My take on our top juniors

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Zane Harris. (Revised) After a season as part of the Sydney Roosters Jersey Flegg side Zane Harris moved to Manly starting at half and captaining the Sea Eagles Jersey Flegg side in Round One as Manly defeated the Victorian Thunderbolts 18 – 10.

In 2019 for the Sydney Roosters Zane Harris played in seventeen U20 Jersey Flegg matches starting all in the halves, being four at five eight including his Round Two debut against the Manly Sea Eagles and thirteen at half, with his debut there coming in Round Three against the Parramatta Eels.

In his seventeen 2019 Jersey Flegg matches Zane Harris scored seventy points from a try which came in Round Nineteen against the Norths Sydney Bears and thirty three goals, with Zane Harris’s first goal coming in Round Nine against the New Zealand Warriors.

Zane Harris’s best quantitive effort with the boot came in Round Twelve when he kicked six goals against the Norths Sydney Bears and he kicked five more agains the Bears in Round Nineteen to finish that match with fourteen individual points when he add in his sole try of the season.

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

In the 2018 MM Cup, Zane Harris started all six of Burleigh’s matches at half back scoring all of his points in Round Two against Redcliffe when he scored two tries, kicked four goals and a field goal for a game haul of 17 points.

In the 2018 GCRL U19 competition for Southport, Zane Harris played in six regular season matches scoring 40 points from six tries and eight goals. Zane Harris scored a Round Seventeen hat trick against Ormeau and also scored against Runaway Bay, Burleigh and Mudgeeraba earlier in the season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Zane Harris is no longer eligible for U20 rugby league post 2020 and it would be great to see him back on the Gold Coast pushing for an opportunity with either Burleigh (likely) or Tweed Heads in the Queensland Cup in 2021. His form over the 2019 season for the Roosters and his one 2020 Jersey Flegg match with Manly showed that he is more than good enough to make the step up in competition.

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

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

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Glenn McGrady. (Updated) The talented young former Goondiwindi youngster from the Warwick and Districts Junior Rugby League had an incredible first season for the Bilambil Jets, representing the club in both the U17 Division One and U19 competitions in 2018. Glenn McGrady was also a standout performer for PBC that same year as they progressed all the way to the Queensland GIO Cup semi-finals losing in the end 22 – 20 to Marsden State High School.

In Round One of the 2020 U20 Jersey Flegg NSWRL season Glenn McGrady started at fullback and scored a double (28th and 43rd Minutes) and Penrith defeated the Norths Sydeny Bears 24 – 0. Glenn McGrady was outstanding playing the entire matchrunning for 1041. Metres, made two line breaks, also broke ten tackles and made three tackles of his own at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Glenn McGrady’s first try came late in the first half. Glenn McGrady received the ball around twelve metres out from the line on the right side of the field from a long cut our pass and as he approached the line, Glenn McGrady stepped off his righ foot to crash over the line mid-way between the right corner post and righ upright.

Glenn McGrady’s second try of the match came in the second half when he followed through a short kick out of dummy half to take the ball and put it donw with around ten centremetres to spare which was followed by a forward roll to put an explanation mark on the try.

In 2019 for Penrith in the U20 Jersey Flegg competition Glenn McGrady played in seventeen matches, starting them all. Glenn McGrady’s Jersey Flegg debut came in Round Seven when he started on the wing against Souths Sydney. Glenn McGrady continued starting on the wing until Round Twelve against Manly when he started in the centres and moved to fullback in Round Sixteen against ST George.

In total in the 2019 Jersey Flegg competition, Glenn McGrady started five matches on the wing, five in the centres and seven at fullback including both of the Panthers finals matches which came in Week One against the Roosters and Week Three against Souths Sydney.

Glenn McGrady finished his debut Jersey Flegg season with sixty eight points from nine tries and sixteen goals with his first goal coming in Round sixteen when he kicked a conversion against the St George Dragon. Glenn McGrady’s 2019 goal kicking exploits included an impressive seven from seven against the Newcastle Knights in Round Eighteen. Glenn McGrady also kicked five goals in Round Twenty Four against the Manly Sea Eagles.

Glenn McGrady scored his first Jersey Flegg try in on his debut in Round Seven against Souths Sydeny and also scored against Manly (Round Twelve), the Roosters (Round Thirteen and Week One of the Finals), the Raiders (Round Nineteen), Bulldogs (Round Twenty), the Wests Tigers (Round Twenty Two and in Round Twenty Three against the Norths Sydney Bears.

Glenn McGrady in 2018 was a key member of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side starting at fullback in all seven of their matches including their Week One Finals loss to the Souths Logan Magpies.

Glenn McGrady finished the 2018 MM Cup season with a 100%strike rate, with six of those tries coming from doubles in consequetive matches from Round Five to Round Seven, coming against the Townsville Blackhawks (Round Five), Wynnum Manly Seagulls (Round Six) and in Round Seven agains the Easts Tigers.

2018 also saw Glenn McGrady play a key role in the PBC open school boy’s success in the Langer and GIO Cups, playing fullback and Glenn McGrady also represented the South Coast U18 school boy side in 2018 and subsequently Queensland at the 2018 ASSRL U18 school boy Championships.

Over the course of the 2017 season the young fullback or five eight played in fourteen U17 Division One matches scoring twelve tries to lead the competition try scoring tally and has also kicked twenty five goals to have 98 points on the season. Glenn McGrady also played in seven U19 matches scoring five tries and kicking fourteen goals for 48 points on the season.

Glenn McGrady had a great U19 debut in July 2018 against Ormeau after playing in the U17 match earlier in the day and what a debut the young man had, he scored a double and kicked three goals as well to finish with 14 points for the match. Glenn McGrady in fact started at fullback for Bilambil in the Gold Coast U19 Grand Final kicking three conversions in Bilambil’s 34 – 20 Grand Final win over Tugun.

In the U19 competition Glenn McGrady, in addition to his debut double he also scored a double against Tugun in a regular season match and also scored against Currumbin and on four occasions kicked three goals in a match.

At the U17 Division One level, Glenn McGrady scored an incredible five tries in a Round Two match against the Ormeau Shearers and also kicked five goals in that match as well for 30 points. Glenn McGrady also scored a double a fortnight later against Helensvale and in July against Mudgeeraba he scored 16 points in a match from a try and six goals. The following week against Burleigh Glenn McGrady kicked six conversions in a win over Burleigh and in the Preliminary Final Glenn McGrady scored a try and kicked a goal in their loss to Ormeau which knocked them out of the competition this season.

Glenn McGrady is a bit of an enigma in terms of how he plays, he certainly plays what is in front of him but does seem to struggle in a structured environment in comparison to when he plays off the cuff. I was intrigued to see him play five eight, in the sense that he is very unpredictable when he gets the ball, Glenn McGrady is adept at running himself and has a very good turn of speed off the mark and similarly can throw some superb passes to his support runners, but at the same time passes will go to ground because his team mates are sometimes not thinking along the same lines that he does.

To that extent currently Glenn McGrady is a much better runner of the ball and can step off both feet and is quite strong for his size and will shrug off larger defenders if they try to go high and wrap up the ball. Glenn McGrady drifts across field very slowly and then just takes off through any gaps in a staggered defensive line.

Defensively Glenn McGrady is actually quite aggressive in terms of finishing off tackles and certainly seems adept at getting his hands between attackers and their support players and knocking the ball down. He does need to be aware however not to go for the intercept too much, but his quick feet enable him to defend well especially against small light stepping attackers as he can mirror their movement.

Glenn McGrady is no longer eligible for U20 rugby league post 2020 and it would be great to see him back on the Gold Coast pushing for an opportunity with either Burleigh or Tweed Heads in the Queensland Cup. His form over the 2019 seson and his one 2020 Jersey Flegg match with Penrith showed that he is more than good enough to make the step up.

From a position perspective, due to how Glenn McGrady plays what is in front of him and thus is less comfortable in with a structured attacking methodology at present at least, although I am sure that will develop. I would suggest that his best position moving forward would be at fullback in the short term at least where he can see the entire field in front of him and look to create from there and at 183cm and 89kg he has the size to handle the rigours of the position.

Glenn McGrady will need the right coach to harness his natural skills. If a coach tries to change him into playing to a set pattern I think that he will struggle but if a coach is prepared to give him free reign then the skills he possesses means that he could develop into a very interesting player indeed over the coming seasons and certainly for me at least the most surprising player that I have seen in the Gold Coast rugby league competition.

From a player comparison perspective for Glenn McGrady, think along the lines of New South Wales State of Origin and Manly stand out Tom Trbojevic as a taller player with speed and strength as well as the ability to be a regular try scorer.

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Noah Johannssen. (Updated) The young front rower from the South Tweed Bears club in Northern New South Wales is yet another Titans signing who has gone from strength to strneth in the JTS program.

Noah Johannssen’s most recent match for the Titans was when he part of the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour in February 2020.

Noah Johannssen was named the Titans best forward for the match, but a bad effort when you consider that he is still U18 eligible in 2021. In a piece of trivia, Noah Johannssen played against his older brother Tim in the match who was part of the Knights side.

Noah Johannssen was named to start in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans in Round One of the 2020 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition against the Parramatta Eels at Cudgen however the match was cancelled due to the wet conditions.

Noah Johannssen started Round Two of the U18 Laurie Daley Cup in the front row against the Newcastle Knights in Ballina and was impressive including a great break through the centre of the ruck in the first half of around forty metres before popping a pass to his right to send Reef Somerville away to score. It was an outstanding run by Noah Johannssen who just burst through the Knights defence and showed outstanding speed for a front rower when he space.

Noah Johannssen also started in the front row in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters and yet again simply outstanding constantly making metres through the centre of the ruck. Noah Johannssen also produced a piece of quality late in the match when he took the ball close to the Central Coast line but at the last minute jinked to his left and popped a great short ball to fellow front rower Jack Cullen who scored adjacent to the left upright untouched.

Noah Johannssen also started in the front row in Round Four against the Greater Northern Tigers scoring a powerful try from close range in the first half scoring near the left upright after taking the pass from the dummy half.

In the match Noah Johannssen also produced an outstanding return from a Greater Northern Tigers drop out. The ball was taken fifty five metres out with the ball give immediately to Noah Johannssen who crashed through the initial defensive line dragging defenders with him on a thirty five metre exquisite effort.

Noah Johannssen was also in the front row for the start of the Round Five local derby against North Coast and once again led from the front making significant ground through the centre of the ruck, a lot of which were post contact metres.

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

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

Noah Johannssen also started in the front row for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park when he scored a barnstorming try under the posts dragging three PNG defenders with him from ten metres out. It was clear from the moment that he took the ball no-one was going to stop from from crossing the line.

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

In Round One of the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition Noah Johannssen started in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad and to say he had a dominant first half would be a massive understatement.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Noah Johannssen lined up for Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side in 2020 starting in the front row in all of their matches before the competition was cancelled with one regular season round to go and the Northern Rivers Titans having an undefeated season.

When community rugby league restarts in New South Wales in July, Noah Johannssen will play in the NRRRL U18 competition most likely for the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 side. Noah Johannssen is also U18 eligible in 2021, which is a scary proposition for opposing teams in that age group.

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

What really stands out for me in relation to Noah Johannssen is his exceptional mobility and stamina for a player of his size and strength it is truly and impressive trait and one that already at such a young age screams NRL potential.

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

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Ziah Piggott. The young Titans linked fullback was one of the players that represented one of the Titans U15 squads that played each other and a Western Mustangs selection at Mudgeeraba in February 2019.

Ziah Piggot played the 2019 season with the Kyogle Turkey’s in the Group One competition, playing in both his regular U15 age group and also playing a number of matches “up” in the U16.5 group One competition.

In the 2019 Group One U15 competition Ziah Piggott played nine regular season matches for Kyogle scoring fourteen tries (156% strike rate) including a big match in Round Four when he scored four tries against Lismore Marist Brothers in a 36 – 14 win for the Turkeys. In fact Ziah Piggott finished five tries clear on the Group One U15 top try scorers list such was the outstanding season that Ziah Piggott had.

Ziah Piggott also had a big Round Six match scoring four tries for Kyogle as they defeated Clarence Coast 38 - 12.

Ziah Piggott’s other 2019 Group One regular season U15 tries included a double against Casino RSM and he also scored against Ballina, Lismore Marist Brothers, Casino RSM and Clarence Coast.

Ziah Piggott added a further U15 try in Week One of the 2019 Group One finals series but unfortunately Kyogle fell 26 – 10 to Ballina.

Ziah Piggott’s 2019 season came to an end when Kyogle went down 18 – 12 to Clarence Coast in the 2019 Group One U15 Preliminary Final.

In the 2019 Group One U16.5 competition Ziah Piggott played in nine matches, his debut being against Clarence Coast in Round Two scoring on debut. In addition to his Round Two try, Ziah Piggott also scored against Lismore Marist Brothers Blue in Round Four and he also scored a double against Lismore Marist Blue in Round Twelve to finish with a strike rate of 44.44%.

In relation to all of his 2019 Group One U16.5 matches, Ziah Piggott played in that fixture after playing in the U15 match earlier in the day.

Ziah Piggott was named in the centres for the 2019 Group One U15 Taipans for the New South Wales Country Age Championships that were held in Port Macquarie in late September. Ziah Piggott scored a double in Group One’s 40 – 10 win over Group 19 in their second match of Day One and scored again in Group One’s loss 38 – 12 to Central Coast on Day Two.

Also in 2019 Ziah Piggott whilst attending Kyogle High School made the Northern Rivers U15 rugby league representative side after trialling in March at Kardina High School.

In 2018, Ziah Piggott played fifteen matches including starting the Grand Final at fullback in the Group One U14 competition, scoring twenty tries (133% strike rate), including scoring a hat trick in Round Two against Clarence Coast.

Mid-season in 2018, Ziah Piggott had an incredible string of five straight games where he scored a double in each match with those matches coming in order against Grafton, Ballina, Casino RSM, Lismore Marist Brothers and Clarence Coast.

2018 also saw Ziah Piggott play one match in the Group One U15 competition scoring a double on debut against the South Grafton Rebels in July after playing in the U14 fixture earlier in the day.

Ziah Piggott represented the Group One U14 representative side in 2018, starting at fullback in all five of their matches in the New South Wales Country U14 Age Championships including scoring in their Plate Final victory against Group Nine 22 – 18, with Ziah Piggott’s try the one that gave the lead to Group One for good late in the second half.

Over the last couple of season, Ziah Piggott has been a regular in Kyogle High School (nick name the Brogla’s) rugby league age teams including 2017 in the U13’s in the Country Cup. In Round One of that competition in 2017 Ziah Piggott scored a ha trick for the Brolga’s as they defeated Casino High School 28 – 10.

In the match Ziah Piggott scored his first try in the opening minutes when he regathered a chip kick to score out wide. Ziah Piggott’s second try in the match when he split the Casino defence on a seventy metre run to the line. Ziah Piggott completed his hat trick late in the match when he was on the end of a blind side set play from a scrum win down a short blind side.

In Round Two Kyogle High School played The Rivers College, with Ziah Piggott scoring another hat trick. Ziah Piggott’s first try of the match was an outstanding solo effort from fifty metres out splitting the defence with speed and guile. Ziah Piggott’s second try resulted when he ran into a gap and received a great ball from Ronnie Daniels.

Ziah Piggott’s hat trick was completed when after good inside work from the Kyogle halves he ran through a gap to score. The Brolga’s won the match 38 – 14.

Kyogle High School played Evans River High School with Ziah Piggott starting the match from the bench but came on mid-way through the first half and scored two tries before the break as Kyogle went on to win 22 – 4.

Ziah Piggott has also a good athletic record at Kyogle High School including being named 2017 Boys U13 Althlete of the Yearas well as U13 Northern Rivers Zone Athletics Champion as well as representing North Coast at the New South Wales Age School Boy Track and Field Age Championships.

In 2018 Ziah Piggot was awarded a Sports Achievement Award and won the 200 metres sprint event at the New South Wales Combined High Schools State Carnival qualifying for the National Athletics Chapionships.


Ziah Piggott in 2018 represented Kyogle High School at the North Coast Combined High Schools Track and Field Championships.

In the 100 metres sprint at those Championships Ziah Piggott won in a time of 12.27 seconds and he ran 24.94 seconds to won the 200 metres event.

Ziah Piggott was also part of the Kyolge High School U14 4 x 100 metre relay team that finished third in a time of 52.79 seconds.

Also in 2018 Ziah Piggott was selected in the New South Wales Combined High Schools Northern Rivers Zone touch side.

For a taller fullback Ziah Piggott 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.

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

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

Ziah Piggott will play the 2020 season when it restarts with Kyogle in the Group One U16.5 competition and may well also feature in a number of matches for Kyogle in their U18 NRRRL squad. Ziah Piggott has already left school and is working full time thus he has a maturity level probably higher than the majority of players his age.

Ziah Piggott has been a fullback or centre his entire junior rugby league career to date and whilst that is likely to continue to as least the medium term it would not surprise if Ziah Piggott moves to the wing or even to the centres as he nears the senior rugby league ranks.

On the wing Ziah Piggott’s length, balance and body control would be a great asset in terms of the ability of modern day wingers to score the incredible try or two and it is a similar situation in the centres.

From a player comparison perspective for Ziah Piggott, I would say a reasonable comparison to Josh Duggan of the Cronulla Sharks 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 regardless of the situation of the game. Like Duggan, Ziah Piggott can more than comfortably handle playing both at fullback and in the centres.

As harsh as it sounds though, Ziah Piggott is far more durable that Josh Duggan though and will more than likely continue to be as his career progresses.

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Jake Lenard. (Updated) The young second rower from the Clarence Coast Magpies club in Northern New South Wales was part of the Titans U15’s that played against another Titans and Western Mustangs sides at Mudgeeraba in February 2019.

Jake Lenard missed a number of rounds of the 2019 Group One U15 competition due to injury but bounced back after the injury in a big way in Round Twelve scoring a hat trick against the unfortunate Casino RSM.

In Week One of the Group One U15 Finals series, Jake Lenard had a big hand in Clarence Coast’s 42 – 10 win over Lismore Marist Brothers contributing a double to the win and also started in the Grand Final as Clarence Coast defeated Ballina 14 - 10.

Jake Lenard was named on the interchange bench for the Group One U15 Taipans representative side for the New South Wales Country Age Championships that were held in Port Macquarie in late September and post those Championships was named the Group One U15 Representative Player of the Year.

In 2019 Jake Lenard also represented the Northern region NSW CCC U15 rugby league side at their trials held in May in Sydney after the Maclean High School student stood out for the Northern Rivers side in the Northern Trials.

In 2018, Jake Lenard finished as the Group One U14 competitions second leading try scorer with twenty one tries from just fifteen matches (140%), scoring in all but two of those matches, with those matches being against Ballina and Kyogle.

Jake Lenard scored four tries in a mid-June match against Casino RSM and scored a hat trick against Grafton in July 2018. Jake Lenard also scored four doubles which were against Casino RSM in two separate matches, Kyogle and Grafton.

Jake Lenard also played four matches in the Group One U15 competition in 2018, making his debut against Casino RSM in early April and celebrated by scoring a double. He had also scored a double earlier in the day in the U14 match.

Jake Lenard went on to play a total of six U15 Group One matches in 2018 and in addition to his debut double also scored against Casino RSM once again later in the season and against Kyogle.

Jake Lenard also played in five matches for the Group One U14 representative side in 2018, playing in five matches in their New South Wales Country U14 Championship campaign including starting from the bench in their Plate Final 22 – 18 victory over Group 9.

Also in 2018 was a stand out performance for the McLean High School U14 side leading them to success in the DEX Shield School Boy rugby league Competition and in addition to starting the Grand Final in the second row and scoring a barn storming try, Jake Lenard was named the 2018 DEX SHeild U14 Player of the Series.

In 2017 Jake Lenard a few other positions from the Clarence Coast Magpies junior rugby league club in the Group One Junior Rugby League competition in Northern New South Wales continued his outstanding try scoring feats throughout the 2017 Group One JRL U13 competition, where the former U12 New South Wales representative scored a staggering 35 tries in just eleven games. Understandably Jake Lenard leads the try scoring list for his age group.

Jake Lenard scored six tries in a May match against Grafton and five against Ballina in August. In addition Jake Lenard scored four tires twice, coming against Kyogle and Casino RSM and also hat tricks against Casino RSM, Marist Brothers, Ballina and Grafton. Jake Lenard in 2017 played two matches in the U14 Group One JRL competition with those matches being against Ballina and South Grafton.

Scoring tries is not a foreign experience for Jake Lenard as in 2016 at the U12 level he scored 20 tries from ten matches. To round off his points scoring this season, Jake Lenard also converted one of his tries in the Round Two clash against Casino RSM.

Jake Lenard is a very calm player on the field even though he plays the game at a very high speed and is most effective on the edge of the ruck. His style of play is that of a wide running player with above average to plus speed. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average, and I am talking the speed of an outside back not a backrower.

Jake Lenard is exceptionally quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, he has an extra gear again, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Jake Lenard is almost untouchable when he runs on the fringes of the ruck and uses his foot work to beat defenders with a variety of moves, including a step off both feet and a very good in and away. Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a young player who causes nightmares for a defensive line.

Jake Lenard is not a player but he runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball. I have not seen a great deal of him off loading the football, but the ball skills that he possess would suggest this particular will develop into a plus skill over time.

Jake Lenard is aggressive in defence whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or on the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks and targets the area around where the attackers carry the football.

Jake Lenard’s speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half. Due to his speed and athleticism Jake Lenard covers across the field well, thus putting him in a good position to make the tackle when the ball is turned back inside from the halves.

Jake Lenard will play for the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Group One Junior Rugby League U16.5 competition in 2020 and may well also get an opportunity in the 2020 NRRRL U18 competition when the competition kicks off after a late start.

From a position perspective I concede that I have no idea where Jake Lenard will actually end up, he can literally play anywhere from centre to second row and a few other positions, but ultimately I would consider that Jake Lenard will end up a devastating second rower in rugby league.

From a player comparison perspective for Jake Lenard, a young Brisbane Bronco’s version of Alex Glen, with more speed, springs to mind as an appropriate comparison, when you see the combination of the skill set he possesses and his athletic ability and of course intensity.

[mdrew]

Dakota Whalan. (Updated) He is a talented hooker who in 2019 was part of the Burleigh U18 Division One side and in 2020 was set to be part of the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad prior to the seasons cancellation.

Early in the 2019 season Dakota Whalan played one match off the bench for the Burleigh MM Cup side with that match being in Round Five against the Souths Logan Magpies.

Over the course of the 2019 season, Dakato Whalan started at hooker in all twelve of Burleigh’s matches in the U18 Division One competition scoring five tries including a Round Thirteen hat trick against the Bilambil Jets and against Helensvale in Round Two and Runaway Bay in Round Eleven to round out his scoring to finish with a 41.67% strike rate.

In Week Two of the 2019 U18 Division One Finals series Dakota Whalan started at hooker for Burleigh in their victory 34 – 8 against Southport to progress directly to the Grand Final contributing a try to the dominating victory.

Dakota Whalan started the 2019 U18 Division One Grand Final at hooker and had a try assist in the second half when he nipped down a very short blind side close to the try line (five metres or so) to put Noah Gafa over with a short well timed pass.

Dakota Whalan finished his 2017 rugby league commitments by attending a Titans U16 Elite Performance camp at Lenox Heads and at that camp was part of the Titans side that played against the Western Mustangs side that also attended the camp. Not that it is necessarily relevant but the U16 Titans High Performance Unit won in a high quality match eight tries to two.

The young hooker started in the 2017 season at hooker for the Gold Coast Vikings Green U16 side that played a Western Mustangs U16 selection in Toowoomba recently with the Gold Coast Green side winning the match 24 – 8 against a committed opposition side. As noted the Titans linked youngster represented Gold Coast Green in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition and then progressed to the GCJRL U16 Division One competition.

Dakota Whalan started off the U16 Division One season with the Southport Tigers playing in four matches for them before obtaining a clearance to move to the Burleigh Bears. Dakota Whalan made his U16 Division One debut for Burleigh in early June against Ormeau and in total played seven matches in the Burleigh’s maroon and white including starting at hooker in Burleigh’s 34 – 4 Grand Final loss against Currumbin.

Dakota Whalan scored two late season tries while playing for Burleigh with those tries coming in consecutive weeks against Currumbin in the final regular season round and in Burleigh’s first semi-final against Helensvale.

Dakota Whalan played the 2016 season for the Southport Tigers in the U15 Division One competition on the Gold Coast where he scored three tries from seven matches, including a double in the first regular season round against Beaudesert and Dakota Whalan also scored late in the season against the Helensvale Hornets.

Dakota Whalan is a vocal dummy half with a goal to lead his team around the field and determine when the forwards take the ball up and when the ball is directed out to the backline. Dakota Whalan looks to lead his forwards onto the ball and provides a flat pass to enable his forwards to time their run onto the ball. Dakota Whalan aims to be the team’s general from dummy half and control the pace of the match and the axis from which his team directs their attack and also from what part of the field.

Running with the ball Dakota Whalan has reasonable speed off the mark, probably in the average category for a hooker but normally runs off the back of a big run from one of his forwards so that he runs when the defensive line is still retreating back to their 10 metre mark.

Just like he is when he is at dummy half Dakota Whalan is vocal when he is in the defensive line looking to direct his forwards towards where the ball is likely heading and individually identifying which forward defends which attacker. Dakota Whalan certainly has a tough streak and will look to hit opposing forwards regardless of their size as hard as possible and looks to finish off each tackle with aggression.

Dakota Whalan is also a solid worker when at marker and will chase and look to harass both ball runners and tactical kickers alike.

Dakota Whalan is U18 eligible again in 2020 but was named in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad bypassing the MM Cup competition all together, an impressive feat to say the least.

In 2020 when the season restarts Dakota Whalen will play for Burleigh in the U18 Division One competition as they look to go back to back after last season’s Grand Final success.

Dakota Whalan has spent the last couple of season exclusively at hooker and I can see no justification for an alteration to that particular situation as he moves forward in his rugby league career and at 178cm and 83kg is big and strong enough to handle the rigours of the centre of the field.

From a player comparison perspective I can see aspects of a playing style similar to that of Sydney Roosters Jake Friend in the play of Dakota Whalan as a hooker who looks to control his forward pack from the dummy half position and lets his team know what he wants from them.

[mdrew]

Daniel Butterini. (Revised) He is a local young centre originally from just south of the border, who has previously been part of the Titans High Performance Program and also at PBC State High School as part of their Rugby League excellence program.

Daniel Butterini was named to start in the centres for the Northern Rivers Titans in Round One of the 2020 U18 Laurie Daley Cup against the Parramatta Eels at Cudgen however the match was cancelled due to the wet conditions.

Daniel Butterini started Round Two of the U18 Laurie Daley Cup at left centre against the Newcastle Knights in Ballina.

Daniel Butterini also started at left centre in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters and had a huge match on the way to scoring a hat trick. In relation to his first try, Daniel Butterini received the ball wide out to the left of the field after a Northern Rivers Titans scrum win fifteen metres out from the Central Coast line and immediately cut back inside twice to crash over five metres from the left upright.

Daniel Butterini scored his second try when he was on the spot to take a Thomas Weaver kick when it bounced perfectly. Daniel Butterini was able to take the bouncing ball above his head and place it down a metre inside the dead ball line.

Daniel Butterini scored his third and final try from a twenty metre dash out of dummy half. With the Central Coast defence back peddling Daniel Butterini got into dummy half and ran to the right of the play the ball producing a left foot step near the try line to wrong foot the remaining defenders to dive over mid-way between the corner post and the left goal post.

Daniel Butterini also started at left centre in Round Four against the Greater Northern Tigers adding a try assist to his 2020 stats sheet. Daniel Butterini cut inside off his left foot with the Titans on the attack and it looked like he would score himself but had his legs taken out from under him. Daniel Butterini was not held however and flicked the ball out of the back of his right hand when he was on his knees to Jaylon DeGroot to score.

Daniel Butterini also started at left centre in the Round Five local derby against North Coast scoring in the first half when he ran into a gap on the left side of the field and took a ball from Thomas Weaver who had drifted across the field.

In 2019 Daniel Butterini was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad however did not feature in any of their matches.

Daniel Butterini was on song in Round Two of the 2019 GCRL U18 Division One competition scoring a try and kicking five goals for Currumbin as they defeated Bilambil 30-4. Daniel Butterini started the match in the centres for the Eagles.

In total for Currumbin in the 2019 GCRL U18 Division One competition Daniel Butterini played in six matches before making a move to Murwillumbah in the NRRRL U18 competition.

Daniel Butterini’s first match for Murwillumbah in the U18 NRRRL competition was in Round Thirteen against Lower Clarence with his first NRRRL U18 try coming in Round Fourteen against Ballina and his second in the regular season finale being Round Eighteen against Tweed Heads. In total Daniel Butterini played in five regular season matches to finish with a 40% strike rate.

His 2019 NRRRL U18 campaign ended when Murwillumbah were defeated 26 – 10 by the Byron Bay Devils in the Elimination Final.

Daniel Butterini made his NRRRL First Grade debut in Round Seventeen of the 2019 season for Murwillumbah against Byron Bay and added to that in Week One of the NRRRL First Grade Finals series when he came off the bench in a 40 – 6 win over Casino RSM.

Daniel Butterini in 2019 was once again part of the PBC Open A rugby league side including starting from the bench in the Langer Cup A derby against Keebra Park in June.

Daniel Butterini was also part of the Titans U15 squad that played against a Balmain Tigers selection late in 2017 year, in that match Daniel Butterini spent the majority of the game in the centres, left centre in particular.

At the start of the 2018 season, Daniel Butterini was part of the U16 Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side that competed in the U16 South East Queensland Challenge and post that competition was called up to be part of the South East Queensland Green side for the Queensland U16 Age Championships playing all four of their matches including the Championship final which SEQ Green won 30 – 18 against South East Queensland White.

Daniel Butterini played his club rugby league in 2018 with the Currumbin Eagles playing in twelve U16 Division One matches including the finals series scoring three tries in total, including a double against Mudgeeraba and also scored early in the season against Runaway Bay.

Daniel Butterini started for Currumbin in the U16 Division One Grand Final but was on the losing side with opponents Nerang coming out victorious 24 – 8.

Daniel Butterini also played one match in 2018 in the U17 Division One competition with that match coming against the Bilambil Jets late in the 2018 season.

Daniel Butterini was selected this season in the South Coast U15 QSSRL side in 2017. Earlier in the 2017 season Daniel Butterini was also selected in the Group 18 U15 squad after representing Group 18 at the U14 level in 2016 where he played primarily at fullback in the New South Wales Country Age Championships.

In late 2015 Daniel Butterini was named on the wing for the Titans U13 development squad for their match against a Toowoomba U14 selection, but unfortunately he did not participate in the match due to injury. In 2014 Daniel Butterini was named in the New South Wales North Coast U12 rugby league side from the Burringbar Public School in Murwillumbah.

For a centre, Daniel Butterini is a 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, Daniel Butterini also has a very good passing game especially to his right side. When the ball is passed out to the back line, Daniel Butterini 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 Daniel Butterini has above average speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, he will rarely 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 Daniel Butterini’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the above average category as he matures and inevitably fills out.

Defensively Daniel Butterini uses his physical characteristics 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 saw him play for either PBC, Burleigh, Murwillumbah or the Northern Rivers Titans U18 side Daniel Butterini 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.

Daniel Butterini on an individual level has the body control 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.

Daniel Butterini started the 2020 season in the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side starting at left centre in all of their regular season matches before the season was cancelled with one regular season match remaining ans the Titans setting undefeated and a finals position in the offing.

When the NRRRL competition restarts on 18 July Daniel Butterini will play for Murwillumbah in the NRRRL U18 competition and I am sure will add to his two match NRRRL First Grade tally from the 2019 season.

Daniel Butterini has played primarily in the centres throughout his junior rugby league career but has spent some time in the second row this season. For me though it is far too early to write Daniel Butterini off in terms of not being able to stay in the centres long term.

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

[mdrew]

Taine Ujdur-Berghan. The young PBC and Burleigh Bears half/five eight is not likely to finish near the top of any try scoring list in any given season but that is in no way reflective of his contribution to his side’s success regardless of whether that is at school boy, representateive or club level.

Taine Ujdur-Berghan started Round One of the 2020 MM Cup competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls at half against the Northern Pride and scoring in the Seagulls big first up victory, which unfortunately ended up being the only round of the 2020 season after the MM Cup competition was cancelled.

Taine Ujdur-Berghan started Round One of the 2019 GCRL U18 Division One competition for Nerang but with their demise moved to Burleigh, starting with their U18 Division Two side, spending time at fullback, hooker and half over the course of the season.

Taine Ujdur-Berghan made his first start for the Burleigh U18 Division Two side in Round Two against Tugun, scoring in their draw. In total Taine Ujdur-Berghan played in eight 2019 U18 Division Two regular season matches and three Division One matches.

In addition to his debut try in Round Two, Taine Ujdur-Berghan also scored in Rounds Three and Eight against the Runaway Bay Seagulls and Currumbin Eagles respectively in the 2019 U18 Division Two competition.

In Week Two of the 2019 GCRL U18 Division Two Finals Taine Ujdur-Berghan started at hooker against Currumbin and then was on the bench for the Burleigh U18 Division One side in their Week Two Final win against Southport and also started at hooker in the Grand Final as Burleigh defeated Robina.

For the 2019 Burleigh U18 Division One side Taine Ujdur-Berghan primarily came off the bench playing in a variety of roles including in the halves (half and five eight) and hooker, in total playing three matches in that competition for the Bears with those matches coming against Helensvale, Runaway Bay and Bilambil.

Taine Ujdur-Berghan was also a more than solid performer for the PBC Open rugby league side in 2019 including starting at five eight in the Langer Cup local derby against Keebra Park and also starting at five eight in PBC’s heart breaking Gold Point GIO Cup Queensland semi-final 23 – 22 loss to Marsden State High School.

Late in 2018 Taine Ujdur-Berghan was part of the Titans U16 squad that played matches in September against PNG and New South Wales Country U16 sides in northern New South Wales, finishing with one win and one loss.

Taine Ujdur-Berghan started Round One of the 2018 GCRL U16 Division One competition at five eight for Nerang as they defeated Runaway Bay 60 – 0 with centre Trey Peni scoring four tries in that match. Fellow PBC Year Ten student Jaiden West also scored for Nerang in the Round One match.

Post that Round One match, Taine Ujder-Berghan played in an additional eight matches for Nerang scoring two regular season tries, with the first coming in Round Six in a 32 – 8 win over Helensvale. Taine Ujdur-Berghan’s other try came two rounds later against Runaway Bay.

Taine Ujder-Berghan missed a portion of the GCRL U16 Division One Finals series but did start at five eight for the Roosters in the Grand Final as they defeated Currumbin 24 – 8.

In 2017 Taine Ujdur-Berghan played in thirteen matches in the GCRL U15 Division One competition for the Nerang Roosters scoring a solitary try which came around mid-season against the Currumbin Eagles.

Taine Ujder-Berghan just has a great passing game in all aspects, he has a very good long passing game and can get the ball out to his centres quickly and he is equally adept at taking the ball to the line and delivering a short pass to hole running backrowers just as the defence is converging on him. There just is not a pass that Taine Ujder-Berghan cannot throw with timing and precision.

Taine Ujder-Berghan gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run. A key attribute to how he plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations within a game.

Taine Ujder-Berghan is not necessarily the quickest five eight 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 Taine Ujder-Berghan will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. Taine Ujder-Berghan’s running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around and that is likely to continue into the future.

Taine Ujder-Berghan’s His kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus Taine Ujder-Berghan finds the ground for a lot of his kicks contributing to his side getting good field position regularly.

Taine Ujder-Berghan can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line. He is also a decent goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him kicking to have an opinion as to whether he can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward.

Taine Ujder-Berghan is a very good defender for the hooker or half back position, this includes against opposing halves who will try to use footwork and evasion to beat him or against big wide running forwards. No matter who is running at him, his timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group in general.

Taine Ujdur-Berghan is U18 eligible once again in 2020 and started at five eight in Round One of the MM Cup for the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

When the Gold Coast Rugby League season restarts Taine Ujdur-Berghan will be a key member of the Burleigh GCRL U18 Division One side post the MM Cup competition.

In 2020 Taine Ujdur-Berghan will also continue to be part of the PBC school boy rugby league program and will push for a spot in their Langer Cup A side in Term Three.

Whilst Taine Ujdur-Berghan has played five eight for the majority of his junior rugby league career I was impressed with the way that he played at hooker for Burleigh in 2019 and thus whilst I believe that he will ultimately end up in the halves, a dummy half role is certainly not out of the question in relation to Taine Ujdur-Berghan.

A current NRL player with similar running and distribution skills is Titans NRL player Tannah Boyd. Both show flashes of outstanding potential and just need experience on the field to continue their current development trajectory

[mdrew]

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

Tyler Szepanowski started on the bench for the Burleigh Queensland Cup side in their February 2020 trial against the Titans at Pizzey Park. When he came on Tyler Szepanoswki was very effective running for eighty two metres (thirty post contact) and made twenty three tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Tyler Szepanowski also started in the front row for the Burleigh A Grade side in their late February 2020 trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Like he did in 2018 Tyler Szepanowski started the 2019 season in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side, playing the opening eight rounds in the front row before being promoted to the Burleigh GCRL First Grade side, starting from the bench in Round Seven in a 16 all draw with Tugun.

In Week Two of the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts Finals Tyler Szapanowski scored in Burleigh’s 42 – 12 win against Norths after starting the match in the front row. Tyler Szapanowski ran onto a Cameron Brown pass in the second half barging over near the left upright after an impressive run especially post contact and dragged three Norths defenders over the line with him.

In total in the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for Burleigh Tyler Szapanowski played in eleven matches starting all in the front row and in fact he captained the side for the first half of the season prior to his promotion to the Burleigh GCRL First Grade side.

In addition to his Finals Week Two try, Tyler Szepanowski’s other try of the season came in Round two against the Ipswich Jets.

Tyler Szapanowski made his 2019 GCRL First Grade starting debut in Round Eleven against Bilambil when he started in the front row and also started in the front row in Round Sixteen against Tugun and Round Seventeen against Runaway Bay.

In total in the 2019 GCRL First Grade competition for Burleigh Tyler Szapanowski played in eight matches, including starting in the front row in Burleigh’s Major Semi-final 26 – 12 win over Currumbin.

Tyler Szapanowski also started in the front row as Burleigh won the GCRL First Grade Grand Final by defeating Southport 30 -12.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyler Szepanowski was looking to progress to the Queensland Cup competition in 2020 with the Burleigh Bears but when the Gol d Coast Rugby League competition restarts in July 2020 Tyler Szepanowski will likely start with the Bears GCRL First Grade side looking to gear up for a tilt to make his Queensland Cup debut in 2021.

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

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

[mdrew]

Kaden Somerville. (Revised) He is a local young hooker or probably more accurately described as a utility forward from the Burleigh Bears junior rugby league club on the Gold Coast and in 2018 signed a two year contract with the Titans to be part of their JTS program.

Kaden Somerville’s first hit out of the 2020 season was when was involved and scored from close range for the Burleigh MM Side in their opening trial against the Easts Tigers.

Kaden Somerville was also a key performer for the Burleigh MM side that drew 20 all with a Burleigh Colts selection in a trial that preceded the Titans v Burleigh NRL trial at Pizzey Park in February with Kaden Somerville taking it up to this older opponents.

Kaden Somerville started Round One of the 2020 MM Cup competition for the Burleigh Bears from the bench against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in what was unfortunately the only MM Cup round of the 2020 season.

Kaden Somerville has already played a number of matches in Titans colours including starting at hooker for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights in January 2019. Kaden Somerville was very strong over the course of the match, especially defensively, starting both halves before being interchanged around the middle of each half.

When the Titans had the scrum feed, Kaden Somerville packed in at lock so that he was in a position to distribute the ball to the Titans backline or look to exploit a scrum blind side move. With Kaden Somerville’s long accurate passing game the Titans halves were able to stand wider than normal from the back of the scrum immediately opening space for the back line to operate.

One of Kaden Somerville’s most recent matches for the Titans was when he started at lock for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park with the Titans coming away big winners on the Friday night.

Kaden Somerville also started at hooker for the Titans U15 side in their late 2018 match against a Balmain Tigers U15 touring side in northern New South Wales.

Kaden Somerville started Round One of the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One competition at lock for Burleigh in their match against the Coomera Cutters.

Kaden Somerville played in eleven 2019 GCRL U16 Division One matches in 2019 for Burleigh playing hooker, lock and second row. It was his first match in the second row that saw Kaden Somerville score for the first time in 2019 when he scored a double in Round Nine against Currumbin which ended up being his only tries of the U16 Division One regular season.

Week One of the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One Finals series saw Kaden Somerville start at lock for Burleigh as they defeated Helensvale and he also started there in Week Two as Burleigh’s season ended.

Kaden Somerville was also on the bench for the Burleigh 2019 U18 Division One Grand Final winning side as they defeated Southport 28 – 12. When he came on in the Grand Final Kaden Somerville spent time in the front row for the Bears in what turned out to be a bruising forward encounter with Kaden Somerville being regularly in the thick of the action.

Kaden Somerville was also involved in PBC’s 2019 Langer Cup Reserve Grade campaign including standing out in their Round Two win over St Mary’s in Toowoomba on a horrendously freezing Wednesday night in the depths of winter.

Kaden Somerville was named in the 2019 South East Queensland White U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships after an outstanding series of matches for the U16 Gold Coast Vikings earlier in the season. Kaden Somerville came off the bench for the Vikings representative side, spending time both at hooker and in the back row for the representative side.

In 2018 Kaden Somerville played for the Burleigh Bears GCRL U15 Division One side, spending the majority of the season at hooker.

In the 2018 GCRL U15 Division One competition Kaden Somerville played in nine matches including Burleigh’s two finals matches scoring two tries, with those tries coming in consecutive matches in late July 2018 against the Robina Raptors and the Mudgeeraba Redbacks.

In Week One of the 2018 U15 Division One finals Kaden Somerville started at hooker as Burleigh defeated Southport 72 -2 and also started at hooker in Week Two of the finals as Burleigh were knocked out after going down 34 – 24 against Runaway Bay.

Team mates in Kaden Somerville’s U15 Division One side are fellow Titans contracted youngster the outstanding lock Bailey Martin and second row/centre Ezra Ubaldino.

In 2017 Kaden Somerville played the season prior to injury at the U14 Division One level. Unfortunately due to injury Kaden Somerville was only able to play in two U14 Division One contest for Burleigh but did score in both outings which were against Runaway Bay and eventual premiers Ormeau.

In 2014 Kaden Somerville represented South Coast in the U11 QPSRL competition. South Coast went through the competition undefeated easily, with Kaden Somerville scoring a try against Wide Bay in round two of the competition.

Kaden Somerville is an extremely talented all round hooker, who excels at all three critical aspects that a modern day hooker must have to be successful, those being his distribution and game management out of dummy half, selective running out of dummy half and defending in the centre of the ruck where he is more effective than people would think when they first see him play.

In terms of his distribution out of dummy half, he is extremely efficient in his passing and there is no wasted movement or energy as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand first then pass.

There is no discernible difference between his passing from either side of his body, and his passes are crisp and flat and also he can pass a reasonable distance off the ground, more so to the right when the first receiver is standing a little wider of the play the ball.

Where Kaden Somerville is also extremely effective is leading his forwards onto the ball, he passes in front of the forward ensuring no loss of momentum to the run. In short he is a very good game manager from the hooking position.

Kaden Somerville is also a good communicator on the field, he is constantly encouraging his team both in attack and defence. He does not yell and scream, like the other parts of his game, Kaden Somerville is calm and composed and uses positive reinforcement rather than yelling and screaming to get his point across to team mates but Kaden Somerville does make it clear that he is in charge however.

Where Kaden Somerville really stands out in terms of attacking play, is his speed out of dummy half, he is extremely quick off the mark and has good footwork to take advantage of tiring forwards, using a step usually off his right foot, although Kaden Somerville does not necessary run much out of dummy half.

The times that he does run though, Kaden Somerville targets forwards who are offside, if the offside forward is called out of the play he has the speed to break into open space. Once in open space Kaden Somerville does not usually have the speed required to finish things off himself but he invariably will make the right decision with the ball in terms of whether to take the tackle or pass to a support player.

Kaden Somerville’s defence for a hooker is quite good for a young hooker, he does not necessarily hit hard but due to his very good low technique Kaden Somerville can defend effectively one on one against far larger forwards, he sets a good base with his lower body and looks to explode upward with his shoulders to drive into opposing forwards.

His intensity and continuous effort means that Kaden Somerville will track the ball across the field and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside. Kaden Somerville literally tackles everything that moves in the centre of the ruck even though he is usually one of the smaller forwards on the field.

Kaden Somerville is also very good at getting out of dummy half quickly to put pressure on the opposing teams kickers in all parts of the field and takes a great deal of pride in it regularly forcing the opposing kicker to rush the kick.

Kaden Somerville was named in the Burleigh MM Cup squad for 2020, taking part in Round One before the competition was cancelled and will also play for Burleigh in the U18 Division One competition in 2020 as well as playing for PBC and once again there should be some very good battles in that age group with Keebra Park in the Langer Cup competition.

From a position perspective, with his passing skills and quick first step out of dummy half, I believe that Kaden Somerville is already settled in his long term position of hooker noting however that he has spent some time in other positions this year with Burleigh specifically at lock for both Burleigh and PBC as well as some time in the front row for both sides as well.

From a player comparison perspective for Kaden Somerville think someone along the lines of (and I am going back a fair while) former Manly and New South Wales State of Origin hooker Jim Sedaris as a bigger type of hooker who can run and hit like a front rower or lock but still has the ability and distribution skills to play at dummy half.

[mdrew]

Daniel Shannon. (Revised) He is a local former Titan’s linked young 183cm, 105kg front rower who in 2019 continued to develop his game for the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts side and with Southport in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition.

Daniel Shannon was set to will line up for the second season in a row in 2020 for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad before the competitions demise after Round One.

From a trivia perspective Daniel Shannon’s brothers Samuel and Joseph are contracted to the Titans and are also both front rowers/locks. All three brothers are big strong hard tough young men who clearly love the physical aspects of rugby league. I love watching them play, all three are aggressive and throw their weight around on the field in all aspects of the game.

In the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Daniel Shannon played in fifteen matches for Burleigh including finals and scored his first Colts try of the season in Round Twenty against the Western Mustangs.

Daniel Shannon came into the 2019 Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in Round Nine against Redcliffe starting from the bench and also started from the bench in his other fourteen matches for the Bears.

In relation to his try against the Western Mustangs in Round Twenty Daniel Shannon received the ball from dummy half Zac McCormack close to the line with heavy defence in front of him, but he used his footwork to cut back towards the play the ball where the defence had not moved off the line and Daniel Shannon used his size and power to crash over.

Daniel Shannon’s 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts season came to an end when he started on the interchange bench for Burleigh as they went down 23 – 16 to Sunshine Coast in the Preliminary Final.

Daniel Shannon played the last rounds of the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition alongside younger brother Samuel in the Burleigh side.

In the 2019 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition Daniel Shannon played in eight matches including starting in the front row in Round Eleven against Burleigh when he scored a double which were his first tries of the 2019 season.

Daniel Shannon’s first try was a short range effort when he took the ball about three metres out from the line on the right side of the ruck to crash over. His second try came from around ten metres out this time on the left side of the ruck when he ran a good outside shoulder route and was put through a big gap.

Daniel Shannon also had a try assist in the match when he split the Burleigh line thirty metres out from his own line on the left side of the field, charging forty metres before drawing the fullback to send his support over untouched.

One thing that I did notice in the match was that Daniel Shannon ball played a lot before the line, on every occasion on the right side of the ruck.

Daniel Shannon’s other 2019 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 try came later in the season against Mudgeeraba.

In 2019 Daniel Shannon also made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut when he started in the front row against Bilambil in Round Two.

Daniel Shannon also played in two QTOP Doug Lipp Cup matches in 2019 for Southport with those matches being against Burleigh in June and Mudgeeraba in late August.

In 2019 Daniel Shannon was also selected in the Gold Coast Vikings U20 side for the South East Queensland U20 Challenge.

For Burleigh in the 2018 MM Cup competition, Daniel Shannon played in all six matches starting five in the front row and coming off the bench in Round Three in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Daniel Shannon scored just the one try in the MM Cup this season which was against Redcliffe in Round Two in an impressive Burleigh win at Pizzey Park.

Post the 2018 MM Cup competition, Daniel Shannon played for Southport and played in nine matches in the U19 competition and three in the Doug Lipp Cup competition.

Daniel Shannon came into the Southport U19 side in Round Three starting in the front row in a 22 all draw against Bilambil and also started in the front row in seven other matches before his Colts promotion. In Round 16 with the Burleigh Colts side having a bye Daniel Shannon lined up in the front row against Currumbin in a tough 26 – 16 loss.

Daniel Shannon scored two U19 GCRL regular season tries, the first came in early July against Currumbin and then Daniel Shannon scored his second try in the following round against Mudgeeraba.

In Week One of the 2018 GCRL U19 Finals series, Daniel Shannon started in the front row for Southport as they defeated Bilambil 34 – 8.

In Week two of the GCRL U19 Finals series, Daniel Shannon once again started in the front row for Southport against Currumbin with the Tigers winning 20 - 14.

In the 2018 U19 Grand Final Daniel Shannon started once again in the front row for Southport against Currumbin but unfortunately Southport went down 34 – 20, Daniel Shannon however was very good for the Tigers that Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Shannon made his Doug Lipp Cup debut in Round Three of the 2018 season he started in the second row for Southport against Bilambil. Daniel Shannon also started in Round Five in fact starting in the centres on that occasion against the Helensvale Hornets and also played against Mudgeeraba in June.

It was an impressive effort from Daniel Shannon to start in the front row in the U19 match in Rounds Three and Five and them back up to start in the Doug Lipp Cup matches immediately after.

Daniel Shannon was deservedly promoted to the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side for their 2018 Round 17 match against Norths starting the match from the bench on a tough day for Burleigh that afternoon.

In total in the 2018 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Daniel Shannon played in four matches, starting all from the bench.

Daniel Shannon was also selected in the 2018 Queensland Indigenous U18 side for the QPIIC Championships in October at Beenleigh.

In 2017 Daniel Shannon played for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition specifically at the U17 and U19 levels. Daniel Shannon also represented the Queensland Indigenous side in 2017 at the QPICC carnival at Beenleigh in October.

Daniel Shannon has alternated between the U17 Division Two and U19 levels for Southport in 2017, playing six matches in each competition and had a very busy weekend. On Saturday Daniel Shannon lined up for the Southport U19 side coming off the interchange bench in their semi-final loss 21 – 14 to Currumbin and on Sunday started in the front row for Southport in their 21 – 14 Grand Final loss to Burleigh.

In the 2017 U17 Division Two competition, Daniel Shannon crossed for two tries on the season, the first coming against Coomera in July and the second in early August against Helensvale.

In 2016 Daniel Shannon was part of the Gold Coast White CC side for this season, starting the last two matches off the bench. He played the 2015 season with the Mudgeeraba Redbacks where he scored three tries across the ten matches that he played at the U15 Division One level and he also played seven matches up at the U16 Division Two level, where he mainly came off the bench.

Daniel Shannon also represented Murri United in the Queensland Murri tournament in late 2015 and was in fact selected in the Queensland U15 Murri side which toured Fiji and won all three of their matches on that tour alongside Jesse Brasslin.

Running with the football, Daniel Shannon has good footwork prior to the line and does not often just put his head down and run straight, but uses his solid footwork to try to work the gaps between defenders rather than trying to simply run over them. He does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability.

Daniel Shannon has a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well although to date in U20 Colts competition he has not shown it much, concentrating more on making ground in the centre of the ruck.

The key to his running is his ability to drop his shoulder into the defenders at the right moment, to go along with his late foot work. These attributes make Daniel Shannon very difficult to tackle and he can rarely be stopped one on one. Throw in a decent turn of pace off the mark and you have a player who is difficult for a defensive line to combat.

Defensively Daniel Shannon hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribcage and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls, read that Daniel Shannon is very good at winning the wrestling battle in the ruck.

Daniel Shannon defends in the centre of the ruck and seems best suited in the long run defending there and adds a degree of intimidation to any forward pack he plays for.

Daniel Shannon really does know how to tackle effectively, as he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards and then explodes through his core. Throw in a touch of aggression and you have someone who can dominate a game defensively and is able to seal off one side of the ruck on his own.

For a front rower his lateral movement is more than reasonable. Daniel Shannon is also quite effective when defending at marker, and does not use it as a chance to have a break and will chase hard from the position.

In 2020 Daniel Shannon was set to be part of the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad for the second season in row.

When the Gold Coast Rugby League competition restarts in July Daniel Shannon will line up for the Southport Tigers and whilst he is eligible to paly for the Tigers in the GCRL U20 competition is is difficult to see and scenario where Daniel Shannon will not play a significant portion of the revised 2020 competition in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition in the Southport Tigers First Grade side.

Due to his size and strength he I believe will continue to play his football in the front row in the long term although he could likely play in the second row for the next couple of years adequately.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International second rower/front rower Adam Blair as a solid hard working forward who has a more than decent off load in him as well as having extremely aggressive tackling and running styles.

[mdrew]

Cooper Hersom. The Brisbane based half back was involved in the Titans U15 Academy matches at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park in early 2020 after being part of the Titans Brisbane based Logan Academy in 2019.

In 2019 Cooper Hersom played for Carina in the GBJRL U14 Division One competition finishing second on the goal kicking tally and also high up on the overall points scoring list for the high quality competition for the 2019 season as well.

In 2019 Cooper Hersom also represented the Brisbane Red U14 junior representative side at the Hill Stumer Championships that were held at North Ipswich Reserve, starting his four matches for Brisbane Red at half back. Cooper Hersom was also Brisbane Red’s primary goal kicker over the course of the Championships kicking a number of key goals over the course of the two days of the Championships.

Against the Gold Coast Vikings U14 side at the 2019 Hill Stumer Championships Cooper Hersom scored an outstanding try when he split the Vikings defence to score an impressive individual try. Cooper Hersom ran to the right of the field at the defensive line on a 45 degree angle with the ball out of the front of his body threatening to pass until the last possible moment, only to pull the ball back into his body and slice through the defence around fifteen metres out and then Cooper Hersom stepped off his right foot to comprehensively beat the Vikings fullback who was coming across the field in cover defence, to score mid-way between the upright and corner post on the right side of the field.

Post those Championships Cooper Hersom was selected for the U14 South East Queensland Green side for the 2019 Queensland Age Championships where he played in all four of their matches, including their 26 – 4 Championship Final victory against Northern.

At the Championships Cooper Hersom kicked seven conversions including a conversion in the Championship Final, to be fair his other conversions in the final were all from wide out including his efforts to convert the first half double of Titans contracted left winger Matthew Barrow who scored both of his tries literally right in the left corner making for difficult conversion attempts for Cooper Hersom.

Cooper Hersom also kicked three conversions in Game Two against Northern, two conversions in Game Three against South East Queensland White and in Game One kicked a conversion against Central.

The South East Queensland Green side was not the only representative ide that Cooper Hersom made in 2019 as he was also selected in the Met East U15 QSSRL side, an impressive achievement for a player still eligible for the U14 age group.

In 2019 Cooper Hersom was also a stand out for his Alexandra Hills State High School Boy’s side starting all of their matches at half back alongside Titans contracted duo Zyroam Taurawa-Herlihy and Gary Whare- Herlihy.

Cooper Hersom is quite an elusive runner of the ball and some good foot work in confined space. Cooper Hersom will take on the line regularly and has a very good step off both feet but his left foot step seems to be the preferred step based on the games that I have seen at least. Cooper Hersom is always around the ball and thus is always available to back up a break by a forward or when they get their hands free.

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

Cooper Hersom will also wait until the last possible moment to release the ball, this could be seen in representative rugby league in 2019, where he would take the ball to the line looking for space to get his support players in gaps as they are developing in the defensive line. Cooper Hersom’s best attribute in his passing game is the speed, timing and accuracy when he passes to his outside backs or forwards wunning off his passes wide of the ruck.

Cooper Hersom gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run. A key attribute to how he plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations within a game.

Cooper Hersom also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Cooper Hersom is going to do. Another key is that once he makes his decision, Cooper Hersom is decisive and does not second guess himself and just takes the game on with poise and confidence.

Like when he has the ball in his hands, there is nothing that Cooper Hersom cannot do in relation to kicking the ball. Cooper Hersom is an exceptional tactical kicker with range and accuracy, Cooper Hersom can put up pin point bombs and perfectly weighted grubber kicks into the in goal. In short if you can name a type of rugby league kick, Cooper Hersom Turnbull can execute it with effectiveness and precision.

Cooper Hersom is as good a tactical kicker as I have ever seen from a junior rugby league perspective and is a legitimate 40/20 threat now. There is absolutely no doubt that Cooper Hersom will be the primary tactical and attacking kicker for any side that he is on, from now and all of the way to the senior rugby league ranks.

Cooper Hersom is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy. I would suggest that Cooper Hersom is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level he progresses to into the future. Some of Cooper Hersom’s conversions over the course of 2019, including in representative sides where outstanding especially from the right touch line that seemingly is his sweet spot.

In essence Cooper Hersom is a very good defender for the five eight position, this includes against opposing halves who will try to use footwork and evasion to beat him or against big wide running forwards. No matter who is running at him, Cooper Hersom’s timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group in general.

Cooper Hersom’s defence is an area that stands out when you watch him play in person. Cooper Hersom, from my perspective at least defends similar ot a second rower, which means his team’s defensive strategy can be accommodated to account for the fact that a “defensive minder” is not a critical requirement for any team that has Cooper Hersom defending in the front line normally on the right side of the field.

Cooper Hersom was set to play the 2020 season for Carina in the GBJRL U15 Division One competition when community rugby league returns, Alexandra Hills in their various school boy competitions in Term Three of the school year and seemed to be a good bet to make the Met East U15 QSSRL school boy representative side for the second season in a row before the Covid 19 pandemic put paid to that opportunity.

From a position perspective with his speed and rapidly developing ball playing, game management and tactical kicking skills, Cooper Hersom has an opportunity to develop into a very talented young rugby league half back.

Parramatta Eels Mitchell Moses with his wide ranging and developing skill set is for me a very good player comparison for the talented Cooper Hersom. Like Moses, Cooper Hersom has a wide variety of skills which he is developing and whilst they may not all develop at the same pace or a linear progression, they surely will all be above average to plus attributes when it is all said and done in relation to Cooper Hersom’s development.

Also like Moses, Cooper Hersom is is an outstanding kicker of the ball including, tactical, attacking and goal kicking.

Cooper Hersom is rapidly developing into a very talented rugby league half back indeed and I will certainly be watching his development with interest.

[mdrew]

Brandon Tikinau. The Forest Lake State High School student (situated in Brisbane’s western suburbs) and outstanding five eight or half back prospect early this year signed a contract with the Titans for the next couple of seasons.

After his outstanding 2019 performances for the Forest Lake State High School Year Eight school boy side and the Titans Logan based Junior Academy, Brandon Tikinau signed for the Titans in early March 2020.

Brandon Tikinau was also involved in the Titans U15 Academy matches at Burleigh in early 2020 and post those round robin matches signed his contract with the Titans which will see him part of the Titans JTS program for the next couple of seasons.

In 2019 Brandon Tikinau captained his Forest Lake State High School Year Eight Bronco’s Cup rugby league side that fell to Coombabah State High School in the final of that competition and was heavily involved in the majority of the good things that occurred for Forest Lake State High School in the match.

In the final Brandon Tikinau started the match at five eight, setting up Forest Lake’s first try when after taking the ball to the left of the ball the ball Brandon Tikinau cut back across the field making his way to the right of the play the ball and firing a long flat cut out pass (seriously it was just a flick of the wrist and the ball flew out of his hands like a well-aimed bullet) to his right to allow his right centre to get outside his direct opponent from around five metres out from the corner post.

2019 also saw Brandon Tikinau start at half for the Ipswich Diggers U14 representative side at the Hill Stumer Championships with a team mate being fellow Titans contracted youngster Larry Siala, leading the Diggers side around the field assuredly over the course of the two days of the Championships.

After playing the 2017 (U12 Premier Division) and 2018 (U13 Premier Division) seasons with the historic Logan Brothers club in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League competition, Brandon Tikinau played the 2019 season with the Springfield Panthers in the Ipswich Rugby League U14 competition where he played against fellow Titans contracted player Larry Siala who played for the Norths Tigers in that competition.

The Titans have signed a number of talented junior players from the Ipswich region, including the likes of the a fore mentioned Larry Siala, Josiah Papulu and Orlando Swain amongst others and Brandon Tikinau is the next one on that impressive list.

In 2018 Brendon Tikinau was part of the Brisbane U13 Blue representative rugby league side and in 2017 Brandon Tikinau started at five eight for the Met West side at the Queensland U12 Primary School Boy Championships when he was attending Pallara State School which is near the Forest Lake region ofBrisbane’s West .

In attack, Brandon Tikinau generally plays an understated role, focussing more on the distribution and game management aspects of his role as a half. A key attribute to how Brandon Tikinau plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations encountered within a game, including where his team is situated on the field and which team has the momentum.

Brandon Tikinau is just a superb passer of the ball in all aspects, from accuracy, direction, weighting and also importantly timing of when to pass. Normally half backs and five eight, even at the NRL level have a clear preference in terms of passing to one side of their body, and normally it is easy to recognise. In relation to Brandon Tikinau however his passing to either side of his body is exquisite and simply amazing to watch.

Brandon Tikinau literally just flicks his wrists and the ball flies out of his hands like a perfectly aimed bullet. I personally do not recall seeing a young play maker which such outstanding command and control in relation to hs passing game. His passing game is just so natural and precise and really is impressive for such a young player and certainly bodes well for his future in a play mking role whether that is at five eight or half back.

The confidence Brandon Tikinau’s passing ability has on his team mates surely cannot be understated. His team mates can run various lines and run into gaps confidently knowing that the pass that they receive from Brandon Tikinau will be perfectly weighted and directed to give them the best opportunity to either break the line or make ground.

Another plus attribute that Brandon Tikinau has is his calmness on the field. Regardless of the situation of the match or where his team is on the field or the pressure of the score board, Brandon Tikinau just seems to always stay calm and this is able to execute his plan. I use the word plan as Brandon Tikinau also seems to do things with purpose rather than just pass the ball on to a support player. With Brandon Tikinau there is no jogging across field and obviously calling a runner back underneath.

Everything that Brandon Tikinau does, he does for a reason and he does it with a calmness and assuredness that exerts a positive influence on his team mates regardless of how stressful the situation is on the field from a position on the field perspective or time pressures that his team were under. I can only imagine that Brandon Tikinau would be a very coachable young man who would have no trouble at all following a game plan regardless of its complexity.

The other issue around game plans in the context of Brandon Tikinau is that he clearly has the intelligence to modify the game plan as the match unfolds if he identifies nuisances or specific changes which would enhance the effectiveness of the team’s performance. Another reason to suggest that Brandon Tikinau is extremely coachable.

Brandon Tikinau will though take the line on when the opportunity arises however, but as noted his best attribute is that of a game manager with the ability to draw defenders out of the line and put his runners into the subsequent hole that is generated. Brandon Tikinau has decent speed off the mark and quick twitch feet in confined space but does not have explosive acceleration or high top end speed.

From a kicking perspective Brandon Tikinau has a solid kicking game, with reasonable distance and accuracy on all types of kicks, from kicking for field position or from an attacking perspective as well as tactically for field position. Like his passing game, Brandon Tikinau’s kicking game comes acrossso fluid and effective.

Where Brandon Tikinau projects very well is in the defensive aspects of rugby league, in essence Brandon Tikinau is a very good defender for the half back position, this includes against opposing halves who will try to use footwork and evasion to beat him or against big wide running forwards looking to target him.

No matter who is running at him, Brandon Tikinau’s timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group in general.

Brandon Tikinau’s defence is an area that stands out when you watch him play in person. The fact that he is a reasonably big half or five eight assists in his defensive ability and enables his team to utilise a variety of defensive methodologies.

Brandon Tikinau, from my perspective at least defends like a second rower, which means his team’s defensive strategy can be accommodated to account for the fact that a “defensive minder” is not a critical requirement for any team that has Brandon Tikinau defending in the front line. Brandon Tikinau is more than capable of handling attackers, including wide running before looking to isolate him by himself.

Another area where Brandon Tikinau has a plus attribute is in relation to his leaderships skills. Brandon Tikinau is a strong confident personality and that translates to a leader on and off the field with players gravitating towards him. This is a trait that you cannot teach, you either have it or you don’t and Brandon Tikinau certainly has it.

Brandon Tikinau was set to lead his Forest Lake State High School Year Nine side once again in 2020 and was a great chance to be part of the Met West U15 QSSRL representative school boy side with the aim of making one of the two Queensland U15 sides for the U15 ASSRL Championships however a lot of things changed in 2020 in rugby league.

From a club rugby league perspective, Brandon Tikinau is set to play in the U15 age group in 2020 either in the Brisbane or Ipswich competitions when community rugby league restarts in July 2020 in South East Queensland.

Brandon Tikinau is a cultured player and one of the few that just seem to never be rushed and know intuitively when to run and pass thus to that extent you want him to have the ball in his hands as much as possible, therefore a big future at half or five eight seems a near certainty for the western Brisbane based young man.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style and skill attributes to Brandon Tikinau for me is Penrith Panther and New South Wales State of Origin half Nathan Cleary.

Both Brandon Tikinau and Cleary make the task of managing the game plan and directing their team around the field from the half back position look easy and natural and both seemingly have as much time as they need to accomplish the required task expertly and with outstanding results.

Like Cleary, Brandon Tikinau is also quick off the mark when he runs the ball and strong from a tackle breaking perspective as well with the end result being a lot of post contact metres being gained when Brandon Tikinau judiciously runs the ball.

[mdrew]

Matthew Barrow. The local young local outside back from the Jimboomba Thunder junior rugby league club early in 2020 signed a multi-year contract with the Titans after his outstanding 2019 performances for the Thunder and in Gold Coast and South East Queensland junior representative sides, playing mainly on the left wing for each of those sides.

Matthew Barrow was also involved in the Titans U15 Academy matches at Burleigh in March 2020 and post those round robin matches signed his contract with the Titans which will see him part of the outstanding Titans JTS program for the next couple of seasons at least.

In 2018 and 2019 Matthew Barrow played for the Jimboomba Thunder in the GCJRL U13 and U14 competitions respectively being the outstanding performer in both of those sides including a three try and five goal effort in the 2018 U13 major semi-final 36 – 30 victory over Burleigh finishing the match with a twenty two point individual point haul.

In 2019 Matthew Barrow also represented the Gold Coast Vikings U14 representative side starting on the left wing at the Hill Stumner Championships that were held at Ipswich and post those Championships was named in the South East Queensland Green side for the Queensland U14 Age Championships with his South East Queensland Green side going on to win the Championship Final with Matthew Barrow certainly playing his part in the final with an impressive double showcasing his speed.

Matthew Barrow’s two tries in the 2019 Queensland U14 Age Championship Final both came in the first half and both were scored wide-out in the left corner. Matthew Barrow’s first try which was also the first try of the match came after a good backline movement put Matthew Barrow in space about twenty five metres out.

Matthew Barrow’s initial burst of speed took him past the immediate defender but Matthew Barrow had some work to do close to the line when he broke through a would be around the chest tackle by the Northern fullback who came across to try to knock him into touch about two metres out from the try line.

Matthew Barrow scored his second try of the Championship Final and the half after the half time siren had sounded. Matthew Barrow received a long loop pass to his left wing, which he took twenty metres out and outpaced the cover defence to score in the left corner untouched in a show of his express pace.

Matthew Barrow finished the Championships with a100% strike rate through his four matches which he started on the left wing in all of them, including scoring a double in the Championship Final against Northern in South East Queensland’s 26 – 4 victory that are described above . Jack Barrow also scored in Game One against Central and Game Two against Northern to round out his try scoring at the Championships.

The young left centre or winger (more recently) went on a try scoring blitz in 2017 for the entire GCRL U12 Division Two competition season amassing twenty three tries including four tries on four separate occasions which came in the opening two rounds against Mudgeeraba and Parkwood as well as against Southport and Currumbin and five tries in a Round Three clash against the Coomera Cutters. In Round Two against Parkwood, Matthew Barrow also converted five of his own tries and broke the 100 point barrier for the season finishing with 102.

Matthew Barrow also played one Division One U13 match in 2017 scoring against the Coomera Cutters in his debut match after scoring in the preceding U12 fixture against the same opposition to cap off an impressive day for the young outside back.

Matthew Barrow’s speed plays very well on a rugby league field and he is exceptionally quick down the sidelines with a good in and away to beat defenders on the outside and will not get caught from behind if he gets into open space.

In addition to his speed Matthew Barrow seems to have the ability to “freeze” his direct opponent with his ability to step off both feet before accelerating around them usually on the touchline side although his situational awareness and innate understanding of where the touch line is means that he understands when he should cut back inside thus not to risk being forced into touch.

I really like the way that Matthew Barrow runs at full speed regardless of the situation. When he has made a break Matthew Barrow runs at the full back at full pace and does not look to be too cute by trying to out think the opposing fullback. By running at speed directly at the fullback, Matthew Barrow, not just stops the lateral momentum of the fullback but also reduces the time that the fullback has to make a decision on how to defend against Matthew Barrow.

Like most of the modern day wingers Matthew Barrow also has the ability to find the try line in some unlikely situations where it appears that there is no way he could possibly get the ball down without going into touch. His straight line speed would be considered plus plus, Matthew Barrow is just incredibly quick.

Matthew Barrow has very good hands low to the ground on grubber kicks or when defenders drop bombs and uses his reach to get to the ball quickly before defenders. Matthew Barrow will also chase general play kicks with vigour trying to improve the effectiveness of his teams kicking game as well as gaining better field position for his team as the opposition are forced to use up tackles to get out of their own territory.

Matthew Barrow just seems to have the uncanny ability to take advantage of even the most remote opportunity to score, which ultimately is a trait that is naturally occurring rather than a process or mindset that can be taught or developed in any significant way.

In addition Matthew Barrow is also deceptively effective running out of dummy half trying to gain field position when bringing the ball out of their own territory. Normally running to the right of the play the ball (Matthew Barrow is a left winger to be fair), Matthew Barrow just seems to almost always make the initial defender miss.

In terms of running the ball back from kicks, similairly Matthe Barrow just seems to make the initial defender miss often. What I also like in terms of kick returns is that Matthew Barrow does not jog after the ball, thus allowing the defence to converge, Matthew Barrow sprints after the ball to collect it and then makes an immediate decision whether to look to run around the defensive line if it is a short line or is staggered or just run the ball directly into the defensive line to make as much ground as possible.

Defensively one area that Matthew Barrow has impressed me is his ability to defend against any size opponent, from small quick opposing outside backs to big strong powerful centres or backrowers running wider of the ruck in his direction.

Matthew Barrow seemingly has more strength that his size and body shape 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.

When he is outnumbered from a defensive perspective, Matthew Barrow has the ability to mirror the movement of the attacker with the ball and hold off committing to the tackle, thus forcing the attacker to commit to a course of action (either run the ball themselves or draw Matthew Barrow and pass.

This attribute of Matthew Barrow’s puts the pressure back onto the attacker and puts Matthew Barrow in a far better position to negate the paly himself or at the very least buys Matthew Barrow’s team mates time to come across in cover defence. Matthew barrow is just a smart defender in all types of situations and that holds him in very good stead into the future.

Regardless of where and how he defends Matthew Barrow sets a good base and uses his leg strength to direct his strength through the core of his body into his opponent. Matthew Barrow just intuitively knows how to defend from a timing and technique perspective and rarely loses contact with the attacker once he has engaged them defensively.

Matthew Barrow uses this contact to redirect the momentum of the attacker towards the touch line. Matthew Barrow also gets low and this is able to get underneath any fend that is looking to hold Matthew Barrow off from him initiating contact with the body of his opponent and thus further disrupt his momentum.

Matthew Barrow is set to play for the Jimboomba Thunder in the GCJRL U15 competition in 2020 when it restarts and seemed an almost certain selection in the South Coast U15 QSSRL representative school boy side before the world changed dramatically.

From a position perspective, Matthew Barrow has shown with his speed, elusiveness, try scoring ability and solid tackling technique that he has an opportunity to be a very intriguing wing prospect in coming season.

Matthew Barrow has also spent a fair bit of time in the centres over the course of his junior rugby league career to date, but I think that ultimately Matthew Barrow will end up on the wing, specifically the left wing.

Matthew Barrow is not a giant of a winger, relying more on guile and outright speed and elusiveness to be a try scoring threat and to that extent an NRL player comparison to South Sydney Rabbitohs Campbell Graham is more than a reasonable one.

Both Graham and Matthew Barrow are not the giant wingers that the modern game seems to currently (or certainly did) crave but they are smart as well as cunning and ultimately very very successful at finding their way to the try line even when on first glance their chances appeared unlikely when they initially received the ball.

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Brock Lennox. The local young outside back from the Helensvale Hornets early in 2020 signed a contract with the Titans for the next couple of season at least after his series of outstanding 2019 season performances for the Hornets and in Gold Coast and South East Queensland junior age representative sides.

Brock Lennox was also involved in the Titans U15 Academy matches at Burleigh in early 2020 and post those round robin matches signed his contract with the Titans which will see the young centre part of the Titans JTS program for the next couple of seasons at the very least.

In 2019 Brock Lennox played for the Helensvale Hornets in the GCJRL U14 Division One competition finishing the season as one of the competitions leading goal kickers and points scorers overall as he has for a number of seasons in yellow and green. It was a similar situation in 2018 in the GCRL U13 Division One competition for Brock Lennox.

In 2019 Brock Lennox also represented the Gold Coast Vikings representative U14 side at the Hill Stumer Championships starting at left centre that were held at Ipswich and post those Championships was named in the South East Queensland White side for the 2019 Queensland U14 Age Championships. Brock Lennox was the Gold Coast Vikings leading point’s scorer at those Championships.

For Queensland White at the Queensland Championships, Brock Lennox played in all four of their matches primarily at left centre and kicked five goals including two in the Championships third v fourth 16 – 14 play-off win against Central to round out an impressive 2019 representative season for the Titans contracted centre.

Brock Lennox also kicked two goals in Game One against Northern and one in Game Three against South East Queensland Green when he converted the try of fellow Titans contracted player, second rower Philip Hakaraia-Ngamotu.

In 2018 Brock Lennox played for Merrimac High School in the NRL Gold Coast Titans Year 7/8 Challenge and was in fact named player of the competition after a number of outstanding displays for the Gold Coast based school.

Brock Lennox is a tallish, quick centre with a fluid running style with a classic centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. In term of Brock Lennox’s play, the in and away is his bread and butter.

Brock Lennox has very good speed off the mark and can break to the outside quickly with no loss of momentum, couple that with long arms, which he uses to great effect with a powerful fend makes Brock Lennox a difficult proposition to tackle. Overall Brock Lennox’s speed for a centre is probably in the above average range, but he is quick off the mark and can utilise a step and a swerve with little to no loss of his speed or momentum.

Brock Lennox has more tools though than just an in and away, Brock Lennox will also use his size and strength to run straight over smaller opposing centres as well as also having the skill to step back inside of the defender if he is pushing to the outside too early.

Also when opposing centres are able to get hold of him, Brock Lennox usually is able to maintain his balance as well as maintaining his running line and keeps an arm free, looking to offload usually with his right arm.

What Brock Lennox is also quite adept at doing is timing his pass to his outside supports if the outside defender looks to come in and help defend him allowing an overlap to develop. If the defender cheats out however, Brock Leenox has the nouce to bring the ball back into his body and slide through the resultant gap.

An additional attacking feature that I like when I watch Brock Leenox play is the way that he straightens up the point of attack well when the ball is spun out to his left side of the field. Instead of continuing to head across field potentially compressing backline and forcing them to the touch line, Brock Lennox straightens up his running line immediately after receiving the ball thus giving his outside supports more room to move.

The outcome of that action is that the defence which is normally sliding from inside out is frozen in place as they are confronted with the change in the attacking vector which in term changes the advantage to Brock Lennox and his team mates.

In those instances, Brock Leenox immediately moves from running the ball against multiple defenders to taking on a stationary opponent one on one which opens up the ability of Brock Lennox to utilise a step or swerve whilst at the same time retaining the option of passing to the outsaide supports but also opening up the ability of his inside support runners to become involved when they otherwise would not have had the ability to.

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

From a team defensive methodology stand point, Brock Lennox seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage although Brock Lennox has also shown the ability to come out of the line to halt a play before it completely develops if the opportunity presents itself over the course of a match.

Brock Lennox is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy including from out to the side line where he does not look to try to kick the ball too work but relies on his routine and process to get the appropriate result.

I would suggest that Brock Lennox is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level he progresses to into the future after kicking a high percentage across all levels of rugby league in 2019 and earlier.

Brock Lennox is set to play for the Helensvale Hornets in the GCJRL U15 Division One competition in 2020 when the Gold Coast Rugby League competition resumes and Brock Lennox seemed an almost certain selection in the South Coast U15 QSSRL representative school boy side before the sudden and dramatic change to the sporting landscape.

Brock Lennox is a tall quick young man with speed, balance and body control and with those attributes, Brock Lennox has a real opportunity to develop into a very impressive long term centre prospect.

With his size, speed, balance and body control attributes Brock Lennox has a playing style comparable to that of St George Dragons centre, wing or fullback Zac Lomax. Both have a tallish wiry frame and move very well both forward and laterally. Similiarly both Lomax and Brock Lennox whilst wiry and strong young men and seem to be on occasion very underrated in this critical aspect of rugby league.