My take on our top juniors

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Matthew Bollard. In June 2021, Matthew Bollard was a member of the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side that drew 28 all with a Titans JTS U16 side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL fixture against Manly.

In early October 2020 Matthew Bollard was part of a Titans Group 18 U16 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans U15/16 squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players wore Titans jerseys.

Matthew Bollard started Round One of the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition at fullback for the Murwillumbah Mustangs as they took on the Bilambil Jets.

Matthew Bollard also started Round two at fullback against Northern United and was one of the Mustangs try scorers in the second half when he ran into a big gap fifteen metres out to score twelve metres in from the right corner post untouched.

In the first half, Matthew Bollard threw the last pass for two of Murwillumbah’s tries, impressively one on both sides of the field to highlight that his passing skills to both sides are solid.

After Murwillumbah had a number of byes in consecutive weeks, Matthew Bollard started in the centres in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys.

After missing Round Seven as a result of playing for the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side, Matthew Bollard started Round Eight against the Marist Brothers Rams on the left wing and was one of the Mustangs try scorers in their 28 – 10 victory.

In the 26th minute Mustangs halfback Brandon Williams ran the ball to the line to the left of the play the ball. Right at the line, thirty metres out, Brandon Williams put in a stab kick towards the left corner which was scooped up by Matthew Bollard just in front of the Rams and Matthew Bollard was then able to bring the ball around to put it down under the posts.

After Murwillumbah’s Round Nine match against the Tweed Coast Raiders was postponed, Matthew Bollard was back on the left wing for Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets.

In the 2020 season Matthew Bollard played for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 U16 competition and was named their Best Back from the 2020 season.

In 2016 Matthew Bollard was selected in the New South Wales Invitational U12 side for the U12 National Rugby League Championships, scoring on Day Four as his side defeated Victoria 18 – 6.

Matthew Ballard is quick without being exceptionally fast but really works hard in attack. When he is returning kicks, Matthew Ballard will make a decision immediately whether to run across field or to run directly at the defensive line to gain as much ground as possible.

Matthew Ballard is also quite elusive and when his side has the ball will loiter behind the play the ball ready to take advantage of a gap or when one of his forwards gets his arms free for an offload. Put simply Matthew Ballard is always in the right place at the right time when his team has the ball.

Defensively for me the impressive part of Matthew Ballard’s defensive game at fullback he is immediate movement forward when a break is made, Matthew Ballard moves forward rapidly to cut off the time the attacking player has to make a decision with the ball and he also will not fall for a dummy again forcing a decision by the attacking player.

Matthew Ballard’s communication is one of his strengths and on the weekend you could hear him talking to his team mates talking them through when and where he thought that the defensive line needed realignment.

In terms of defending kicks, Matthew Ballard is not the tallest player running around and thus can be out jumped when defending against kicks, but he has very good hands when defending against short kicks into the in goal etc. where Matthew Ballard attacks the ball with vigour.

In 2021 Matthew Ballard will play put the season for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the NRRRL U18 competition and Matthew Ballard will also be U18 eligible once again in 2022.

Matthew Ballard played the 2021 NRRRL U18 season with the Murwillumbah Mustangs primarily at fullback or on the wing where he is just a solid player across the board. Matthew Ballard is probably never going to be a star but he will do the small things right, including positioning, being safe under the high ball, defence and being in the right place to take advantage of any defensive lapse by opposing defences.

Cronulla Sharks William Kennedy is a good comparison for how Matthew Ballard play, both are safe across the entire spectrum of the rugby league fullback position.

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Jayden Wright. In June 2021 Jayden Wright signed an eighteen month deal with Titans that expires at the end of the 2022 season which takes into account Jayden Wright’s first season in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition.

Jayden Wright started the 2021 season as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad, playing Rounds One and Two against Ipswich and Souths Logan respectively at right second row.

In Round Three against Burleigh, Jayden Wright also started at right second row, scoring a double in the Seagulls victory. Jayden Wright’s first try came in the opening minute of the match when he was on hand to force the ball in the in-goal after Burleigh had failed to defuse a kick to his side of the field. Jayden Wright’s second try of the match was a result of him running through a gap and getting a pass from Riley Lack in the 12th minute from fourteen metres out to score ten metres from the left corner.

After dropping back to the bench for Round Four and Five against Ipswich and Souths Logan respectively, Jayden Wright then started Round Six at right second row once again.

Jayden Wright then came off the bench in both the 2021 MM Cup semi-final against Wynnum Manly and the MM Cup Grand Final against the Townsville.

Jayden Wright also scored in a 2021 MM Cup trial against Burleigh when he scored in the opening minutes of the match from the left second row position when he ran into a gap, receiving a good ball from Keano Kini to score from ten metres out, getting the ball down five metres in from the left corner post.

2021 also saw Jayden Wright represent South Coast at the QSSRL U18 School Boy Championships and post those Championships, Jayden Wright was named on the bench in the 2021 QSSRL U18 School Boy Merit Team.

After starting Round One of the 2021 Langer Cup school boy competition at lock for PBC against Ipswich State High School, Jayden Wright started Rounds Two and Three against St Mary’s College Toowoomba and Coombabah State High School respectively from the bench, coming into the right second row position when he came on.

Jayden Wright was named to continue on the bench in the Round Four blockbuster against Marsden State High School however Jayden Wright started the match at right second row.

Jayden Wright moved to lock for the much anticipated Round Five local derby against Keebra Park State High School and came close to scoring on a number of occasions in the first half.

In 2021 Jayden Wright played for the Currumbin Eagles in the GCRL U18 Division One competition, starting all of the matches that he played in at right second row.

Jayden Wright’s opening try of the 2021 GCRL U18 Division One season came in Round Six against Runaway Bay when in the 13th minute, Jayden Wright followed through a Travis May chip taking the ball above his head in his right hand and then dragged the Seagulls fullback over the line to get the ball down in the right corner.

Jayden Wright scored his second try of the season in Round Seven against the Burleigh Bears in the 47th minute when he chased through a grubber kick, diving on the ball close to the dead ball line.

Jayden Wright continued at right second row in Round Nine against the Nerang Roosters and scored a double in the Eagles impressive victory.

Jayden Wright then continued at right second row in Round Ten against the Helensvale Hornets, scoring a double in the Eagles big 44 – 6 win. Jayden Wright scored his first try in the 7th minute when he was on hand to pick up a kick over the defensive line and after picking up the ball twenty five metres out, Jayden Wright burst down the right touchline to dive over in the corner.

Jayden Wright completed his double in the 55th minute when he burst onto the ball down the right channel thirty metres from the line and was just too fast and powerful for the Hornets defence to score ten metres in from the right corner post.

Jayden Wright made his Gold Coast Rugby League U20 debut for Currumbin in Round Seven when he started at right second row against the Burleigh Bears.

Jayden Wright is a rangy, exceptional athlete and this can be seen when he is running with the football. In his carries he rarely takes a hit up without movement, Jayden Wright uses foot work prior to the line to look to break through as well as cutting either cutting back in behind the play the ball or cutting out towards the smaller defenders on the fringes of the ruck.

Like one or two others mentioned recently Jayden Wright runs ‘fast’ into the defensive and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line quite often, certainly more so than you would expect for a backrower taking the ball through the centre of the ruck.

Jayden Wright does not try to run over defenders, but he runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only use their arms on the tackle. Jayden Wright does not necessarily have a great top end speed, but he is certainly fast enough to get through to the full back prior to the arrival of the cover defence.

Playing on the right hand side of the field more often, means that Jayden Wright’s right foot step and his fending using his left hand are the more effective attributes, but based on his physical attributes, his skill set and his understanding of how to play the game means that I have no doubt that these attributes are transferrable to playing on the left hand side of the field.

Where his greatest impact on a game is going to be is his defence. Jayden Wright has a great tackling technique and a hard hitting aggressive style to go with it. It is not a reckless style where he runs in trying to pull off the biggest hit possible, it is a calculating style where Jayden Wright uses a great technique to hit the opposition just under the rib cage to devastating effect.

Jayden Wright will complete the 2021 season with the Currumbin Eagles in the GCRL U18 Division One competition as well as for PBC in the Langer Cup before 2022 will see Jayden Wright line up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition and Jayden Wright will also be Colts eligible in 2023.

Jayden Wright played a variety of positions in his formative years of rugby league but over the last couple of seasons, playing exclusively in the second row, and on occasion at lock, Jayden Wright’s performances have gone to another level.

Jayden Wright reminds me of Titans right second rower Sam Stone, both are similar from a body shape perspective as well as the way that they play rugby league. Although I do note that Jayden Wright is probably a better runner, including gap runner, of the ball than Stone on the right side of the field.

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Jac Finnigan. In early January 2021 Jac Finnigan was part of a small but impressive group of Titans linked 2021 U15 players who after attending a Titans camp and spent time training with the Titans NRL squad. Post that camp Jac Finnigan signed a contract that will keep him with the Titans and on the Gold Coast for the next couple of seasons at the very least.

Jac Finnigan also attends Palm Beach Currumbin (PBC) State High School on the Gold Coast as part of their Rugby League Excellence Program which has a close formal partnership with the Titans.

Early February 2021 saw Jac Finnigan make it through the first stage of the South Coast U15 QSSRL trials when he was named in the U15 Oceania school boy U15 squad. Following the final round of the school boy trials, Jac Finnigan was named in the 2021 South Coast U15 school boy QSSRL squad for the 2021 QSSRL U15 State Championships starting the Championship Final against Met West at right second row.

Jac Finnigan made a strong start in the 2021 QSSRL U15 Championship Final when in the 7th minute he made a good run accounting for twelve metres and promoting the ball to near thirty metres out from the Met West line and then was awarded a penalty for crowding by the defenders as Jac Finnigan attempted to play the ball.

Jac Finnigan was one of the South Coast try scorers in their 28 – 20 Championship Final victory with his try coming in the 24th minute when fullback Ray Puru took the ball down a short right blindside ten metres out and popping a good ball to Jac Finnigan who crashed over in the right corner.

Jac Finnigan also scored on Day Three against Met North when in the 47th minute he ran a great outside shoulder line from twenty five metres out to receive a pass from Zane Harrison, with Jac Finnigan running untouched to put the ball down five metres in from the right corner post.

In 2021 Jac Finnigan continued at PBC as part of the school’s Elite Rugby League Program and made a strong impression at right second row for the PBC Walters Cup side in their Round One 16 all draw against Ipswich State High School.

Jac Finnigan’s initial major contribution came in the 14th minute when he ran a hard straight crash line, almost breaking the line and then Jac Finnigan ran the same line once again in the 18th minute.

Jac Finnigan ran a more subtle outside shoulder line in the 36th minute, once again getting halfway through the line before getting a right arm off-load away to Zane Harrison who made a further twenty metres downfield.

Jac Finnigan also started at right second row in Round Two against Forest Lake State High School and he was once again at his devastating best running the ball, recording a try assist as well as a number of line breaks.

Jac Finnigan’s try assist was recorded in the 41st minute, when after he received a good ball from Zane Harrison on his inside, Jac Finnigan absorbed contact before off-loading to his right for hir right centre to score in the corner.

Jac Finnigan made his first line break of the match in the 9th minute when he ran an underneath route, making twelve metres to get within nine metres of the try line and then just three minutes later on the opposite side of the field Jac Finnigan made a similar charge with similar results.

Jac Finnigan continued at right second row in Round Three against Coombabah State High School and recorded a try assist in in the 39th minute, when Will Saunders ran out of dummy half to his right making fifteen metres before off-loading to Jac Finnigan who then off-load to the PBC right centre with Jac Finnigan receiving the ball back from the centre and then off-loaded the ball back to the same player to score.

Jac Finnigan also had a very solid match from the right second row position in Round Four against Marsden State High School and also started at right second row in Round Five against Keebra Park SHS.

Round Six against Redcliffe State High School saw Jac Finnigan once again start at right second row and he was the dominant force on the field with an outstanding match that included multiple strong charges at the Redcliffe SHS defensive line and equally strong defence. In short Jac Finnigan was easily the best player on the field, full stop.

In 2020 Jac Finnigan also played OzTag, playing for the Nerang Tigers in the 2020 U15 Boys Super Series and post that particular OzTag competition was named in the Queensland U15 Boys OzTag Development squad, an impressive achievement to say the least for a 14 year old up against players a year older.

In 2019 and 2020 Jac Finnigan played for the Nerang Roosters Junior Rugby League Club, in 2019 in the U13 age group and in 2020 the U14 age group, being one of a number of talented players for the Roosters in both of those years.

In 2019 Jac Finnigan was part of the Gold Coast Vikings U13 representative side that played in the Hill Stumer Championships in Ipswich with Jac Finnigan starting at lock for the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League Representative Side at North Ipswich Reserve.

Jac Finnigan’s first taste of representative rugby league came in 2018 when he was selected in the South Coast U12 school boy representative side from PBC for the Queensland Primary Schools Rugby League Championships.

Jac Finnigan is an outstanding athlete and this can be seen when he is running with the ball. In his carries Jac Finnigan rarely takes a hit up without movement, he uses foot work prior to the line to look to break through as well as cutting either cutting back in behind the play the ball or cutting out towards the smaller defenders on the fringes of the ruck. Jac Finnigan just seems to know where the frailties are in the defensive line and exactly how to take advantage of them to their fullest extent possible.

Jac Finnigan runs ‘fast’ into the defensive and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line quite often, certainly more so than you would expect for a backrower taking the ball through the centre of the ruck. One reason for this is that he is a smart footballer, Jac Finnigan does not necessarily try to run over defenders, but Jac Finnigan runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only use their arms in the tackle.

Jac Finnigan does not necessarily have a great top end speed, but he is certainly more than fast enough to get through to the full back prior to the arrival of the cover defence.

Playing on the left hand side of the field seemingly more often (although Jac Finnigan can certainly play on the right), means that Jac Finnigan’s left foot step and his fending using his right hand are the effective attributes, but based on his physical attributes, his skill set and his understanding of how to play the game means that I have no doubt that these attributes are transferrable to playing on the right hand side of the field.

In defence Jac Finnigan regularly is the first player up to target the ball carriers, even though he is not always 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.

When the opportunity presents Jac Finnigan has the ability to hit very hard, by setting a good base and driving through his lower body and core into his opponent. Ultimately though Jac Finnigan is a strong defender with a good front on technique and good lateral movement to track and defend against smaller opponents either on the fringes or centre of the ruck.

In 2021 Jac Finnigan will line up once again for the Nerang Roosters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition and also once again be part of the PBC school boy rugby league program.

Whilst Jac Finnigan has played a fair portion of his junior rugby league career to date at lock, he can certainly play a variety of other positions, including centre and second row at a very high level as well. When all is said and done, ultimately I believe that Jac Finnigan will play in the second row long term.

Identifying an NRL player with a similar playing style to Jac Finnigan was an interesting such is his diverse skill set and physical characteristics. Ultimately however I consider that Titans NRL second left rower and occasional centre Beau Fermor is a more that fair comparison in relation to Jac Finnigan. Both Fermor and Jac Finnigan are talented athletes with above average speed as well as endurance and both can play a number of positions at an above average level.

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Isaac Togia. The powerhouse second row, centre or lock (and rugby outside centre) who hails from the Ipswich region signed a multi-year contract with the Titans in early 2021 and let there be no doubt, the Titans have snared a seriously talented young player in Isaac Togia.

In 2021 Isaac Togia once again lined up for Goodna in the Ipswich Rugby League U15 Division One competition, operating primarily in the second row.

As he did in 2020 Isaac Togia had some big matches for Goodna Black including a two try effort in Round Two as Goodna defeated Norths Blue 62 – 0. Isaac Togia also scored a double in Round Seven against Brothes Blue.

Isaac Togia moved to the second row in Round Eight against Swifts and made a huge Friday night scoring five tries and converting Goodna’s final try of the match in their 78 – 6 victory. Isaac Togia then started from the bench in Round Eleven against Swifts and was also named on the bench for Round Twelve against Norths Ipswich.

Isaac Togia played for Ipswich Grammar School one again in 2021 in the GPS School Boy Rugby U15A competition.

In 2020 Isaac Togia played for Goonda Black in the Ipswich Rugby League U14 competition with Goonda Black winning all ten of their 2020 matches, scoring a staggering 506 points and conceding just 32 to finish with a positive points differential of an incredible +474.

Isaac Togia had some big match in 2020 for Goonda Black including scoring five tries in Round Eight as Goodna Black defeated Redback Red 58 – 10. Isaac Togia also scored four tries in Rounds Four and Six against Goodna Blue (62 – 0) and Swifts Blue (68 – 0) respectively.

Isaac Togia previously played for the Springfield Panthers Junior Rugby League Club who also play in the Ipswich Rugby League competition.

In 2019 Isaac Togia represented the Ipswich Diggers U13’s in the second row at the Hill Stumer South East Queensland Junior Rugby League Championships, and post those Championships was selected in the South East Queensland Training Squad.

Isaac Togia is also a more than impressive rugby player and currently attends Ipswich Grammar School and plays rugby in the GPS school boy rugby competition. In 2020 in the GPS U14A competition and in 2019 in the U13A competition, Isaac Togia was a stand out for the Ipswich based school, playing at outside centre (No. 13).

Isaac Togia has also represented Ipswich Grammar School in the GPS Athletics Championships in 2019 and 2020.

2019 also saw Isaac Togia play for the Ipswich Rangers rugby club who played in the Brisbane U13A Brisbane Junior Rugby competition, once again playing outside centre.

For the Ipswich Rangers, Isaac Togia played at outside centre (No. 13) and finished the 2019 season on fire. In the BJR U13A 2019 regular season Isaac Togia had a huge Round Ten match, scoring five tries against Sunnybank Green and also scored a double in Round Eight against Souths Black.

Isaac Togia also scored in each of his three finals matches in 2019, being in Week One of the Finals against Souths Black, Week Two against Easts Blue and Week Three against Norths Blue in the Rangers two point loss.

Also in 2019 Isaac Togia was selected in the Brisbane Red side for the Queensland XV’s State Rugby Championships.

Isaac Togia is an outstanding athlete (and of course rugby league player) and this can be seen when he is running with the football. In his carries Isaac Togia rarely takes a hit up without movement, he uses foot work prior to the line to look to break through as well as cutting either cutting back in behind the play the ball or cutting out towards the smaller defenders on the fringes of the ruck.

Isaac Togia runs ‘fast’ into the defensive and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line quite often, certainly more so than you would expect for a backrower taking the ball through the centre of the ruck. One reason for this is that he is a smart footballer, Isaac Togia does not try to run over defenders, but Isaac Togia runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only look to use their arms in the tackle, a mistake that they would pay a heavy price for.

Isaac Togia does not necessarily have plus top end speed, but he is certainly more than fast enough, but at full speed as well as off the mark to get through to the full back prior to the arrival of the cover defence.

Playing on the left hand side of the field seemingly more often (although he can certainly play on the right), means that his left foot step and his fending using his right hand are the effective attributes, but based on his physical attributes, his skill set and his understanding of how to play the game means that I have no doubt that these attributes are transferrable to playing on the right hand side of the field.

There is no doubt in my mind that playing outside centre in the GPS school boy rugby competition has helped Isaac Togia become much more comfortable playing on both sides of the field, as unlike rugby league in its current iteration, in rugby, centres more to the opposite side of the field depending upon where the set piece is located, read that as the centres almost always line up together on the open side of the field.

In defence Isaac Togia regularly is the first player up to target the ball carriers, even though he is not always 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.
When the opportunity presents Isaac Togia has the ability to hit very hard, by setting a good base and driving through with his lower body and core into his opponent. Ultimately though Isaac Togia is a strong defender with a good, simple, effective and repeatable front on technique, including head placement and good lateral movement to track and defend against smaller opponents either on the fringes or centre of the ruck.
Isaac Togia will play the 2021 season with Goonda in the Ipswich Rugby League U15 competition and will also play the 2021 GPS school boy rugby season with Ipswich Grammar School in the U15A competition where once again he will be one of their key attacking threats from outside centre.

In the current way that rugby league is being played, a rugby league second rower needs, size, speed, strength, power and stamina, well let’s just say they need everything. Those are all attributes that Isaac Togia possesses in quantities more than sufficient for Isaac Togia to present as a rugby league second rower with near unlimited potential.

Playing in the GPS school boy rugby competition in the centres, specifically outside centre, for Ipswich Grammar School is only going to help Isaac Togia in his rugby league journey with the Titans as he progresses towards the NRL.

With his size, strength and speed combination, I am more than comfortable to compare Isaac Togia’s playing style to that of rampaging Titans and Queensland State of Origin second rower David Fifita. Both Fifita and Isaac Togia are just about impossible to stop when they receive the ball early on the fringes of the ruck and seem to be able to break tackles and score almost at will.

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Nayte Saaga. The young Ormeau Shearers fullback, five eight or halfback has been a stand out player for his age group in the Gold Coast rugby league competition for the last couple of seasons and in early 2021 signed a multi-year contract with the Titans.

Nayte Saaga also attends The Southport School (TSS) after previously attending Keebra Park State High School as part of their Titans partnered Elite Rugby League Program.

In May 2021 Nayte Saaga was part of the South Coast U15 QSSRL School Boy representative side, starting the Championship Final against Met West at five eight, scoring the 23rd minute. Nayte Saaga scored when he took advantage of a quick play the ball to race at the line after receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball and sprint at the still back peddling defence from twelve metres out. Nayte Saaga only concession to his straight charge was a slight jink of his left foot before crashing over between two defenders who did not have the time to even got off their own line.

Nayte Saaga also had a try assist in the second half when he received an off-load from his left by Ray Puru who had split the line from thirty metres out. After receiving the off-load ten metres out Nayte Saaga who got to within two metres of the line before he offloaded to his left for Jett Bryce to dive over fifteen metres in from the left corner post.

Nayte Saaga made a strong start in the Championship Final when in the 6th minute he made a good run after cutting back to his right and off-loading to his front rower to push forward then early in the second half, in the 26th minute, Nayte Saaga made a darting twelve metre run down a side left blindside.

On Day One against Met West Nayte Saaga started at five eight and was heavily involved in Jett Bryce’s 38th minute try when he put in a chip kick to the left wing which was collected by Izayah Petrichvich who off-loaded in one movement to Jett Bryce to run away to score under the posts. Nayte Saaga then converted the try.

Nayte Saaga produced a smart piece of play in the 11th minute when his kick-off after Met West’s opening try of the match went dead in goal, forcing Met West into a drop out from under the posts, South Coast scored from the subsequent set of six.

In the 29th minute, Nayte Saaga produced a strong run of eighteen metres to get the ball to near to the halfway mark.

Day Two saw Nayte Saaga once again start at five eight against Capricornia, kicking two conversions and displayed his enthusiasm in the opening minute when he chased through a Zane Harrison kick to trap the Capricornia fullback in his own in-goal.

One thing that will stand out when he are watching Nayte Saaga play is his kicking game and in the 16th minute Nayte Saaga kicked a 40/20 that any NRL top level kicked would have been proud off. Nayte Saaga received the ball thirty four metres out from his own line and twenty metres in from the left touchline and put in a hard left foot kick that that he kicked low and hard, going to touch in front of the desperate Capricornia fullback eighteen metres out from the try line.

Nayte Saaga once again started at five eight on Day Three against Met North recording a line break assist in the opening minute of the match when he took the ball to the line on the left side of the field and double pumped sending a short ball to his left to put Jett Bryce into a gap, with the right second rower running forty metres downfield before off-loading himself to Joseph Tupuse.

Nayte Saaga had a second try assist in the 31st minute when he took the ball to the line before throwing a cut-out pass to left centre Joseph Tupuse to rumble fifty metres downfield but unfortunately his inside pass went to ground.

Over the course of the Championships, Nayte Saaga showed that he is an outstanding kicked of the ball whether that be long raking left foot tactical to short chip kicks as well as goal kicking and on Day Two he showed that he can also put in impressive short kick-offs with two short kicks retrieved by team mates. The first short kick-off was from the kick-off to start the second half (it may have been taken by the wind but I will give it to Nayte Saaga) that was retrieved by Zane Harrison and the second was in the 46th minute with Riley Buchanan taking advantage. Nayte Saaga also kicked a conversion in the first half.

Nayte Saaga’s first official commitment with the TSS U15A side in 2021 being his attendance at a rugby skills day that was held towards the end of May. Nayte Saaga first official appearance in the Red and Blue in late May 2021 when he started at No. 10 (fly half) for the U15A side in TSS’s first full trial against Ipswich Grammar School.

Nayte Saaga also started at fly half in the TSS U15A second full GPS trial against Nudgee College as well as in the full scale trial against Brisbane Boys College. In TSS’s final trial before the commencement of the 2021 GPS school boy rugby season, Nayte Saaga also started at fly half against the PBC Alleygators. Then with the TSS U15A side having a Round One bye, Nayte Saaga lined up at No. 10 in a trial against a South Coast U15 representative side.

Round Two away to Anglican Church Grammar School saw Nayte Saaga named at fly half for the TSS U15A side with Nayte Saaga scoring in his TSS debut but unfortunately his side went down 31 -24.

In 2020 Nayte Saaga played for the Ormeau Shearers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U14A Division One competition with the Shearers winning two of their eight matches to finish 5th. Ormeau scored 134 points and conceded 190 to have a -56 points differential.

In 2019 Nayte Saaga played for the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL U13 Division One competition. In that competition, Nayte Saaga scored an impressive 11 tries from 15 appearances, being a strike rate of 73.33%. Nayte Saaga also kicked six goals to finish the season with 56 points.

Nayte Saaga scored doubles against Runaway Bay and Burleigh with his remaining seven tries coming in individual matches against Nerang, Southport, Currumbin twice, Runaway Bay and Burleigh.

With the boot Nayte Saaga’s best performance was against Burleigh in the Preliminary Final when he kicked three goals.

In addition to being a talented rugby league player Nayte Saaga is also an outstanding Oztag player, including in 2019 being named in the U13 Australian Oztag High Performance Squad.

In 2020 Nayte Saaga played for the Queensland Rebels in the Queensland U14 Oztag Super Series after being selected for the Rebels after starring for the Miami Raptors.

In 2019 Nayte Saaga played in the Queensland U13 Oztag Super Series with the Queensland Force after being selected from the City Centurions. Nayte Saaga was in fact named in the Super Series All Star Team and was also named as the U13 Most Valuable Player.

It is hard to put in words just how talented Nayte Saaga is in terms of running the ball, he has outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end speed which must be considered plus regardless of position. Nayte Saaga with his speed is able to exploit even small gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible acceleration as well as outstanding body control.

It is that speed trait which opens up his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Nayte Saaga when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that they open up holes wider out in the defensive line that Nayte Saaga can exploit.

Nayte Saaga has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Nayte Saaga can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust.

Nayte Saaga also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Nayte Saaga is going to do as he keeps multiple options open to utilise when an opportunity presents itself.

Like when he has the ball in his hands, there is nothing that Nayte Saaga cannot do in relation to kicking the ball. Nayte Saaga is an exceptional tactical kicker with range and accuracy, he 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, Nayte Saaga can execute it with speed and precision.

Defensively Nayte Saaga is a very strong young man with exceptional functional strength to go along with an innate understanding of the attacking strategies of rugby league thus he is able to anticipate what an attacking side is looking to do with the ball and then be in the best position to negate it.

Nayte Saaga also has a very good low tackling technique which is simple and repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on Nayte Saaga’s side of the field. In short just like his attacking play Nayte Saaga is an outstanding defender.

Nayte Saaga will play the 2021 season with the Ormeau Shearers in the GCRL U15 Division One competition as well as with TSS in their GPS School Boy rugby competition where he will play in the TSS U15A side.

I am a touch conflicted in terms of where Nayte Saaga’s best position on a rugby league field is (or will be). I could legitimately make an argument that Nayte Saaga’s best position is at halfback as the more he has the ball in his hands the better, but also at fullback where Nayte Saaga can see the entire field and pick and choose where and when he should get involved to maximise his impact.

If push comes to shove, I will lean ever so slightly towards Nayte Saaga ending up at halfback but there is no doubt Nayte Saaga also has immense potential at fullback as well.

With his electric speed off the mark, elusiveness and innate play making ability in the halves, Nayte Saaga’s playing style is eerily similar to that of Sydney Roosters boom rookie Sam Walker. Both Nayte Saaga and Walker just seem to have all of the time in the world to make their decisions and just seem to be playing at a speed far in excess to players around them and also a play or two in front of them as well.

[mdrew]

Jett Flatley. Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition saw Jett Flatley start in the second row for Ballina against in the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring a hat trick in the Seagulls 58 – 0 win. Jett Flatley also captained the Ballina Seagulls side.

Round Two against the Marist Brothers Rams Lismore saw Jett Flatley start once again in the second row and he was one of the Seagulls try scorers in their 66 – 0 victory.

Jett Flatley also started in the second row in Round Three against the Kyogle Turkeys with the impressive youngster scoring a double as the Seagulls went down 28 – 10. In Round Four against South Grafton, Jett Flatley scored a hat trick after starting the match in the second row.

Jett Flatley continued in the second row in Round Five in the local derby against the South Grafton Rebels, kicking a conversion in the Ghosts 28 – 16 victory. From the second row position in Round Six against the Clarence Coast magpies, Jett Flatley scored two more tries and also kicked a conversion in Ballina’s 52 – 0 victory.

Jett Flatley dropped back to start from the bench in Round Nine against Marist Brothers, kicking a conversion in his time on the field.

The talented Ballina Seagulls second rower was a key member of the Seagulls 2020 U12 side that won the Group One U12 Grand Final 36 – 0 against the Kyogle Turkeys with Jett Flatley scoring a try and kicking a conversion in the match.

Jett Flatley started in all eleven of Ballina’s 2020 matches, including in the Grand Final and in those eleven matches, scored forty eight points from nine tries and six conversions, with all six conversions coming in separate matches and in the main were situations when Jett Flatley converted a try of his own.

Jett Flatley finished the 2020 Group One U12 abridged regular season on a high, scoring a hat trick against the Clarence Coast Magpies in Round Ten and also scored a double in Round Six against the Grafton Ghosts. Jett Flatley also scored against South Grafton in Round Two and Clarence Coast once again in Round Five.

In Round Two against the South Grafton Rebels, Jett Flatley was barely touched by the Rebels defence, scoring from forty metres out after receiving the ball from the dummy half from his left. After receiving the ball Jett Flatley ran through a South Grafton defence that had barely moved off their line and then beat the cover defence with sheer pace to dive over three metres in from the right corner post.

One of Jett Flatley’s Round Ten three tries was as good of a long range solo try that I have seen in any junior age group ever. Jett Flatley received the ball four passes from the play the ball as Ballina spun the ball to their left. When Jett Flatley received the ball he was only fifteen metres out from his own line and just five metres in from the left touchline. Jett Flatley stepped off his left foot to beat one defender before veering back towards the left touchline, breaking five tackles as he broke into space still sixty metres from the try line. Even though three Magpies defenders gave chase they could not take any ground at all off Jett Flatley and he was able to dive over in the left corner to score an outstanding try.

I have noted two outstanding solo tries to look to highlight the skill set that Jett Flatley possesses, but I could also note multiple instances of outstanding defence over the course of 2020 which would also go a long way to describing just how good Jett Flatley is. Some of the tackles against Kyogle, Casino RSM and the Clarence Coast Magpies were simply outstanding with Jett Flatley hitting hard and often with both his left and right shoulders.

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

Where Jett Flatley’s game has really developed over the last couple of seasons his ability to play wider of the ruck, which is where he is primarily playing for the Northern Pride this season. With his size and strength wider of the ruck Jett Flatley attracts defenders and thus is in a position to use his ball skills to set up his outside supports early in a match. When defences start to try to anticipate that Jett Flatley is going to pass then he can use his size and power to cash through the defensive lien as no defender is going to be able to handle him one on one by themselves.

In defence Jett Flatley uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Jett Flatley is not averse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining decent leverage and reasonable agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck.

Jett Flatley will play the 2021 season with the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One U13 competition.

If you were looking to build a modern day rugby league second rower, you could not have a better template to work with than Jett Flatley as he has the requisite size, strength, speed and power to be a difference maker. I have not seen Jett Flatley play anywhere other than in the second row and to be honest I do not expect to either.

St George Dragons touch, hard second rower Tariq Sims is a more than reasonable comparison for Jett Flatley. Both Sims and Jett Flatley are big strong and powerful but at the same time have outstanding speed and hit the line very very hard.

[mdrew]

Wayne-Chase Whitney. After spending his earlier junior rugby league career with the Grafton Ghosts, Wayne-Chase Whitney has moved across the bridge to play the 2021 Group One U13 season with the South Grafton Rebels.

Wayne-Chase Whitney started Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition at fullback for the Rebels as they took on the Kyogle Turkeys.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also started at fullback in Round Two against the Clarence Coast Magpies scoring a try in the Rebels 32 – 8 victory.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also started at fullback in Round Three against the Clarence Coast Magpies with the young man scoring a double in the Rebels victory. Wayne-Chase Whitney scored once again from the fullback position in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys.

Wayne-Chase Whitney continued at fullback and once again scored in Round Seven against Marist Brothers and also scored from fullback in Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys and in Round Nine against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Wayne-Chase Whitney, after playing in the earlier U13 match, was on the bench for the South Grafton U14 side in Round One against Kyogle and it was the same in Round Two against the Clarence Coast Magpies and in Round Three against his former club in the Grafton Ghosts. Wayne-Chase Whitney was also on the bench in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys and in Round Eight against Kyogle.

In 2020 for the Grafton Ghosts in the Group One U12 competition, Wayne-Chase Whitney had an impressive season finishing with twelve tries and two conversions for an individual points tally of fifty two. Both of Wayne-Chase Whitney’s conversions came in separate matches against the Kyogle Turkeys, the first coming in Round Eight and the second in Round Ten.

Wayne-Chase Whitney scored a hat trick in Round Seven against his 2021 team being the South Grafton Rebels and also scored a double against the Rebels in Round Five. Wayne-Chase Whitney’s other two doubles came against Ballina in Round Six and Casino RSM in Round Nine.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also scored in Round Three against Casino RSM, Round Four against the Clarence Coast Magpies and Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys.

In attack Wayne-Chase Whitney’s speed off the mark is the first attribute that you will notice when you see him play live. Any video’s that you may see do not do his speed off the mark justice, watching him play live, it is great to see when he takes off. Wayne-Chase Whitney does not seem to have an extra gear once he is through the defensive line, but has the ability to maintain his impressive top speed over a long distance, thus the apparent lack of an extra gear in speed has no discernible impact that I have identified.

Coupled with a very good right foot step, Wayne-Chase Whitney’s speed enables him to make numerous line breaks. He can and will beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies. He also backs up any line breaks and loves to score tries.

The area that for me Wayne-Chase Whitney has developed the most over the last year or so is in relation to his play making skills, including putting his runners, whether they are backrowers or centres into holes. Wayne-Chase Whitney’s enhanced plays making skills has made his speed with his show and go more effective as defensive lines start to focus in his runners and thus leave more space for him.

As games progress Wayne-Chase Whitney is very good at identifying tired forwards in the defensive line, and he will ruthlessly exploit that when he sees that. Multiple times in recent seasons Wayne-Chase Whitney has left forwards clutching at air as they began to tire, for that matter it has not been just forwards as the Townsville Blackhawks backline can attest to.

Wayne-Chase Whitney has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate enough and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field. Wayne-Chase Whitney will chase hard and usually is one of the first down field to defend. In terms of his short kicking game, he will back himself and put in little kicks over the top or grubber through the defensive line for himself, which causes all sorts of issues for defences due to his speed and desire to get to the ball first.

Defensively Wayne-Chase Whitney will not stand out but has the closing speed and recovery speed to make an impact on that side of the ball as well. With his speed, Wayne-Chase Whitney has the luxury of being able to stand a touch deeper than some fullbacks yet still be able to close quickly to negate breaks by reducing the decision making time of the attacking player. I am not suggesting that Wayne-Chase Whitney is in anyway a below average defensive player, he is certainly solid in that area.

Wayne-Chase Whitney will play the 2021 season with the South Grafton Rebels in the Group One U13 competition.

With his elusiveness and decisive decision making ability and just his innate ability to know where and when to inject himself into a match, Wayne-Chase Whitney projects as a prototypical modern day rugby league fullback.

With his speed and confidence to back himself in key moments, Wayne-Chase Whitney has a playing style very similar to that of Titans and Queensland State of Origin fullback AJ Brimson. Both Brimson and Wayne-Chase Whitney have the speed and elusiveness as well as the confidence to carry a team throughout a match.

[mdrew]

Harrison Clements. The talented Ballina Seagulls second rower was a key member of the Seagulls 2020 U12 side that won the Group One U12 Grand Final 36 – 0 against the Kyogle Turkeys with Harrison Clements scoring in the decider.

Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition saw Harrison Clements start in the second row for Ballina against the Clarence Coast Magpies and scored a double as the Seagulls started their Premiership defence on the back of a 58 – 0 win.

Round Two against the Marist Brothers Rams Lismore saw Harrison Clements started once again in the second row and scoring a hat trick as Ballina defeated the Rams 66 – 0.

Harrison Clements also started in the second row in Round Three against Kyogle when he also captained the Ballina side. In Round Four against South Grafton Harrison Clements scored a double after starting the match in the second row.

Harrison Clements continued his try scoring exploits in Round Five against South Grafton, scoring a double after starting the match in his usual second row position. Harrison Clements scored once again in Round Six against the Clarence Coast Magpies after once again starting the match in the second row. Harrison Clements also started in the second row in Round Nine against Marist Brothers.

In May 2021, Harrison Clements was part of the Ballina Coast High School’s U14 Buckley Shield school boy rugby league side that won the Grand Final 46 – 0 against Tweed River High School after Dylan Watkins started the match on the wing.

In the two earlier matches of the Buckley Shield Ballina Coast High School defeated Kingscliffe High School 48 – 0 and Tweed River High School 36 – 6.

Harrison Clements started from the bench in all eleven of Ballina’s 2020 matches, scoring eleven tries to average a try a match and obviously a 100% strike rate.

Harrison Clements started the 2020 Group One U12 season off in fine style scoring a hat trick against Casino RSM and added a double in Round Nine against the South Grafton Rebels.

Harrison Clements remaining 2020 Group One U12 tries came in Rounds Five and Ten (Clarence Coast), Six (Grafton Ghosts) and Seven and Eight (Casino RSM).

In 2020 in the Group One U12 competition, Harrison Clements made a habit of scoring long range solo tries with a Round Five try against the Clarence Coast Magpies, perfectly highlighting my contention.

Harrison Clements received the ball from his halfback whilst stationary and eighty metres away from the try line. As soon as he received the ball Harrison Clements exploded off the mark cutting back to the soft spot behind the play the ball, bursting easily through the Magpies defence and from there Harrison Clements extended the gap between him and the Clarence Coast chasers to be able to slow down and gently place the ball under the posts.

Another example of a Harrison Clements special, came against South Grafton in Round Nine but in that occasion Harrison Clements “only” ran seventy five metres to score. Harrison Clements received the ball four passes off the play the ball as Ballina spun the ball to their right, as soon as he received the ball, Harrison Clements used his speed to get on the outside of the last Rebels left side defender and from there it was shut the gate as Harrison Clements ran down the right touchline and such was the buffer that he had, Harrison Clements was able to comfortably bring the ball around and place it down under the goal posts.

The tall long striding Harrison Clements is at his best when he is operating in the fringes of the ruck where he can exploit gaps in the defensive line with his size and speed. When he runs Harrison Clements is all arms, legs, knees and elbows and with his long stride and strong fend is a difficult proposition for defenders to handle in the context of getting him to the ground prior to Harrison Clements being in a position to off load the ball effectively. Harrison Clements has solid ball playing skills for a big forward including being able to pass prior to contact with the defensive line as well as when in contact.

Harrison Clements’s leg drive and determination also enables him to be equally effective in relation to operating in traffic where as long as he gets his body height low he can shrug off would be tacklers by dropping his shoulder into the defender just as he starts to commit to the tackle, Harrison Clements can then redirect his momentum and proceed down the field on a different vector to the one he was on prior to contact. For a player his size Harrison Clements can quickly get to his feet both in the context of getting a quick play the ball.

The other key feature of Harrison Clements’s attacking play is his ability to off load the ball, he can pop a very good short ball from either side of his body but is very effective at keeping his right arm free when in contact with the defensive line and off load a well-timed and appropriately weighted pass to his support runners who have the confidence in him to be hitting the gaps at full speed.

In terms of overall speed, whilst above average for his position, Harrison Clements when in space will be caught by cover defenders but he is quick enough to maintain separation until he has progressively worked through his options and invariably makes the right decision with the ball.

Defensively Harrison Clements is adept at wrapping up the ball carrier and his initial contact is underrated as his primary function and goal is to wrap up the ball to prevent off loads. As previously noted after making a tackle Harrison Clements is quick to his feet to either look for a turnover or get to the next breakdown. His stamina is such that you will see Harrison Clements make multiple tackles in a short space of time and then immediately make himself available to take a hit up.

Harrison Clements will play the 2021 season with the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One U13 competition.

Harrison Clements is a tall young man and will take some time to fully grow into his frame and thus in the short term, whilst his best position is in the second row, Harrison Clements could no doubt with his speed play out wide either in the centres or even on the wing. I am still of the opinion however that ultimately Harrison Clements will end up as a tall, skilful, fast and highly mobile second rower.

Brisbane Bronco and former Queensland State of Origins Corey Oates is actually a solid comparison for Harrison Clements from a playing perspective as a hard running player who will light up a match with his ability to crash through tackles and score some very good long range tries. I appreciate that Corey Oates has looked to move to the second row on a number of occasions with varying degrees of success but I do not think that Harrison Clements will have any issues moving to the second row on a full time basis.

[mdrew]

Malachy Laarhaven. The talented young Kyogle Turkeys junior and Kyogle High School student started at lock in Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition for Kyogle against the South Grafton Rebels and scored for the Turkeys as they defeated the Rebels 36 – 4.

Malachy Laarhaven also started at lock in Round Two against the Kyogle Turkeys and Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls when he scored a double as the Turkeys defeated Ballina 28 – 10.

Malachy Laarhaven also started at lock and was one of Kyogle’s try scorers in their two point Round Four loss to Casino RSM and after starting at lock in Round Six against South Grafton, Malachy Laarhaven added a double to his already impressive 2021 try scoring tally.

Round Eight against South Grafton saw Malachy Laarhaven continue to lock and he also started at lock in Round Nine against Casino RSM, a match that saw Malachy Laarhaven score a double.

Malachy Laarhaven made his Group One U14 debut off the bench in Round Three against Ballina.

In 2021 Malachy Laarhaven represented Kyogle High School at the Northern Zone U15 Touch Zone trials and even though he was two years younger than the majority of other participants, Malachy Laarhaven was one of the better players.

Malachy Laarhaven had a very good 2020 Group One U12 season for the Kyogle Turkeys including starting in the centres in the Grand Final against the Ballina Seagulls.

Malachy Laarhaven did not play in many 2020 Group One U12 matches but he made the most of the matches that he did play in scoring eight tries. Malachy Laarhaven also kicked a conversion, converting his own try which came in Round Ten against the Grafton Ghosts to finish the 2020 season scoring thirty four points.

Malachy Laarhaven scored a hat trick against the Grafton Ghosts in Round Eight and doubles in Rounds Five and Nine against Casino RSM and Clarence Coast respectively. Malachy Laarhaven’s other 2020 Group One U12 try came against the Grafton Ghosts in Round Ten.

Malachy Laarhaven is a 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 his play, the in and away is his bread and butter, Malachy Laarhaven has very good speed off the mark and can break to the outside quickly, couple that with long arms, which he uses to great effect with a powerful fend makes him difficult to tackle. When opposing centres are able to get hold of him, Malachy Laarhaven usually is able to maintain his balance and keeps an arm free, looking to offload.

Malachy Laarhaven has more tools though than just an in and away, he will also use his 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. What Malachy Laarhaven is also 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.

Malachy Laarhaven will not necessarily hit hard in defence, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing centre and wrapping him up ball and all. Malachy Laarhaven 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, Malachy Laarhaven seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage.

Malachy Laarhaven will play the 2021 season with the Kyogle Turkeys in the Group One U13 competition.

Even though Malachy Laarhaven spent time in the 2021 Group One U13 competition at lock, for the short term at least I believe that Malachy Laarhaven’s best position is in the centres.

For me with his ability to slip through gaps in the defensive line especially close to the line and a solid repeatable defensive technique, Malachy Laarhaven has a playing style similar to that of former Titan and current Brisbane Bronco’s centre Dale Copley as a solid reliable centre or winger who find is way to the try line on a regular basis.

[mdrew]

Che Garred. The talented young Kyogle Turkeys junior and Kyogle High School student started at fullback in Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition for Kyogle against the South Grafton Rebels and scored for the Turkeys as they defeated the Rebels 36 – 4.

Che Garred also started at fullback in Round Two against the Kyogle Turkeys and Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls where he scored as the Turkeys defeated Ballina 28 – 10.

Che Garred moved to the centres for Round Four against Casino RSM and continued in the centres in Round Eight against the South Grafton Rebels and Round Nine against Casino RSM.

Che Garred had a very good 2020 Group One U12 season for the Kyogle Turkeys including coming off the bench in the Grand Final against the Ballina Seagulls.

Whilst he may have started the 2020 U12 Group One Grand Final from the bench, Che Garred started at fullback in all of the Kyogle Group One 2020 U12 regular season matches that he played in and scored an impressive thirteen tries from just eight matches to finish the regular season with a strike rate of 163%.

Che Garred also kicked three conversions to finish the 2020 season with an individual points haul of fifty eight points. Che Garred’s three conversions came in Round Four, Five and Seven against Ballina, Casino RSM and Clarence Coast respectively, on each occasion Che Garred converted his own try. Understandably Che Garred finished as one of the Group One U12 competition’s leading try scorers and points scorers.

Che Garred started the 2020 Group One U12 season off with a bang scored four tries against the Grafton Ghosts in Round One and added a hat trick against the Ghosts in Round Eight. Che Garred added a double in Round Two against Casino RSM and also scored in matches against South Grafton (Round Three), Ballina (Round Four), Casino RSM (Round Five) and the Clarence Coast Magpies in Round Seven.

It is hard to put in words just how talented Che Garred is in terms of running the ball, he has
outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end
speed which must be considered plus regardless of position. Che Garred with his speed is able to
exploit even small gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible
acceleration as well as outstanding body control.

It is that speed trait which opens up his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Che Garred when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that they open up holes wider out in the defensive line that he can exploit.

Che Garred has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Che Garred can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust. Che Garred also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what he is going to do.

Like when he has the ball in his hands, there is nothing that Che Garred cannot do in relation to kicking the ball. Che Garred is an exceptional tactical kicker with range and accuracy, he 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 or rugby league kick, Che Garred can execute it with precision.

Defensively Che Garred is a very strong young man with exceptional functional strength to go along with an innate understanding of the attacking strategies of rugby league thus he is able to anticipate what an attacking side is looking to do with the ball and then be in the best position to negate it. Che Garred has a very good low tackling technique which is simple and repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on his side of the field.

Che Garred will play the 2021 season with the Kyogle Turkeys in the Group One U13 competition.

From a position perspective, due to how Che Garred plays what is in front of 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.

Che Garred will need the right coach to harness his incredible and natural skills. If a coach tries to change him into playing to a set pattern I think that he will initially be less effective 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.
Che Garred is a natural on a rugby league field with his ability to size up a situation and invariably take the correct option. To that extent for me Che Garred has a playing style similar to that of South Sydney Rabbitoh and New South Wales State of Origin representative Cody Walker (I appreciate that they play different positions) is an appropriate comparison as a silky smooth player who has all of the skills and temperament to be able to turn a game on its head with a scintillating piece of play and make difficult tasks look deceptively easy.

[mdrew]

Hikoirangi Paki. The talented youngster moved over from Auckland for the 2021 season and started at fullback for the Southport Tigers in their GCRL U18 Division One Round One match against the Currumbin Eagles.

Hikoirangi Paki was unable to complete the match but he had some good moments prior to going off including a ten metre dart out of dummy half to the right to get Southport on the attack forty metres out from the try line.

Hikoirangi Paki also recorded one of the stranger intercepts that I have seen when in the 21st minute whist he was trying to drag down one of the Currumbin forwards from behind the Eagles forward looked to off-load to his left, but Hikoirangi Paki stuck his left arm up and the ball stuck in his left hand. Hikoirangi Paki then turned and ran the ball back getting to within a metre of the try line before being stopped.

Hikoirangi Paki also started at fullback in Round Two against Runaway Bay and scored in the 16th minute when he was on the end of a Southport movement to the right. Hikoirangi Paki received the ball in space ten metres from the try line and headed towards the right corner. At the last moment Hikoirangi Paki cut back towards his left as two Seagulls defenders went flying by to dive over.

In the 23rd minute Hikoirangi Paki almost scored his second try of the match when he got within a metre of the try line after receiving the ball on the right side of the field fifteen metres out before cutting back towards the goal posts.

Hikoirangi Paki also did well defensively in the match including in the 41st minute when he was able to hold up the Runaway Bay left second rower with Southport holding a narrow lead.

Hikoirangi Paki continued his run of starts at fullback in Round Three against the Ormeau Shearers before moving to right centre in Round Four against Burleigh with the positional move paying dividends with Hikoirangi Paki scoring in the 26th and 39th minutes of Southport’s 32 – 28 loss.

Hikoirangi Paki continued at left centre in Round Five against the Nerang Roosters.

Round Six against Mudgeeraba saw Hikoirangi Paki continue at left centre and scored a double with his first try coming in the 17th minute when from ten metres out Hikoirangi Paki produced a right foot step to get past the initial defender that confronted him before crashing over with four defenders engaged.

Hikoirangi Paki’s second try came in the final minute of the match when he received an off-load from his right second rower who had just taken a cross kick on the full, with Hikoirangi Paki able to dive over in the right corner as a result. Hikoirangi Paki also made a 19th minute line break in the match when he burst forty metres down the right channel off a good off-load on his inside.

Hikoirangi Paki then moved to right centre for Round Nine against the Runaway Bay Seagulls and was on the move again in Round Ten against the Ormeau Shearers when he started at five eight.

Hikoirangi Paki had a solid pre-season with the Tigers including a good Pre-season Round Two U18 Division One match against the Ormeau Shearers when in addition to recording a 61st minute try assist, Hikoirangi Paki then converted Southport’s first try of the match.

Hikoirangi Paki’s try assist was an impressive one, he chimed into the backline on the right side of the field and once he had drawn two Shearers defenders Hikoirangi Paki threw a great right arm flick pass to his right winger to race eighteen metres to score in the right corner.

Hikoirangi Paki attended Mabel Park State High School upon his arrival from New Zealand, starting Round One of the 2021 Langer Cup School Boy competition at left centre against Coombabah State High School, recording an outstanding try assist in the 59th minute with an outstanding off-load to his left as he was going to ground after pushing off one defender to put his left winger into space and subsequently score in the left corner.

Hikoirangi Paki moved to fullback for Round Two against Keebra Park State High School and also started at fullback in Round Three against St Mary’s College, scoring in the 24th minute when he received the ball in space on the right side of the field and easily scored untouched from twelve metres out, getting the ball down five metres in from the right corner.

Hikoirangi Paki also started at fullback in Round Four against Wavell State High School and produced probably the best tackle of the match in the 10th minute when he went low to take down the rampaging Wavell SHS right second row who had burst through the Mable Park defence and had only Hikoirangi Paki to beat.

Round Five against Marsden State High School saw Hikoirangi Paki move to the left wing and continued there is Round Six against PBC State High School with Hikoirangi Paki scoring Mable Park SHS’s sole try of the match when in the 17th minute he lept high to take a bomb to his right wing on the full and get the ball down in the right corner.

The young man from the Te Atatu club in 2018 was a member of the Akarana Falcons side at the U15 National Youth Championships.

Hikoirangi Paki is a smooth runner of the ball who seems to glide across the field effortlessly and certainly has an extra gear in relation to the speed he possesses as well as plus speed off the mark. When returning kicks, he has the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the modern game.

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

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

In addition Hikoirangi Paki also has the ball playing skills to set up his support runners and get them lines to run into when defenders came out of the line to negate his time with the ball in hand. He obviously was a key target for defences but Hikoirangi Paki understands that he cannot do it all himself and thus became adept at drawing defenders out of the line and putting his support runners into the subsequent hole.

In terms of running the ball back from kicks, his timing and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of balls on the full and makes a quick decision whether to run the ball flat out back into the oncoming defenders or look to create an opportunity by running across field.

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

Defensively if an attacker runs directly at him, Hikoirangi Paki will come forward to cut down the time the attacker has to make a decision and he will hit very hard. An impressive attribute that he does have he is ability to force attackers in the clear to try to beat him down the side line.

Hikoirangi Paki will stay inside the attacker and force him in the needed direction and then use his timing and anticipation to make the tackle, usually forcing the attacker into touch.

Hikoirangi Paki will finish the 2021 season playing for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and may also play a match or two in the GCRL U20 competition.

With his tall frame, good positioning and ability to pick the correct time to chime into the backline I believe that Hikoirangi Paki’s best position is at fullback, although his skill set suggests that Hikoirangi Paki could also play either centre or on the wing more than comfortably.

Nick Meaney of the Canterbury Bulldogs is similar to Hikoirangi Paki in relation to his playing traits, both move well across the ground being gifted ball runners with above average speed and evasive traits as well as being solid defensively even though they certainly are not the biggest players running around in any given match. Both Hikoirangi Paki and Meaney can also play a variety of positions in the back line and play then at a high level.

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Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr. The exceptionally talented young centre moved over from Auckland and started at right centre for the Southport Tigers in their GCRL U18 Division One Round One match against the Currumbin Eagles.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr had a solid first match on the Gold Coast, including recording a try assist when as soon as he received a pass from his left he popped a short ball to his right to put Elikena Finau into a gap with the lock subsequently running twenty metres to score.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr also made a number of strong charges in the match including two that stood out, with both coming from kick-off returns, the first of which came off the second half kick-up when the ran to his left, breaking three tackles and then from the kick-off after the Elikena Finau try, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr broke a further two tackles on his kick-off return.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr also started at right centre in Round Two against Runaway Bay and in just the 2nd minute of the match he made a strong burst of fourteen metres from a hit-up to the right of the dummy half with Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr initially receiving the ball just eight metres out from his own line.

Then in the 5th minute Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr broke two tackles when running the ball off a Tigers scrum win, making sixteen strong metres with at least half of those post contact metres. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr made another strong run from a Southport scrum win in the 7th minute making a further ten metres.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr hard working start to the match continued when he took the second hit-up from the kick-off after the first Southport try making ten metres to get the ball outside of his own twenty metre area.

The 18th minute saw Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr record a line break directly from the kick-off after Southport’s second try. Southport let the kick-off bounce and it actually bounced back towards the oncoming Runaway Bay chasers. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr charged forward retrieving the ball at full speed and then ran straight through two defenders to get the ball back to the forty metre line.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr continued to highlight that he can run all sorts of routes when in the 22nd minute he came back underneath one of his playmakers running to his left and backing sixteen metres to get within twenty metres of the try line.

Just a minute later in the 23rd minute, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr ran out of dummy half once again getting within two metres of the line after a strong fourteen metre run after running to his right.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr had a line break assist in the match as well when in the 33rd minute he moved over to the left side of the field for a set move off the back of a scrum, drawing in both his immediate defender as well as the Seagulls right winger to put his own winger away down the left touchline.

Whilst he was one of the most dangerous ball runners in the match, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr did not ignore his defensive duties, including in the 28th minute when he made a strong tackle on the Seagulls fullback who had run down a short right blindside.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr continued his run of starts at right centre in Round Three against the Ormeau Shearers and scored an impressive double in the 16 all draw.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr continued at right centre in Round Five against the Nerang Roosters and was one of the Tigers try scorers in the match. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr also started at right centre in Round Ten against the Ormeau Shearers.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr attended Mabel Park State High School upon his arrival from New Zealand, originally being named to start Round One of the 2021 Langer Cup School Boy competition from the bench against Coombabah State High School however Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr ended up starting the match at right centre.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr made a key contribution for Mabel Park State High School in the 25th minute when from a scrum win he was able to rumble forward after receiving the ball on the left, getting to less than a metre from the line. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr was on his feet in a flash, producing a quick play the ball that the dummy half was able to take advantage of to dive over under the posts.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr moved to left centre for Round Two against Keebra Park State High School and was as good as any player on the field, including recording a try assist in just the 5th minute when he surged down the left channel after receiving the ball twenty metres out from the line. After he received the ball Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr got rid of the Keebra Park right winger and charged downfield getting to within three metre of the line before being taken by the cover defence but even though he was held by the defence Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr as able off-load to his left winger score in the left corner.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr then did not rest in his laurels, taking the hit-up from the subsequent kick-off. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr made another strong run in the 41st minute when from a Mabel Park SHS scrum win to get the ball out of his own twenty metre area.

Then in the 47th minute, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr charged onto the ball off a tap restart after Mabel Park received a penalty with Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr making thirteen metres when he charged straight into the giant Keebra Park SHS forward pack.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr produced a great defensive effort in the 25th minute when he highlighted his elite speed to chase the Keebra Park fullback (Elijah Lui) after he had made a long break to round him up quickly just after he had passed the halfway line.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr rounded out his outstanding performance in the match in the 50th minute when he made twenty seven metres after receiving the ball thirty metres from the line.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr continued at left centre in Round Three against St Mary’s College Toowoomba and was heavily involved in Mabel Park’s 35th minute try with a great right arm off-load in the lead up prior to the try near the left corner.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr also started at left centre in Round Four against Wavell State High School and continued at left centre in Round Five against Marsden State High School, producing an outstanding performance as Mabel Park SHS gave Marsden SHS a real scare with Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr kicking three goals from five attempts.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr continued at left centre in Round Six against PBC State High School and once again was as good as any player on the field, making numerous telling runs including an impressive line break in the 54th minute when he broke four tackles in a strong forty metres run after he had run to his right out of dummy half from deep inside his own territory.

Prior to his arrival on the Gold Coast in 2021, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr was part of the Auckland Vulcan’s Blues U20 side for the inaugural New Zealand U20 Championships.

In 2020 Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr was a stand out for both Kelston Boys High and the Marist Saints.

In 2018 Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr was a member of the Akarana Falcons side at the U15 National Youth Championships, scoring a double on Day One against the Wellington Orca’s. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr also scored on Day Three against Counties Manukau and kicked a conversion on Day Two against the Central Vipers.

Whilst in does not have blinding speed off the mark, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr does have more than decent top end speed and can break tackles by running over his direct opposite defender as well as using a very good fend, when he gets to the outside, this prevents defenders from getting he under his ribs and thus he can maintain his running line under defensive pressure.

One skill that Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr does possess when playing in the centre position is a decent in and away especially from the right hand side of the field. He will wait until the last possible minute to step to commit the defender before getting on his outside and using his strength and power to break the initial defensive line.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr defensive game is one built on intimidation he will come out of the line when the opportunity presents itself and hit very hard around the chest and drive through is lower body and continue until the tackle is well and truly finished.

The positive for Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr is that he does not purely rely on strength and power to hit, timing is also a key attribute to ensure that he arrives at the attacker at around the same time that the ball does, this also reduces the likelihood of injury to himself or the defender getting on his outside setting up a two or one down the sideline.

Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr will finish the 2021 season playing for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and may also play a match or two in the GCRL U20 competition.

The best long term position for Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr is an interesting question. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr is not necessarily a big centre by modern standards but he is not small either. Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr also has shown the mentality to run a hard straight crash route and also the ability to set up his outside winger, thus I believe that ultimately Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr will be given every opportunity to play in the centres long term. On the wing or even at fullback are not bad second options at all in relation to where Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr with thrive from a position perspective.

With his hard straight running and strong initial defensively contact, I can see aspects of the play of Titans centre Esan Marsters in Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr’s play. Like Marsters, Atunaisa Pahulu Jnr is a strong presence in the three quarter line both in attack and defence and can break a game open with a powerful run and fend or a dominant tackle.

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Jackson Le Pou. The talented youngster moved over from the Upper Central Zone of New Zealand’s North Island for the 2021 season and started at five eight for the Currumbin Eagles in their GCRL U18 Division One Round One match against the Southport Tigers.

Even though he started the match at five eight, Jackson Le Pou played in the dummy half role for the Eagles in their 28 – 10 first up victory.

Jackson Le Pou could not have gotten an earlier touch when he took the kick-off to start the match on the full above his head AFL style.

Jackson Le Pou also started at five eight in Round Two against the Nerang Roosters as well as in Round Three against the Helensvale Hornets.

Against the Hornets in Round Three Jackson Le Pou scored his first regular season try since his arrival from New Zealand when he ran to his right dummying both inside and out before slicing through the line and then Jackson Le Pou stepped off his right foot to beat the Helensvale fullback and get the ball down five metres from the right upright.

Round Four saw Jackson Le Pou continue at five eight agaisnt Mudgeeraba with his left goot kicking game taking precedence inlduing a 16th minute kick into the right corner which had to be knocked dead by the Redbacks fullback.

After missing a number of weeks, Jackson Le Pou was named to return on the bench in the previously postponed Round Eight match against the Southport Tigers.

Jackson Le Pou had a very solid pre-season with the Eagles including a great Pre-season Round One match against Ormeau scoring in the 55th minutes as well as recording a 7th minute try assist.

Jackson Le Pou’s 55th minute try was a strong individual effort when he received the ball ten metres out from the line and ran to his right. As he approached the defensive line Jackson Le Pou stepped off his right foot to beat one defender before a second right foot step to get around the Ormeau fullback and get the ball down in a tackle five metres to the right of the uprights.

Jackson Le Pou’s try assist came in just the 7th minute of the match when he took the ball down the right side of the field, taking the ball to the line before throwing a great cut-out pass to put his right centre into a huge gap thirty metres out and from there the centre was able to dive over in the right corner untouched.

In the Upper Central Region of New Zealand, Jackson Le Pou had a solid junior rugby league career, including being invited to attend a number of Brisbane Bronco’s Junior Development camps.

At five eight, I really like the way that Jackson Le Pou plays in attack, he will try different things and play what is in front of him rather than stick to the same tactics over and over again. In many respects Jackson Le Pou is very unpredictable when he gets the ball, he is adept at running himself when presented with an appropriate opportunity and has a very good turn of speed off the mark and similarly can throw some superb passes to his support runners if they find themselves running into a gap.

Currently Jackson Le Pou is probably a touch better runner of the ball then ball player 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 try to wrap up the ball without committing to the tackle properly or with an incorrect tackling technique.

Jackson Le Pou is able to drift across field and then just takes off through any gaps in a staggered defensive line. When he looks to take advantage of an overlap on the blind side and is adept at drawing in outside defenders to give his winger a clear path to the line by creating a two on one situation.

Jackson Le Pou has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Jackson Le Pou can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust.

Jackson Le Pou also runs with the ball out in front of his body in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what he is going to do before the play is executed or develops in front of them.

Jackson Le Pou will not necessarily hit hard in defence, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing centre and wrapping him up ball and all. Jackson Le Pou 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, Jackson Le Pou seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage.

Jackson Le Pou will play the 2021 season with the Currumbin Eagles U18 Division One side and may well even play a match or two in the Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition such is Jackson Le Pou’s level of maturity.

Jackson Le Pou is a ball player with a great passing game as well as exceptional ball playing skills thus his best position now and into the future will be at five eight. Interestingly Jackson Le Pou also spent time playing in the dummy half role for Currumbin in 2021, but I am of the opinion that his best position is in the halves where his exquisite passing game will be of more value to his team.

An NRL player with a similar ability to throw all types and passes with the correct amount of speed and at the right time as well as make ground effectively when the opportunity arises, current Penrith Panthers utility back Matthew Burton is a more than solid player comparison for Jackson Le Pou.

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Harrison Doherty. The former Byron Bay/Lennox Head junior had a big 2020, first being part of the Group 18 U13 Grand Final winning side as Byron Bay/Lennox Head defeated the Tugun Seahawks 28 – 24 and then late in the 2020 year to cap off an impressive year Harrison Doherty commenced training with the Titans 2021 U14 Elite Junior Academy JTS Squad under the watchful eye of former Titans NRL player Kane Elgey.

For the 2021 season, Harrison Doherty moved to the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One competition, starting Round One of the U14 competition against the Clarence Coast Magpies at five eight and was one of the Seagulls try scorers.

Harrison Doherty also started at five eight in Round Two against Marist Brothers, scoring once again and also kicking two conversions as the Seagulls defeated the Rams 18 – 8.

Harrison Doherty added a further try and two conversions in Round Three against Kyogle after starting the match at five eight once again. Harrison Doherty also started at five eight in Round Four against South Grafton.

Round Five against Casino RSM saw Harrison Doherty once again at five eight in Ballina’s 40 – 0 victory with the young playmaker contributing two tries in the Seagulls win and in Round Six after starting the match at five eight, Harrison Doherty scored a double as Ballina defeated Clarence Coast 36 – 16.

Once again from the halfback position Harrison Doherty scored one try and kicked four gaols in Round Eleven against Marist Brothers.

In the 2020 Group 18 U13 regular season, Harrison Doherty and his Byron Bay/Lennox Head teammates won eight of their ten matches, scoring 212 points and conceding 102 to finish the 2020 season with a points differential of +110 in their impressive and ultimately successful season.

Harrison Doherty is also a very good top order batsman in cricket including in 2020 playing for the Far North Coast U14 representative cricket side as well as representing his school’s cricket team with distinction also as a top order batsman.

Harrison Doherty is just a superb mover seemingly gliding across the field effortlessly with outstanding balance, body control and exquisite hand eye co-ordination which has been aided by playing hockey at a very high level. Seriously Harrison Doherty’s running style looks just effortless and perfectly balanced and is undertaken at speed.

Harrison Doherty with his pace is able to exploit even the smallest of gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible acceleration as well as outstanding balance and body control. When Harrison Doherty steps, regardless of the size of the step or in which direction there is absolutely no loss of speed or momentum as Harrison Doherty moves to his new vector and continues on.

It is that speed trait which opens up his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Harrison Doherty when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that they open up holes wider out in the defensive line that Harrison Doherty can exploit.

Harrison Doherty has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Harrison Doherty can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust.

Harrison Doherty also runs with the ball in both hands out in front of his body which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Harrison Doherty is going to do with the ball at any given time. By the time that they have figured it out it is usually too late to stop Harrison Doherty.

Harrison Doherty just seems to have all of the time in the world to do what he wants on a rugby league field and is just so calm and composed and seemingly always two or three plays ahead of the opposition and his own team mates on occasion to be honest.

Defensively Harrison Doherty is a very strong young man with exceptional functional strength to go along with an innate understanding of the attacking strategies of rugby league thus he is able to anticipate what an attacking side is looking to do with the ball and then be in the best position to negate it.

Harrison Doherty has a very good low tackling technique which is simple and repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on Harrison Doherty’s side of the field.

Harrison Doherty will play the 2021 season with the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One U14 competition. Harrison Doherty is also a big chance to play representative rugby league in 2021 as part of the 2021 Group One U14 representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships.

Harrison Doherty has played primarily at five eight and with his passing ability as well as his ability to run the ball just as effectively, Harrison Doherty shapes as a talented rugby league five eight over the coming seasons.

From my perspective, a talented, unselfish attacking player with similar attributes to Harrison Doherty is North Queensland Cowboys fullback/five eight Scott Drinkwater. Like Drinkwater, Harrison Doherty has great acceleration to go along with a wicked sidestep off both feet, and the play making skills to make opposition teams pay if defences look to focus too much on him rather than his support runners or if individual defenders come out of the line too quickly.

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Joseph Tupuse. In February 2021 the young man from Keebra Park State High School was named in the U15 South Coast school boy rugby league squad for the 2021 U15 QSSRL School Boy Championships playing left centre for the Championship winning South Coast side, including in the Championship Final victory against Met West.

Joseph Tupuse started at left centre on Day One against Met West scoring in the 50th minute when he charged onto the ball from twenty metres out to score ten metres in from the left corner post and then Joseph Tupuse stepped up to convert his own try.

Joseph Tupuse was also damaging running the ball on Day Two against Capricornia including a twenty metres rumble down the left side of the field in the 45th minute that saw Joseph Tupuse force his way over the goal line but a plethora of defenders held him up.

Joseph Tupuse also started at left centre and made a line break in the 31st minute when Nayte Saaga took the ball to the line before throwing a cut-out pass to Joseph Tupuse to rumble fifty metres downfield but unfortunately his inside pass went to ground.

2021 saw Joseph Tupuse line up for the Keebra Park Year Nine school boy rugby league side, including an outstanding performance at left centre in early June in Round Three of the Hancock Cup against fierce local rivals PBC.

In the match Joseph Tupuse scored Keebra Park’s opening try of the match in the 21st minute when he received the ball five metres out from the try line and three metres in from the left touch line. Initially Joseph Tupuse looked as if he was going to head towards the left touchline but quickly pushed off one defender and cut back towards centre field. After running across field for approximately ten metres, Joseph Tupuse straightened up and burst through three would be defenders to score a powerful solo try.

Just two minutes prior to his try, Joseph Tupuse made two runs that got Keebra park good field position to attack the PBC line. On the first occasion in the 19th minute Joseph Tupuse made a bustling twenty two metres, breaking three tackles to get the ball thirty eight metres out and PBC were too desperate to slow the play the ball down and gave away a penalty.

From the set of six from the penalty Joseph Tupuse charged down the right side of the field, making sixteen metres only being stopped three metres short of the line.

Joseph Tupuse was equally as dominating in Round Four against Ipswich State High School scoring a hat trick in Keebra Park’s har fought victory.

Joseph Tupuse scored the first of his three tries in just the second minute he scored out wide in the left corner after receiving the ball in space and having an easy run to the line. Joseph Tupuse’s second try came in the 16th minute when once again he scored near the left corner after a burst from close range down a left blindside. Joseph Tupuse completed his hat trick in the 24th minute with his try a near carbon copy of his second try of the match.

Joseph Tupuse continued his dominant performances from left centre in Round Five against Redcliffe State High School scoring one try and setting up another in Keebra Park’s victory.

Joseph Tupuse scored in the 20th minute, when even though he was playing left centre, Joseph Tupuse popped up on the right side of the field, receiving the ball twenty metres out and after a left foot step, Joseph Tupuse was through the line and cruised over ten metres from the right upright.

Joseph Tupuse recorded his try assist in the 39th minute when he produced a great left arm flick pass to put his winger over in the left corner.

Joseph Tupuse’s exceptional form in the 2021 Hancock Cup competition continued in Round Six against Marsden State High School with the powerful left centre scoring a double.

Joseph Tupuse’s opening try came in the 12th minute when he charged onto a pass down the left channel from twelve metres out and carried two defenders over the line to crash over five metres in from the left corner post.

Joseph Tupuse completed his double in the 16th minute when after receiving the ball on the left side of the field, he stood up the Coombabah SHS defence, breaking three tackles on the way to the try line.

Joseph Tupuse’s first exposure to representative rugby league came in 2019 when he was selected in the Queensland U12 side for the Australian Schools Championships with Queensland subsequently being named 2019 U12 National Champions. Joseph Tupuse was one of Queensland’s try scorers in their 62 – 0 Quarter Final victory over the Northern Territory.

Prior to the National U12 Championships, Joseph Tupuse stood out for South Coast at the Queensland U12 Championships.

The long striding young man is an outstanding ball runner who whilst he does not look like he is moving quickly, Joseph Tupuse certainly is, with the evidence being the cover defence desperately trying to catch him and his team mates desperately trying to keep up with him when he breaks into open space on multiple occasions in 2019 and 2020 for Keebra Park.

Big strong and powerful are the words that immediately come to mind when watching Joseph Tupuse play. From an attacking perspective Joseph Tupuse is a straight hard runner when he has the ball in hand.

Joseph Tupuse has shown the ability to run both an inside and outside shoulder route and he runs both with pace and power and attracts multiple defenders to try to stop him. When Joseph Tupuse impacts the defensive line he drops his shoulder into the defenders and regularly bumped off multiple defenders in a single run.

Joseph Tupuse has a vicious tackling style and he really looks to come out of the line and literally smash his opposite number on a regular basis. Joseph Tupuse does however have decent lateral mobility which enables him to readjust if his opposite number gets on the outside and Joseph Tupuse, once he gets moving have above average straight line speed which enables him to close the distance to the attacker.

Joseph Tupuse will play the 2021 rugby league season in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition and will also line up for Keebra Park State High School in their various school boy rugby league competitions in South East Queensland.

Joseph Tupuse has the size and power to play in the second row as well as in the centres where he is currently playing most of his matches and whislt he maintains that level of speed, I am of the opinion that he will stay in the centres for as long as possible. If however Joseph Tupuse loses a touch of speed as he matures a move to the second row, would not demise his prospect status.

Joseph Tupuse is a big strong centre will surprising speed, mobility and elusiveness for his size and as a consequence an NRL player comparison to Wests Tigers and former New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International aggressive centre Joseph Leilua is not unreasonable although Joseph Tupuse is far less volatile on the field than Leilua.