My take on our top juniors

[ALX25]

Let's hope the Titans get out to Warwick before it's too late. Other NRL clubs circling.

[mdrew]

Caleb Ziebell. The big strong tough 22 year old front rower has recently been selected as the best player in the NRRRL First Grade competition where he led the Cudgen Hornets to the Grand Final and also being named in the second row in the Northern Star NRRRL 2017 Team of the Year.* In addition to being a more than handy rugby league player, Caleb Ziebell is also a very good cricketer.

Caleb Ziebell in years past was part of the titans Junior Development Program but a terrible knee injury meant he missed two years and precious development time, but since returning from the injury he has been the best player in the NRRRL competition over the last two years.* Over the last two years, Caleb Ziebell has also represented Northern Rivers at the New South Wales Country Championships.

Caleb Ziebell played in sixteen matches for the Cudgen Hornets in the NRRRL First Grade competition finishing with seven tries.* Caleb Ziebell scored a late season hat trick against Mullumbimby.* Caleb Ziebell also scored a mid-season double against Kyogle and tries in the two weeks prior against Lower Clarence and Evans Heads.* Caleb Ziebell made is NRRRL First Grade debut as a twenty year old in 2016, playing in twenty matches and scoring ten tries.

Running with the football, Caleb Ziebell 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.* Caleb Ziebell 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.

Defensively Caleb Ziebell is not necessarily 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.* Caleb Ziebell 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.

Caleb Ziebell’s ability to successfully defend against these types 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 higher echelons of senior rugby league feasible.

With his dual sport commitments Caleb Ziebell I believe will be back playing in the NRRRL competition for the Cudgen Hornets, but I really would like to see how he would go with the Tweed Heads Seagulls QCup side, I do not think that he would be out of place at all especially once he gets up to speed with the pace of the competition.

Whilst Caleb Ziebell has alternated between second row and front row over previous junior seasons, I would anticipate that based on his build and skill set certainly in relation to the NRL second row would be his best position.* He 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 for Caleb Ziebell is Titans rookie Max King as a solid forward who will probably never be a star but will be a solid contributor to a team’s forward pack both in attack and defence.

[mdrew]

Kalani Hensby. The young local second rower is a bit older than your typical youngster looking for a start in the NRL but the 21 year old Tweed Coast Raider Kalani Hensby has a chance to break into the NRL none the less.* There is a rumour or two running around at the Tweed Coast that the Titans are keeping an eye on his progress.

In 2017 Kalani Hensby played for the Raiders in the NRRRL First Grade competition and was named in the second row in the NRRRL Team of Year as well as representing Northern Rivers at the U23 level in the New South Wales Country Championships where he started in the centres against Newcastle.

For the Tweed Coast Raiders this season, Kalani Hensby played sixteen NRRRL Firs Grade matches and scored six tries including a double in Rounds Two against Kyogle and also scored tries against Marist Brothers on two separate occasions, Evans Head and Casino RSM* Kalani Hensby made his NRRRL First Grade debut as a twenty year old in 2016.

In addition to representing Northern Rivers U23 this season, Kalani Hensby has previously represented Group 18 at the U16 and U15 levels including scoring against Group Three at the U16 level in 2012.

The pace and power in terms of how Kalani Hensby runs the ball is the outstanding feature of his game, he takes the ball to the line with speed, but he does not just put his head down and rush forward, he uses quick and subtle footwork prior to the line and seems to targets the gaps between defenders and will actively seek out opposing forwards who are slow to move up.
When the opposition are on the back foot Kalani Hensby will target the smaller defenders on the edge of the ruck and burst through and Kalani Hensby has very good speed over the medium term and has the strength to drag defenders with him.

I would consider that Kalani Hensby’s speed would be considered above average for a backrower but plays faster as a result of him timing his runs so well that the dummy half can present a flat pass to him and also as a result of the power that he runs at.

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

In defence Kalani Hensby uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Kalani Hensby is not averse 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.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Kalani Hensby will line up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls QCup side in 2018 where I believe that he will be able to handle the step up in class.* If not Kalani Hensby will continue to be one of the best players in the NRRRL First Grade competition for the Tweed Coast Raiders.

With the solid ball skills that Kalani Hensby has I can see a compelling argument to suggest that his ultimate position will be in the second row as a big tall reasonably quick second rower.

If you look at the play of Newcastle Knights second rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon, I think you will get an appreciation of how Kalani Hensby plays his football in that he will stay in the centre of the field defensively but in attack he has the skills to operate on the edge of the ruck and has decent off-loading skills if the opportunities present.

[mdrew]

Tristian Lumley. The big strong young Tweed Heads Seagulls forward has certainly turned a few heads after an outstanding second half of the 2017 QCup season for the Seagulls.* The former North’s Devils forward has been a welcome addition to the Tweed Heads Seagulls forward pack in 2017.

The powerful 105kg second rower is developing into a hard running hard tackling difference maker who will likely soon garner interest from NRL clubs as a result of his tearaway style.* The former Brisbane Broncos U20’s centre or second rower was a mid-season transfer from the North’s Devils.

Tristian Lumley played his first match for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Round Fourteen, starting in the second row.* In total for the Seagulls, Tristian Lumley played in nine QCup matches, starting eight in the second row and one, being Round Seventeen off the inter change bench.

In total for the Seagulls Tristian Lumley played 644 minutes, made 257 tackles and ran for 1 104 metres.* His per match averages for the 2017 QCup season relating to the Tweed Heads Seagulls included playing 71.5 minutes, making 28.5 tackles and running for* 123 metres. Tristian Lumley’s sole try came in the final QCup regular season round being Round Twenty Five against PNG.

In five of his nine games for the Seagulls Tristian Lumley played all 80 minutes and in seven of those contests he ran for in excess of 100 metres including running for 209 metres in Round Fifteen.* Round Twenty Four saw him run for 186 metres. Only once in his nine games for the Seagulls did Tristian Lumley not make more than 20 tackles in a match and in Round Nineteen he made forty tackles.* Rounds fourteen and Twenty Four saw Tristian Lumley make thirty six and thirty five tackles respectively.

Tristian Lumley’s style of play is that of a powerful wide running back rower with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average to plus. He is quite quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, he has an extra gear again which is a plus attribute for such a strong powerful second rower, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Tristian Lumley also has a very good fend meaning that he is a big strong powerful young player who can cause nightmares for any defensive line.* Tristian Lumley seems to line up on the right side of the field more so than the left, but I have no doubt moving forward that he will be able to play on either side of the field.

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

Tristian Lumley is an aggressive defender whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or on the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks and targets the area around where the attackers carry the football.* His speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half.* I have noted that he is aggressive and seems to want to win every one on one battle and he invariably does.

Due to his speed and athleticism Tristian Lumley covers across the field well, thus putting him in a good position to make the tackle when the ball is turned back inside from the halves and he still seems to be going full speed at the end of games.

Tristian Lumley will play the 2018 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls QCup side once again in front of Titans officials and hopefully he catches the eye of new coach Gareth Brennan.

Positionally Tristian Lumley has been a second rower or centre dating all the way back to his junior and NYC days but with his physical development seems certain to now have a permanent future in the second row.

Tristian Lumley has the look of a very talented late bloomer with a playing style similar to that of St George Dragons second rower Tyson Fizzell as a powerful and devastating runner on the fringes of the ruck.

[mdrew]

Lamar Liolevave. The young 22 year old second rower had an outstanding year for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the QCup competition including being awarded the Seagulls QCup Player of the year at their recent Awards Presentation.

The former Keebra Park student started off his rugby league career with the Wests Tigers NYC side and played one NRL match as well for the Tigers which came in Round Four of the 2015 NRL season.* Lamar Liolevave moved back to the Gold Coast in 2016 after also spending some time with the Canterbury Bulldogs and last off season spent some time training with the Titans NRL Squad.

In the 2017 QCup competition, in 185cm 112kg second rower missed only one of Tweed Heads twenty three matches when he missed Round Fourteen with suspension.* Over the course of the 2017 season, Lamar Liolevave scored three tries which came against the Burleigh Bears in Round Six, North’s Devils in Round Seven and Redcliffe Dolphins in Round Twelve.

Lamar Liolevave in 2017 in the QCup competition played a total of 1 741 minutes, ran for 2 417 metres and made 544 tackles.* His per game 2017 averages included playing 77 minutes, making 25 tackles and running for 110 metres.

In an incredible seventeen of his twenty two matches, Lamar Liolevave played all 80 minutes and on another occasion being Round twenty Three he played for 79 minutes.* When he played “only” 67 minutes In Round Four, Lamar Liolevave played his least amount of minutes on the season.

In fourteen of his twenty two matches Lamar Liolevave ran for in excess of 100 metres in a match including an incredible effort in Round Eleven when he ran for 179 metres.* In addition, Lamar Liolevave ran for between 90 and 100 metres on five other occasions.

Lamar Liolevave made more than twenty tackles in twenty of his twenty two matches displaying incredible consistency including a thirty three tackle effort in Round Two of this year’s competition.

Rarely can you find a young player who is equally at home running on both sides of the ruck but that is what a team has with Lamar Liolevave, he runs a superb outside shoulder line and his excellent footwork enables him to step off either foot to enable him to cut back against the movement of the defensive line to take advantage of gaps back on the inside of his direct opponent.* For a big strong young man, Lamar Liolevave also has above average speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Lamar Liolevave is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

Lamar Liolevave is not just a strong runner of the ball he as noted above has excellent footwork prior to the line and also some very good short passing both before the line and when in contact with a defender.* Lamar Liolevave in schoolboy rugby league and junior age groups was a magnet for defenders and is adept at identifying when multiple defenders are vectoring towards him and identifying the appropriate force to be applied to his passing.* Lamar Liolevave also waits until the last possible second to off load the ball and most of the time he does not telegraph his pass to enable defences the readjust before the ball is passed.

On a lot of his runs Lamar Liolevave rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

Defensively Lamar Liolevave has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier. Lamar Liolevave sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

His good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker opponents and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork, he is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

Lamar Liolevave will play the 2018 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls QCup side once again in front of Titans officials and hopefully he catches the eye of new coach Gareth Brennan.

Positionally Lamar Liolevave has been a second rower dating all the way back to his school boy days with Keebra Park and that will not change going forward.

Lamar Liolevave plays well like Lamar Liolevave, he is s solidly built second rower with deceptive speed and an outstanding right hand offload where he holds the defender off with his left arm and off loads with his right.* Defensively Lamar Liolevave is deceptively strong and making powerful initial contact all whilst playing big minutes in matches.

I am not sure that Lamar Liolevave can do any more to get noticed, he was outstanding in 2017 and if he can play as well once again in 2018 NRL clubs hopefully led by the Titans will come calling.

[mdrew]

Simione Fatafehi. The former Titans NYC player had an outstanding first season at the Queensland Cup level for the South’s Logan Magpies and spending the previous two seasons being a solid performer in the second row for the Titans NYC squad.

The 21 year old second rower who stands 185cm and is 103kg handled the step up in class from the NYC competition in his stride and by the end of the 2017 season was a key member of a talented South’s Logan Queensland Cup forward pack which in most matches contained at least four NRL contracted Brisbane Bronco’s players.

For the Titans NYC side, Simione Fatafehi played in twenty seven matches, three in 2015 and twenty four in 2016.* In 2016 Simione Fatafehi scored four tries and averaged just on 100 metres and twenty tackles per match.

In the 2017 Queensland Cup competition Simione Fatafehi played in seventeen of South’s Logan’s twenty Three matches, starting all seventeen in the second row and contributed nine tries including a Round Eight double against the Ipswich Jets.* Simione Fatafehi’s other tries came in Round Five against Tweed Heads, Round Seven against Mackay, Rounds Nine and Sixteen against Redcliffe, Rounds Eleven and Twenty Two against the Northern Pride and Round Nineteen against the North’s Devils.

In total in the 2017 Queensland Cup competition Simione Fatafehi was on the field for South’s Logan for 1 316 minutes, made 370 tackles and ran for 1 577 metres.* His 2017 per game averages for seventeen games included playing 77.5 minutes, running for 93 metres and making twenty two tackles.

In fourteen of his seventeen matches Simione Fatafehi played all 80 minutes in the second row and he also played in excess of seventy minutes in two of his other three matches highlighting his durability and stamina.

Simione Fatafehi ran for in excess of 100 metres in five of his matches including running for 185 metres in Round Ten match. Simione Fatafehi made more than twenty tackles in thirteen of his 2017 matches including a thirty five tackle effort in Round Ten.

Running with the football, Simione Fatafehi 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 although you can see that when he gets fired up all subtlety and thoughts of self-preservation goes out the window and he becomes a giant wrecking ball.

Simione Fatafehi 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 usually with his right hand when he has impacted the defensive line as well and regularly showcases this in game situations.

Defensively Simione Fatafehi can certainly hit very hard, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads. Simione Fatafehi* has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a larger forward and due to the fact that he bends his hips when looking to make a tackle he is 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.* He can however get fired up and really cause havoc defensively, he just needs to continue to channel his aggression.

In 2018 Simione Fatafehi will line up once again for South Logan in the Queensland Cup and is probably only a consistent season or two away from at least getting some recognition from NRL clubs.

Even though Simione Fatafehi spent some time in the centres earlier in his junior rugby league career, for the Titans NYC side over two years and this season with South’s Logan in the Queensland Cup Simione Fatafehi has made the second row position his own with his ability to use subtle footwork prior to the defensive line and a never say die attitude in defence.

From a player comparison perspective, one player with a similar playing style from my perspective is former Titans front rower/second rower and current Titans coaching staff member Anthony Laffranchi, as a solid forward who will may never be a star but will be a solid contributor to a team’s forward pack, but shows flashes of unique ability. Simione Fatafehi though has the potential to be a little bigger physically though than Laffranchi when he has stopped growing.

[mdrew]

John Olive. The big strong young 186cm 96kg Titans outside back will in 2018 be in the last year of his three year Titans deal after moving up to the Titans from the South Sydney Rabbitohs for whom he made his NRL debut for in 2015.* John Olive’s NRL debut came in Round Fourteen in 2015 when he started on the wing for South Sydney against the Wests Tigers.* In that match the 2016 Junior Kangaroo started on the wing playing all 80 minutes taking the ball up nine times on the way to making 81 metres and seven tackles.

John Olive has suffered a number of injuries in his time with the Titans including a dislocated elbow in 2016 when he was training with the Junior Kangaroos and he suffered a severe shoulder injury in the ninth minute of the Titans Round Twenty Four clash against the Parramatta Eels a match in which he started in the centres.

Including the match against the Eels, John Olive played five matches for the Titans in 2017, being Rounds Fifteen, Sixteen and Rounds Twenty Two to Twenty Four inclusive.* In those matches John Olive started on the wing in Round Fifteen against his former team, from the interchange bench in Round Sixteen against the Wests Tigers and in the centre in his remaining matches.

In total in the NRL for the Titans in 2017, John Olive was on the field for 263 minutes, took 32 hit-ups, ran for 258 metres and made 35 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 75%. John Olive’s 2017 NRL per game averages included playing 53 minutes, running for 52 metres from 6.5 hit-up and making seven tackles.* It must be noted that these statistics are skewed by his ninth minute injury against the Parramatta Eels.* * John Olive played all 80 minutes in three of the matches that he started in and in Round Twenty Two against the Brisbane Broncos ran for 87 metres from eleven hit-ups and in that same match made seventeen tackles.

The 22 year old made his Titans NRL debut in Round One of 2016 against the Newcastle Knights.* In total in 2016 for the Titans John Olive played in four matches starting on the wing in Rounds One and in the centres in Rounds Three to Five.* John Olive scored in his Titans NRL debut and also scored in Round Four against the Canberra Raiders.* In total in 2016 in the NRL John Olive was on the field for the Titans for 320 minutes, took 42 hit-ups making 341 metres and made thirty tackles at a tackling efficiency percentage of 80%.

The table below compares John Olive’s 2016 and 2017 NRL per game averages. As previously noted the fact that in one NRL match in 2017 John Olive only played nine minutes must be considered when making a comparison.* If you discount Round 24 of 2017, John Olive’s per game averages are, 64 minutes, 8 hits-up for 61.5 metres and 7.7 tackles.

2016 NRL 2017 NRL

Games played 4 5

Minutes per game 80 53

Runs per game 10.5 6.5

Metres made per game 85.3 52

Tackles per game 7.5 7

Prior to his first NRL games for the 2017 season, John Olive played in five games for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup competition coming in the side in Round Ten. In those matches John Olive started all of them in the centres and played all 80 minutes on each occasion.* In total in his five Queensland Cup matches for Tweed Heads, John Olive played 400 minutes, made 592 metres and 52 tackles.* His 2017 Queensland Cup per games averages included running for 118 metres and making 10 tackles.

In four of his five Queensland Cup matches in 2017 John Olive ran for in excess of 100 metres including a 145 metre match against the Central Queensland Capra’s in Round Thirteen and in Round Fourteen just prior to his 2017 NRL call up John Olive made fifteen tackles.

The giant young man is very difficult to stop once he is in motion, his speed, power and body height all contribute to this.* On the wing 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 John Olive 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 a winger but obviously the key attribute from an attacking perspective is how hard he hits the defensive line.* Like his overall speed John Olive’s lateral mobility is probably just a tick above average.* John Olive 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 John Olive 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, John Olive 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.

John Olive is back training with the Titans NRL squad after his late season injury and will be in line to start the year with the Titans in the NRL.* He will likely pushing for a berth on the wing with Dale Copley and Konrad Hurrell seemingly locked in for the two centre positions.* John Olive will likely be up against the likes for Tyrone Roberts-Davis and Brendan Elliott for the wing spot opposite Anthony Don.

With his size and power I do think that he will be in the discussion for a starting spot come Round One especially with a full off season in front of him and continued work on the defensive aspects of the game.

Even though in the paragraphs above the discussion is in relation to him playing on the wing, I still cannot rule out John Olive developing into a very talented NRL centre.* Yes he may have made a couple of defensive mistakes in his ten match NRL career to date, but he is still very young and he has a lot of natural ability yet to be harnessed.

[mdrew]

Cody McNiece is now officially a Titans high performance Unit Member.

Cody McNiece. The young Sydney hooker is making the trek up to the Western Mustangs and will be part of their 2018 Colts side where he will be hard to keep up of the No. 9 jersey come march.* In 2017 Cody McNiece had an outstanding season representing the Manly Sea Eagles in the SG Ball competition, playing a number of matches in the Ron Massey Cup competition for Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles and also was the St Gregory’s College Campbelltown hooker and captain of their Open School Boy Rugby League side and was a standout over the course of their 2017 GIO Cup campaign.

For the Manly Sea Eagles in the 2017 U18 SG Ball competition Cody McNiece played in a total of five matches all of them in consecutive weeks and all starting at hooker after he made his 2017 SG Ball debut in Round Four against the Newcastle Knights.

For the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles in the Ron Massey Cup competition Cody McNiece played in a total of six matches making his debut in Round Ten against Concord Burwood-Glebe and also coming off the interchange bench in week one of the Finals series when Blacktown were knocked out. In those six matches for Blacktown Cody McNiece started in two and came off the bench in the remaining four contests.

Where Cody McNiece really stands out in terms of attacking play, is his speed out of dummy half, he is extremely quick and has very good footwork to take advantage of tiring forwards, using a step off both feet.* *Around the try line he is also very good at making the right decision whether the go himself or pass, where he gets down low and drives with his legs.

Cody McNiece is solid all round hooker who distributes effectively to both sides of the ruck.* He 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.

Another skill that he has is the ability to kick out of dummy half.* He played fly half in rugby at school so this is obviously where he picked up his kicking ability. He is not a long kick, but is effective at finding the ground with his kicks.* Cody McNiece is an effective kicker in terms of game management, what I mean by that is that late in games when his team were up or needed a breather he kicked for touch in those instances, which showed a high level of maturity and game management skills.* With the ability to kick accurately out of dummy half he is going to be a 40/20 threat if the opposing fullback is not in the correct position or not aware that he has this attribute.

Cody McNiece defends in the middle of the ruck and is an effective low tackler and for his size quite an aggressive defender. He is also very good at getting out of marker quickly to harass the opposition kickers.* Cody McNiece is not going to wow you with his defence because you will not see big hits, but you will see an efficient and effective defender and a talker.* He constantly seems to be talking and “encouraging” his fellow forwards to continue to press up both in attack and defence.

He has very good endurance and I have been told that he played every minute of the SG Ball games that he was involved in this season and thus projects as a hooker who will be able to play 80 minutes without interchange at the higher competition levels.

Cody McNiece has recently been selected in the Western Mustangs Colts squad for the 2018 Hastings Dearings competition where he will be under the scrutiny of the Titans High performance Staff over the course of the 2018 rugby league season and beyond.

Cody McNiece projects as a modern day hooker who will be able to play 80 minutes without interchange at the higher competition levels and be effective both in attack and defence.

From a player comparison perspective think someone along the lines of North Queensland Cowboys hooker Jake Granville as a hard working player with speed out of dummy half especially when he takes off down the blind side, leadership skills, a diverse skill set and someone that his team mates will appreciate playing with.

[mdrew]

Max King. The talented young Titans rookie had an outstanding debut season with the Titans in 2017 and has deservedly been rewarded with a new two year contract.* Max King who was the 2016 Titans NYC player of the year shapes as a corner stone of the Titans pack going forward and is one of a number of talented young forwards on the books along with the likes for Morgan Boyle, Keegan Hipgrave, Jai Whitbread and Jai Arrow.

Incredibly Max King was not a sought after junior player at all in Sydney or Newcastle and in fact attended a Titans NYC Open trial in late 2015 and as they say the rest is history.* Max King is a fourth generation NRL player thus rugby league is certainly in this young man’s blood.

Max King started off the 2017 season in the NYC competition after training the entire off season with the NRL squad.* In total in the NYC competition in 2017 Max King played just three games being Rounds One, Two and Eleven.* His statistics in those three games make it quite clear why the Titans quickly moved him up to the NRL, he was just dominant.* In total in his three 2017 NYC games, Max King played 197 minutes, made 423 metres from 43 hit-ups and made 106 tackles at a tackling efficiency rating of in excess of 95%.

Max King’s 2017 NYC per game averages included playing 69 minutes, taking 14.3 hit-ups for 141 metres and making 35.3 tackles. In all three matches Max King made in excess of 100m metres including making 173 metres in Round Two against the Knights and in Round One against the Roosters Max King made 46 tackles in just 67 minutes on the field.

Max King made his NRL debut in Round Three of the 2017 season when he came off the interchange bench of the Titans against the Parramatta Eels.* In that match Max King played twenty six minutes, took the ball up six times making fifty metres and made thirteen tackles without missing any.

In total in the NRL in 2017 Max King played 862 minutes, made 1 183 metres from 147 hit-ups and made 462 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 94.3%. Max Kings 2017 NRL per game averages included playing 50.7 minutes, running for 69.6 metres from 8.7 hit-ups and making 27.2 tackles.

In his seventeen NRL matches Max King came off the interchange bench on eight occasions and made his starting debut at lock in Round Eight against the Canberra Raiders.* Max King’s “best” match from a statistical stand point was Round Twenty Six against the Sydney Roosters when he started at lock played all 80 minutes, making 142 metres from fifteen hit-ups and missed only one tackle whilst on his way to making 52.

Max King made his NYC debut for the Titans in 2016, going on to play twenty four matches scoring tries against the Melbourne Storm and Round Twenty One double against the Cronulla Sharks.* In total in the 2016 NYC competition, Max King played 1 454 minutes, running for 2 994 metres from 317 hit-ups and making 817 tackles.

His 2016 NYC per game averages included playing 63.21 minutes, taking the ball up 13.8 times for 130 metres and making 35.5 tackles.* Max King had a big match in Round Eight against the Canterbury Bulldogs when he ran for 222 metres and made 54 tackles. Max King also made 58 tackles in a Round Seventeen match against the Warriors.

The table below compares Max King’s 2016 and 2017 NYC and 2017 NRL per game averages.

2016 NYC 2017 NYC 2017 NRL

Games played 24 3 17

Minutes per game 63.21 69 50.7

Runs per game 13.8 14.3 8.7

Metres made per game 130 141 70

Tackles per game 35.5 35.3 27.2

Max King is a hard running player who never seems to just put his head down and runs straight, he always uses a slight step prior to contacting the defensive line, coupled with the fact that he drops his shoulder into defenders, means that he is a bit of a handful to tackle and he is not often knocked back onto his heals.* He is also good at maintaining his momentum after impacting the defensive line.

Max King has a huge high work rate and I would suggest that he would normally be at or near the top of his team’s statistics in terms of the number of hit ups he makes and on occasion runs a very good inside shoulder route to supplement his other attacking attributes.* He does not off-load the ball much however and probably never be one based on how he asked to play the game.

Defensively Max King aims hits very hard and usually hits around the top of the ball region and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls by using wrestling techniques well. This season his speed and mobility seemed to have increased and as a consequence he was better able to mirror the opposition attacker’s movement more effectively.

Max King will probably not make a large amount of hits that are going to knock opposing forwards backwards, but opposing forwards are going to feel everyone and start to look out for where he is in the defensive line.

Even with the addition of Keegan Hipgrave and Jai Arrow Max King surely is in line to play an extensive amount of NRL in 2018 and I would argue should be the starting lock for the Titans come Round One although new recruit Jai Arrow will also be in the mix for that No. 13 jersey.

At an imposing 190cm and 103kg Max King has the ideal frame to be a long term NRL front rower and has had an outstanding start to his NRL career with the Titans and shapes as a corner stone of our forward pack for years to come.

Max King is a big strong tough rugby league front rower with a touch of hardness and aggressiveness in his game and therefore from an NRL player comparison perspective, I would suggest an accurate player comparison for him would be Titans and Queensland State of Origin front rower Jarrod Wallace as a front rower who will continue to take the ball up all day long and also be very effective at it as well and one who is a touch underrated defensively in terms of how hard his initial contact is in defence.

It is quite amazing to me just how well Max King went in 2017 and also to an extent how little media coverage he got outside of the Gold Coast.* In 2017 Max King was still eligible for the NYC competition but it was clear after just two rounds that he was a class above that competition and thus he deservedly made his NRL debut in Round Three.* His outstanding Round Twenty Six match against an International Sydney Roosters forward pack is just the tip of the iceberg for this Titans youngster.

[mdrew]

Jai Arrow. The new Titans recruit is another example of the Titans targeting talented young former Gold Coast Juniors with the former Keebra Park and Australian School Boy joining the likes of Keegan Hipgrave and Jai Whitbread in the Titans 2018 NRL squad.* How well did Jai Arrow play for the Brisbane Bronco’s in 2017? Let’s just say that Wayne Bennett is not traditionally known for playing players who have already signed for another team, so Jai Arrow must have been doing something right.

Jai Arrow who is looking to cement is spot as the starting lock for the Titans recently signed a three year to transfer from the Brisbane Broncos.* Jai Arrow has also represented Queensland at the U16, U18 and U20 levels on multiple occasions and graduated from the NYC competition to the NRL in 2015.

Over the course of the 2017 season with the Broncos, Jai Arrow alternated between the Broncos NRL side and playing for the Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup.* Jai Arrow made his NRL debut for the Broncos in 2016 when he started from the interchange bench in Round Ten against the Manly Sea Eagles going on to feature in twelve NRL matches.* Jai Arrow also played in twelve NRL matches in the 2017 season.

In total in 2017 the 22 year old 189cm 97kg lock played in twelve NRL matches including two of the Broncos Finals matches.* Jai Arrow started all of his 2017 NRL matches from the interchange bench except for Round Nineteen when he started against the Newcastle Knights at lock and had an outstanding match.

In the NRL is 2017, Jai Arrow played 307 minutes, ran the ball on 94 occasions for 827 metres and made 193 tackles at an outstanding tackling efficiency of 96.5%, missing only seven tackles over the course of the 2017 NRL season.* Jai Arrows per game NRL averages included playing 25.6 minutes, running for 69 metres from 8 hit-ups and making 27 tackles.* In Round Nineteen against the Newcastle Knights in his only start in 2017 Jai Arrow ran for 150 metres, averaging 10 metres a hit-up and made twenty seven tackles in 80 minutes of game time.

In the Queensland Cup competition for the North’s Devils Jai Arrow played in seven matches coming into the side in the front row against the South’s Logan magpies in Round Six. Jai Arrow started all seven of his Queensland Cup matches this season, one in the front row, two in the second row and the remaining four at lock.

In total in the 2017 Queensland Cup competition Jai Arrow was on the field for North’s for 530 minutes, made 276 tackles and ran for 1 083 metres.* His 2017 per game averages for seven games included playing 76 minutes, running for 155 metres and making forty tackles. In five of his seven matches Jai Arrow played all 80 minutes and in all seven matches he also ran for more than 100 metres and made more than twenty eight tackles.

Jai Arrow made had some big matches in terms of running metres including running for 187 metres in Round Fifteen against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and in Round Twenty against the Easts Tigers he ran for 174 metres. Defensively Jai Arrow made 52 tackles in a Round Seventeen match against the Townsville Blackhawks and in Round Fifteen against the Townsville Blackhawks Jai Arrow made 47 and in Round Twenty against Easts Jai Arrow made 46 tackles in 74 minutes.

In total in the NRL is 2016, Jai Arrow played 285 minutes, ran the ball on 66 occasions for 575 metres and made 195 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93%, missing only twelve tackles over the course of the 2016 NRL season.* Jai Arrows per game 2016 NRL averages included playing 23.75 minutes, running for 48 metres from 5.5 hit-ups and making 16 tackles.* In 2016 Jai Arrow also scored his sole NRL try of his career which came in Round Twenty Five against the Melbourne Storm. In Round Nineteen of 2016 against South Sydney Jai Arrow ran for 142 metres and made 35 tackles in just 54 minutes on the field.

Incredibly over the course of his 24 NRL matches and two NRL seasons, Jai Arrow has been credited with only three errors that is an error only every 193 minutes of game time and is an outstanding statistic in anyone’s language. He was charged with one error in 2016 and two this season. Similarly impressive is that fact that over that span Jai Arrow has made 388 tackles and was noted as missing only twenty.

The table below compares Jai Arrow’s 2016 and 2017 NRL per game averages.

2016 2017

Games played 12 12

Minutes per game 23.75 25.6

Runs per game 5.5 8

Metres made per game 48 69

Tackles per game 16.3 27

Jai Arrow is a hard ball runner who is adept at using late and quick footwork just prior to contact line which he hits with power and force in absolutely every hit up that he makes dropping his shoulder into the first defender that is looking to make the initial contact.* His ability to get low to engage the defenders with his shoulder rather than allowing them to get in and under his ribs and also a substantial leg drive means that he drives defenders backwards even after they had engaged him with significant force rather than allowing them to impact on his momentum.

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

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

Defensively the most impressive aspect of Jai Arrow’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle.* For the Broncos in the NRL in 2017 Jai Arrow continually made up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions and still back up looking to take a hit up the next set of six tackles.

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

Jai Arrow good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork, he is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

Jai Arrow will be hard pressed not to start in the No. 13 jersey for the Titans come Round One in 2018 but he will not have it all his own way with another Titans youngster in Max King also pushing for that spot.* Potentially the suspension of Jarrod Wallace and Keegan Hipgrave means that Max King will push up to the front row for that match, leaving the lock forward spot for Jai Arrow.

Even though he not the biggest forward running around in the NRL Jai Arrow is as tough and as hard working as they come and has a future in the NRL at lock but could certainly play a bit wider of the ruck in the second row if need be and still do the required job for his team.

If anyone liked what they saw of Keegan Hipgrave in his Round Twenty Six NRL debut this year then they should be very much looking forward to seeing Jai Arrow in a Titans jersey in 2018 as they are very similar players although Jai Arrow is probably not as overtly “aggressive” but just as hard tough skilful and dedicated as his fellow Gold Coast junior and now Titans NRL team mate.

With the likes of Jai Arrow, Keegan Hipgrave, Jai Whitbread, Morgan Boyle, Karl Lawton and Max King, the Titans forward pack looks set for a number of years to come and that is not even mentioning the next generation of Titan’s forwards coming through such as backrowers Reihana Marsh, Apitia Neoma and outstanding young front row prospect Moeaki Fotuaika amongst many others, I also anticipate that classy centre Daniel Brownbill will make the transition to the second row in the coming seasons as well.

[JunctionBlock]

Can't do Thumbs Up anymore but just wanted to say thank you for the dossier. Amazing work as always mdrew.

[mdrew]

Zac Butler. The young Singleton five eight who was named as the Group 21 U18 player of the year has moved up to Toowoomba to try his luck with the Titans aligned Western Mustangs Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts side in 2018. Zac Butler has been a long term member of the Northern Tigers academy junior squads and comes up to the Western Mustangs with the reputation of a great team mate and hard worker.

Over the course of the 2017 season Zac Butler played for Singleton in the Hunter Valley Group 21 competition, playing in the U18 reserve grade and First Grade competitions.* In the U18 competition for which was named the Group 21 player of the year, Zac Butler played in fourteen matches scoring twenty two points from four tries and three goals playing primarily at five eight.* Zac Butler tries came against Muswellbrook in two separate matches and also against Scone and Denman.

Zac Butler made his Group 21 First Grade debut on Saturday June 17 against Muswellbrook going onto paly four First Grade games in total and scoring in his final First Grade match of the season against Muswellbrook.* Zac Butler also played two reserve grade matches which were against Denman and Merriwa.

At 170cm and 80kg, Zac Butler relies on speed and guile on the field to make his mark and is only slight of build but do not take his lack of size in any way as a lack of ability or courage, he has a lot of both, which is on display each time he runs onto the field.* With the ball he is a very good distributor and will take the ball to the line in an effort to set up his supports.* Zac Butler is adept at drawing an opposing defender out of the defensive line and then putting his support runner through the resulting gap.

In terms of his speed, I would suggest that an appropriate definition of Zac Butler’s speed would be that he is quick off the mark but does not have an extra gear when he breaks into open space.

Zac Butler will back his judgement and take the game on especially when the game is on the line.* Assisting his play is the fact that he makes the decision what to do with the ball quickly thus enabling the ball to get out wide quickly.* In previous seasons when I have seen him play he sometimes took the line on himself too much, but the times that I have seen him play this season* Zac Butler has become more selective about when to pass and when to run.* His passing game is solid but seems to be slightly better when he is passing to the right side of the field.

Zac Butler has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field to enhance his team’s field position.

In defence, due to his size he is obviously not going to come up with the big hit but reads the play well and can hold his own when defending much bigger players.* Zac Butler is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side both in attack and defence.

Zac Butler has been named in the Western Mustangs U20 Hastings Deering’s squad for the 2018 season and will be eligible again for that competition in 2019.

I would think that regardless of what level of competition rugby league takes Zac Butler that he will be in a No. 7 jersey as a tough feisty half back.

From a player comparison perspective thing maybe a Gary Freeman type player as someone who will give everything on the field regardless of their size and will not back down and has the organisational, leadership and game management skills that will give him an opportunity to succeed.

[mdrew]

Dylan Collett. (Updated) The 21 year old Grafton Ghosts centre played his third year in the Grafton Ghosts first grade side in the Tooheys Group Two competition in 2017 finishing the season with a premiership and as the competition’s leading try scorer.* *The Grafton Ghosts also won the Clayton Cup in 2017 which is awarded to the most outstanding New South Wales

From just fourteen games for the Grafton Ghosts in the Tooheys Group Two First Grade competition, Dylan Collett averaged two tries per match on his way to scoring twenty eight for the season for a total point’s tally of 112. Only against the Sawtell Panthers in June was he kept scoreless.* Dylan Collett’s biggest single game haul came against Coffs Harbour in May when he scored for five tries.* Dylan Collett also scored four hat tricks which came against Nambucca Heads, local rivals and Grand Final opponents the South Grafton Rebels, Macksville and Woolgoolga.* Dylan Collett had an outstanding first seven rounds of the 2017 season when he scored eighteen tries through those rounds.

In 2017 Dylan Collett was also part of the Group Two U23 representative side and had a day out against Group Three when he scored five tries and from there was selected in the East Coast Dolphins U23 side for the New South Wales U23 Championships narrowly missing out on New South Wales Country selection as a consequence of his outstanding form.

Dylan Collett is a solid young centre weighing in the 96-98 kg range, include above average speed and you can see why even his Grafton Ghosts coaches think that he will ultimately end up in the back row, at the moment however he is successfully handling the centre position.* He deservedly won the Rookie of the Year for the Grafton Ghosts in 2015.

For a solidly built young man Dylan Collett has above average speed for an outside back when he is running in a straight line, when he changes direction, either by using a side step or a swerve, his speed bleeds off and it will then take time for him to then progress back to full speed, thus he is most effective in the centres when he is running straight.* The Ghosts have been very good at incorporating his skill set into their game plan by getting Dylan Collett to run a straight inside shoulder line when opposition defences are sliding.

Dylan Collett is particularly effective when attacking close to the line as he runs with pace and regularly drags defenders over the try line.* Due to his size when defenders try to tackle him around the chest he can shrug them off but does lose momentum in his run in those circumstances.* As he is reasonably new to the centre position he is still learning the nuances of setting up his winger when he beats his opposite centre.* For Grafton he seems to line up at right centre the majority of the time.

From a defensive perspective, his timing and anticipation are his best attributes, Dylan Collett has developed an effective tackling technique in terms of coming out of the line to negate the opposition attack, he will not aim of the big hit but he is effective at wrapping out the ball and preventing the play from developing further, his natural strength is a key attribute here.* When Dylan Collett is beaten on the outside, he has reasonable speed to be able to recover and chase but as he plays against faster outside backs this will become more problematic for him.

At just 21 years old Dylan Collett will start his third year in the Group Two First Grade competition in 2018 and I still am finding it hard to believe that he has not gotten opportunities at a higher level specifically the Queensland Cup but with his youth it is not out of the realms of possibility that he will throw his hat into the ring for a Queensland Cup opportunity.* Dylan Collett will also be a certain starter in the East Coast Dolphins U23 side and from there will push for a New South Wales Country U23 jersey.

Anthony Don also played for the Grafton Ghosts prior to linking with the Titans as a “mature” age player, so hopefully lightning will strike twice for the Titans and Dylan Collett.

For the last couple of seasons I have been waiting for Dylan Collett to move into the second row and I am still waiting.* This season Dylan Collett was once again not just the best centre in the Group Two competition but the best player overall.* I still think that Dylan Collett ends up in the second row but maybe I am just stubborn.

If you look at how Isiah yeo of the Penrith Panthers plays you may get an understanding of how Dylan Collett currently plays, Yeo started off as a straight running centre who has developed his skills to be a hard working backrower, I believe that Dylan Collett will have a similar path from a position perspective.

[mdrew]

Austin (Aussie) Cooper. The exceptionally athletic South Grafton Rebels youngster has endured a lot since signing with the Gold Coast Titans as a 14 year old when he was spotted and signed by former coach John Cartwright.* Horror knee and shoulder injuries amongst other issues have conspired to impact on his development however.* The 2017 year was different however as the 20 year old showed what he can do when he is fit, healthy and motived.

The young second rower had a great year in the Group Two First Grade competition showcasing his incredible athletic skills accompanied by strength and power in a big strong frame.* It has been a long long time since I have seen such athleticism from such a big strong young man and the scary part his fitness will only continue to improve.

In the Group Two First Grade competition Austin Cooper played in fifteen matches for the Rebels and averaged a try a game on his way to finishing as the third leading try scorer in the competition.* In total Austin Cooper scored 62 points from his fifteen tries and sole goals which came in June against Coffs Harbour when he converted his final try of the Sunday afternoon.

Austin Cooper scored four tries in an April match against Nambucca Heads and also scored doubles against Coffs Harbour in two separate matches, Woolgoolga and Sawtell.* Austin Cooper started in the second row in the Rebels Grand Final loss to local rivals the Grafton Ghosts.

In 2017 Austin Cooper also represented Group Two at the U23 level being part of their dominant win over Group Three and post that match was selected in the East Coast Dolphins U23 side in the second row for the New South Wales Country U23 Championships.

Running the ball Austin Cooper is a powerhouse and in addition to unbelievable top end speed also has plus speed off the mark.* I do not recall a run of his in 2017 when he did not bend the defensive line backwards as he impacts the defensive line at an incredible velocity and it always takes multiple defenders to halt his progress.* He also continues to pump his legs after impact, making more yardage than you would think possible after contact.

On a couple of occasions for South Grafton he has received the ball in a bit of space and on those occasions, actually has a decent in and away to get around defenders and understandably a powerful fend.* He has tended to run to the right side of the field to date for South Grafton.

Austin Cooper is an unbelievably powerful young man, with a strong solid frame and a low centre of gravity and unbelievable speed for a young man his size.* I seriously cannot recall seeing someone with such a solid build being so fast regardless of the level of the competition.

Defensively Austin Cooper just smashes the opposition regardless of size, taking advantage of his strength advantage over most opponents, and he also very good at finishing off the tackle and then winning the wrestle on the ground. He does need to refine his defensive technique when tackling one on one as he seems to tackle a little chest on from my perspective at least but he compensates with his physical attributes.

At just 20 years old Austin Cooper will start his second year in the Group Two First Grade competition in 2018 with the South Grafton Rebels where he plays with his also very talented younger brothers.* Austin Cooper will also be a certain starter in the East Coast Dolphins U23 side and from there will push for a New South Wales Country U23 jersey.

It may take him another year or two of staying fit and healthy but if he can I can see opportunities at the Queensland Cup level.* With a 186cm 110kg frame and extraordinary speed and strength to go with it Austin Cooper has all of the physical attributes that you are looking for in a rugby league second rower. Austin Cooper actually was looking to test himself in the Queensland Cup Colts competition in 2014 with the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

From a player comparison perspective I am going a touch left field, but with his size, strength, power and speed, Austin Cooper reminds me in many respects of former Warriors and New Zealand International Ali Lauitiiti who recently retired from the English Super League after stints with Wakefield Trinity and Leeds.

If Austin Cooper can stay fit, healthy and motivated, he has all of the requisite skills to be a contributor in the Queensland Cup and from there every player is a step away from the NRL.* Yes I acknowledge that that scenario is far from certain but you just never know where the next talented rugby league player will be found.

By the way his two younger brothers are also chances making a name for themselves in rugby league circles as well, in fact 18 year old Lewis Cooper is being chased by both rugby league and Super 12 rugby sides and like his brother is also an exceptionally athletic powerful athlete.

[mdrew]

Nathan Watts. The former Titans NYC front rower had an outstanding debut season in the Queensland Cup for the Redcliffe Dolphins in 2017 including starting in Round One and also starting in the front row in the Dolphins finals series including a tough 6 – 4 finals loss to eventual premiers PNG.

Nathan Watts made his Queensland Cup debut in Round One this season when he started in the front row against the Burleigh Bears.* Injuries however meant that he played only one more Queensland Cup match until Round Sixteen when he came back in the Redcliffe side where he stayed for the remainder of the 2017 Queensland Cup season including the Dolphins finals matches.

In total Nathan Watts was on the field for 393 minutes through twelve matches’ games, making 976 metres and also making 199 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 89.6% in the Queensland Cup in 2017.* Nathan Watts also broke 24 tackles and had one offload on the season. Nathan Watts scored two Queensland Cup tries in 2017, his first coming in his debut in Round One against the Burleigh Bears and his second against Tweed heads in Round Twenty Three.

Nathan Watts’s 2017 per game Queensland Cup averages included playing 32.75 minutes per game, running for 75.1 metres and making 16.6 tackles.

Of the twelve matches that he played in Nathan Watts came off the interchange bench on five occasions, started at lock in two and started five in the front row including Redcliffe’s two finals matches.

Of the 976 metres that he made in 2017, Nathan Watts made 265 of those post contact thus 27% of all his running metres were made after he had impacted the defensive line, including running for 38 post contact metres against the Burleigh Bears in Round Seventeen.

In three of his twelve matches, Nathan Watts ran for in excess of 100 metres, by coincidence running for 103 metres on each occasion. Those matches were in Round Twenty Three against Tweed Heads, Round Twenty Five against the Northern Pride and Redcliffe’s Preliminary Final loss to PNG.

Defensively Nathan Watts made 38 tackles in just 29 minutes in Round Seventeen against the Burleigh Bears and in Round Twenty Five against the Northern Pride he made 34 tackles in just 36 minutes on the field.

For the Titans in the NYC competition in 2016, Nathan Watts played in twenty four matches running for in excess of 100 metres and 24 tackles a match.* In total Nathan Watts played in twenty eight NYC matches for the Titans over the course of the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Nathan Watts is a solidly built young front rower with a low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle as he is also adept at dropping his shoulder into defenders as he impacts the defensive line.* *There is no subtlety to his game, he runs straight and hard, with the only concession to this being a slight step off his left foot in occasion prior to impacting the defensive line.

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

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

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

Nathan Watts will continue to enhance his growing reputation in 2018 once again with the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Queensland Cup and with the Dolphins losing two of their front rowers to the Bronco’s NRL squad the expectations and reliance on Nathan Watts will increase.

With his 183cm, 103kg low to the ground frame Nathan Watts will continue to play in the front row for the remainder of his rugby league career whether that is in the NRL or the Queensland Cup.

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