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  1. #871
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    Timothy Seilaff-Burns. (Revised) The tall rangy fullback recently started on the wing for the Titans U15 side as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 even though he was still U14 eligible in 2018.

    In the Thursday Night match at Cudgen in September Timothy Seilaff-Burns started on the right wing for the Titans scoring towards the end of the first half when he received a wide ball early from Titans five eight Riley Lack, he was able to freeze the Balmain defender and then beat him on the outside to score in the right hand corner from close range.

    In the match Timothy Seilaff-Burns also showed some flashes of exquisite skill including nearly taking and intercept which also saved a certain Balmain try and tracking back and taking a clearing kick on the full over his shoulder whilst running flat out towards his own line.

    To highlight his work ethic, late in the first half with the Titans looking to bring the ball out of their own half, Timothy Seilaff-Burns went all the way across to the left wing to take a hit up to help relieve the pressure on the Titans forwards before heading back to the right wing.

    This season Timothy Seilaff-Burns transferred from Jimboomba to Coomera to play for the Cutters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U14 Division One competition.

    Including the finals series, Timothy Seilaff-Burns played in fifteen U14 Division One matches scoring fifteen tries, kicking thirteen goals and a field goal (against Nerang) to finish the season with 87 points.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burns scored hat tricks against Nerang and Ormeau and doubles against Runaway Bay and Nerang. Timothy Seilaff-Burns scored in eight of his ten matches with just Helensvale and Burleigh keeping him from scoring.

    In Week One of the U14 Division One finals Timothy Seilaff-Burns started at fullback and was simply outstanding as Coomera defeated Nerang 37 – 8 with Timothy Seilaff-Burns contributing three tries, two goals and a field goal.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burns was at his very best again in Week Two of the finals scoring a try and kicking three goals as Coomera went down 24 – 18 to Helensvale.

    In the U14 Division One Preliminary Final Timothy Seilaff-Burns scored a try and kicked two goals as Coomera qualified for the Grand Final as a result of a 28 – 12 victory over Nerang.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burns started fullback and scored for Coomera in the U14 Division One Grand Final but they went down 29 – 12 to a talented Helensvale side.

    In 2018 Timothy Seilaff-Burns also played one match for the Cutters in the U15 Division One competition and had an outstanding debut scoring a double against Currumbin on a cold Friday night. Timothy Seilaff-Burns then backed up on the Saturday for the Coomera U14 Division One side scoring two tries and kicking three goals against Nerang.

    In 2018 Timothy Seilaff-Burns represented the Gold Coast Vikings sat the U14 level in the Hill Stumer Divisional Championships playing in three matches and scoring 24 point from four tries and four goals. Timothy Seilaff-Burns scored a double in Match One against Ipswich and also scored in Matches Two and Three against Brisbane Red and Brisbane Grey respectively.

    From those Championships Timothy Seilaff-Burns was selected to represent South East Queensland Green at the Queensland Age Championships where he started at fullback and scored against South East Queensland White, Central and Northern.

    From a goal kicking perspective, his kicking followed his try scoring in relation to kicking as many goals as he scored tries in his matches.

    For the Jimboomba Thunder U13 Division One side in 2017 Timothy Seilaff-Burns was arguably one of the most dynamic players in the competition, especially in relation to when he had the ball in his hands.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burns finished as the 2017 U13 Division One’s leading points scored with 130 points, 34 on front of second and also finished as equal second on the try scoring list. Timothy Seilaff-Burns scored fourteen tries and kicked 37 goals and had some big matches along the way including scoring five tries and kicking ten goals for a points haul of 40 in a Round Two match against Ormeau. In Round One against Mudgeeraba, Timothy Seilaff-Burns scored a hat trick and kicked six goals. Timothy Seilaff-Burns also scored a double against Runaway Bay mid-season.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burns also played two matches in the U14 Division Two competition with his first match at that level against Mudgeeraba in late June and his second match against Burleigh in early July.

    In relation to representative rugby league, Timothy Seilaff-Burns captained the South Coast 2016 U12 side and then progressed to represent the Queensland U12 side where he played on the left wing, crossing for three tries in the National championships where his Queensland side finished second. He scored on Day Three against the New South Wales Invitational side in a 40 – 0 victory, in a quarter final he scored against the Northern Territory in a 44 – 6 victory and he also scored in Queensland’s semi-final victory again against NSW Invitational.

    To round off his U12 National championships he also kicked a goal against the Queensland Invitational side and was named as Queensland player of the match in one of the pool games, on Day Three I believe. In addition to his great rugby league form he was also named SECA U12 Age Champion at their athletic carnival and in 2015 was named Emmaus College’s best and fairest player for their Kingfisher Cup rugby league campaign.

    For a tall rangy player Timothy Seilaff-Burns is very quick off the mark and when the ball is being brought out of his teams half he is always around the forwards looking for off loads but as evidenced by one of his tries he also can play the way a lot of the current fullbacks play when they receive the football “out the back” from the half or five eight.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burn 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, as evidenced by some of his matches playing at fullback for the South Coast U12 side and for Queensland even though he played on the left wing there.

    In terms of his defence, one thing that stood out to me when have seen him play is when the opposition makes a break Timothy Seilaff-Burns moves forward looking to cut down the time of the attacking player, which is quite impressive for such a young player. Due to his height, he is good also at defending the high ball.

    In 2019 Timothy Seilaff-Burns will play in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition for Coomera and is also a likely selection in the South Coast U15 QSSRL side.

    I initially thought he would be a very good centre, and I am sure with his natural ability Timothy Seilaff-Burns would be, but with the skills he has and the way the modern game is played, fullback seems to be his best position into the future.

    Timothy Seilaff-Burns obviously has a long way to go, but I am looking forward to seeing him play over the coming years and seeing how he progresses as he possesses all of the skills and physical attributes to be a very good rugby league player at a very good junior rugby league club in the Jimboomba Thunder.

    From an NRL player comparison perspective for Timothy Seilaff-Burns I would say a reasonable comparison to Josh Duggan of the Cronulla Sharks and New South Wales State of Origin side would be fair as a player who is a very good runner of the football and who has the confidence to back himself in both attack and defence and is very safe under the high ball.

  2. #872
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    Joseph Shannon. The giant young backrower has been one of a number of standouts of his age group on the Gold Coast over the last couple of seasons. Joseph Shannon’s old brothers Samuel and Daniel both have links with the Titans.

    For the 2018 season, Joseph Shannon transfer from Southport to Coomera for whom he played the U14 Division One season. Through eleven matches in that competition including finals matches, Joseph Shannon scored six tries and kicked five conversions to finish the U14 Division One season with 34 points.

    Joseph Shannon scored doubles in consecutive rounds mid-season against Beaudesert and Helensvale and also scored against Ormeau and Nerang. Four of Joseph Shannon’s goals came in a match against Beaudesert (he also scored a double in that match) with the other against Runaway Bay.

    Joseph Shannon also played in one U15 Division One match this season for Coomera when he lined up against Currumbin in late July.

    Joseph Shannon at the start of this season represented the Gold Coast Vikings U14 side starting at lock in two matches and scored a double in Match Two of the South East Queensland U14 Championships in a win against Brisbane Red. His other match was against Ipswich.

    Post those Championships Joseph Shannon was selected at lock for South East Queensland White and scored against South East Queensland Green of the Queensland Age Championships.

    Recently Joseph Shannon was selected in the Queensland Academy of Sport U15 Emerging Origin squad.

    Joseph Shannon also represented the Gold Coast Vikings in 2017 at the U13 level, playing three games in the 2017 Hill Stumer Championships.

    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 Joseph Shannon, 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, Joseph Shannon also has above average speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Joseph Shannon is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

    Joseph Shannon 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.

    Joseph Shannon in schoolboy rugby and junior age groups is 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 when off-loading.

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

    Joseph Shannon’s 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.

    Joseph Shannon 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 Joseph Shannon will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

    Joseph Shannon will play the 2019 season I believe with the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL U15 Division One competition and is also a likely U15 South Coast representative as well.

    Joseph Shannon is a big strong powerful young man but he also has good speed and mobility and for that reason I believe that Joseph Shannon’s ideal spot on a rugby league field is in the second row where he can use his physical attributes and skill set a bit wider of the ruck.

    Joseph Shannon is a rare combination of incredible athletic ability and an exceptional understanding of timing and anticipation on a football thus to that extent for me Joseph Shannon has Sonny Bill Williams’s athletic ability and Matt Gillett’s football smarts and aggressiveness

  3. #873
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    Eli Morgan. (Revised) The strong tough hard running young Titans linked second rower was part of the Burleigh MM Cup this season as well as part of the Keebra Park rugby league side in their various schoolboy competitions including the GIO Cup. In 2017 Eli Morgan started from the interchange bench in Keebra Park’s National GIO Cup triumph.

    In the MM Cup competition for Burleigh this season Eli Morgan was involved in three matches. He started Round One in the second row against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, in Round Three against Tweed Heads and in Round Four Eli Morgan started in the second row against Souths Logan.

    Eli Morgan only played two matches for Burleigh this season in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition, one in the U17 Division One competition against Helensvale and one in the U19 competition against Bilambil.

    In 2017 Eli Morgan was named in the 2017 Gold Coast Green U16 Vikings side for the 2017 season as well as playing for Burleigh in the GCJRL U16 Division One competition and performing strongly for the Keebra Park GIO Cup side including starting the Queensland Final on the wing. Eli Morgan also represented the Queensland U16 side in their tough 22 – 16 loss to New South Wales in a State of Origin curtain raiser.

    Eli Morgan started off the 2017 season representing Gold Coast Vikings Green in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition scoring against Brisbane Blue. From there Eli Morgan was selected in the South East Queensland U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships. Eli Morgan was a standout scoring a double on Day One against Central, Day Two against Northern, Day Three against South East Queensland White and Eli Morgan also scored in the final in a 42 – 30 loss to SEQ White.

    Eli Morgan played for Burleigh in the GCJRL U16 Division One competition, playing eleven matches in total, scoring six tries, including a double in the first match of the season against Helensvale, in Round Two Eli Morgan also scored against Runaway Bay. In a three game span in May Eli Morgan scored in every matches with those matches being against Ormeau, Runaway Bay and Ormeau once again.

    From an attacking perspective, Eli Morgan has a wide running mindset for a backrower with a very good turn of speed once he breaks through the line. Like all good running backrowers though, he takes his share of runs in the middle of the ruck but he is impressive at running good lines on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into although he is not averse to running straight over people if the need arises either.

    His determination is one aspect that enables him to be in the right place at the right time. He is a hard runner and does not give up on the run until the opposition puts him on the ground, as a consequence, he makes a lot more metres for his team than he has a right to and with his determination he will also on occasion break clear of the defenders totally. I would consider that he runs ‘tough’ with the ball in his hands.

    For Burleigh, Eli Morgan defended both in the edge of the ruck and well as through the middle. Eli Morgan was quietly effective in both situations from both a quality and quantity perspective. His initial contact is solid and is more than enough to stop the momentum of the ball carrier and effect tackles one on one. He is also effective at wrapping the ball up and preventing offloads.

    While Eli Morgan hits he hits hard, but I would not call it aggressive per say, but he is just tough in his approach to his defence. I do not necessarily think that Eli Morgan’s defensive work will stand out because he is not going to come up with a huge hit which will get the crowd on its feet, but Eli Morgan will do a lot of work and will likely always finish at or near the top of the tackle count regardless of the level and standard of football he is playing.

    Eli Morgan will play the 2018 season with the Burleigh Bears at the U18 Division One level as well as being a member of the 2019 Burleigh MM Cup squad.

    Even though Eli Morgan played a couple of matches in the wing for Keebra Park in the past, I can see no reason that Eli Morgan will move away from the second row position which is where he has played in recent seasons.

    From a player comparison perspective for Eli Morgan, someone with a similar playing style that could be used for a comparison perspective would be the Brisbane Broncos backrower Alex Glenn as a strong hard running, hard tackling aggressive and effective backrower who can play for 80 minutes without the need for a break on the interchange bench.

  4. #874
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    Nicholas Hilton. The powerful young front rower started from the bench for the Titans U15 side recently as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 even though he was still U14 eligible in 2018.

    Nicholas Hilton came on for the Titans U15’s mid-way through the first half against Balmain making an immediate impact with his size and enthusiasm including defending well right on the try line just after coming into the match.

    The Titans gave away a penalty which put the Tigers on the attack but after making a superb front on tackle from the penalty restart, Nicholas Hilton made two tackles in a row and then still got up quickly to get back to the line to plug a gap. One of those tackles included crunching the Balmain half in a heavy tackle.

    Nicholas Hilton played the 2018 season for the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U14 Division One competition finishing with a 50% strike rate through twelve matches. Nicholas Hilton also kicked three goals mid-season against Ormeau to finish the season with thirty points.

    Nicholas Hilton scored a double against Burleigh and also scored in matches against Coomera, Beaudesert, Ormeau and Mudgeeraba.

    Nicholas Hilton started in the front row in all three of Nerang’s U14 Division One Finals matches including their 28 – 12 Preliminary Finals loss to Coomera which ended their season.

    Earlier this season Nicholas Hilton was part of the Gold Coast Vikings U14 side that swept all before them in the South East Queensland U14 Championships and from there went on to represent South East Queensland Green in the Queensland Age Championships, starting of the Green’s matches in the front row.

    Recently Nicholas Hilton was selected in the Queensland Academy of Sport U15 Emerging Origin Squad.

    Nicholas Hilton also represented the Gold Coast Vikings U13’s in 2017 scoring against the Ipswich Diggers in the Vikings opening match of those Championships.

    Nicholas Hilton 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 Nicholas Hilton does do will however is continuing to pump his legs once his initial momentum is halted by the defensive line. Nicholas Hilton makes more metres than he should as a result and also forces defending teams to commit multiple defensive assets to stopping his forward progress.

    Like his attacking game, Nicholas Hilton’s defensive methodology is simply constructed and enacted. Nicholas Hilton moves up and hits the ball carrier as hard as he can, as often as he can, full stop. Nicholas Hilton is best suited to defending in the centre of the ruck and that is where you will almost always find him and for a solidly built young player.

    Nicholas Hilton moves well in terms of moving up and back in defence. His lateral movement is also actually quite reasonable for a front rower as well.

    In 2019 Nicholas Hilton will play in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition for Coomera and is also a likely selection in the South Coast U15 QSSRL side.

    Nicholas Hilton is a big strong tough young man ideally suited to the front row position on a rugby league field.

    From a player comparison perspective for Nicholas Hilton, consider someone along the lines of the St George Dragons and New South Wales State of Origin front rower Paul Vaughan as a big strong mobile forward who hits the defensive line hard as well as the opposition when they are running the ball.
    Last edited by mdrew; 24-12-18 at 02:35 PM.

  5. #875
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    Jake Martin. (Revised) The Grafton Ghosts centre continues to play solidly regardless of the standard of the opponent and that was the case again in 2018 playing for the Grafton Ghosts in the Tooheys New Group Two competition.

    As a result of his performances over the course of recent seasons, Jake Martin has signed a two year deal with the Titans which will take him through his final U18 season in 2019 and his first in the Colts age group in 2020.

    Jake Martin started off the 2018 season representing North Coast in the U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition, playing in two matches, starting both on the wing, with those matches coming against the Greater Northern Tigers and the Newcastle Knights Development Squad. In that first match against the Greater Northern Tigers Jake Martin scored to mark a positive debut.

    For the Grafton Ghosts in the Group Two competition in 2018, Jake Martin wore the blue and white in all three grades. In the Group Two U18 competition, Jake Martin played in nine matches scoring four tries including tries in the regular season against Coffs Harbour and Sawtell.

    Jake Martin also played in four Group Two Reserve Grade games, making his debut against Coffs Harbour in May of this year. In those four Reserve Grade matches, Jake Martin had a 50% strike rate with his tries coming against Sawtell and Macksville.

    Few 17 year olds make their First Grade debuts regardless of level or region, but in April Jake Martin joined that exclusive list when he came on for Grafton against Macksville.

    Over the course of the 2017 season represented the Grafton Ghosts in the U18 Group Two competition and in the U16.5 Group One junior rugby league competition. Along with fellow Grafton Ghosts player, Ben Liyou, Jake Martin attended a Titans weekend Elite Academy camp held at Lennox Heads.

    In the 2017 U18 Group Two competition, Jake Martin played in six matches (not bad at all considering he was still U16 eligible) and in those six matches scored three tries including a double against local rivals the South Grafton Rebels and also against Coffs Harbour in July. Jake Martin also played eight matches in the Group One U16.5 competition scoring late in the season against Casino RSM.

    In the blue and white of the Grafton Ghosts U15 side in 2016 Jake Martin scored seven tries in twelve matches including scoring four in a match against Clarence Coast in June 2016. His other tries came against Lismore Marist Brothers on two separate occasions and Ballina. Jake Martin also represented the U15 Group One side in the NSW Age Championships in the centres.

    Jake Martin has an extensive representative junior rugby league representative resume including representing Group One at the U14 and U15 levels in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

    Whilst Jake Martin does not have a great deal of speed off the mark, he does have decent top end speed once he gets moving and can break tackles by getting on the outside of his opponent and using a solid fend when he gets to the outside, thus preventing defenders from getting he under his ribs and thus he can maintain his running line under defensive pressure. When engaged with the defensive line Jake Martin also has a reasonable offload.

    Defensively one area that he has impressed me is his ability to defend against any size opponent, from small quick outside backs to big strong powerful backrowers running wider of the ruck. Jake martin seemingly has more strength that his size would dictate, and he 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.

    Regardless of where he defends Jake Martin sets a good base and uses his leg strength to direct his strength through the core of his body into his opponent even though by no means could he be considered a big centre.

    Another area in relation to his defence that has impressed me the most is his ability to defend close to his own try line. As noted above Jake Martin seemingly has more strength that his size would indicate, and he uses this strength to move up off his own try line redirecting the momentum of the ball carrier and thus eliminating the attacking threat in the short term at least.

    Jake Martin just intuitively knows how to defend from a timing and technique perspective and rarely loses contact with the attacker once he has engaged them.

    Jake Martin will be moving up to the Gold Coast towards the end of this year to train with the Tweed Heads MM Cup squad for the 2019 version of the competition.

    From an ultimate position perspective, I think that as he progresses towards senior rugby league, Jake Martin will ultimately end up as a solid dependable winger with average to slightly above average skills across the board.

    Jake Martin is never going to be a try scoring centre who can break tackles with his size, strength or speed, but he is a very effective defensive centre with enough speed and tackling technique to be able to efficiently and effectively defend both in a sliding or up and in defensive methodology.

    From a player comparison perspective someone along the lines of former Brisbane Broncos and England International centre Jack Reed for a player comparison for Jake Martin as an effective all round centre, in terms of an outside back who may not have the “perfect” attributes for a modern day player but will surprise in terms of his effectiveness even though he does not have one plus attribute to specifically focus on.

  6. #876
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    Jack Cullen. He is a Northern New South Wales born Titans contracted front rower who started in the front row for the Titans U15 side as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 and for me was one of the best for the Titans.

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

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

    Post the Balmain Tigers match, Jack Cullen and fellow Group 18 U15 team mates headed overseas to play in the Battlefield Challenge to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, a competition that the side won including victories against Emory Moor 12 – 6 and Leigh East 18 – 12.

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Jack Cullen will play the 2019 season in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League competition with the Cudgen Hornets and will also has been selected in the Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side which should be a more than decent side with seven Titans contracted players in the squad.

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

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

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    Shallin Fuller. (Revised) The live wire young halfback originally from Woodenbong in Northern New South Wales has been an impressive player for the Beaudesert Kingfishers for the last couple of seasons in both the Gold Coast Rugby League U19 and Doug Lipp Cup competitions after moving up from the Kyogle Turkeys for the start of the 2016 season.

    In the 2018 GCRL U19 competition Shallin Fuller finished the season equal third on the try scoring list, finished with 12 tries from 13 matches, including scoring a hat trick against Mudgeeraba in July and a double against Runaway Bay, add in eight goals including three in a match against Burleigh in June and Shallin Fuller finished the U19 season with 64 points.

    In the 2018 Doug Lipp Cup competition Shallin Fuller finished the season as the competitions second leading try scorer with a 100% strike rate through sixteen matches.

    Shallin Fuller had a big Round One scoring a hat trick against Southport and also has three doubles which have come in Rounds Three, Four and Six against Tugun, Currumbin and Ormeau respectively. Shallin Fuller also scored a hat trick against Helensvale late in the season.

    This season Shallin Fuller was also part of the Gold Coast Vikings U19 squad that won the South East Queensland U19 Challenge with the live wire young half outstanding including a dominant performance against Ipswich and recently was selected in the SEQ U18 squad as a result.

    For the U19 Kingfishers in the 2017 season Shallin Fuller has scored a competition leading sixteen tries from just twelve matches and over a four week span from late June to late July he scored ten tries, including four tries on Sunday against Tugun and doubles against Southport, Bilambil and Burleigh.

    Earlier in the 2017 season, Shallin Fuller also scored doubles against Burleigh in Round One and Runaway Bay in Rounds Four. Shallin Fuller has also played two matches for Beaudesert in the Doug Lipp Cup scoring in his debut against Southport backing up after the U19 fixture where he also scored.

    The young half who is also a talented touch player participated in the National Youth Touch Competition last year. In the 2016 season for the Kingfishers in the U17 Division One GCJRL competition, Shallin Fuller scored thirteen tries from just eleven matches including a hat trick against Nerang and four doubles which came against Burleigh on two separate occasions, Nerang and Currumbin.

    In the 2015 season he played in the U16.5 competition for Kyogle alternating between half back and five eight, but due to other commitments he only played in seven matches scoring two tries and kicking three goals for a total points tally of 14 for the season, the tries he scored were against Ballina and Lismore Marist Brothers. He also played schoolboy rugby league for Woodenbong Central High School.

    In attack he has plus to plus plus speed off the mark, it really is quite exceptional but does not necessary have an extra gear in open space, but he is able to sustain his top speed over considerable distance.

    In confined space, he has very good footwork, including a good step off both feet. He can beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies.

    The majority of his tries do not come from long breaks, they come from either darting close to the line with the opposition defensive line back peddling or backing up a forward and exploding through the defensive line and outpacing the fullback.

    At present, one area for him to continue to develop is his play making skills, including putting his runners, whether they are backrowers or centres into holes. With experience and in a stronger overall competition however there is nothing to suggest that these type of play making skills will not develop over time. As games progress he is very good at identifying tired forwards in the defensive line, and he will target them accordingly.

    Presumably as a result of his time playing touch football, he is more comfortable with playing what is in front of him rather than just play to a set game plan. Playing a more structured type of game does on occasion cause him issues as this is not his natural inclination, thus he did struggle a little playing five eight for Kyogle but it was also a reason why he was very successful when he came off the bench as an impact player.

    As noted he is by no means a big player and is more of an instinctive player than one that thrives under a structured game plan but if he can settle into a team that allows him to take the line on when he sees an opportunity I think that he can really thrive. Obviously there is a balance between running himself and distributing the ball but if he can find that balance, which is not easy, he will do well.

    I think that he has found the perfect place with the U19 Kingfishers side, their solid forward pack has enabled Shallin Fuller to operate behind a forward pack that consistently has the opposition moving backwards. He also does not mind at all putting in short attacking kicks for himself regardless of where he is on the field.

    In defence, due to his size Shallin Fuller is obviously not going to come up with the big hit but reads the play well enough and can hold his own when defending much bigger players. When confronted with forwards running directly at him on the edge of the ruck, he will get in front of them and use his shoulder in an effort to contain them until defensive help arrives.

    I have mentioned his size, but Shallin Fuller looks like he has put on some muscle over the last season or so which has had a positive impact defensively.

    Due to his speed off the mark Shallin Fuller is also a very good cover defender as he tracks the ball across the field and is also very good at tracking back to defend against short attacking kicks put in behind his team’s defensive line.

    Shallin Fuller will play the 2019 season with the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts side where he will be hard to keep out of the side throughout the season.

    For Kyogle he alternated between half back and five eight and was even used as an impact player off the bench in a couple of games, but seemingly has found a home at half back for Beaudesert over the last two seasons where he continues to benefit from the crisp distribution out of dummy half by Titans linked hooker Charlie Gee.

    A player comparison for Shallin Fuller is an interesting one and for a good comparison I am going back a while but for the people that saw former Gold Coast Seagull and Manly halfback Paul Shaw play you have someone in Fuller who is similar as a player who was dynamic when running the ball but also someone who was not as effective in a structured environment.

    Obviously with the changes to the inter change Shallin Fuller is not going to be able to play as a Super Sub like how Paul Shaw made his name, but as noted if he can find a balance between being a game manager and distributor and playing on instinct, he will do very well.

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    Xavier Collins. (Revised) The big strong young Keebra Park front rower was a standout in 2018 in both rugby league and rugby and impressively in both codes was playing up an age group. Late in 2018 Xavier Collins was named in the front row in the 2018 Keebra Park Team of the Year.

    In 2018 Xavier Collins was part of the Cook Islands U14 QPICC side, being awarded the Cook Islands U14 Most Valuable Player award for the tournament and was part of the Cook Islands side that defeated Samoa 22 – 6 in the U14 Final.

    For Ormeau in the 2018 Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition Xavier Collins played in nine matches including the finals and scored four tries, scoring three in the finals series and a regular season try against Coomera early in the season.

    In Week One of the U15 Division One Finals series, Xavier Collins started from the bench as Ormeau defeated Runaway Bay 28- 12.

    Week Two saw Xavier Collins start in the second row and score a double as Ormeau qualified for the Grand Final on the back of a 44 – 6 victory over Coomera.

    In the U15 Division One Grand Final Xavier Collins started from the bench and scored as Ormeau won the premiership on the back of a 38 – 20 Grand Final victory over Runaway Bay.

    Xavier Collins also played two matches in the U14 Division One competition with those matches coming against Coomera and Runaway Bay.

    2018 also saw Xavier Collins represent South East Queensland Green at the Queensland U14 Championships starting in the second row in the Championship Final against South East Queensland White which ended in a 16 all draw. Xavier Collins played in all four of South East Queensland Green’s matches.

    Recently Xavier Collins was selected in the 2019 Queensland Academy of Sport U15 Emerging Origin Squad.

    Xavier Collins also played club rugby on the Gold Coast in 2018, playing for the Griffith University Colleges U15 side including starting the Grand Final at loose head prop with his side winning 47 – 19 against the Helensvale Hogs in a rugby test curtain raiser between Australia and Argentina at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast.

    For Griffith University Colleges side Xavier Collins played in thirteen matches, starting the two finals at loose head prop, one at No. 8, four at open side flanker (No. 7), two from the interchange bench and five at blindside flanker (No. 6).

    In his thirteen matches, Xavier Collins scored three tries and converted one of those tries in Round Fourteen against the Gold Coast Eagles. Xavier Collins also scored in Round Nine against the Eagles and in Round Twelve against Bond University.

    In 2016 Xavier Collins represented Queensland at the U12 level this year after representing the South Coast U12’s earlier in the year as well as being part of the Keebra Park Renouf Cup winning squad even though he was a year younger than a majority of his team mates in that squad.

    In addition to his schoolboy and representative commitments, Xavier Collins played his club rugby league on the Gold Coast with the Ormeau Shearers in the 2016 U12 Division One competition, where he crossed for one try which came against Jimboomba as well as kicking a solitary conversion in the last game of the season against Runaway Bay.

    Xavier Collins 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 Xavier Collins 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.

    Xavier Collins does not have a real off load to his attacking game per say, 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.

    Like his attacking game, his defensive methodology is simply constructed and enacted. He moves up and hits the ball carrier as hard as he can, as often as he can, full stop. He is best suited to defending in the centre of the ruck and that is where you will almost always find him and for a solidly built young player, he moves well in terms of moving up and back in defence.

    Xavier Collins lateral movement is actually quite reasonable for a front rower but he will on occasion have some difficulty with smaller faster stepping opposition players as do most solidly built young front rowers.

    Xavier Collins will play the 2019 season with the Ormeau Shearers at either the U16 or U15 Division One levels as well as being a key player for Keebra Park and is also part of the 2019 U16 Queensland Emerging Origin Squad.

    From a position perspective, Xavier Collins currently plays in the front row and that is going to be his long term position as well.

    A solid NRL player comparison perspective for Xavier Collins would be Parramatta Eels front rower Tim Mannah as an all effort tough running tough tackling player who will never shirk his responsibilities in either attack or defence

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    Jordan Lewis (Stewart-Lewis). The talented Ormeau Shearers youngster has moved around a bit from a position perspective over the last couple of seasons including representing the Gold Coast Vikings at the U13 level in the back row, in 2017 at half and this season at five eight.

    In the 2018 Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition for Ormeau, Jordan Lewis finished as both the competitions leading goal kicker with 40 goals and point’s scorer with 116 points.

    Over the course of the 2018 Jordan Lewis scored nine tries including doubles against Mudgeeraba and Runaway Bay and also scored in matches against Helensvale, Southport, Coomera and Runaway Bay twice.

    With the boot Jordan Lewis kicked six goals in a match on three occasions being against Mudgeeraba (he also scored two tries to finish the match with twenty points), Southport and Coomera.

    Jordan Lewis started at five eight in Week One of the U15 Division One Finals series scoring a try and kicking two goals and Ormeau defeated Runaway Bay 28 – 12.

    In Week Two of the Finals Jordan Lewis also started at five eight as Ormeau qualified for the Grand Final with a 44 – 6 victory over Coomera with Jordan Lewis contributing a try and six goals.

    In the U15 Division One Grand Final Jordan Lewis, once again started at five eight as Ormeau finished a great season by defeating Runaway Bay 38 – 20 in the decider with Jordan Lewis once again at the forefront contributing a try and five goals in their victory.

    In 2017 the young man had an outstanding season finishing with 117 points from ten tries, thirty eight goals and a field goal in the GCJRL U14 Division One competition including starting at half back, scoring a try, kicking three conversions and a field goal in the U14 Division One Grand Final against victory over Burleigh.

    From a try scoring perspective, Jordan Lewis scored four tries in a match in early June kicking five goals in that match to finish with 26 points as well and in May against Runaway Bay in May he scored a hat trick and kicked seven goals for 26 points as well. Jordan Lewis also kicked seven conversions in a victory over Nerang in Round One of the competition and five goals against Runaway Bay in the Preliminary Final.

    In 2017 Jordan Lewis represented the U14 Gold Coast Vikings side where he was selected at hooker and from there he was selected in the South East Queensland U14 White side for the Queensland Age Championships which were held in Toowoomba in July 2017.

    In 2016 Jordan Lewis primarily came off the interchange bench for the U13 Vikings side including scoring on Day Two in a 58 – 6 victory over the Ipswich Diggers a match in which Titans linked front rower Brody Smitka was outstanding. After those Championships which were held at Carina Jordan Lewis was selected to represent South East Queensland Green at the Queensland Age Championships.

    Jordan Lewis is not necessarily the quickest half running around but he does have some reasonable speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. Jordan Lewis’s ability to put runners into holes complements his ability to run with the ball.

    Jordan Lewis’s defence for a half is very good for a smaller forward he is a hard hitter and 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 into his opponent and is also very good at slowing the play the ball down. His intensity means that he will track the play across and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside.

    Jordan Lewis will play the upcoming 2019 once again with Ormeau Shearers in the GCJRL U16 Division One competition and will also play for the Gold Coast Vikings in the 2019 U16 South East Queensland Challenge.

    A final position perspective is an interesting one, in previous seasons Jordan Lewis spent a fair bit of time in the second row, half back and hooker making a good fist of them as well and this season primarily playing five eight. On that basis it is hard to go past Jordan Lewis staying in the halves for at least the short term.

    Jordan Lewis may also get an extended opportunity to make his mark at hooker over the coming years. Dare I saw it, but Jordan Lewis looks like the perfect NRL interchange player with his developing ability to play in the halves, at hooker and as a running back rower.

    From a rugby league player comparison perspective, I think that the play of Canterbury Bulldogs and New Zealand International five eight Keiran Foran is a good comparison for Jordan Lewis, as a solidly built, strong running, hardworking half with under rated play making skills.

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    Carl Lolohea. The giant powerful young Ballina Seagulls front rower is another youngster from the Group One region in northern New South Wales making his mark in rugby league.

    Carl Lolohea started the 2018 season as part of the Northern Rivers U16 Andrew Johns Cup side playing in four matches, including games against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad, the Central Coast Roosters, the Greater Northern Tigers and the Western Rams which featured recent Titans signing Jack Smith.

    Carl Lolohea also played for Ballina in the Far North Coast U16 Rugby competition starting seven matches in the centres with his first match being in Round Three against Brunswick Valley. IN his seven matches he scored two tries both coming in Round Thirteen against Lismore.

    In 2017 Carl Lolohea represented the Group One U15 side in three matches at the New South Wales Country U15 Age Championships.

    In the Group One U16.5 competition in 2018 Carl Lolohea played in thirteen matches for Ballina scoring five tries. Each of his tries came in individual matches and came against Lismore Marist Brothers twice, Casino RSM twice and Clarence Coast.

    At this stage of his career Carl Lolohea is primarily a hard straight runner with little subtlety or footwork prior to contact with the defensive line but there has been just a few signs this season, including playing for the Group One U16 side against the Western Mustangs U16’s that his footwork is slowly but surely developing nicely.

    Carl Lolohea has continued to get bigger and stronger over the last few years and impressively has also been able to maintain has above average speed and mobility for his position, in fact I would consider his speed for a front rower to be in the plus category as is his mobility.

    Defensively Carl Lolohea 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.

    Carl Lolohea is not averse to looking for the big hit but also does have a good front on defensive technique and decent agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents. Carl Lolohea has the size, strength and power to seal off sections of the field in defence and impressively can sustain that dominance for the entire match regularly.

    Carl Lolohea has been selected in the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side for the 2019 version of that competition and post the competition’s completion will suit up for Ballina in the NRRRL U18 competition and may well even sneak in a few NRRRL Reserve Grade or even a First Grade game or two in by the end of the 2019 season. Carl Lolohea will also be eligible to play in the U18 competition in 2020.

    Carl Lolohea is a big strong young man still growing into his frame and should continue to do so over the coming years without compromising his outstanding athletic abilities. As he continues to develop his skills and grows physically there would appear to be no doubt that Carl Lolohea will stay in the front row.

    Carl Lolohea has outstanding physical attributes and a rapidly developing skill set and it is just a matter of time for him to figure out how best to use them to dominate on a rugby league field and when he does opposition teams regardless of quality should look out.

    From a style perspective for comparison perspectives for Carl Lolohea, think along the lines of the Regan Campbell-Gillard of the Penrith Panthers as a tall front rower with good footwork in attack and solid initial contact in defence and one that can physically dominate any opponent at any given time.

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    Kedan Chan-Tung. The elusive outside back had an outstanding 2018 season which started with his selection in the Ipswich U16 side and through to his selection in the South East Queensland White U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships where he was initially named on the interchange bench.

    The Ipswich Grammar School student also had an outstanding season in the U16 GPS School boy rugby competition which saw him being selected in the U16 Queensland Reds Rugby side after representing Queensland at the U15 level in 2017 with the Queensland side winning the Championships with a 69 – 10 win over the Sydney Rays.

    Kedan Chan-Tung played this season with Northern Suburbs in the Ipswich U17 competition (he was U16 eligible) scoring seven tries from eleven matches. In 2017 in the Ipswich U15 competition Kedan Chan-Tung scored fourteen tries from just eleven matches.

    Kedan Chan-Tung had a couple of seasons on the Gold Coast playing for the Helensvale Hornets with those seasons being in 2013 and 2014.

    Kedan Chan-Tung has above average to plus top end speed and acceleration off the mark, and is more than quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing wingers.

    One good think about his play in attack is that Kedan Chan-Tung stays on his wing and is regularly outside his opposite number allowing his inside players to be able to find him in attack and in the games that I have seen he stays back and does not over run the players that are inside of him.

    Kedan Chan-Tung seems to be aware of his skill set as he does not take chances with the sideline and does his utmost to ensure that he is not taken over the sideline and knows when to cut back inside rather than taking his opposite number on along the touchline.

    Kedan Chan-Tung will also come in and take his fair share of hit ups to give his forwards a rest, when the ball needs to be brought out of his end of the field even though he is not the biggest or strongest player. In the situations previously described he runs at the defensive line from dummy half with vigour and is definitely not intimidated by the size of any defender in front of him.

    In terms of defence, Kedan Chan-Tung is solid and seemingly understands the attributes of his opposite number to the extent that he alters his defensive positioning if he is against speedy, elusive wingers as against larger more straight running wingers.

    The 2019 season ill see Kedan Chan-Tung represent the Ipswich Jets in the MM Cup competition and it is also likely that he will get an opportunity with the Ipswich Grammar School First XV side in the GPS School Boy Rugby competition where he will likely be considered for a spot on the wing for the Ipswich based school.

    I am a huge fan of the GPS School boy competition with in the main it’s attacking philosophy and thus being in that environment for the next two years in relation to skill development, discipline etc. will no doubt have a positive impact on Kedan Chan-Tung both on and off the field.

    With his school boy rugby and rugby league representative commitments Kedan Chan-Tung may not play a great deal of club rugby league in Ipswich but if he does play Kedan Chan-Tung will likely suit up once against for Northern Suburbs in the Ipswich Rugby League U17 competition where if this season is any indication, he will be one of the most exciting players in the competition.

    Kedan Chan-Tung has played primarily on the wing for Ipswich Grammar School in school boy rugby but more so in the centres in rugby league. With his combination of elusiveness, speed and body control I can envisage a future in the centres in rugby league all be it not the biggest one running around.

    If for whatever reason Kedan Chan-Tung moves from the centres, his skill set and physical characteristics are readily transferrable to either the wing or fullback in relation to rugby league.

    From a player comparison perspective for Kedan Chan-Tung think of someone along the lines of the South Sydney Rabbitoh’s, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International centre Dane Gagai (I think that he has more speed than Gagai however, both in the top end and off the mark categories) as a smooth moving centre who is elusive and difficult to defend against as a result.

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    Ioane Seuili. (Revised)The South’s Logan Magpies centre is a Titans contracted player who is currently training with the Titans NRL squad in the first half of the pre-season after a 2018 season which by any measure was simply outstanding.

    The 18 year old former Keebra Park student started the season in the South’s Logan MM Cup side that won the Queensland Grand Final, started in the centres for the Queensland U18 side (They went down 16 – 10 to NSW), progressed to the South’s Logan Hastings Deering’s Colts side and then made a deserved Queensland Cup debut, and of course signing with the Titans and now training with the NRL squad.

    In the MM Cup competition, Ioane Seuili started all ten of South’s Logan’s matches in the centres, including the Queensland Finals and the National final against Penrith. In total Ioane Seuili scored four tries with those tries coming in rounds Two, Three, Five and Six against the Northern Pride, Norths, Wynnum Manly and Central Queensland respectively.

    Ioane Seuili made his Queensland Cup debut in Round 15 against Redcliffe, starting on the wing and playing the entire 80 minutes. In the match he made an impressive five tackle breaks to pace the Magpies in that category in the match, ran for 86.5 metres from fifteen runs, with 18 of those metres post contact (20.81%). Ioane Seuili also made seven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 70%.

    Post his Queensland Cup debut, Ioane Seuili moved to the Souths Logan Hasting’s Deering’s U20 Colts side coming into the side in Round Seventeen against Central Queensland. In total he played in seven U20 Colts matches including the Magpies Final’s loss to the Northern Pride, starting all in the centres and scoring in Round Twenty Four being the final regular season round against Ipswich.

    Ioane Seuili played for Souths Logan in the MM Cup competition in 2017 before turning out form the Ormeau Shearers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition.

    For the Ormeau Shearers in 2017 Ioane Seuili has played in three first grade matches and elven at in the Doug Lipp competition including scoring a try against the Bilambil Jets in early July. Ioane Seuili made his first grade debut in June against Runaway Bay and has also turned out against Bilambil and Burleigh.

    For South’s Logan in the 2017 MM Cup competition Ioane Seuili played in three matches being Round two where he started in the centres, Round Three also starting in the centres and Round Four when Ioane Seuili started at fullback. Ioane Seuili scored in Round Two against the Sunshine Coast Falcons and also in Round Three the following week against the Central Crows.

    In 2017 Ioane Seuili was selected in the South Coast Open Rugby League squad and was also been a key member of Keebra Park’s push in the GIO Cup competition culminating in their Queensland GIO Cup final victory against Marsden.

    Ioane Seuili started in the centres for Keebra Park in the National GIO Cup Final against Westfield Sports High and scored as Keebra Park won 25 – 12.

    Ioane Seuili also had a great 2016 season which culminating in his selection in the Queensland U16 side where he started in the centres against New South Wales.

    In the 2016 CC Cup Ioane Seuili played the season for the Souths Logan Magpies and had an outstanding campaign including starting at fullback in the CC Grand Final held at Langland’s Park Stones Corner where he in addition to kicking the first two conversions for the Magpies, scored a good try when he barged through the Townsville Stingers defence.

    In addition to the 2016 CC Cup Grand Final Ioane Seuili had some outstanding matches in the CC competition including scoring a hat track against the Easts Tigers and also scoring in South Logan’s semi-final victory over the North’s Devils.

    During the 2016 season Ioane Seuili played six Gold Coast Senior Rugby League matches for Ormeau which is an outstanding achievement. In 2015 Ioane Seuili was part of the Queensland U15 side that performed so well in the ASSRL Championships including scoring a hat trick on Day One against New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges and also scored on Day Four against New South Wales Combined Independent Schools. Ioane Seuili has also represented Samoa at junior levels.

    For a centre, Ioane Seuili is a big strong young man who does not rely just on his size and speed and using his natural running balance to either engage the opposing defenders and off load, run either an inside or outside shoulder route or an in and away to slow the forward momentum of the defender and accelerate on the outside.

    For a player of his size, Ioane Seuili also has a very good passing game especially to his right side. When the ball is passed out to the back line, Ioane Seuili is very good at straitening up the attacking vector of his team and pass to his outside supports if they have room to move further out wide.

    From a speed perspective has above average speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, he will not be caught from behind other than from only the fastest of opponents and he is also very good at positioning his support players when he gets to the fullback. The only possible question about Ioane Seuili’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the plus category as he matures and inevitably fills out.

    Defensively Ioane Seuili uses his size to good effect, he drives with his shoulder into his opponent and has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and his opposing centre gets on his outside.

    For me when I have seen him play for Souths Logan Ioane Seuili was the defensive leader of the three quarter line and other defenders keyed off him in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside.

    Ioane Seuili on an individual level has the body control and anticipation to redirect quickly and mirror the movement of the opposing attackers and anticipate what vector the attack comes from and innately understands when to allow the attacking play to develop in from of him and when to come out of the line to disrupt the attacking play prior to its formation.

    Ioane Seuili is currently training with the Titans NRL side for the opening portion of the pre-season but is more than likely to start the 2019 season off the Hastings Deering’s Colts U20 competition with the Tweed Heads Seagulls and is a more than realistic chance of adding to his one Queensland Cup match by the end of 2019.

    Ioane Seuili has played primarily in the centres throughout his junior rugby league career but has spent some time at fullback as well. For me though it is far too early to write Ioane Seuili off in terms of not being able to stay in the centres long term.

    A player with a similar playing style for me for Ioane Seuili would be Cronulla Sharks centre Ricky Leutele, they are both around the same size and look to use that size and speed to their advantage to dominate the opponent directly in front of them both in attack and defence.

    The Titans have a very very good player on their hands with Ioane Seuili, of that there is absolutely no doubt

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    Jack Smith. The young lock late in 2018 signed a scholarship with the Titans from the Forbes Spacemen after playing for the New South Wales Country U16 side against a Titans U16 squad at Cudgen.

    Jack Smith started from the bench for the New South Wales Country side in the match with New South Wales Country running out 30 – 10 winners. Jake Smith was also part of the New South Wales Country U16 side that defeated PNG U16’s a couple of days earlier in Ballina in Northern New South Wales as a precursor to the match against the Titans.

    Playing in the Group 11 competition for the Parkes Spacemen in 2018 Jack Smith played in both the U16 and U18 competitions over the course of the 2018 season. In the U16 competition Jack Smith spent time at fullback including starting the Grand Final at fullback. Jack Smith also played eight U18 matches scoring a hat trick in his first career U18 match against Dubbo Macquarie.

    Jack Smith was also part of the 2018 victorious Western Rams U18 Laurie Daley Cup side and started at lock as they defeated Illawarra South Coast Dragons in the final. Jack Smith started all seven of the matches that he was involved in and scored three tries, including a double against the Wests Tigers and in Round Two he scored against the Riverina Bulls.

    In 2017 Jake Smith was selected at fullback for the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges side from Red Bend Catholic College starting all of the matches that he played in during the ASSRL U15 Championships.

    Jack Smith 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 Jack Smith his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Jack Smith 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. Jack Smith sets a very good base defensively as well and uses it to maintain his balance when setting up for a tackle.

    Defensively Jack Smith 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.

    Jack Smith 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.

    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. Jack Smith is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as Jack Smith uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role Jack Smith has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.

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

    Jack Smith 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 Jack Smith will hold his ground and let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

    In 2019 Jack Smith will head up to the Gold Coast to attend PBC for the next two years where he should be part of their Open A side that will be looking to repeat this season’s Queensland and National GIO Cup success and will also be involved in the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2019 MM Cup campaign.

    At this stage I am not aware of which Gold Coast Rugby League U18 club side Jack Smith will suit up for in 2019 post the MM Cup competition.

    Jack Smith played a number of positions this season including fullback, five eight and lock but ultimately I believe that he will end up being an old style skilful second rower.

    For me Jack Smith has a playing style akin to that of another youngster hailing from the same region being Brisbane Bronco’s 2018 NRL debutant Kotoni Staggs. Both players just exhibit a feel and desire for the game of rugby league that just cannot be taught

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    Noah Croudace. The Burleigh and PBC youngster started on the wing for the Titans U16’s and scored as they defeated PNG 60 – 10 in a late 2018 match at Burleigh and also started on the right wing as the Titans U16’s went down 30 – 10 to New South Wales Country U16’s at Cudgen in what can best be described as wet and miserable conditions.

    Early in the 2018 season Noah Croudace represented the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 Challenge, scoring a double, including a try in the last minute to defeat Ipswich.

    In 2018 Noah Croudace only played in one U16 Division One match with that match being the Preliminary Final when he started from the bench with Burleigh going down 28 – 26 to Currumbin in a high quality contest.

    Unfortunately Noah Croudace was struck down with injury this season while playing for PBC but it is good to see him over the injury now so that he can undertake the MM Cup pre-season with Burleigh with the aim of establishing himself in the team from Round One.

    Whilst in does not have a great deal of speed off the mark, Noah Croudace does have above average top end speed once he gets moving and can break tackles by using a very good fend, when he gets to the outside, this prevents defenders from getting he under his ribs and thus he can maintain his running line under defensive pressure.

    Even taking into account what I have said in the paragraph, from a speed perspective Noah Croudace is an interesting one. It does not appear when Noah Croudace is space that he is moving quickly but players that I consider who have above average speed for an outside back do not gain ground on him, thus clearly Noah Croudace is a lot quicker than he looks.

    The proof is in the pudding so they say and Noah Croudace has been able to outpace some very quick players over the course of the last couple of seasons.

    Noah Croudace also has very good hands and over the course of the last two MM Cup seasons he had to pick up a number of passes from either low down or above his head and also has a good in and away to complement his other attacking attributes.

    Noah Croudace is not the biggest player and the obvious question is whether he is strong enough to handle the defensive side of rugby league at the higher levels, I would argue that the answer is absolutely yes. In defence against the bigger outside backs running around, Noah Croudace looks to cut down the time that the opposition have to gain momentum thus eliminating the size differential as a defensive aspect to take into consideration.

    Noah Croudace has been named in the Burleigh 2019 MM Cup squad and post that competition will play for Burleigh in the GCRL U18 Division One competition with the new age groups coming into effect for the upcoming 2019 Gold Coast Rugby League season.

    Noah Croudace will also be part of the PBC Open Rugby League side that will be looking to replicate their Queensland and National GIO Cup success from the 2018 season.

    Even though Noah Croudace could handle playing in the centres and perhaps even at fullback, with his ability to conceptually understand where the touch line is and use the limited space to his advantage both in attack and defence I would consider it probable that Noah Croudace will continue to play on the wing as he begins his transition to the senior rugby league ranks in 2019 and beyond.

    Noah Croudace is just a solid player who seems to be able to break tackles even against seemingly far bigger, stronger and faster opponents thus from a comparison perspective I can see aspects of the play of former Brisbane Broncos and England International outside back Jack Reed when watching Noah Croudace play.

    Noah Croudace is just an effective player who slips under the radar a little and probably will continue to do so for most if not all of his rugby league career but regardless he is an effective player out wide for any team and will not let anybody down on the field.

  15. #885
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    Blake Mozer. (Revised) Blake Mozer is an exceptionally talented young hooker from the Runaway Bay Seagulls junior rugby league club on the Gold Coast and currently part of the Titans TEDS Program.

    Blake Mozer currently attends Keebra Park State High School and is part of the Rugby League Excellence Program there and at their 2018 Awards night was named the Year 9 Most Valuable Player and also named at hooker in the Keebra Park 2018 Team of the Year.

    From a representative perspective, this season, Blake Mozer played hooker for the South East Queensland Green U14 side at the Queensland Age Championships in 2018.

    In the 2018 season for Runaway Bay, Blake Mozer played across two age groups being his “normal’ age group in the U14 Division One competition, playing six matches and in the U15 Division One competition where he played in eight matches including starting all four of Runaway Bay’s finals matches from the bench and in the Grand Final kicked a conversion as the Seagulls went down 38 – 20 against Ormeau.

    In his first U14 Division One match of the 2018 season, Blake Mozer scored his sole U14 try of the season against Mudgeeraba and in the U15 Division One competition, he scored is sole try in eight matches against Currumbin.

    Blake Mozer played the 2017 GCJRL season with the Runaway Bay Seagulls in the U13 Division One competition playing a total of thirteen matches all at hooker and in the process scored ten tries and also converted one of his tries in a Round Two clash against Burleigh Maroon. In the match noted already being against Burleigh Maroon, Blake Mozer in fact scored a hat trick to cap off a great match. Blake Mozer also scored a double in an early season clash against Jimboomba and late in the year scored a double against Nerang. Blake Mozer also scored against Nerang in a semi-final clash.

    For Keebra Park State High School Blake Mozer was part of the Renouf Cup squad that backed up their 2016 success with another dominant 2017 Renouf Cup competition defeating Coombabah State High School 20 – 18 in the final. Blake Mozer was named Player of the Match primarily for his big defensive effort.

    In the 2016 U12 Division One grand final Blake Mozer started at hooker for Runaway Bay and in fact as their sole try scorer in their 10 – 6 loss to Helensvale in the 2016 Grand Final. Over the course of the 2016 season, Blake Mozer was Runaway Bay’s top scorer and finished third overall in the competition in that category.

    Blake Mozer crossed for ten tries and also kicked three goals for a total point’s tally of 46. Blake Mozer scored a hat trick against Southport and also a double against Currumbin. In addition he also played one match up at the U13 Division One level during the season.

    From Keebra Park Blake Mozer was selected at hooker in the 2016 U12 South Coast side for the Queensland U12 championships which were held on the Gold Coast in July where South Coast finished third and from there was selected in the Queensland U12 side, also at hooker along with fellow Keebra student front rower Xavier Collins.

    Unfortunately for Blake Mozer he was only able to play a couple of matches for South Coast before suffering a championship ending dislocation injury on Day Three but still impressed enough to make the Queensland side from his limited opportunities. Blake Mozer was also part of Keebra Park’s successful Renouf Cup side in 2016, no small feat as he was playing against boys a year older than himself.

    Blake Mozer is solid all round hooker who distributes effectively to both sides of the ruck. He is efficient in his passing and there is very little wasted movement as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements where the dummy half first stands then passes. He passes well from both sides of his body. One thing that he does well in dummy half is not taking his eye off ball until it is in his hands, read that he does not make many handling errors.

    Blake Mozer also does not take a couple of steps out of dummy half and then pass, he will either pass from the spot of the play the ball or he will run. Also in scrum situations Blake Mozer regularly packs in at lock and thus is also the primary distributor from those situations as well.

    In terms of his passing Blake Mozer generates better spin and subsequent distance when he is passing to the left hand side of the field at present. Although the difference between the sides is not significant in the context of altering his future projection as a hooker from a distribution perspective.

    Blake Mozer has good speed off the mark but the key to his running game is running at the right time, if anything he could possibly run a touch more than he does but the positive is that he is very selective about when he runs.

    Blake Mozer defends in the middle of the ruck and is an effective low tackler and for his size is quite an aggressive defender. He is also very good at getting out of marker quickly to harass the opposition kickers. Defensively you will see an efficient and effective defender and a talker. Blake Mozer also constantly seems to be talking and “encouraging” his fellow forwards.

    Blake Mozer will play the 2019 season once again with the Runaway Bay Seagulls in the U15 Division One competition although like in recent seasons it would not surprise to see him play multiple matches in the U16 Division One competition as well, Blake Mozer will also again be a key player for Keebra Park as they play in their multiple school boy competitions in his age group and is also a likely 2019 South Coast U15 representative.

    From a position perspective, with his passing skills and quick first step out of dummy half, I believe that Blake Mozer is already settled in his long term position of hooker and one that will be more known for his distribution skills rather than his running out of dummy half.

    From a player comparison perspective think someone along the lines of Andrew McCullough of the Brisbane Broncos as a hard working player with leadership skills and someone that his team mates would appreciate playing with due to his infectious enthusiasm and willingness to do what is best for his team. Blake Mozer probably will end up with a little more pace out of dummy half than McCullough however


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