use his size and power to cash through the defensive lien as no defender is going to be able to handle him one on one by themselves.

Logan Brothers run a number of set plays to the right side of the field to look to exploit Stanley Jackson being on that side such as their “Melbourne” play and Stanley Jackson is the centre piece of all of them.

In defence Stanley Jackson uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Stanley Jackson is not adverse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining decent leverage and reasonable agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck, although clearly he is more effective in the centre of the ruck, as most front rowers are.

It is clear from how his team mates respond to him that Stanley Jackson is a leader on the field and clearly is a hard trainer due to the fact that he was still going at the same pace at the start of the grand final as he was at the end even though he seemed to take a knock early in the game but came back on when his team needed him on a very hot day against a quality opposition who had the momentum at that critical stage of the game.

Also you are not made captain of any Logan Brothers side unless you show leadership attributes and also train hard and remain dedicated.

Stanley Jackson looks set to play out the 2018 rugby league season with the Helensvale Hornets in the U17 Division One competition and in 2018 will be eligible once again for the MM Cup competition and I for one will be interested to see who he lines up for. He would look very very good in a Tweed Heads or Burleigh jersey.

A couple of years ago I would have considered that this future lay in the front row, but Stanley Jackson’s play this year wider on the right side of the field for Logan Brothers has definitely changed that though process.

With his above average speed and his continuing rapidly developing ball skills it is part not to see Stanley Jackson being a dominant second rower all the way up to the NRL level for this exceptionally talented young man.

From a style perspective, think along the lines of a faster more athletic version of Jarrod Warera-Hargraves of the Roosters from a size and power perspective but having the ball skills of Sonny Bill Williams.

I always thought that Stanley Jackson had a big future in rugby league but his play for the Eats Tigers in the MM Cup competition this season confirms that he is an absolutely outstanding talent for whom the sky is the limit.

[mdrew]

Tristin Powell. The young backrower spent three seasons in the Brisbane Broncos Junior Development system but after a break out 2018 which saw him play a number of MM Cup matches for Norths as a 17 year old and also represent Queensland at the ASSRL U18 Championships Tristian Powell has recently inked a two year deal with the Titans.

In the MM Cup competition earlier this season, Tristian Powell played in six matches for the Norths Devils including their semi-final victory against the Mackay Cutters and North’s Grand Final loss to Souths Logan.

Tristian Powell started the opening two rounds of the season in the front row and Round Three against Souths Logan from the interchange bench before missing a number of matches, coming back into the side from the bench for Round Seven and the subsequent finals series.

In his six matches Tristian Powell had a try scoring strike rate of 50% with his tries coming in Round Two against Central Queensland, Round Three against Souths Logan and Round Seven against Townsville.

Over the course of the 2018 Tristian Powell represented Met North at the U18 ASSRL Championships starting all of their matches in the front row and from there represented Queensland at the ASSRL U18 Championships where a team mate was fellow Titan David Butler.

In 2017, his first at Nudgee, Tristian Powell represented Brisbane Grey in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition, scoring in Round Three of the competition against Brisbane Blue and also was selected in the Queensland U16 side, starting the annual interstate match against New South Wales in the second row along fellow St Mary’s student hooker Jake Simpkin.

In 2016 Tristian Powell represented Darling Downs at the U15 QSSRL Championships, starting at lock. In those Championships he scored on Day Four against Sunshine Coast and on Day One was named the Darling Downs Player of the Match against South Coast.

In 2016 Tristian Powell captained the St Mary’s College U15A side that won the Devere Cup beating Mountain Creek High School 42 – 10 in the final at Bishop with Tristian Powell scoring a strong second half try for the Toowoomba based school.

The first thing that you will notice when you see Tristian Powell on a football field is his size, speed and athleticism that he exhibits every time that he is around the ball. Running with the ball he is effective running wide of the ruck where he can utilise his speed and power more effectively by targeting individual defenders rather than running at a set defensive line where defenders will be converging from multiple axis simultaneously.

Tristian Powell also has the speed to finish off movements himself when he gets into space.

I am not saying that he is not effective running in the centre of the ruck but his effectiveness multiples exponentially running on the fringes of the ruck and another positive is that he is effective running both on the left or right of the field.

In addition to his speed, which I would suggest is above average to plus for a second rower Tristian Powell has a powerful fend and thus he can keep defenders from getting into his body enabling him to maintain his balance and running line and thus he has a stable base from which to look to offload.

Defensively Tristian Powell’s athleticism also shows out, his strength enables him to handle the biggest of forwards on a one on one basis and his athleticism particularly in relation to his lateral movements enables him to deal with smaller quick stepping halves how look to try to exploit and perceived speed advantage.

When the opportunity presents Tristian Powell has the ability to hit very hard, by setting a good base and driving through his lower body and core into his opponent.

Ultimately though Tristian Powell is a strong defender with a good front on technique and good lateral movement to track and defend against smaller opponents either on the fringes or centre of the ruck.

Tristian Powell who will be eligible for the MM Cup competition again in 2019 is currently at St Joseph’s College Nudgee on a rugby scholarship playing in the GPS School Boy rugby competition in the open age group. It will be interesting to see where Tristian Powell will be playing in 2019 in relation to the MM Cup competition, will it be with Norths again or with one of the two Gold Coast based clubs being Burleigh or Tweed Heads.

I appreciate that Tristian Powell played the opening two rounds of the MM Cup competition for Norths earlier this season in the front row but with his speed, footwork and athleticism I would prefer, for the short to medium term at least to see Tristian Powell play in the second row where he can operate on the fringes of the ruck.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style for me is St George Dragons and New South Wales State of Origin backrower Jack De Belin.

[mdrew]

Kea Pere. The block busting centre has been part of the Melbourne Storm Development system over the last couple of years but recently signed a contract with the Titans immediately bringing youth and depth to the stocks of NRL or near NRL ready outside backs on the Gold Coast.

In 2017 Kea Pere started for the Queensland U18 side on the wing and earlier this season, played four Queensland Cup matches for the Easts Tigers.

After starting the season in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for the Easts Tigers, Kea Pere made his Queensland Cup debut in Round Five against the Redcliffe Dolphins and in fact scored on debut and scored his second Queensland Cup try the following weekend in Round Six against the Northern Pride.

In his four Queensland Cup matches, Kea Pere started all four in the centres playing the entire 80 minutes on each occasion.

In total this season in the Queensland Cup Kea Pere has been on the field for 320 minutes, running for 417 metres, 113 of those post contact (27.1%), made thirteen tackle breaks, two line breaks and in Round Eight against Norths had a try assist.

Defensively Kea Pere has made 39 tackles at a tackling efficiency of a more than credible 92% through his four Queensland Cup matches.

Kea Pere’s 2018 Queensland Cup per game averages include playing 80 minutes, running for 104.4 metres and making 9.75 tackles.

On two occasions Kea Pere has run for in excess of 100 metres in a match, being his debut in Round Five against Redcliffe when he ran for 114 metres and then in Round Six against the Northern Pride he ran for 123 metres for his career high to date. Defensively Kea Pere made twelve tackles in Round Seven against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Kea Pere has only played five Colts games this season due to injury, scoring two tries which came in the opening two rounds against the Central Queensland Capra’s and the Mackay Cutters respectively.

In 2017 whilst still eligible for the MM Cup competition, Kea Pere played in fifteen NYC matches for the Melbourne Storm coming into the side in Round Nine against St George, starting the match from the interchange bench. Kea Pere started six matches from the interchange bench one in the centres being Round Fourteen against Cronulla and the remainder on the wing, starting his first match on the wing in Round Eleven against South Sydney.

In his fifteen NYC matches in 2017, Kea Pere scored four tries which came in Rounds Eleven, Thirteen, Eighteen and Twenty against South Sydney, Newcastle, Parramatta and Canberra respectively.

The giant young man is very difficult to stop once he is in motion, his speed, power and body height all contribute to this. In the centres when he can wind up and build momentum he looks to run over his direct opponent rather than try to run around them. In fact in the majority of occasions it is Kea Pere that actually initiates the contact and I do not recall seeing a player being able to run over his direct opponent with absolutely no loss of momentum.

From a speed perspective I would argue that his speed is a tick above average for an NRL outside back but obviously the key attribute from an attacking perspective is how hard he hits the defensive line. Like his overall speed Kea Pere’s lateral mobility is probably just a tick above average. Kea Pere with his size and strength is also able to make a lot of ground after contact with his ability to absorb the defensive contact and maintain his balance and body control.

When he is close to the line Kea Pere is able to absorb a significant amount of punishment and still hold his running line thus he is able to score close to the side line without being pushed over the sideline regardless of the number of defenders looking to do so. The ability to absorb contact is on display when he comes into the centre of the ruck to take the ball up into the teeth of the defensive line.

Defensively for a big strong powerful young man, Kea Pere actually has good discipline for such a young player and in the main stays on his man rather than coming in and looking for the big hit. Do not get me wrong he will on occasion aim to smash the opposing outside if they do not see him coming but in the main he is quite disciplined and looks to ensure his opposing winger does not get on his outside looking to use their speed against him.

Kea Pere is currently injured and is unlikely to play again this season but will be fit and ready to go when the Titans start their preseason training block.

Even though he will be eligible again for the U20 Colts competition in 2019, I would anticipate that Kea Pere will bypass that competition and play for either Tweed Heads or Burleigh in the Queensland Cup and it also would not surprise to see him break into the Titans NRL side sooner rather than such is his skill set. I have no doubt that Kea Pere will feature heavily in the Titans pre-season trials in 2019.

In addition to playing in the centres Kea Pere can also play on the wing, but with his power running and elusive skill set he seems the ideal modern day rugby league centre.

In many respects Kea Pere reminds me of standout Titans winger Phillip Sami, both are big strong young men who can absorb a lot of punishment when they are running with the ball and both are former Ipswich State High School students.

[mdrew]

Samuel Shannon. The powerfully built Southport and Titans youngster started off the 2018 season in fine form being a stand out for the Gold Coast Vikings Viking’s White U16 side that played in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition.

From that competition Samuel Shannon was selected at lock for the South East Queensland White U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships and through his dominant performances in Mackay was selected on the bench for the Queensland U16 side that were narrowly defeated by New South Wales. Fellow Titans Tate Roberts (centre), Ediq Ambrosyev (hooker) and Byron Parnell (interchange) were also part of the Queensland U16 side.

For South East Queensland White Samuel Shannon started all four of their matches at lock including their Championship final loss to South East Queensland Green.

Samuel Shannon played in eight U16 Division One matches this season in the GCRL competition with Southport and through the regular season had a 50% strike rate. Samuel Shannon’s four tries came against Burleigh, Helensvale, Runaway Bay and Currumbin.

Samuel Shannon’s 2018 club season came to an end in the U16 Division One Elimination final when Southport were defeated 44 – 4 by Helensvale, a match that Samuel Shannon started at lock.

In 2017 Samuel Shannon was selected in the Queensland White U15 side for the ASSRL U15 Schoolboys Championships after playing for South Coast in the QSSRL U15 Championships held in Cairns. Samuel Shannon started primarily from the bench for South Coast after making the side from Robina State High School.

In 2017 Samuel Shannon played for the Southport Tigers in the U15 Division One GCJRL competition and performed strongly including scoring a double in Round Two against the Helensvale Hornets. In total in 2017 Samuel Shannon played eight matches scoring five tries to have a solid season in black and orange.

The pace and power in terms of how Samuel Shannon runs the ball is the outstanding feature of his game, he takes the ball to the line with speed and 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 he 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 his speed would be considered above average for his position 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. Samuel Shannon also runs a very good inside shoulder line to add variety to his running game.

With his low centre of gravity coupled with his speed and power, Samuel Shannon is a difficult proposition for defensives and is able to draw in multiple defenders and still get a quick play the ball to gain forward momentum for his side on a regular basis.

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

Samuel Shannon 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 through his shoulders. In short Samuel Shannon is an outstanding defensive player both from a technique and initial contact perspective.

Samuels Shannon’s initial contact is outstanding and more than enough to stop or redirect the momentum of the ball carrier and he is also able to his functional strength to slow the play the ball down sufficiently to allow his team’s defensive line to re-establish itself for the next play the ball.

Samuel Shannon will play out the 2018 GCRL U16 Division One season with Southport and will also be part of the Titans U16 side that is scheduled to play matches against PNG and New South Wales Country in September.

It would also not surprise if he got one or two matches for Southport in the U17 Division One competition as well this season. He is both physically and mentally mature enough to handle the step up in age group.

Samuel Shannon currently presents as a strong hard running powerfully built lock forward and that will likely continue as he progresses through the junior rugby league ranks on the Gold Coast. For me at least playing lock is different to playing in the front row and I am more than pleased to see Samuel Shannon playing at lock where his skill set for me at least is far better suited.

Samuel Shannon is far more than just a bash and barge type and can certainly develop into a difference maker in coming years.

James Fisher-Harris of the Penrith Panthers with his power coupled with his non-stop movement when running the ball into the defensive line as well as the intensity in his defence is an apt NRL player comparison for Samuel Shannon.

Samuel Shannon is an outstanding young forward prospect for the Titans and is as good as any player for his age running around on rugby league fields in Australia.

[mdrew]

Liam Hampson. (Revised) The former Keebra Park Student was originally contracted to the Wests Tigers but after not making their NYC squad for the 2017 season headed across the Tasman where he played two matches off the interchange bench for the New Zealand Warriors in the NYC competition, but after those two matches headed back to the Gold Coast to play out the 2017 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts side.

So far this season Liam Hampson has been a stand out for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition playing in seventeen matches splitting time between hooker and half back after starting Round One from the interchange bench.

Liam Hampson has started nine matches at hooker and six at half back as well as two from the interchange bench and in the process has scored an impressive thirteen tries.

After starting Round One from the bench Liam Hampson started at hooker until Round Ten when he made his first start at half back and played there until Round Seventeen against Wynnum Manly when he moved back to hooker, although I do note that in Round Twenty Two against Victoria he once again started at half back.

Liam Hampson started Round One against the North’s Devils on the interchange bench but when he came on in the 20 – 10 loss, Liam Hampson provided a real spark and in fact scored the Seagulls first try of the match and the season for that matter.

Liam Hampson has scored three doubles which came against Burleigh in Round Three, the Western Mustangs in Round Eight and the Mackay Cutters in Round Twenty. Liam Hampson also scored in Round One (Norths), Round Six (Wynnum Manly), Round Twelve (Sunshine Coast), Round Thirteen (Redcliffe), Round Seventeen (Wynnum Manly), Round Eighteen (Souths Logan) and Round Twenty (Mackay Cutters) and is the leading try scorer for Tweed Heads.

Liam Hampson’s two NYC matches for the Warriors in 2017 came in Rounds Three and Four against the Bulldogs and Dragons respectively both off the interchange bench. Against the Bulldogs Liam Hampson played for 40 minutes making 32 tackles and against the Dragons he made 16 tackles in just 24 minutes of game time.

In 2017 for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the U20 Colts competition, Liam Hampson played in eight matches coming into the side and starting at hooker and scored the Tweed Heads Seagulls first try in Round Five in a 64 – 0 win over the Wynnum Manly Seagulls. Liam Hampson’s other try for the Tweed Heads Colts side came in Round Eight against the Ipswich jets.

Liam Hampson started all eight Colts matches at hooker that he played in 2017. After coming into the side in Round Five he played every round from then until Round twelve before injury meant that he missed the remainder of the season including Tweed Heads three Finals matches which ended in a Preliminary Final loss.

The 83kg 176cm hooker was the starting hooker for the Keebra Park side that lost the 2016 GIO Cup School Boy final in heart breaking fashion to Westfield’s Sports High School and was selected at hooker in the 2016 Keebra Park Team of the year after representing South Coast at the QSSRL U18 Championships.

In terms of his distribution out of dummy half, Liam Hampson is extremely efficient in his passing and there is no wasted movement or energy as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand first then pass. There is no discernible difference between his passing from either side of his body, and his passes are crisp and flat and also he can pass a reasonable distance off the ground when the first receiver is standing a little wider of the play the ball.

Where Liam Hampson is also effective is leading his forwards onto the ball, he passes in front of the forward ensuring no loss of momentum to the run. In short he is a very good game manager from the hooking position. Liam Hampson is also a good communicator on the field, he is constantly encouraging his team both in attack and defence.

Liam Hampson does not yell and scream, like the other parts of his game, he is calm and composed and uses positive reinforcement rather than yelling and screaming to get his point across to team mates but he does make it clear that he is in charge however.

Where Liam Hampson really stands out in terms of attacking play, is his quickness out of dummy half, he is extremely quick and has good footwork to take advantage of tiring forwards, using a step usually off his right foot, although he does not necessary run much out of dummy half per say. The times that he does run though, Liam Hampson targets forwards who are offside or slow to get back into the defensive line or line-up correctly at marker. If the offside forward is called out of the play he has the speed to break into open space though not necessarily to finish off the movement himself.

Liam Hampson’s speed out of dummy half was on display in Round One against Norths. With Tweed Heads attacking the line, Liam Hampson got a quick play the ball about ten metres out and exploded out of dummy half down the blind side in the left corner of Bishop Park. He caught the North’s defence still back peddling and before North’s defender could get back on side and look to start to move forward, Liam Hampson had covered the ten metres and dove over for the Seagulls first try of both the match and the season.

Once in open space Liam Hampson does not usually have the speed required to finish things off himself but he invariably will make the right decision with the ball in terms of whether to take the tackle or pass to a support player as he works progressively through the options that are available to him.

Liam Hampson’s defence for a hooker is very good, he does not necessarily hit hard but as a result of his good low technique 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. Liam Hampson’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.

Liam Hampson will be pushing for a Queensland Cup spot with Tweed Heads in 2019 and is a smoky for an NRL shot some time into the future and this season has probably been Tweed Heads best taking into account the entire Colts season.

With his build, quick feet and solid distribution skills Liam Hampson has the ideal skill set and mentality to continue in the hooking role, although Liam Hampson has proven that he can handle the half back role over an extended period of time.

From a player comparison perspective for Liam Hampson, due to his distribution, running, defence and the speed and intensity that he plays the game at, a playing style akin to Wests Tigers and former New South Wales State of Origin hooker Robbie Farrah is an appropriate comparison I would respectfully suggest.

[mdrew]

Will Evans. The Gold Coast youngster and former Queensland U16 representative has moved from to the Titans after the expiration of his two year contract with the Brisbane Broncos.

The current PBC student actually played for the Titans Junior Development Squads for a number of years including at the U13 level in 2014 when the Titans played Marsden State High School in October of that year at Pizzey Park. That afternoon Will Evans starred in the fullback position and ripped the Marsden defence apart on multiple occasions and also covered very well defensively when necessary.

This season Will Evans is playing for Burleigh in the GCRL U17 Division One competition and in his seven matches in the regular season scored eight tries primarily from the fullback position. Will Evans has scored doubles against Ormeau and Tweed Heads and has also scored against Runaway Bay, Bilambil, Helensvale and Currumbin.

In addition Will Evans is a key member of the 2018 PBC Opens Rugby League side playing right centre in most if not all of their matches this season and was particularity impressive in wins against fierce rivals Keebra Park and also in a big PBC win against Marsden State High School at Waterford in the depths of winter. Against Marsden he was exceptional especially out of dummy half.

Will Evans also started a right centre for PBC against Ipswich State High School in the GIO Cup Queensland Quarter Finals held at Wynnum Manly earlier this week, a match that PBC were victorious in to progress to the Queensland semi-finals. In the match Will Evans did not get many opportunities with the ball but was very solid defensively as PBC scored literally in the last minute of a close contest.

In 2017 Will Evans started at right centre for the Queensland U16 team as well as receiving a PBC on field Rugby League Achievement Award. Will Evans also represented Queensland in 2015 when he was part of the Queensland Maroon side for the ASSRRL U15 National Championships and in those Championships was the Queensland Maroons Player of the Match on Day Three in a big win against New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges. Will Evans contributed a try to that victory for Queensland Maroon.

From the fullback position Will Evans presents as a silky smooth player, who looks like he glides across the field picking and choosing his time to get involved and wants to have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.

In attack Will Evans does not just stand at the back waiting for the “block” plays to occur. When his forwards are bringing the ball out of their own territory, Will Evans is always in and around the ball looking for an offload and the opportunity to explode downfield as a result of outstanding speed off the mark and a wicked step off either foot.

Will Evans has outstanding balance and body control which enables him to break a lot of tackles through the centre of the ruck. Opposing defenders to key line him up when he is either running from dummy half or taking an offload and his explosiveness means that defenders are regularly reduced to grasping at him with an arm which Will Evans regularly is able slice through and continue his run.

Will Evans speed is hard to quantify. Will Evans does not necessarily look like he is moving quickly especially when he is open space but players who I consider who have above average to plus speed do not often take ground from him at all in a foot race.

The one thing Will Evans also seems to be able to do well, is to step back inside without the loss of his speed or forward momentum, opposing defenders seem to push out quickly when he has the ball expecting him to look to beat them on their outside, if they come across to far, Will Evans has a very good step back inside especially off his right foot when running to the left and if the inside defenders are not quick enough to cover across he has the speed to make a clean break in those circumstances.

Similarly when an opposing defender looks to come out of the line quickly to put pressure on him, Will Evans’s quick twitch feet means that he can step off either foot quickly to negate the attempt to cut down his time. In short he is a very talented attacking player who looks to beat his opponent with speed and guile rather than purely by brute strength.

Will Evans is also very effective in making ground from dummy half. Like when Justin Hodges used to go into dummy half, defences know that he is going to run but still have trouble preventing him from making a lot of ground, it really does defy logic in terms of the ground that he makes out of dummy half considering his smaller stature.

In defence Will Evans has good strength, and certainly looks to come forward to stop the attack before it has time to fully develop once a break has been made. Will Evans also has the ability to show the attacker the sideline and is confident that his speed will enable him to get across to make the tackle which he invariably does.

Will Evans is also effective at wrapping the ball up and he does slide well in defence and has the speed to cover opposition line breaks very well when he is playing in the centres.

Will Evans will play out the 2018 season with Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League U17 Division One competition as well as continuing with the PBC Open Rugby League side especially in relation to the GIO Cup.

2019 should see Will Evans as a key member of either the Tweed Heads Seagulls or Burleigh Bears MM Cup side and he will be hard to keep out of the Queensland U18 side next year as well.

When I first saw Will Evans play as a 13 year old, even back then it seemed that fullback was his ideal position but in the last couple of years, especially in relation to school boy and representative rugby league, Will Evans has played almost exclusively in the centres, specifically at right centre and is very effective running out of dummy half.

I however think that Will Evans best position is at fullback where he can see the entire field and thus is a position to inject himself from there where and when the opportunity arises.

A very knowledgeable visitor to this site actually suggested that Will Evans would make a more than effective half back. I admit that that was a scenario that I had not really considered but one that is a more than interesting one to contemplate as Will Evans inevitably moves to the senior rugby league ranks on the Gold Coast and beyond.

From an NRL player comparison perspective Will Evans has a number of similarities to St George Dragons fullback Matt Dufty. Will Evans does not have the top end speed of Matt Dufty but is just as explosive off the mark and has the same innate ability to make the first defender miss in the congestion in the middle of the ruck or wider out in the backline, it is just an uncanny skill you either have or you don’t and Will Evans definitely has it.

[mdrew]

Lochlyn Sheldon. (Revised) The Titans Rookie Squad member was been an ever present in the front row for the Burleigh Bears early in the Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts side this year, starting in the front row in their first nine of their matches before being promoted to the Gold Coast Rugby League Burleigh First Grade side.

Lochlyn Sheldon is not going to score many tries but did score in Round Three this season in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Lochlyn Sheldon made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut for Burleigh starting from the bench in Round Six when the Bears defeated Bilambil 40 – 10. Lochlyn Sheldon played eight matches for Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition this season.

Lochlyn Sheldon had a very good 2017 season on the field for Burleigh in the MM Cup competition and for Runaway Bay across multiple grades in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. In addition, Lochlyn Sheldon played one match for the Burleigh Bears U20 Colts Challenge side which was in Round Fourteen against the Ipswich Jets, that afternoon Lochlyn Sheldon made his debut from the interchange bench and scored a second half try in a positive debut Colts match.

For Burleigh in the MM competition, Lochlyn Sheldon captained the side and started in five of their six matches in the front row and came off the interchange bench in Round Three. Lochlyn Sheldon crossed for three tries over the six matches, scoring in Round One against Redcliffe, in Round Three against North’s and also in Round Six in the local derby against Tweed Heads Seagulls a match in which Burleigh won and a match that also included a number of Tians linked players on both sides.

For Runaway Bay in the Gold Coast Rugby League Competition, Lochlyn Sheldon played twelve matches in the U19 competition, eleven in the Doug Lipp Cup including starting the Grand Final at lock (Unfortunately Runaway Bay were defeated 13 – 6 by Beaudesert) and one match in the A grade making his A Grade debut in August against Ormeau.

Across his twelve matches in the U19 competition, Lochlyn Sheldon scored five tries all coming in a stellar four game period mid-season where he scored double against Mudgeeraba and also tries in that period against Beaudesert, Burleigh and Bilambil. Lochlyn Sheldon made his Doug Lipp Cup debut in June against Bilambil and went on to make eleven appearances for Runaway Bay in that competition scoring three tries which came against Ormeau, Tugun and Bilambil. In five of his eleven Doug Lipp Cup matches, Lochlyn Sheldon played in the U19 contest and then backed up to play the Doug Lipp Cup fixture immediately after the conclusion of the previous match.

Lochlyn Sheldon was named player of the carnival for the 2016 Confraternity Shield as well as being named in the second row for the Queensland Independent Colleges (QIC) Secondary Schools rugby league side after playing for Gold Coast based Aquinas College in the carnival which was held in September 2016.

Fellow Aquinas College student Lachlan Douglas was also named in the all carnival side in the front row. Lachlan Douglas is currently part of the 2018 Burleigh U20 Hastings Deering’s squad.

Previously Lochlyn Sheldon has made multiple representative sides, including the Queensland U13 side, South Coast U15’s where he was named player of the match on Day Two against Darling Downs, Qld Marron U15’s from which he made the U15 Australian Merit Team with Titans linked Konrad Edwards and also the Queensland U16 side in 2015, which also contained Titans Ben Thomas and Darius Farmer.

Lochlyn Sheldon was part of the Brisbane Broncos elite development squad for a number of years, but unfortunately for him he was not able to gain a contract with the Broncos, which was good news for the Titans.

Running with the football, Lochlyn Sheldon has good footwork prior to the line and does not often just put his head down and run straight, but uses his solid footwork to try to work the gaps between defenders rather than trying to simply run over them.

Lochlyn Sheldon does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability. He actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well.

Where there has been a clear development in Lochlyn Sheldon’s game has been he is ability to off load prior to contact with the defensive line in a 2017 Round Three MM match against the North’s Devils Lochlyn Sheldon popped a great short ball to Noah Lolesio off his right hip who crossed untouched for one of his four tries that afternoon at Pizzey Park.

Defensively Lochlyn Sheldon is not a big hitter, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads. One area where is quite effective whether he is defending on the fringes of the ruck or in the centre of the ruck including when he is defending at marker, is against smaller attackers who look to use their foot work.

Lochlyn Sheldon has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a forward and due to the fact that he also is not that tall, usually is able to wrap up the smaller attackers without his tackles slipping up to around the head or neck, and thus giving away penalties. His ability to successfully defend against these type of attackers as well as having the technique to defend against larger forwards is one of a number of reasons that I consider that a future in the second row is probable.

Lochlyn Sheldon will probably not stand out during a game but will work hard both in attack and defence and leave all the eye catching things like big hits, line breaks and one handed off loads to other forwards who will benefit from his hard working style.

Lochlyn Sheldon will finish the 2018 season with Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition and even though he is still Colts eligible in 2019 it is likely that he will progress to the Burleigh Queensland Cup squad, if not he will be back with the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side. Unless there is an issue with injuries I do not envisage that Lochlyn Sheldon will be playing in the Colts competition again.

Whilst he has alternated between second row and front row over previous junior seasons, I would anticipate that based on his build and skill set that starting as early as next season Lochlyn Sheldon will likely transition to the second row full time. Lochlyn Sheldon likely could play front row in an emergency type situation but second row seems like a more natural fit for him from my perspective at least.

From a player comparison perspective, one player with a similar playing style from my perspective is former Titans second rower and current Titans coaching staff member Anthony Laffranchi, as a solid hard working forward who will probably never be a star but will be a solid contributor to a team’s forward pack.

Likely there will be players with more natural ability that will not go as far in rugby league as Lochlyn Sheldon will, simply because he will make the most of the ability he has through sheer hard work and effort.

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Zac Stevens. (Revised) He is a young hooker from the Toowoomba region, who was present at the announcement of the Titans affiliation agreement with the Western Mustangs late in 2016 with then Titans CEO Tony Mestrov.

This season Zac Stevens played in sixteen matches for the Western Mustangs U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts side coming into the side in Round Three against the Ipswich Jets starting from the interchange bench and also scoring what turned out to be his sole try of the season.

Zac Stevens moved into the starting side at hooker for the Western Mustangs Round Six match against Burleigh and also started at hooker in Round Seven against Souths Logan before moving back to the bench for Rounds Ten to Fourteen proving a spark off the bench of the Mustangs.

Round Sixteen against Norths saw Zac Stevens once again in the starting side this time at half back for the Western Mustangs match against Norths and Zac Stevens has maintained his starting position in the halves ever since.

I say in the halves as in Rounds Eighteen and Twenty Three against the Northern Pride and Wynnum Manly respectively Zac Stevens started the matches wearing the No. 6 jersey.

Early in 2018 Zac Stevens represented the South West Queensland Emu’s side against a Toowoomba Rugby League All Stars selection.

In 2018 Zac Stevens also played in three Toowoomba rugby League Reserve Grade matches with those matches being against Southern Suburbs on two occasions and against the Warwick Cowboys.

For the MM Cup Final winning 2017 Western Mustangs side Zac Stevens played in all eight of Western Mustangs matches including a semi-final and of course the Final against the Souths Logan Magpies which the Mustangs won 40 – 30. In Round Six against Victoria Zac Stevens crossed for his sole MM Cup try on the season in a tough 28 – 20 loss for the MM Cup Champions.

Upon completion of the 2017 MM Cup competition Zac Stevens transitioned back to the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition playing in twelve matches for Toowoomba Valleys including their Grand Final win over Warwick where he started at hooker.

Zac Stevens finished the U18 TRL season with 22 points from four tries and three goals. Zac Steven’s tries all came towards the end of the 2017 season coming against Goondiwindi, Gatton, Wattles and Dalby. In the early August match against Wattles when he scored Zac Stevens also kicked his three goals for his season total.

Zac Stevens made his Hutchies A Grade Cup debut in August 2016 against Oakey and also played First Grade the following week against Wattles, a very good achievement for a 17 year old hooker playing against men in a hard fought tough competition.

2016 saw Zac Stevens play for the Toowoomba Clydesdales in the MM competition where he started every match at hooker including scoring in the first MM match of the 2016 season against the Central Crows.

Upon completion of the 2016 MM competition, Zac Stevens played in the U18 Toowoomba Rugby League competition for Toowoomba Valleys. Zac Stevens and his team mates had a successful season culminating in a 20 – 12 Grand Final victory over the Warwick Cowboys with Zac Stevens starting at hooker and scoring a try in the 2016 Grand Final. Over the course of the TRL U18 season in 2016, Zac Stevens started at hooker in thirteen matches, scoring seven tries in addition to his Grand Final try including a double against Burnett Blue in the depths of a freezing Toowoomba winter.

Over the course of his career to date Zac Stevens has made a number of representative sides for the Toowoomba Clydesdales, Darling Downs and South West Mustangs, including the 2014 QSSRL Darling Downs side and scored a try against Wide Bay in that competition. At the U14 level in 2013 he was named Best and Fairest across the season in the Toowoomba Junior Rugby League.

Zac Stevens is solid all round hooker who distributes effectively to both sides of the ruck. He does have some speed when running out of dummy half but as he progresses up the ladder through higher standards of competitions he will need to ensure that he is selective about when he runs the ball and when he passes as at present he sometimes possibly runs a little too often.

At present Zac Stevens has decent speed off the mark, probably slightly above average for a hooker and does a good job of finding holes behind the play the ball, but does not necessarily have the speed to finish off any breaks himself and thus needs to work progressively through his options once in open space which Zac Stevens is rapidly developing the skills and experience to do consistently and effectively.

Zac Stevens is efficient in his passing and there is little wasted movement as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand then pass. He passes well from both sides of his body although his passing to the right is still a little better than to the left though, both in terms of distance and consistency.

One thing that he does well in dummy half is not taking his eye off ball until it is in his hands. I know that that sounds like common sense, but even in first grade the number of fumbles that occur from the dummy half is too high, Zac Stevens seems to have the mentality of watching the ball into his hands already set as part of his dummy half methodology.

Zac Stevens defends in the middle of the ruck and is an effective low tackler and a solid and repeatable technique and is adept at wrapping the ball up when making a tackle. He is also very good defending at marker in terms of harassing the opposition kickers. Whilst he hits hard it is not necessarily to the extent that he will rock the opponent’s head backwards but certainly solid enough to halt the momentum of the ball carrier, even though he has the capacity to when he is fired up.

What you will see is an efficient and effective defender with a hard streak. Zac Stevens also seems to be a good talker in the defensive line, constantly encouraging his team mates and pushing them to make the next tackle.

Moving forward to the 2019 season Zac Stevens will be part of the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side where he should see plenty of time on the field in the dummy half role.

I appreciate that Zac Stevens provides a spark and energy when he is on the field so I can see why he is the ideal type of interchange player, but I prefer Zac Stevens to start and then potentially transition to the backrow if a dummy half comes off the bench, for example like what is happening with the Titans with Nathan Peats when Mitch Rein comes on.

Zac Stevens has played a number of positions over the course of his rugby league career to date including spending a fair portion to time in the halves late this season but I think that he has found his niche as a hooker who is a solid distributor of the ball with improving running instincts and who is also quite tough and aggressive from a defensive stand point.

Zac Stevens has very good endurance and projects as a hooker who will be able to play the entire 80 minutes without interchange.

From a player comparison perspective for Zac Stevens , due to his size and tenacity, a playing style and comparison akin to current Titans and former New South Wales State of Origin hooker Nathan Peats would be appropriate from a style, leadership courage and determination perspective.

[mdrew]

Tyler Szepanowski. (Revised) The big tall young former St Brendan’s College front rower signed with the Titans mid-way through the 2017 season and is currently a member of the Titans Rookie Squad.

Tyler Szepanowski started the 2018 season in the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts squad starting his opening ten matches in the front row before being promoted to the Burleigh Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side where he has stayed since that time.

In the GCRL First Grade competition Tyler Szepanowski made his debut against Southport in June and went on to play in seven matches and scored his first and to date only try against Tugun in late July. For Burleigh in the GCRL First Grade side Tyler Szepanowski on the majority of occasions has come off the bench but he has started one or two matches at lock towards the end of the season.

In 2017 Tyler Szepanowski was part of the Central Queensland Capra’s U18 squad after having a solid season in Schoolboy rugby league in 2016. The young front rower was the St Brendan’s College Co-captain a great achievement for the young man who came to the school from Moranbah and also was part of the St Brendan’s side that made the 2016 Final of the Confraternity Shield where they played Ignatius Park in that final.

Tyler Szepanowski was approached by the Titans after the Capra’s Round Three match against the Burleigh Bears MM side in 2017 at Browne Park and is probably the first player the Titans have signed with a Prussian heritage.

For the Central Queensland Capra’s MM side in 2017 Tyler Szepanowski started in five of their six matches, in each of his starts Tyler Szepanowski played in the front row. Tyler Szepanowski only missed the final round being Round Six.

Tyler Szepanowski scored two tries in the five matches with his tries coming in Rounds One and Two against the Central Crows and Redcliffe Dolphins. Tyler Szepanowski also captained the Capra’s in their Round Five matches against eventual MM champions the Western Mustangs.

At the completion of the MM competition in 2017, Tyler Szepanowski moved to playing first grade in the Rockhampton Rugby League competition with Brothers Rockhampton making his First Grade debut in late April against the North’s Chargers. In total Tyler Szepanowski played in thirteen Rockhampton RL First Grade matches and scored his sole first grade try in June against Woorabinda.

Tyler Szepanowski started all of his first grade matches in the second row. Late in the 2017 season, Tyler Szepanowski also played one match in the Rockhampton Rugby League U20 competition with the match being against Brothers Rockhampton.

At the Rockhampton Senior Rugby League awards in late 2017 Tyler Szepanowski was named at the Rockhampton Rugby League First Grade Rookie of the Year.

Tyler Szepanowski who trailed for the Parramatta Eels Harrold Matthews side in 2015 won the Coaches Award at the 2016 St Brendan’s Sports Awards night and represented the Queensland Capra’s in the CC Cup competition in 2016 and also Capricornia U15 side in 2014 at the QSSRL U15 Championships.

The young front rower who currently weighs around the 101kg mark has what I would consider plus speed for a front rower, in fact his speed would be above average for a forward of any position. He uses this speed to impact the defensive at top speed. Tyler Szepanowski does not necessarily get back deep, but his plus speed off the mark as well as plus top speed (for a front rower) enables him to still hit the line hard.

Tyler Szepanowski runs very front on but will lower his body into the defenders as the commit to the tackle, and through a combination of size, speed and determination regularly bumps the first defender off when they try to tackle Tyler Szepanowski around the chest area.

Once he impacts the defensive line Tyler Szepanowski also is adept at redirecting his momentum to address the next defender who is coming in to hit him.

When he is close to the line he seems to have an extra gear again and crashes into the defensive line low and hard and is very difficult to stop. He scores a high proportion of his tries coming from situations where he took on a set defensive line from reasonably close range and was able to carry defenders across the line.

I have not seen too many off loads from him in relation to when he has engaged the line, the majority of his offloads have come from situations where his momentum is stopped but Tyler Szepanowski is able to get an arm free, usually his right arm and then pop the ball out the back.

In defence Tyler Szepanowski regularly is the first player up to target the ball carriers, even though he is one of the bigger forwards in his team and will make solid initial contact as well as having the ability of defending one on one. He is not averse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique and decent agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents.

Tyler Szepanowski’s technique is also quite decent for a taller player and he gets low in defence to look to mitigate the possibility of his tackles slipping up around the hard and neck area of shorter opponents when he is looking to initiate contact.

Tyler Szepanowski will also track the ball across the field and just needs to ensure that he stays vigilant when the ball is moved further out and continue to cover the inside channel so that he is not caught out of the ball is passed back inside.

At this stage he has the speed to compensate and close the distance to the attacker quickly but as he progresses in the upper age groups he just needs to ensure that he is in the right position, and to be fair he is in the right position the vast majority of the time.

Tyler Szepanowski will finish the 2018 season with Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition and even though he is still Colts eligible in 2019 it is likely that he will progress to the Burleigh Queensland Cup squad, if not he will be back with the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side.

Fellow Titans Rookie Squad members such as Allan Lockwood, Jaxson Paulo, Api Neoma, Mikey Williams, Lochlyn Sheldon and Darius Farmer amongst others have already through this experience this season as they are being prepared for the Queensland Cup competition.

With his build (190cm and 101kg) and style of play, I can envisage Tyler Szepanowski playing in the front row as he continues his junior rugby league career although he will likely to continue to spend some time in the second row while he continues to develop physically.

From a style perspective, think along the lines of the James Tamau of the Cowboys as a tall front rower with good footwork both in attack and defence and he is also a leader on the field who can set the direction and tempo for his team by leading from the front in the most demanding position on a football field regardless of the age group or level of competition.

[mdrew]

Zane Harris. (Revised)The five eight has had an outstanding 2018 season, starting off in the MM Cup competition with Burleigh and then progressed through the GCRL U19 competition to make his First Grade debut with Southport.

In the MM Cup, Zane Harris started all six of Burleigh’s matches at half back scoring all of his points in Round Two against Redcliffe when he scored two tries, kicked four goals and a field goal for a game haul of 17 points.

In the GCRL U19 competition for Southport, Zane Harris played in six regular season matches scoring 40 points from six tries and eight goals. Zane Harris scored a Round Seventeen hat trick against Ormeau and also scored against Runaway Bay, Burleigh and Mudgeeraba earlier in the season.

With the boot Zane Harris kicked four goals in a match on two separate occasions being against Runaway Bay and Bilambil at opposite ends of the season.

Zane Harris made his much deserved Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut for Southport against Ormeau of early June and scored to cap off a solid debut. In total this season, Zane Harris played seven First Grade matches on the majority of occasions starting from the bench although he did start one or two matches at five eight.

The young Burleigh Bears five eight started off the 2017 rugby league season playing a number of matches for the Burleigh MM Cup side and then transitioned to the GCJRL U17 Division One competition, ultimately playing nine matches for Burleigh and scoring 54 points from five tries and seventeen goals. Zane Harris has been named once again in the Burleigh Bears MM Cup training squad for 2018.

For Burleigh in the 2017 MM Cup competition Zane Harris started two matches being Round One against Redcliffe and Round Three against Central Queensland. On both occasions Zane Harris started the matches at five eight.

In the U17 Division One GCJRL competition Zane Harris scored five tries including a double against Helensvale and also tries against Ormeau on two separate occasions and Runaway Bay. From a kicking perspective, Zane Harris twice kicked four goals in a match which were against Ormeau in early June and against Mudgeeraba in mid-July.

Zane Harris 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.

Zane Harris’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 Zane Harris.

Zane Harris 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. Zane Harris 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.

Zane Harris is a reasonably solid general play kicker, who is reasonably accurate, however he does not have the biggest or most powerful kick and when he tries to kick too hard it usually finds a defender on the full, when he takes a bit off the kick his accuracy increases exponentially. He also chases his own kicks well, almost always leading the chase down field. He also has a decent short kicking game especially close to the opposition line.

I am not sure that Zane Harris will be a primary tactical kicker for a side, but he certainly will be an option to consider especially when talking about attacking kicks such as grubber kick. Zane Harris has improved as an organiser as he has moved through the age groups and should continue to do so as he matures and plays against better opposition and with better players on his own side.

Zane Harris is not the biggest player but even when defending in the front line will tackle using his shoulder which assists when defending against larger forwards operating on the fringes of the ruck.

Whilst not the biggest Zane Harris is strong and tough enough to effectively tackle one on one against opposing halves and with his solid speed and foot work he can cover a lot of ground as he tracks the ball across the field. Zane Harris is certainly not going to be a liability in defence for his team and is more than willing to take on bigger forwards.

Zane Harris will be hard to keep out of the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in 2019 and looks a real player of the future.

I like Zane Harris’s passing and kicking game and on that basis I believe that he can continue playing five eight or half back for the foreseeable future. It would be interesting to see how Zane Harris would go in the hooking role but he certainly does not need to move from the halves to be successful into the future.

The Sydney Roosters Luke Keary, with his all round game where he can be dangerous both running the ball or setting up his support players depending upon the circumstances is a solid comparison for Zane Harris in relation to how he presents on a rugby league field from a skill, game management, intelligence and playing perspective.

[mdrew]

Jayden Campbell. (Revised) The young goal kicking fullback, five eight or winger has had an exceptional 2018 Season starting in the MM Cup competition for Burleigh and his subsequent elevation to the Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts side.

As a result Jayden Campbell has been brought into the Titans U18 Development set-up. From a trivia perspective, Jayden Campbell is the son of one of the Titans favourite sons being Preston Campbell.

Jayden Campbell started the 2018 season in the MM Cup competition, playing in all six of Burleigh’s matches. Jayden Campbell started three matches on the wing being Rounds One, Two and Four, one at fullback being Round Three against Tweed Heads and Rounds Six and Seven at five eight.

Through those six matches Jayden Campbell scored 50 points from four tries and seventeen goals. Jayden Campbell scored a double in Round One against Sunshine Coast and also scored against the Western Mustangs in Round Six and Victoria in Round Seven. In Round One against the Sunshine Coast Jayden Campbell had a big day with the boot kicking eight goals.

Jayden Campbell came into the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in Round Sixteen in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls starting on the left wing. Hayden Campbell played on the left wing in three other matches before moving back to fullback for Burleigh’s Round 21 match against Wynnum Manly.

Jayden Campbell also started Round 23 at fullback against the Townsville Blackhawks and has been named at start on the wing in Round Twenty Four tomorrow against the Easts Tigers in the final regular season round.

In his six matches to date, Jayden Campbell has scored two tries and kicked eight goals, coming from two goals in four different matches. The matches were in Round Seventeen against Norths, Round Twenty against Victoria, Round Twenty-One against Wynnum Manly and in Round Twenty Three against Townsville.

Jayden Campbell’s two tries both came in the final ten minutes of the Round Twenty Three match against the Townsville Blackhawks and he converted both of his own tries in that match.

Between the completion of the MM Cup competition and his elevation to the Burleigh Colts side, Jayden Campbell played a number of matches in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition with the Helensvale Hornets, normally playing in the U19 competition and then backing up for the Doug Lipp Cup match where he played alongside his father on a number of occasions.

In the U19 competition, Jayden Campbell played in eleven matches scoring seven tries and kicking 41 goals for a total point’s haul of 110 points. Jayden Campbell scored doubles against Ormeau and Bilambil and has also scored against Ormeau, Currumbin and Burleigh.

With the boot, Jayden Campbell has had a couple of big games including kicking seven against Beaudesert in his first U19 match of the season and kicked six goals in a late May match against Currumbin as well as five in Round Sixteen against Runaway Bay.

In the Doug Lipp Cup competition, Jayden Campbell played in seven matches for a 57% try scoring rate and also kicked eleven goals for a 38 point haul. Jayden Campbell’s first three tries came in his first three Doug Lipp Cup matches of the season which were against Currumbin, Southport and Ormeau. His fourth try came in Round Sixteen against Runaway Bay when Jayden Campbell partnered his father Preston in the halves.

In 2017 in the U17 Division One competition on the Gold Coast playing for Helensvale, Jayden Campbell had a great season including starting at fullback and kicking seven goals in their Grand Final victory. As a result of his form this season Jayden Campbell has been named in the Burleigh Bears MM Cup training squad for the 2018 version of the competition.

Over the course of the 2017 U17 Division One competition Jayden Campbell scored exactly 100 points from 44 goals and three tries to finish as the competitions leading point’s scorer. In Helensvale’s first final against Bilambil Jayden Campbell scored two tries and kicked six goals for 20 points in the match.

Earlier in the 2017 season, Jayden Campbell scored his other try which came against Southport and he also kicked six goals in that match. Jayden Campbell’s biggest match with the boot came against Ormeau in the depths of winter when he kicked eight goals in a match.

Jayden Campbell also played two matches for Helensvale in the U17 Division Two competition scoring two goals and kicking three goals. He scored all of his U17 Division Two points against Southport in May of this year.

Jayden Campbell is an agile ball runner who relies on his decent speed and elusiveness to make it difficult for larger opponents to line him up rather than brute strength. When lining up at fullback he always makes himself available for offloads in the centre of the ruck where his quick twitch feet can cause some damage as opposing forwards start to tire.

Jayden Campbell has decent speed but not absolute blazing speed, relying instead on his positioning to compensate. When he retrieves the ball Jayden Campbell makes a decision quickly about where to look to run around a staggered defensive line or to run straight in an effort to take the yards on offer.

In a recent match for Burleigh Jayden Campbell had to turn and chase a kick retrieving the ball facing his own try line under intense pressure, Jayden Campbell who was only two or three metres from the side line, faked turning towards the centre of the stepped back towards the sideline outsmarting the defence and proceeded to sprint down the left touch line and draw the fullback for Burleigh to score against the run of play.

An aspect of his play that is very good is Jayden Campbell’s ability to chime into the back line and use his elusiveness to slip through the line, when he comes into the back line, it seems to be mainly when the attacking play is being directed towards the left hand side of the field. I note also that as soon as he breaks into space Jayden Campbell starts working through his options in relation to whether he should run himself or look to set up his support players.

Also his hands at fullback are safe for a young player regardless of the type of kick put towards him. His other calling card is his positioning, he always seems to be the right place at the right time, to defuse bombs, attacking short kicks, potential 40/20 kicks etc. Jayden Campbell can on occasion get caught a little shallow but relies on his timing and anticipation to compensate when tracking balls that have been kicked when the intention of going over his head.

From a goal kicking perspective, Jayden Campbell has outstanding leg strength and outstanding accuracy which suggests that he will likely to be his side’s primary goal kicking option regardless of level. I would equate his goal kicking to that of current Titans first choice goal kicker Michael Gordon.

Jayden Campbell will take a hit defensively when needing to make the tackle in the last line of defence and will focus exclusively on the ball carrier, forcing the attacking player to make the decision of what to do with the ball, rather than proving the attacker the avenue to make an easier decision.

Jayden Campbell is also adept at using the sideline to restrict the attacking options of any opponent who makes a break. To be more effective defensively Jayden Campbell will need to add additional muscle to his frame as he only has a slight build at present, although he does have some height and seemingly has the body type to add muscle mass without compromising his speed and elusiveness.

Jayden Campbell does also have decent hands when short attacking kicks are put in and is elusive enough when he retrieves the ball to get out of the touch in goal when it appears that that task is unlikely.

Jayden Campbell will finish the 2018 season with the Burleigh Colts side and still has two years of Colts eligibility come the start of the 2019 season. It would not surprise if Jayden Campbell makes his Queensland Cup debut towards the end of the 2019 season, such is his maturity, elusiveness and toughness.

I will admit that prior to this season, I thought that Jayden Campbell would ultimately end up on the wing, but his play at five eight in the MM Cup competition and how he has played for Burleigh in the Colts competition has forced a rethink and he seems destined to end up as a lightning quick elusive fullback with more than enough ball skills to play as a second receiver in attack.

Jayden Campbell is bigger than his father, especially in relation to height but outside of that there are similarities in terms of playing style and tenacity between them.

Like his father Jayden Campbell does not let his smaller statute define him and he attacks all aspects of the game with a fearless attitude.

[mdrew]

Mikey Williams. (Revised) The young Auckland New Zealand born centre has moved over to Australia and started the season as part of the Burleigh Bears U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts side starting in the centres in their 28 – 24 victory over the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Round One.

After playing in nine matches for Burleigh in the U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Mikey Williams was promoted to the Burleigh Bears Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side and has not looked back, alternating between playing on the wing and in the centres.

After his move from the Colts competition, Mikey Williams played in eleven GCRL First Grade regular season matches, scoring seven tries including a double on debut against the Bilambil Jets in late May and also a double against Ormeau.

As noted above Mikey Williams started the 2018 season as part of the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts side and prior to his promotion started in the centres in all nine of Burleigh’s Colts matches. Mikey Williams last Colts match was in Round Eleven against the Easts Tigers.

In those nine matches, Mikey Williams scored four tries, the first of which came in Round Four against Souths Logan. His other tries came in Round Six against the Western Mustangs, Round Eight against Central Queensland and Round Nine against the Townsville Blackhawks.

2017 saw Mikey Williams play a lot of matches for both his school boy side, being Auckland’s St Pauls College and well as in the SAS Fox Memorial competition which is essentially an Auckland based U20 competition with the standard being quite high as well.

In 2017 Mikey Williams was part of the St Pauls First XIII side that won the SAS College Open Rugby League Championship for the third straight season with a victory over Kelston Boys High for whom new Burleigh Bears MM Cup player Larryon Tevita started at lock. Mikey Williams was also part of the 2016 St Pauls Open side.

To cap off a great 2017 rugby league season, Mikey Williams was named in the 2017 SAS College Rugby League team of the year in the centres with Burleigh MM Cup and Colts player Larryon Tevita named at lock.

Mikey Williams also took home the leading try scorer of the season award with eight tries including a double in a victory over Aorere College in one of the early rounds of the competition in a dominant display.

Mikey Williams played in the SAS Fox Memorial competition for Richmond, playing in a total of twelve matches scoring four tries including a double in June against the Te Atatu Roosters and tries in consecutive weeks against the Mangere East Hawks and Mt Albert. Mikey Williams also played one match in the 2017 SAS Fox Memorial Premier competition, which is the Auckland equilivant to the Gold Coast Rugby League First grade competition, an impressive feat for an 18 year old school boy.

In 2017 Mikey Williams was also selected in a New Zealand Select U18 side that played against the Australian School Boys with Mikey Williams starting on the interchange bench for the New Zealanders. Starting on the wing for the New Zealand Select U18 side was Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts recruit Aublix Tawha.

Mikey Williams made the New Zealand Select side after starting in the centres for the U18 New Zealand Residents side in their 28 – 10 victory over New Zealand Taurahere with Mikey Williams scoring in the match. Mikey Williams was also selected for the New Zealand U18 side in 2017.

A team mate in the U18 New Zealand Residents side was Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts recruit Aublix Tawha and opponents in the New Zealand Taurahere side were Titans contracted Jaxson Paulo (try scorer) and Darius Farmer, both of whom were also team mates in the Burleigh Bears Colts side and are now also playing for the Burleigh First Grade side.

From an additional representative perspective Mikey Williams has represented the Akarana Falcons at the U15 level in 2014 and U17 level in 2015 in the New Zealand National Age Championships, scoring three tries in 2014 and one in 2015.

In attack one of the positives in how Mikey Williams plays is when he is given the ball early he seems to have a lot of room to move and this is something that he is able to exploit. When he gets the ball early Mikey Williams is able to the opposing centre on the inside and out pace the converging cover defence.

Whilst he is a big strong powerful young centre, Mikey Williams also has a myriad of attacking moves, including a great in and away, and also being able to cut back on the inside of his defender if they over commit to the outside.

I would consider that Mikey Williams speed would in the above average category for a centre, add his power and strong fend and you really have a young centre who could develop in anything on a football field. Mikey Williams must be a five eight’s dream, when he gets the ball early he seems to cause real havoc for the defensive line.

Defensively Mikey Williams hits very hard and constantly is in a position to disrupt the attacking movement of the opposition. I would suggest that he would be more than capable to adapt and excel in either an up and in or sliding methodology.

The other point I will make is that he certainly does not shirk contact, both in attack or defence. Mikey Williams clearly has a strong appreciation of the defensive aspect of the game in that he knows when to come in and when to slide and let the play develop prior to committing.

Mikey Williams whilst still U20 eligible in 2019 will likely bypass the Colts competition and force his way in the Burleigh Queensland Cup competition and it is not unrealistic to suggest he may also get an opportunity or two at the NRL level in 2019.

I would anticipate that Mikey Williams will spend at least the initial portion of the upcoming preseason training with the Titans NRL squad.

Mikey Williams is a solid strong fast and powerful young man who has the physical and skill attributes to stay in the centres for the duration of his rugby league career.

Current Australian Test centre, Queensland State of Origin and Melbourne Storm centre Will Chambers is the ideal player comparison for the talented Mikey Williams. Like Chambers, Mikey Williams has the speed, elusiveness and line running ability teams crave for in the centre position in the modern game.

This season Mikey Williams has been a more than pleasant surprise that may have a huge future dividend for the Titans.

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James Robinson. The big strong tough young Western Mustangs second rower joined the Titans High Performance Unit late last year and had his first session with the Unit in October 2017.

Currently the Titans High Performance Unit members from the Toowoomba region travel down once a fortnight to the Gold Coast for training with Titans staff.

Even though the Western Mustangs Colts side struggled in 2018, James Robinson was a shining light throughout the season starting all of the Western Mustangs matches in the second row and captaining the side on each occasion.

In the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition this season James Robinson crossed for two tries with his first try of the season coming in Round Eight in a tough 32 – 28 loss to the Tweed Heads Seagulls. James Robinson’s other try came in round Thirteen against the Easts Tigers.

James Robinson was the nominated Western Mustangs goal kicker in Rounds Eighteen and Twenty One against the Northern Pride and Victoria respectively and kicked two goals in each of those matches.

In 2017 James Robinson was co-captain of the Western Mustangs MM Cup side that defeated Souths Logan in the Grand Final in a high scoring affair 40 - 30. After the completion of the MM Cup competition, James Robinson graduated to the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge side after spending some time in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition with Gatton.

James Robinson played in all except one of the 2017 Western Mustangs MM Cup matches missing only Round Six. In all of the Western Mustangs matches that he played in James Robinson started in the second row including both MM Cup finals and the National U18 Final against the Parramatta Eels. In his 2017 MM Cup matches James Robinson scored two tries including scoring a key try in the MM Cup Grand Final that the Western Mustangs won 40 – 30. James Robinsons other try came in Round Five against the Central Queensland Capras.

James Robinson played in eight 2017 U20 Colts Challenge matches, starting seven in the second row and coming off the interchange bench in the other being Round Twelve. James Robinson broke into the Western Mustangs Colts side in Round Four against the Easts Tigers and also played Round Five. James Robinson came back into the U20 squad in Round Twelve and played the remainder of the season there scoring against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Round Fourteen.

As previously noted James Robinson has also played a number of matches in the 2017 Toowoomba Rugby League competition for Gatton including four in the U18 competition and two Hutchies A Grade Cup matches. In his four matches at the U18 level James Robinson scored three tries including a double in his first U18 match of the season against Goondiwindi and he also scored the following week against Wattles.

James Robinson made his Hutchies A Grade debut in May 2017 against Wattles backing up from the U18 fixture and also played against Southern Suburbs in early August. 2017 is the second season that James Robinson has played in the Toowoomba Rugby League Hutchies A Grade Cup competition after he played ten matches A Grades matches as a 17 year old in 2016 scoring two tries which came against the Warwick Cowboys and Toowoomba Valleys.

James Robinson showed a wide range of skills during the 2017 and 2018 seasons from power running in the centre of the ruck, through the ability to break tackles on the fringes to high level off loading skills either before the defensive line or once he has engaged it.

James Robinson is able to make a lot of ground by getting 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 dries defenders backwards even after they had engaged him with significant force.

From the games that I have seem play James Robinson normally runs to the right side of the field, and will run wider out and look to come back on the inside shoulder of the opposition defence on the edge of the ruck, looking for situations where the opposition inside defenders are slow to come across. James Robinson’s determination is one aspect that enables him to be in the right place at the right time.

Defensively as you would anticipate from a big strong young player James Robinson also has a big impact in games. James Robinson engages attacker’s front on and with the strength in his legs and core was able to regularly drive attackers backwards.

James Robinson drives hard with his legs and always uses his shoulder and core body strength to drive into his opponent. He 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.

In a tough year, James Robinson has continued to grow and develop as a rugby league player and a leader on and off the field and he will once again be part of the Western Mustangs Colts side in 2019.

James Robinson has primarily played in the second row in his rugby league career and with his size and burst of speed prior to impacting the defensive line I would envisage that he will remain in the second row for the duration of his rugby league career.

James Robinson is a big strong powerful young player who has a front on running style and an extra burst of acceleration just prior to his impact with the defensive line and for those reasons I can see aspects of Sydney Rooster, New South Wales State of Origin captain and Australian International Boyd Cordner in the play of James Robinson.

It is players such as James Robinson that makes the Titans affiliation with the Western Mustangs such an exciting development for the future of the Titans NRL side.

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Blake Cullen. (Revised) The young player from the Toowoomba region is a Titans linked front rower who spent this season playing for the Hastings Deering’s U20 Western Mustangs Colts side.

Blake Cullen played in all of the Western Mustangs Colts matches this season starting all at lock bar Rounds Four and Sixteen against the North’s Devils when he started in the front row.

Blake Cullen’s sole Hastings Deering’s Colts try this season came in Round Eleven against the South’s Logan Magpies.

This season Blake Cullen has also played in two Toowoomba rugby League First Grade matches for Pittsworth, the first of which was in March against Dalby and the second in July against Toowoomba Brothers.

The big strong burly young front rower was part of the Western Mustangs 2017 U18 Mal Meninga Cup winning team starting in their Grand Final winning side in the front row when they defeated South’s Logan 40 – 30 early in 2017. Blake Cullen also started in the front row for the Western Mustangs when they played against the Parramatta Eels in the U18 national final with Parramatta winning on the day.

Over the course of the 2017 MM Cup season, Blake Cullen started in the front row in all eight of the Western Mustangs matches including the semi-final against the Easts Tigers and the MM Cup Grand Final against Souths Logan. In those eight matches Blake Cullen scored two tries, the first coming in Round Two against the Mackay Cutters and the second in Round Six against Victoria.

At the Western Mustangs Awards Presentation night in November 2017, Blake Cullen was awarded the Western Mustangs MM Cup award.

Blake Cullen also played one U20 Colts match in 2017 for the Western Mustangs when he came off the bench in Round Two against the Ipswich Jets.

After the MM Cup competition was completed, apart from the one match that former Pittsworth State High School student played in the Colts competition, Blake Cullen plyed his trade with Pittsworth in the Toowoomba Rugby League Competition. Blake Cullen played six matches in the U18 competition and five in the Hutchies A Grade Cup competition.

On each of the five occasions that Blake Cullen played first grade, Blake Cullen backed up after playing in the U18 match earlier in the day. It is even more impressive when you consider that Blake Cullen started in both the U18 and A Grade matches in the front row. In the 2017 season, Blake Cullen’s sole try was in the U18 competition against Wattles.

Blake Cullen 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. There is no subtlety to his running, it is straight and hard and another positive is that he will not just run upright.

Blake Cullen will drop his should into the defender making it difficult if not impossible for him to be stopped one on one. Blake Cullen does though have quite decent foot speed when/if he gets into space, probably above average for a front rower or lock.

In defence Blake Cullen is happy to go for the big hit with his target zone around the rib cage rather than the chest area thus mitigating the risk of the tackle slipping up around the head. He is obviously suited to defending in the centre of the ruck rather that the fringes and will have some trouble with nippy runners out of dummy half.

It has been indicated to me that Blake Cullen is a very hard dedicated worker in training. 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.

Blake Cullen will play the 2019 season with the Western Mustangs U20 Colts squad once again and will be joined in the team by the likes of fellow Titans linked players such as Luke Maiden and Leslie Hartvigsen.

Blake Cullen has been a player who has been in the centre of a rugby league field his entire rugby league career and with his strength and toughness will surely continue playing either at lock or in the front row where ever his career in rugby league takes him.

From a player comparison point of view, I think that a fair comparison from a style of play perspective would be former New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International front rower Sam Rapira, as tough hard runner forward who does everything to the absolute limit of his ability and it takes a committed defensive line to stop him from gaining substantial post contact metres every time that he takes a hit up.

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Jack Sullivan. (Revised) The big strong young Titans linked front rower is currently playing with the South Burnett Club in the U18 Toowoomba Rugby League Competition, a competition that is quickly becoming a fertile recruiting and development area for the Titans.

The 2018 season was Jack Sullivan’s First in the senior rugby league ranks after graduating from the Toowoomba Junior Rugby League U16 competition. Including the Elimination Final Jack Sullivan played in thirteen matches scoring nine tries for a strike rate of 69.23%.

Jack Sullivan scored a hat trick against Pittsworth and the following weekend scored a double against Wattles. Jack Sullivan’s other four tries came against Toowoomba Brothers in two separate matches, Oakey and Toowoomba Valleys.

In the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 Elimination final Jack Sullivan started in the front row for South Burnett who were knocked out by a Southern Suburbs side 44 – 16 that contained multiple Titans linked players.

In 2018 Jack Sullivan was also selected in the Queensland Regional U18 side after representing the South Burnett Eagles in the trials and played against a South East Queensland U18 side at Wynnum Manly.

Jack Sullivan was also part of the Titans camp at Lennox Heads for the 2017 Western Mustangs Development Squad members including playing a match at the camp for the Mustangs against the Titans were he started in the front row and has subsequently signed a Titans scholarship deal. In previous seasons Jack Sullivan was part of the Brisbane Bronco’s Elite Development Squad.

In 2017 Jack Sullivan finished the Toowoomba Rugby League U16 season with twelve tries from his twelve matches including scoring a hat trick early in the season against Pittsworth and doubles against Valleys, Pittsworth and Brothers. Jack Sullivan started in the front row for Highfields in the Toowoomba Junior Rugby League U16 Grand Final however his U16 side was defeated by the talented Toowoomba Souths U16 squad.

The young front rower is an all effort type of forward who runs with determination, 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 Jack Sullivan 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.

It is the intensity and speed that he plays the game at that holds Jack Sullivan in good stead as he starts to be selected in representative sides and plays against a higher quality of opposition.

Jack Sullivan is also very effective close to the opposition try line with his ability to burst through tackles. If the defenders do not come off the try he will just drag them across the try line, 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 he 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.

One area of development for Jack Sullivan moving forward is his off-loading, his off-loading skill attributes in my eyes could be considered untapped. Jack Sullivan shows flashes of ability to off load when in contact with the defensive line, but on occasion can try to off load the miracle pass with multiple defenders handing off him, I am sure however that he will become more selective as he progresses.

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

Jack Sullivan 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 enabling his initial contact to be outstanding and more than enough to stop the momentum of the attacker regardless of their size attributes.

Jack Sullivan’s defensive dominance will not continue at its current rate as he starts to play against higher quality opposition but the timing and defensive technique that he has will mean that he will always likely be a plus defender. He really does have a very good tackling technique.

Jack Sullivan will play the 2019 season once again at the U18 level in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition with South Burnett and will also push for a spot in the Western Mustangs MM Cup squad. It also would not surprise at all to see Jack Sullivan get an opportunity in the Toowoomba Rugby League First Grade competition such is his maturity.

Jack Sullivan is a big strong young man who has played essentially his entire junior rugby league career in the front row and I believe with his ascension to the senior rugby league ranks in 2018 will also stay in the same position that being in the front row.

From a player comparison perspective think of Titans and Queensland State of Origin front rower Jarrod Wallace as a big strong powerful hard running and hardworking forward and someone who his team mates will follow as he leads by example in the most taxing position on the field.