Brock Priestley. The former Northern Territory junior signed a multi-year contract with the Titans in 2018 and in 2019 moved to PBC where he is part of their rugby league excellence program alongside multiple fellow Titans such as stand out utility forward Bailey Martin and play maker Tom Weaver amongst others.

In early January 2021 Brock Priestley started at right second row for the Titans U19 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights in Coffs Harbour, a match that the Titans dominated, especially in the second half to record a 40 – 6 victory.

Brock Priestley was solid throughout the match both in attack and defence and early in the second half was involved in a spectacular Jaylan De Groot try. Down a short blind side fifty five metres out from the Newcastle line, Brock Priestley received a short pass from Riley Lack. Noting that there was space to his right, Brock Priestley immediately upon getting the ball threw a great short pass to Reef Sommerville putting him into space, with Jaylan De Groot scoring when he was on hand to retrieve a Reef Sommerville kick back inside.

Brock Priestley was also solid defensively in the match with a number of tackles standing out including a tackle in the third minute where Brock Priestley and Isaac Matalavea-Booth belted the Knight left winger who had come off his wing forcing him five metres backwards before driving him into the ground.

Another impressive (and critical) tackle that Brock Priestley made came early in the second half. Defending on the right, Brock Priestley came out of the line to make a ball and all tackle on the Newcastle halfback around twenty metres out from the try line. If Brock Priestley had not came out of the line and made the tackle or allowed an offload, Newcastle would have developed a one man overlap against the Titans right sided defensive line with the Titans defensive line back peddling close to their own line.

A week after the match against the Newcastle Knights Brock Priestley once again lined up for the Titans U19’s starting at right second row as the Titans took on a Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad with the Titans winning 32 – 20 with no conversions attempted.

As he did against Newcastle Brock Priestley produced some smart pieces of play for the Titans including some impressive footwork in the first half to get in between two defenders and still Brock Priestley was able to get his right arm free to get an off-load away out of the back of his right arm to enable Reef Sommerville to progress the ball further down field, impressively Brock Priestley got to his feet to take the nexthit-up afte the off-load.

Brock Priestley’s speed was highlighted in the 17th minute of the first half against the Bears. Brock Priestley packed into a scrum with a Bears feed in the second row. When the Bears won the scrum, Cole Geyer, who is probably the quickest hooker in the Gold Coast Rugby League, ran the ball to Brock Priestley’s right off the back of the scrum. After breaking from the scrum Brock Priestley chased Cole Geyer down tackling him from behind and dislodging the ball.

Later in the first half Brock Priestley showcased his line running ability when he ran a great inside shoulder line, making ten metres with the run finishing inside the Bears twenty metre zone.

In November 2020 Brock Priestley was named in the powerful Tweed Heads Seagulls 2021 MM Cup squad.

Brock Priestley started the Seagulls final 2021 MM Cup trial at right second row against the SOuths Logan Magpies with Tweed Heads winning 32 -4 in a match where no conversions were taken.

Brock Priestley started the 2020 season as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad, starting from on the bench for Round One against the Northern Pride and scoring late in the second half in the Seagulls big first up victory 50 - 20.

Also in 2020 Brock Priestley was part of the PBC Langer Cup Open A squad, where he operated primarily at lock or in the second row, including starting at lock in Round One as PBC took on Ipswich State High School. Brock Priestley also started at lock in Round Two against Wavell State High School and in Round Three against St Mary’s Toowoomba.

Brock Priesley moved to the front row in the Round Four local derby against Keebar Park and started at lock in Round Five against Marsden State High School.

Brock Priestley moved right second row for PBC as they qualified for the 2020 Langer Cup final on the back of an impressive 34 – 6 victory over Ipswich State High School.

Brock Priestley started the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final at right second row for PBC as they defeated Keebra Park 16 – 8 in a high quality match, running some impressive lines especially close to the Keebra Park line.

In the Courier Mail 2020 Langer Cup Team of the Year, Brock Priestley was named in starting side at lock.

In the Queensland School Boys Final against Kirwan State High School Brock Priestley started at right second row as PBC travelled to take on their North Queensland based opponents and scored PBC’s opening two tries as PBC went down 24 – 20 with both tries coming in the first half.

Brock Priestley’s first try of the match came when he was on hand to grab a kick from PBC five eight Ryan Rivett that had rebounded off the Kirwan foot. Brock Priestley displayed good hands to pluck the ball out of the air when running at full speed and once he was through the initial defensive line as a result, veered to his left to beat the fullback and score fifteen metres from the right upright.

Brock Priestley’s second try came late in the first half and was a direct result of Brock Priestley running a perfect hard straight line into a gapt around twenty metres out down the blind side and once he was through the defensive line, no one had any chance of stopping him scoring five metres in from the right corner post.

Brock Priestley played the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League with the Ormeau Shearers in the U18 Division One competition and was dominant in a number of matches including Round Seven against Mudgeeraba when he started at fullback, scored an impressive second half try and kicked three goals as the Shearers prevailed 22 – 12.

Brock Priestley started his try scoring movement to the right of the play the ball around thirty metres out from the Mudgeeraba line, just as the ball was being played, he darted behind the play the ball down a short ten metre blind beating the initial defender the a left arm fend before holding off two other defnders to get the ball down five metres in from the right corner post.

The former Northern Territory junior converted his outstanding performances since his move to the Gold Coast mid-way through the 2017 season into an opportunity with the Titans U15 Development squad and was part of the side that played against a Balmain Tigers U15 touring side in 2018 with the Titans winning 16 - 10.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brock Priestley’s most recent match for the Titans was when he started at right second row for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park.

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

In total in the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One competition for Ormeau Brock Priestley played in nine regular season matches including a big Round Nine match when he started at lock and scored two tries and kicked a conversion against Helensvale.

Brock Priestley also scored against Helensvale in Round Thirteen and in Round Fourteen against Coomera to account for his two season tries.

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

In the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One Grand Final against Coomera, Brock Priestley started at lock had was having a very good game until injury struck late in the match and Brock Priestley had to come off. Brock Priestley’s Ormeau side went on to win the U16 Division One Grand Final in golden point extra time 22 -20 in a great match of rugby league.

2019 also saw Brock Priestley play for the Somerset College First XV in the Associated Private Schools competition, being a group of eight schools across the Gold Coast including starting in the Grand Final against All Saints Anglican School. For the first time in the competitions history the Grand Final ended in a 17 all draw with Brock Priestley prominent in attack especially in the second half.

Post the season Brock Priestley was named the 2019 Somerset College First XV Best Forward and was also named the 2020 Rugby Captain. I note for completeness that Brock Priestley has moved to PBC as part of their rugby league excellence program.

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

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

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

In Week One of the 2018 U15 Division One of the Finals Brock Priestley started in the centres and scored as Ormeau defeated Runaway Bay 28 – 12. Brock Priestly backed that up in Week Two starting in the centres and scoring once again as the Shearers qualified for the Grand Final with a 44 – 6 win over Coomera.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Brock Priestley will play the 2021 season with Ormeau in the U18 Division One competition and will also be part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2021 MM Cup squad for the second season in a row.

Brock Priestley will also return to PBC for his senior year and is a near certainity for the PBC GIO Cup and Langer Cup school boy competitions.

In the Northern Territory before moving down to the Gold Coast, Brock Priestley played primarily in the front row but played primarily in the centres early in his time on the Gold Coast before moving to the second row. For completeness I note that Brock Priestley played a number of matches at fullback in 2020 for the Ormeau Shearers in the 2020 GCRL U18 Division One competition.

I envisage that Brock Priestley can stay in the second row for the next couple of seasons due to the fact that he knows his way to the try line and his solid one on one defence.

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