My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Caleb Kilduff. Powerful Grafton Ghosts second rower Billy Kilduff had a very solid 2021 season in the Group One U15 competition.

Caleb Kilduff who started all of his matches in the second row in 2021 scored doubles in Rounds Five (Clarence Coast Magpies) and Eight (Ballina Seagulls) and also scored in Round Three (South Grafton Rebels), Four and Nine against Casino RSM, Six (Marist Rams) and Seven against Ballina once again.

Caleb Kilduff also kicked one conversion in 2021 which came in Round Two against Casino RSM.

Caleb Kilduff also played for the Grafton Ghosts in 2020 in the Group One U14 competition, scoring in Round Nine against Casino RSM and also kicked a conversion in Round One against the Kyogle Turkeys.

Caleb Kilduff is an outstanding athlete and this can be seen when he is running with the football. In his carries Caleb Kilduff 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.

Caleb Kilduff 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, Caleb Kilduff does not try to run over defenders, but David Fifita runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only use their arms on the tackle.

Caleb Kilduff 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 he can certainly play on the right), means that Caleb Kilduff’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 Caleb Kilduff 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 Caleb Kilduff 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 Caleb Kilduff 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.
2022 will see Caleb Kilduff line-up once again for the Grafton Ghosts in the Group One U16 competition and no doubt Caleb Kilduff will also push for representative honours in the 2022 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition for the Northern Rivers Titans.

Caleb Kilduff is a big strong powerful young man who looks destined to be a very talented long term second row prospect in the Titans catchment area.

From my perspective, the way that Caleb Kilduff plays rugby league is not dis-similar to Brisbane Bronco’s powerful second rower Jordan Riki. Both Riki and Caleb Kilduff and big, strong, fast and exceptionally difficult to defend against.

[mdrew]

Deekan Duncan. Devastating is the only word that I can come up with to accurately describe how well Casino RSM’s Deekan Duncan performed in the Group One U13 competition this season.

Deekan Duncan played in nine of Casino RSM’s matches, scoring at least one try in each and as of the completion of Round Twelve Deekan Dunca had scored on twenty five occasions to have a strike rate of a staggering 278%.

Deekan Duncan’s first match of the 2021 season was in Round Two against the Kyogle with the young man scoring a first up hat trick. Deecan Duncan then followed that up with hat tricks in Rounds Three and Four against Marist Rams and Kyogle respectively.

Deekan Duncan went one better in Rounds Five and Six against Clarence Coast and Marist scoring four tries before recording another hat trick in Round Eight against Ballina.

In Round Nine against Kyogle Deekan Duncan also scored before also scoring a double in Round Ten and then scored once again in Round Eleven with both matches against the Marist Rams.

Deekan Duncan’s first try of the Round Ten match against the Marist Rams came in just the 7th minute when he chased through a Makiah Torrens attacking grubber kick to get downward pressure on the ball in the right corner.

Deekan Duncan completed his double in the 52nd minute. Marist put up a mid-field bomb towards their right, after both sides let the ball bounce Deekan Duncan swooped on the ball, collecting it sixty five metres out and racing down the left touchline to score in the left corner.

In Round Eleven Deekan Duncan scored in the 38th minute with a long range seventy metre effort down the left touchline. Deekan Duncan received an off-load ten metres in from the touchline, cutting to his left to get on the outside of the Rams defensive line. Deekan Duncan’s speed then enabled him to break away from the cover defence before Deekan Duncan produced a great in and away to beat the fullback. Deekan Duncan’s work was not complete then as he was tackled a couple of metres from the line but was able to drag the Marist five eight over the line and reach out to get the ball down in the left corner.

Deekan Duncan almost scored a second try in the match in the 42nd minute but after a ten metre surge he was adjudged to have lost the ball fractionally short of the line in the left corner.

Deekan Duncan also recorded a try assist in the match when in the 43rd minute he broke away down the right touchline. After charging forty metres downfield, Deekan Duncan cut inside beating three defenders before getting a great right arm off-load away to Makiah Torrens who was able to run away to score under the posts.

Deekan Duncan also recorded a 32nd minute line break when from deep in his own territory he was able to make a thirty five metre break down the left touchline.

Deekan Duncan was also named in the No. 16 jersey for Round Thirteen against the Kyogle Turkeys, operating on the left of the field once again for Casino RSM, scoring a double in a tough 34 – 22 loss.

Deekan Duncan finished the abridged 2021 Group One U13 regular season as the competitions second leading try scorer with twenty seven tries.

Deekan Duncan is an outstanding athlete and this can be seen when he is running with the football. In his carries Deekan Duncan 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.

Deekan Duncan 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, Deekan Duncan does not try to run over defenders, but Deekan Duncan runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only use their arms on the tackle.

Deekan Duncan 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 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.

In defence Deekan Duncan 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 Deekan Duncan 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 Deekan Duncan 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.
2022 will see Deekan Duncan line-up for Casino RSM once again in the Group One U14 competition. If representative rugby league restarts in 2022 Deekan Duncan will immediately be in the mix for those opportunities.

I can really see Deekan Duncan as an NRL calibre (and potentially higher) second rower, such is his exceptional talent in both attack and defence as well as his relentless work ethic and overall work rate.

An NRL player that is a good comparison for Deekan Duncan for me is St George Dragon and New South Wales State of Origin second rower Tariq Sims. Both Sims and Deekan Duncan are big, strong, fast and powerful and also very aggressive and extremely effective to boot.

[mdrew]

Samuel Petch. The young South Grafton Rebel was one of the better performers in the Group One U15 competition in 2021, finishing near the top of the competition’s try scoring and overall points scoring list.

Samuel Petch started in the second row in the opening ten rounds of the competition in the second row before moving to five eight in Round Eleven against the Ballina Seagulls and also started at five eight in Round Twelve against the Marist Rams before starting from the bench in Round Thirteen against the Marist Rams.

Through the opening twelve rounds, Samuel Petch scored twelve tries and kicked twenty four goals.

Samuel Petch had an impressive Round One match, scoring four tries and kicking four goals against Casino RSM. Samuel Petch also scored three doubles which came in Round Four (Ballina), Round Seven (Marist Rams) and Round Eleven against the Ballina Seagulls. Samuel Petch also scored in Round Six against Casino RSM and Round Nine against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Samuel Petch finished the abridged 2021 Group One U15 regular season as the competitions second leading try scorer with twelve tries.

With the boot through the opening thirteen rounds, Samuel Petch kicked five goals in a Round Four match against the Ballina Seagulls and kicked four gaols in Rounds One and Seven against Casino RSM and the Marist Rams respectively.

Samuel Petch also played for the South Grafton Rebels in 2020 in the Group One U14 competition, scoring four tries across the season.

Samuel Petch style of play is that of a player with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average to plus, and I am talking the speed of an outside back not a backrower.

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

Defences had all sorts of trouble trying to contain him in his club football over the last couple of seasons, both in terms of him taking the ball up into the centre of the ruck, but Samuel Petch was almost untouchable when he ran on the fringes of the ruck and uses his foot work to beat defenders with a variety of moves, including a step off both feet and a very good in and away as well as simply running over people. Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a young player in Samuel Petch who causes nightmares for a defensive line.

Samuel Petch runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball during a game. I have not seen a great deal of him off loading the football to date, but the ball skills that he possess would suggest this particular will develop into a plus skill over time, although at this stage of his career it is not a necessity. Samuel Petch’s attention to detail would also strongly suggest that he will continue to develop his off-loading and ball skills across the board.

Due to his size and strength, Samuel Petch is a very good defender regardless of position. Samuel Petch will not necessarily hit hard, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposition and wrapping him up ball and all.

Samuel Petch 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, Samuel Petch seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage.

2022 will see Samuel Petch line up once again for the South Grafton Rebels in the Group One U16 competition and he may choose to push for a spot in the U16 Andrew John Cup competition.

Samuel Petch primarily played second row at the start of the 2021 before moving to five eight in the Group One U16 competition but with the skill set that he has I believe that Samuel Petch’s best position is that of a ball playing type of lock who can be a link between his forwards and backs as well as a good runner of the ball in his own right.

From a player comparison perspective, Samuel Petch reminds me a lot of Titan Tyrone Peachey as a player who just seems to know when and how to break tackles and find his way to the try line even when that task looks near to impossible.

[mdrew]

Sione Tonga. The tall long striding Marist Ram was one of the best ball runners in the 2021 Group One U14 competition regardless of position.

Sione Tonga started for the Marist Rams at fullback from Round One against the Grafton Ghosts through to Round Ten against Casino RSM. Round Twelve however saw Sione Tonga moved to lock against Kyogle before moving once again in Round Thirteen against South Grafton, starting at five eight against the Rebels.

Through the opening twelve rounds, Sione Tonga scored five tries with those tries coming in Round Three (Casino RSM), Round Seven (South Grafton), Round Eight (Clarence Coast Magpies), Round Nine (Ballina) and Round Ten against the Kyogle Turkeys. Sione Tonga also converted his own try in Round Eight against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Cutting to the chase, when Sione Tonga runs the ball, he is exceptionally quick and explosive, with exceptional speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space, teams in his age group in the Group One junior competition just could not handle him when he had the ball. He also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed.

On many occasions when he makes a break, Sione Tongas support could not keep up and thus he used his incredible footwork and speed to beat the opposing fullback by himself. There is nothing that Sione Tonga cannot do running the ball and it is only now about developing his ball playing skills to make his footwork and running ability even more lethal. In attack Sione Tonga also played up in the line quite often and was his team’s primary attacking option.

In addition Sione Tonga 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. Sione Tonga obviously was a key target for defences but he 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. As his play making skills continue to evolve, the attacking possibilities are endless.

In terms of running the ball back from kicks, Sione Tonga’s 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. Regardless Sione Tonga is an absolute handful to tackle with his speed and evasion skills.

Sione Tonga can also kick in general play, more so tactical kicks to gain ground rather than attacking kicks such as grubber kicks or bombs. I do not think that Sione Tonga will be necessarily a team’s primary general play kicker, although that is not set in stone, but has the skill set to be at the minimum and very good secondary option when the primary kicker is under pressure.

Like his tactical kicking I do not think that Sione Tonga ends up as a primary goal kicker but is effective enough to be a secondary option, where he is accurate from close range but his accuracy suffers the wider out the kicks are from as it does for the vast majority of goal kickers.

Defensively in the fullback position Sione Tonga understandably he does not make a huge amount of tackles but the ones he makes are the ones that need to be made. If an attacker runs directly at him, he will come forward to cut down the time the attacker has to make a decision and he will hit very hard and does not fall for a dummy in those situations.

An impressive attribute that Sione Tonga does have is ability to force attackers who are in open space to try to beat him down the side line. He will stay inside the attacker and force him in the required direction and then use his timing, closing speed and anticipation to make the tackle, usually forcing the attacker into touch.

From other positions in the back line Sione Tonga commits to the tackle and makes it count but impressively does not recklessly come out of the line but maintains his positioning until the play develops to a point sufficient that he conceptually understands what will occur and responds accordingly with the appropriate action.

2022 will see Sione Tonga line up once again for the Marist Rams in the Group One U15 competition and should also be in line to play junior representative rugby league as well.

At this stage of his young rugby league career, Sione Tonga can play a variety of positions such as fullback, five eight and centre at a very high level and will likely to continue to gain experience in multiple positions for the foreseeable future, but ultimately I think that Sione Tonga will settle at fullback as an outstanding attacking threat and under rated defensive one.

Isreal Folau is the player that Sione Tonga reminds me of on the rugby league field. Like Folau, Sione Tonga seemingly has it all, size strength speed and power as well as the ability to harness it all and exploit it on the field in a variety of game situations especially when the ball is in his hands.

[mdrew]

Sonny Kilduff. Grafton Ghosts Group One U14’ second rower Sonny Kilduff was a consistant points scorer in 2021 and through the thirteen rounds scored five tries and kicked six goals to finish with thirty two points.

Sonny Kilduff scored a double in Round Seven against Ballina and he also scored against the Marist Rams in Round One, Casino RSM in Round Four the Clarence Coast Magpies in Round Five.

Sonny Kilduff kicked two conversions twice, the first time coming in Round Three against the South Grafton Rebels and on the second occasion against the Clarence Coast Magpies in Round Five.

The speed and power in terms of how Sonny Kilduff runs the ball is the outstanding feature of his game, he takes the ball to the line with speed, especially off the mark, but he does not just put his head down and rush forward, he uses quick and subtle footwork prior to the line and seems to targets the gaps between defenders and will actively seek out opposing forwards who are slow to move up.

When the opposition are on the back foot Sonny Kilduff will target the smaller defenders on the edge of the ruck and burst through and for a young bloke he has very good speed over the medium term and has the strength to drag defenders with him.

I would consider that Sonny Kilduff’s speed would be considered above average for a backrower but plays faster as a result of him timing his runs so well that the dummy half can present a flat pass to him and also as a result of the power that he runs at. What is in the above average to plus category in relation to Sonny Kilduff is his speed off the mark.

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

The defensive side of Sonny Kilduff’s game is similarly impressive, Sonny Kilduff does not just charge wildly up looking for a huge hit but is calculating in where and when to hit. Sonny Kilduff drives hard with his legs and always uses his shoulder, placing it correctly and core body strength to drive into his opponent.

Sonny Kilduff sets a strong lower base by setting his legs and generating force by driving through the tackle with his lower body, gaining leverage and momentum to complete the tackle. Sonny Kilduff is also comfortable making contact with either shoulder and maintains good head position regardless of the type of tackles he makes.

2022 will see Sonny Kilduff line-up once again for the Grafton Ghosts in the Group One U15 competition.

Sonny Kilduff is a tall, fast powerful young man who looks destined to be a very talented long term second row prospect right in the centre of the Titans catchment area.

I consider that Titans NRL second left rower centre Beau Fermor is a more that fair comparison in relation to Sonny Kilduff. Both Fermor and Sonny Kilduff are talented athletes with above average speed as well as endurance for a second rower and more than reasonable size.

[mdrew]

Ayden Byrnes. The young nippy, feisty, competitive half back or hooker is a member of the 2021 Titans U14 Elite Junior Academy squad that is training on a regular basis at the Titans main training facility at Parkwood.

In 2021 Ayden Byrnes was part of the PBC State High School Hancock Cup school boy side including starting the Grand Final against Marsden State High School. Ayden Byrnes made a number of strong runs out of dummy half in the Grand Final, probably the best of which came in the 25th minute when after running out of dummy half to his left made twenty metres through the centre of the ruck to get the ball into Keebra Park territory.

From an attacking stand point, Ayden Byrnes has solid distribution skills in relation to his passing skills to either side of his body and uses a solid, repeatable passing technique to ensure consistency, thus enabling his forwards and play makers have confidence that his passes will find the mark with the appropriate velocity attached on every occasion.

From a speed perspective I would consider that his speed when running out of dummy half is above average to plus for a hooker, but plays faster as Ayden Byrnes has become adept at running at the right time and focusses heavily when the markers are out of position, thus Ayden Byrnes either makes ground putting his team on the front foot or draws a penalty, in both scenario’s Ayden Byrnes generates momentum for his side through the skill and intelligence he has in spades.

The impressive thing about when Ayden Byrnes runs out of dummy half is the fact that he does not run to the same side all of the time, he will make a judgement on where the defence is the weakest and respond accordingly.

From a defensive perspective Ayden Byrnes is a very solid tackler who makes good initial contact and is able to generate momentum through his core and drive into his opponent with enough force to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier. Ayden Byrnes has both a solid low tackling technique as well as having the functional strength to make ball and all tackles effectively against the biggest of forwards looking to target him in the defensive line.

Ayden Byrnes is also very quick out of the marker position and will get to forwards how are running one out before they can generate any momentum. In short he defends like a backrower and certainly if he finds himself on the fringes of the ruck, Ayden Byrnes has the lateral movement and anticipation to also defend against smaller quicker halves looking to exploit a perceived speed advantage.

Ayden Byrnes also has an intensity about his play which cannot be coached and is on display each and every time that he walks onto the field.

With his ability to size up an opportunity in terms of whether to run or pass in an instant as well as his competitive nature, Ayden Byrnes is the prototypical new age rugby league half back, and one who will certainly not crack under pressure, instead thriving on it.

I note that in 2021, Ayden Byrnes played a fair bit of hooker for PBC SHS in the Hancock Cup school boy competition and no-one should discount that he could also compete in the dummy half role at a high level moving forward.

With his competitiveness as well as his ability to control and direct his team around the field, Ayden Byrnes has a game that in many respects, mirrors that of current Newcastle Knights, former Sydney Roosters and former New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International half back Mitchell Pearce.

Both Pearce and Ayden Byrnes will take the line on when they see an opportunity and will also not shirk their defensive responsibilities but both of their key strengths are their competitiveness and the intensity of their will to win which is regularly on display in matches, regardless of the level of competition that Ayden Byrnes is taking on.

[mdrew]

Chris Vaimili. The talented centre played for Titans partnered Marsden State High School in the 2021 Bronco’s Old Boys Cup, including scoring a double from left centre in the 2021 Grand Final as Marsden accounted for Ipswich State High School 46 – 12.

Chris Vaimili scored his opening try of the Grand Final just the 3rd minute of the match when he received a pass from his inside from Storm Enoka with Chris Vaimili crossing five metres in from the left corner.

Chris Vaimili completed his double in the 15th minute when once again he received a pass from his inside from Storm Enoka with Chris Vailmili diving over in the left corner.

Then early in the second half, Chris Vaimili made a strong line break down the left touchling from inside his own territory to get well over the halfway mark but making twenty five metres.

After the completion of the Walters Cup Grand Final Chris Vaimili was named at left centre in the Courier Mail Team of the Grand Finals.

Chris Vaimiki’s main ability when you see him play is his foot work, it is absolutely outstanding at right centre. He can step off both feet and put multiple combinations of steps together in a short space of time and a small radius to get out of difficult situations and still make ground.

Chris Vaimiki’s speed off the mark would have to be considered above average and whilst his top end speed may not necessarily be elite he can sustain it over an extended distance. He also has a solid low centre of gravity type build and also a decent fend complicating the task of defending against him.

Regardless of where Chris Vaimiki receives the ball he is a sound attacking player. If he gets an off load from a forward through the middle he is through the gap before the defence can react, if he gets the ball in space out wide he makes it difficult for the opposing defender to get a clean shot at him. Seemingly like all modern day outside backs Chris Vaimiki has exceptional body control enabling him to score some impressive tries along the touchline as a result of outstanding balance and body control.

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

Chris Vaimiki has the body control to redirect quickly and mirror the movement of the opposing attackers and anticipate what vector the attack comes from and understands when to allow the attacking play to develop in from of him and when to come out of the line to disrupt the attacking play prior to its formation and execution.

2022 will see Chris Vaimili continue at Marsden State High School when he will move up to the Renouf Shield School Boy competition.

Chris Vaimili is big, strong, tall, powerful and fast and is just the prototypical modern day rugby league centre.

With his size, strength, speed and power Chris Vaimili is eerily similar to New Zealand Warriors rookie centre Rocco Berry. Both Berry and Chris Vaimili just ooze talent and seem destined to have long and successful rugby league careers ahead of them.

[mdrew]

Kwinn Wolf. The giant young man started at left second row for PBC in the Renouf Shield Grand Final scoring both of PBC’s tries in their thrilling 8 – 4 victory over Marsden State High School.

Kwinn Wolf’s opening try of the Grand Final came in just the 7th minute when he barged over from ten metres out to get the ball down midway between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Kwinn Wolf scored his second try in the 20th minute and once again the try came down the left channel. Kwinn Wolf received the ball twelve metres from the line, almost immediately shrugging off one Ipswich State High School defender before burrowing over fifteen metres in from the left corner post.

Kwinn Wolf literally could not have made a more immediate impact in the match when his kick off was hit low and hard with the ball going dead after crossing the try line near the right upright, forcing Marsden SHS on the back foot and having to drop the ball out from under their own posts.

Kwinn Wolf also made a 4th minute line break of twenty metres before being brought down by the Ipswich SHS fullback twenty metres out and then was awarded a penalty when he was not allowed to get to his feet in a timely fashion.

Kwinn Wolf also made a 31st minute line break when he got into space down the left side of the field deep inside his own territory and then after making twenty metres threw a right arm off-load to put his left winger into space down the left touchline.

After the completion of the Bronco’s Old Boys Grand Final Kwinn Wolf was named on the bench in the Courier Mail Team of the Grand Finals.

Kwinn Wolf is a northern New South Wales junior who has previously represented the North Coast U12 Primary School Rugby League Representative side.

Kwinn Wolf is a powerfully built young left second rower, which makes him quite difficult to tackle as Kwinn Wolf is also adept at dropping his shoulder into defenders as he impacts the defensive line.

There is no subtlety to his game, Kwinn Wolf runs straight and hard, with the only concession to this being a slight step off his left foot in occasion prior to impacting the defensive line. One thing that Kwinn Wolf does do will however is continuing to pump his legs once his initial momentum is halted by the defensive line.

Kwinn Wolf makes more metres than he should as a result and also forces defending teams to commit multiple defensive assets to stopping his forward progress. Kwinn Wolf is also adept at getting a quick play the ball regardless of the number of defenders that are involved in tackling him.

For a big strong young man Kwinn Wolf also has impressive speed, I would say in the plus category for a second rower, when he breaks through the defensive line and is also very good at setting up his support runners once through the initial defensive line.

This was easily seen in 2020 playing for PBC in the Renouf Cup when Kwinn Wolf was able to set up centre Tyler Small on more than one occasion after Kwinn Wolf had broken through the initial defensive line.

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

Kwinn Wolf moves well in terms of moving up and back in defence. Kwinn Wolf’s lateral movement is also actually more than reasonable for a big second rower as well.

In defence Kwinn Wolf uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Kwinn Wolf is not adverse 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, although clearly Kwinn Wolf is more effective in the centre of the ruck, as most bigger forwards are.

Kwinn Wolf is also a more than decent goal kicker and his high bombs have to be seen to be believed. 2021 in the Renouf Shield also saw Kwinn Wolf designated as the PBC player to start/restart matches from kick-offs.

2022 will see Kwinn Wolf continue at PBC and will move up to the Walters Cup competition.

Kwinn Wolf is a giant of a young man and even though he will likely stay in the second row for the next couple of season, I belive that as he gets to closer to the U18 age Group Kwinn Wolf will transition permanently to the front row.

With his height, overall size and running style I believe a player comparison with former Manly Sea Eagle and Parramatta Eel and current Southport Tiger Tony Williams is more than appropriate for Kwinn Wolf.

Both are big powerful runners of the ball who run very much front on into the defensive line but do drop their body into the first defender that confronts them enabling them to make significant post contact metres before being brought down, a circumstance that is usually requiring of more than one defender to accomplish appropriately and for their size both are able to generate quick play the balls.

Big strong young front rowers/second rowers who also have very good mobility from both a speed and lateral perspective are difficult to find regardless of age group but the Titans have certainly found one in their school’s partnered system in Kwinn Wolf.

[mdrew]

Ryder Williams. The young halfback from the Mrist Saints Rugby League Club in Auckland has signed a multi-year contract with the Titans.

In 2021 Ryder Williams played for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League U15 Open competition with the Marist Saints remaining undefeated through their twelve 2021 matches and recording a for and against of in excess of + 300.

Ryder Williams also attended Mt Albert Grammar School in Auckland and also represented Kotahitanga at the 2021 U15 New Zealand Tournament including starting the Tournament Final at five eight.

In attack, Ryder Williams generally plays an understated role, focussing more on the distribution and game management aspects of his role as a half. A key attribute to how Ryder Williams plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations encountered within a game. Ryder Williams’s 2019 performances are a testament to those attributes.

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

When Ryder Williams does take on the line, he just has this amazing ability to slice through a defensive line. It is hard to put into words exactly what I mean but Ryder Williams takes the ball and immediately commences to run parallel to the defensive line with the ball out in front of his body in two hands and then he is just able to slide/slice between two defenders with a subtle step normally off his left foot and then Ryder Williams accelerates through into space.

What is described above looks deceptively simply but I can assure people that it is not, it is just that Ryder Williams makes it look so simple and it is a credit to him that Ryder Williams has sliced through defences like this his entire career regardless of the quality of the opposition.

From a kicking perspective Ryder Williams has a more than solid kicking game, with above average distance and accuracy on all types of kicks, from kicking for field position or from an attacking perspective as well as tactically for field position. I am sure that moving forward focussing on his kicking skills will be a key focus area both from a distance and accuracy perspective and there is no doubt that Ryder Williams has the ability to be a team’s primary tactical kicking option now and into the future.

Like his tactical kicking Ryder Williams is also an outstanding right foot goal kicker with range and accuracy including from wide out. Like his tactical kicking, and for that matter the way that he slides through defences, Ryder Williams makes it look easy due to his calm and relaxed demeanour on the field including when the game is on the line.

In defence, due to his size Ryder Williams is obviously not going to come up with the big hit but reads the play well and can more than hold his own when defending much bigger players through sheer force of will. Ryder Williams is also very vocal (in a very positive way) on the field always talking and encouraging his side both in attack and defence.

In 2022 Ryder Williams will line-up in the U16 age group and is a strong chance to play representative rugby league at the U16 level in 2022.

In his time in the junior leagues and junior representative sides in New Zealand Ryder Williams has, outside a limited amount of time at hooker, played exclusively at eigher five eight or halfback and with his ball skills those positions are where Ryder Williams appears likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

I am going back a few years but a player with a similar playing style and skill attributes to Ryder Williams for me is former Penrith great, New Zealand Warrior, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International Greg Alexander.

Both Alexander and Ryder Williams make the task of managing the game plan and directing their team around the field from the half back (or five eight) position look easy and natural and both seemingly have as much time as they need to accomplish the required task expertly.

[mdrew]

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo. The talented young five eight from Auckland New Zealand has signed a three year contract with the Gold Coast Titans up until the end of the 2024 season and will move over to the Gold Coast in 2022 to attend Keebra Park State High School and Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo will also play for Burleigh in the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup competition.

Prior to signing with the Titans, Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo was a member of the New Zealand Warriors Future Warriors Program and was offered a contract by both the Warriors and Bulldogs as well as the Titans.

In Auckland, Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo attended Auckland Grammar School, represented the Manurewa Marlins representative side and in late 2021 Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo captained the New Zealand Warriors Future Warriors side in a match against a Tao Samoa U15 selection.

At Auckalnd Grammar School, Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo was the youngest ever School Boy Rugby First XV representative, an impressive feat considering that the school has produced in excess of fifty All Blacks.

I really like the way that Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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 Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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 Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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 Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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.

Defensively Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo is a very solid 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. Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo 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.

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

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

2022 will see Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo attend Keebra Park State High School and he is also set to line up for the Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad in 2022. For Keebra Park SHS Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo will likely start the 2022 season in the school boy Walters Cup competition but may alo paush for an opportunity in the Langer Cup.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo has played the majority of his junior rugby league career in New Zealand to date at five eight and with his skill set it would seem that Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo is likely to stay at five eight for the remainder of his school boy years at least.

For me with his ability to slip through gaps in the defensive line especially close to the line and a solid repeatable defensive technique, Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo has a playing style similar to that of new Canterbury Bulldogs and former Penrith Panthers five eight and occasional centre Matt Burton as an outstanding player who finds his way to the try line on a regular basis.

[lonegull]

Great story up on the official titans website with the JTS squad that’s been in camp and Holbrook and Dymock turn up to provide assistance and advice also had Joel the assistant strength and conditioning providing information and brad Davis
Great to see Jamie McCormack hard and tireless work being rewarded that he has put into developing the JTS

[mdrew]

Kai Saunders. The talented young halfback had an outstanding 2021 season for the Tweed Coast Raiders in the Group 18 U13 competition, culminating in Kai Saunders being named the 2021 Group 18 Junior Rugby League U13 Player of the Year.

It is hard to put in words just how talented Kai Saunders 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 above average regardless of position. When Kai Saunders makes a decision to run the ball he is decisive and just explodes off the mark and on many occasions gets to the defensive line well before defenders had estimated his arrival time.

Kai Saunders 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 balance and body control. It is that speed trait which opens up Kai Saunders’s incredible ball playing skills as well whether that is before the line, right at the line and even in contact with the line.

Teams start to focus heavily on Kai Saunders 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 Kai Saunders can and does exploit.

Kai Saunders 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 Kai Saunders 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 react and readjust.

Kai Saunders also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Kai Saunders is going to do and thus hesitates allowing Kai Saunders more time and space to do what he does best.

Like when he has the ball in his hands, there is nothing that Kai Saunders cannot do in relation to kicking the ball. Kai Saunders 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, Kai Saunders can execute it with precision.

Without a doubt Kai Saunders is going to be his team’s primary tactical and goal kicker no matter where his rugby league career takes him.

Defensively Kai Saunders is a very strong young man with exceptional functional strength for any position let alone a half/five eight, 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.

Kai Saunders 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 Kai Saunders’s side of the field. In short just like his attacking play Kai Saunders is an outstanding defender.

Another area where Kai Saunders has a plus attribute is in relation to his leaderships skills. Kai Saunders is a strong confident personality and that translates to a leader on and off the field and you can see that the other players gravitate towards him both in club, school boy and representative rugby league.

This is a trait that you cannot teach, you either have it or you don’t. Even if he is not the nominated captain on the field Kai Saunders is a leader regardless of which team he is lining up for and acts accordingly both on and off the field.

Kai Saunders will play the 2022 season with Tweed Coast in the Group 18 U14 competition.

With his ability to size up an opportunity in terms of whether to run or pass in an instant as well as his competitive nature, Kai Saunders is the prototypical new age rugby league half back, and one who will certainly not crack under pressure.

Some players in key positions such as in the halves or fullback, want to not lose matches, Kai Saunders is on the absolute opposite end of the spectrum, he wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line, wanting to win the game rather than being worried about losing it. Very few players at any level of any sport, even at the professional level, have that sort of mentality. Only a handful of people really thrive under pressure (a lot say they do but..) Kai Saunders appears to be one of them.

Kai Saunders is a superb organiser and game manager who has old head on young shoulders and is ideally suited to the half back role in rugby league.

An NRL player comparison for Kai Saunders proved to be an interesting exercise, but ultimately I believe an appropriate player comparison for Kai Saunders is Penrith and New South Wales State of Origin half Nathan Cleary.

Kai Saunders is a fair bit smaller and a lot quicker (especially off the mark) than Cleary but has the same type of intensity and will be win, game management and leadership attributes as the Panthers representative half.

Players follow Kai Saunders through the sheer force of his will and pure effort, regardless of whether Kai Saunders is the captain or not.

[mdrew]

Isaiah Scanlon. The powerful young front rower had an outstanding 2021 season that saw the 16 year old break into the powerful PBC Langer Cup Open side, playing a number of matches off the bench for the Queensland School Boy Champions, including the South East Queensland Final against Marsden State High School and the Queensland School Boy Final against St Brendan’s College Yeppoon.

Isaiah Scanlon started the 2021 season as part of the Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup side, starting all three of the Bears matches in the front row as Burleigh played the Souths Logan Magpies, Tweed Heads Seagulls and the Ipswich Jets.

2021 also saw Isaiah Scanlon play for the Burleigh Bears in the Gold Coast Rugby League U16 Division One competition, including starting the Grand Final against the Southport Tigers at in the front row.

Isaiah Scanlon was one of the Bears try scorers in their 24 – 18 Premiership success when in the 10th minute, Isaiah Scanlon charged onto the ball to the right of the play the ball that occurred a metre from the line, crashing over ten metres to the right of the uprights.

Isaiah Scanlon almost scored a second try in the Grand Final when in the 25th minute, Isaiah Scanlon received an off-load ten metres from the line with Isaiah Scanlon getting to within a metre of the try line next to the right upright before his forward momentum was halted.

In addition Isaiah Scanlon ran the ball consistently hard at the defensive line including a great 37th minute effort that saw him make fifteen metres to get the ball forty metres out from his own try line.

Isaiah Scanlon is a big powerful young man who whilst using his size to his advantage by running hard and straight, 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.

An area where Isaiah Scanlon has really improved over the last two season is in relation to his off-loads in previous seasons he did not off load too much but this season he really has been able to get his arms free and get away some telling off-loads. Isaiah Scanlon continually put his hand up all day to take the ball up and has a very quick play the ball so that his team can maintain momentum.

One area that he did not seem to use too often this year but does seem to have the capacity to develop based on his size, skills and footwork is the ability to off load before the line, an example of what I am meaning is how the Canterbury Bulldogs forward pack uses those small offloads prior to the line. Isaiah Scanlon has shown glimpses of having the skills to utilise the same skills if the opportunities arise, developing this skill with only enhance his effectiveness.

In defence Isaiah Scanlon uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. He 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.

Although clearly he is more effective in the centre of the ruck, as most front rowers are, Isaiah Scanlon’s raw natural strength means that he is also dominant when looking to slow the play the ball down by winning the wrestling battle on the ground.

2021 will see Isaiah Scanlon once again play for the Burleigh Bears in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and Isaiah Scanlon will also continue at PBC including being a key member of the Titans partnered school’s Langer Cup Open side.

Isaiah Scanlon is a solidly built player with a low centre of gravity but surprising speed and mobility. Isaiah Scanlon has played the majority of his rugby league to date in the front row and with his physical attributes and skill set looks set to continue in the front row for as long as he chooses to play rugby league.

Isaiah Scanlon has a fair bit of a Moeaki Fotuaika vibe to him with his foot work and work ethic, if Isaiah Scanlon continues on his current trajectory, he will develop into a very good modern day rugby league front rower indeed.

[mdrew]

Josh Lynn. The young half/five eight signed a contract with the Titans in late September 2021 after a strong season with PBC in the Langer Cup and the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U18 Division One competition.

Josh Lynn was also a member of the successful Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad in 2021, playing in the Seagulls 2021 MM Cup trials, including scoring in the Seagulls second MM Cup trial after running off a good short ball from Jaylan De Groot on the right side of the field to find his way over the try line.

For PBC in the Langer Cup Open A competition, Josh Lynn played a number of matches in the halves in their successful school boy campaign including a try and six conversion performance in Round One against Ipswich State High School.

Josh Lynn also played a number of matches for PBC in the Langer Cup Reserve Competition including a player of the match performance against Marsden State High School including setting up centre Cooper Camby to score in the left corner.

Josh Lynn excelled for Nerang in the GCRL U18 Division One competition, starting at halfback in all of the matches that he played in.

In the 2021 GCRL U18 Division One regular season, Josh Lynn played in eight matches scoring two tries and kicking twenty six conversions and one penalty goal in Round Two against the Currumbin Eagles.

With the boot Josh Lynn kicked seven from seven conversions in Round One against the Burleigh Bears as well as five from five in Round Four against the Ormeau Shearers and kicked four goals in Rounds Ten and Thirteen against Runaway Bay and Helensvale respectively.

Josh Lynn’s tries came in Round One against the Burleigh Bears and Round Thirteen against the Helensvale Hornets. Josh Lynn’s Round Thirteen try came in the 45th minute when he scored near the right goal post after backing up through the centre of the field. Josh Lynn in fact started the movement that led to his try when from near halfway he put in a kick towards the right wing and then as noted he backed up through the centre of the field to get the ball back.

Josh Lynn could have scored a second try in the final minute when once again he was on the spot after a long break to receive the ball but a metre from the line and no defenders in wight he gave the ball to Haysley McDonald to score.

Josh Lynn then started the 2021 GCRL U18 Division One Preliminary Final at halfback for the Roosters against the Ormeau Shearers kicking a key conversion in the 53rd minute that put Nerang in front 18 – 16, a lead which they held onto to qualify for the 2021 GCRL U18 Division One Grand Final against the Helensvale Hornets.

In the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One Grand Final Josh Lynn started at halfback for the Roosters side against the Helensvale Hornets.

Josh Lynn contributed six conversions from eight attempts and a try assist to the Roosters 2021 Premiership success as a result of an impressive 44 – 12 victory after Nerang were behind 12 – 10 at halftime.

Josh Lynn’s try assist came in the 10th minute when he was operating on the left side of the field. Josh Lynn received the ball and cut towards his left around twenty two metres out from the line before throwing a great pass to his left to put Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki into a big gap with the powerhouse centre putting the ball down ten metres in from the left corner post. Josh Lynn then stepped up to convert the try that he had set up.

In relation to his goal kicking two of Josh Lynn’s conversions were from the touchline, the first in the 35th minute from the right touchline to convert Kyen Murphy’s try and then from the left touchline in the 42nd minute to convert Jeremaiah Temapo’s second try of the match.

Josh Lynn was in fact involved in Kyen Murphy’s 35th minute try. Nerang spun the ball to the right with Arama Hau having to dive forward to take the ball, Josh Lynn looped around behind the prone Arama Hau receiving the ball and then when twenty two metres out Josh Lynn threw a cut out pass to his right to Kyen Murphy in space with the fullback then able to beat three tackles to dive over in the right corner.

In late August 2021, Josh Lynn was named in the Queensland City U17 squad for a two match series against a Queensland U17 Country squad with Josh Lynn starting the match at five eight and scoring in the 9th minute as well as kicking eight conversions from nine attempts.

Josh Lynn scored in the 9th minute when he backed up a City break that started deep inside their own territory with Josh Lynn receiving the ball around thirty metres out from the line off a Seth Nikotemo pass with Josh Lynn then outpacing the Country cover defence to dive over untouched in the left corner. Ironically Josh Lynn then missed the conversion, his only miss of the afternoon.

Josh Lynn also recorded a try assist in the 4th minute when after sliding the through the Country defence on the left side of the field from twelve metres out, Josh Lynn passed the ball back inside to put Jye Gray over with the five eight then able to bring the ball around to put the ball down under the posts.

In addition to scoring one try, Josh Lynn also made a number of other telling plays including a 3rd minute line break assist when from just ten metres out from his own line, Josh Lynn ran the ball to the line from a City scrum win, getting part way through the line before getting the ball away to Robert Toia who charged eighty metres downfield.

Playing the entire seventy minutes of the match Josh Lynn ran for sixty two metres (five post contact), broke four tackles and made nine tackles at a 90% tackling efficiency.

Josh Lynn was also heavily involved in both of Robert Toia’s second half tries. On the first occasion, in the 60th minute, Josh Lynn put up the bomb to the left side of the field that Robert Toia picked up to score and then in the 66th minute Josh Lynn threw the final pass to Robert Toia who was able to get the ball down in the left corner just before being forced into touch.

Josh Lynn has already made a number of representative sides in his junior rugby league career including being named in the Queensland Maroon U15 School Boy side in 20219 for the ASSRL U15 Championships.

In 2018 Josh Lynn starred for the U14 Gold Coast Vikings side at the South East Queensland Hill Stumner Championships and was subsequently named in the South East Queensland Green side at the conclusion of those Championships.

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

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

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

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

Similarly Josh Lynn is a solid goal kicker who is certainly accurate from reasonably close range.

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

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

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

2022 will see Josh Lynn line up once again for the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side and he will also be back at PBC where he will be one of the key members of the Langer Cup Open A squad. Josh Lynn will also be back in the Red, White and Blue of the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U18 Division One competition.

Josh Lynn has spent his entire junior rugby league career to date in the halves (normally operating on the right) and I cannot see any reasonable circumstance where that situation will change as he continues to progress.

A solid NRL player comparison for Josh Lynn, for me at least, is Sydney Roosters half/five eight (and occasional centre) Lachlan Lam. Both Lam and Josh Lynn can direct their side around the field but at the same time have the speed and elusiveness to exploit any gaps that they see in the defensive line and both are also very good at backing up through the centre of the field to take advantage of any line breaks or a forward off-load through the centre of the ruck.

[mdrew]

Yorel Alapaki. After spending a portion of the 2020/21 offseason trialling for the Wests Tigers SG Ball squad, when the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League competition commenced, Yorel Alapaki started on the bench for the Southport Tigers Doug Lipp Cup Reserve Grade side in Round One of the pre-season against Runaway Bay and also started from the bench in Round Two of the pre-season against Ormeau.

Yorel Alapaki was then named on the interchange bench for the Southport Tigers GCRL First Grade side for Round Three of the pre-season competition against the Tugun Seahawks.

In Round One of the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition Yorel Alapaki started from the bench for the Southport Tigers as they took on the Currumbin Eagles and he also was named to start from the bench in Round Two against Runaway Bay, however he was a late scratching from the match.

Yorel Alapaki was named on the bench for the Southport Tigers GCRL First Grade side in their Preliminary Final loss to the Tugun Seahhawks.

In Round Two of the 2021 Doug Lipp Cup competition, Yorel Alapaki started from the bench against Runaway Bay.

After starting in the front row Yorel Alapaki scored his first try of the season in Round Four as the Tigers took on the Burleigh Bears with his try coming in the 21st minute of the match. Yorel Alapaki received the ball twenty five metres out to the right of the play the ball and ran at the defensive line with the ball out of his body in two hands. As he approached the line Yorel Alapaki dummied to his right and consequently going straight through hteh line beore a right foot step allowed him to beat the fullback to score an impressive solo try under the posts.

Yorel Alapaki also started in the front row in Round Five against the Tugun Seahawks as well as in Round Six against Mudgeeraba and Round Nine against Runaway Bay. The previously postponed Round Eight match against the Currumbin Eagles saw Yorel Alapaki start from the bench.

In Round Thirteen of the 2021 Doug Lipp Cup competition Yorel Alapaki started at right second row for the Tigers as they took on the Mudgeeraba Redbacks and continued at right second row in Round Fourteen against the Helensvale Hornets.

Yorel Alapaki also started at right second row in Week One of the 2021 Doug Lipp Cup Finals against the Burleigh Bears with Yorel Alapaki scoring in the 66th minutes of the Tigers tough loss. After a strong charge, Yorel Alapaki was awarded a penalty. Yorel Alapaki got back to his feet quickly, running back to take the hit-up from the penalty restart and from ten metres out barged his way over to score adjacent to the left uprights after breaking two tackles and dragging two would be defenders over the line with him.

Due to Burleigh playing an ineligible player, the match had to be replayed with Yorel Alapaki starting the replay in the front row and scoring the Tigers opening try as they reversed the result from the first match with a 20 – 6 victory.

The young hooker, lock or second rower (let’s call him a utility forward) moved over from Auckland at the start of 2019 to play with the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and in the 2020 season was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad.

The young man is an inspirational story, as he moved over from South Auckland as a 16 year old and since his move has lived by himself as he attended school and chased his NRL dream.

Yorel Alapaki’s first match of the 2020 season was when he was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad that defeated the Souths Logan Magpies MM Cup squad in a trial at Tugun in February.

Yorel Alapaki started Round One of the 2020 MM Cup competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls from the bench in their winning start to the season against the Northern Pride. Unfortunately that Round One match was the only MM Cup round played to the Covid 19 outbreak which caused so many issues for society in general.

In 2020 Yorel Alapaki was part of their Langer Cup Open A school boy rugby league squad including playing in Keebra Park’s Open A school boy’s first 2020 trial against Ipswich State High School in mid-July that Keebra Park won.

Yorel Alapaki started from the bench in Round One of the Langer Cup against Wavell State High School and also started from the bench in Round Two against Marsden State High School and recording a try assist.

Towards the end of the second half, Yorel Alapaki was operating on the left of the play the ball. After receiving the ball Yorel Alapaki took the ball to the line, and after subtling cutting to his left, threw a good pass to big front rower Isaac Matavelea-Booth who had run an outside shoulder route into a gap to rumble twenty metres to score.

Yorel Alapaki also was named to start from the bench in the Round Four local derby against PBC but ended up starting the match at left second row and produced an outstanding piece of paly early in the match to send Jaiden West over. Yorel Alapaki burst through the line on the left side of the field, surging away from the PBC cover defence, before drawing the fullback and passing to his left to put fullback Jaiden West over.

Yorel Alapaki also came off the bench in Round Five against St Mary’s Toowoomba, scoring his first Langer Cup try in the first half.

With Keebra Park on the attack a metre out from the St Mary’s line, Yorel Alapaki charged onto the ball to the left of the play the ball and went straight through the two immediate St Mary’s defenders to score five metres to the left of the goal posts.

Yorel Alapaki also started on the bench as Keebra Park qualified for the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final on the back of a big win over Wavell State High School.

Yorel Alapaki started the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final from the bench for Keebra Park as they went down 16 – 8 to PBC in a high quality match.

When rugby league restarted in July 2020, Yorel Alapaki was back in the orange and black of the Southport Tigers lining up for the second season in the GCRL U18 Division One competition. In 2020 for Southport, Yorel Alapaki played primarily at hooker, also he did spend some time at lock as well.

Yorel Alapaki proved to be a bit of a try scorer for Southport in the U18 Division One competition in 2020, especially out of dummy half. Against Ormeau, Yorel Alapaki, who had started the match from the bench, was at dummy half ten metres out from the line. Yorel Alapaki took a quick step out of dummy half to his right, throwing a dummy to the same side of the field. The dummy to his right opened up a seam in the Shearers defence which Yorel Alapaki exploited to spring the ten metres to score next to the left upright.

Over the course of the season, Yorel Alapaki also scored a good try out of dummy half against Helensvale. Yorel Alapaki got into dummy half two metres out from the Hornets line, running out of dummy half to his right, Yorel Alapaki ran about ten metres parallel to the defensive line before taking the first defender to confront him head on, Yorel Alapaki pushed him off front on before diving to his left to get the ball down with two further Helensvale defenders trying in vain to hold him up.

In 2019 Yorel Alapaki started Round One of the Gold Coast Rugby League competition at hooker. Yorel Alapaki then moved to lock in Round Two against Currumbin. Yorel Alapaki scored his first try on the Gold Coast in Round Three against Runaway Bay as Southport prevailed 26 – 14 and kicked his first goal in Round Five.

Yorel Alapaki was back in Auckland playing for Marist Saints against Manurewa All-stars in mid-June 2019 and I had thought that Yorel Alapaki was back in New Zealand for good but he was back starting at hooker for Southport in Round twelve against Tugun and also started at hooker in Round Thirteen against Mudgeeraba.

In total for Southport in the 2019 GCRL U18 Division One regular season competition Yorel Alapaki played in eight matches alternating between lock and hooker (as well as a match or two off the bench), scoring six points as noted above.

Yorel Alapaki also started at lock for Southport in their 28 – 20 U18 Division One Preliminary Final win over Ormeau to progress to the Grand Final against Burleigh and also started at lock in Southport’s 28 -12 Grand Final loss to Burleigh. When the match got ‘physical’ in the second half Yorel Alapaki was certainly in the thick of the action, charging around and making his presence felt both in attack and defence for Southport.

In 2018 Yorel Alapaki played in the Auckland Junior Rugby League U16 competition for Marist Saints. 2018 also saw Yorel Alapaki, who is also an accomplished softball player, represent Howick College in the 2018 New Zealand National Secondary Schools Development Tournament.

In that competition, Yorel Alapaki played in five matches with those matches being against Sir Edmund Hillary College, Onehunga High School twice, Naenae College and Whangaparaoe College. Yorel Alapaki started all five matches at lock for Howick College and scored in both final’s matches being against Onehunga High School and Whangaparaoe College.

Yorel Alapaki’s try against Onehunga High School was a case where he just wanted to score more than the defence wanted to stop him. The Howick College centre on the right, Francis Morrison, cut back inside and ran across field, Yorel Alapaki ran straight at a hole in the defensive line and upon receiving the pass barged his way over adjacent to the right upright dragging a couple of defenders with him.

Yorel Alapaki’s try against Whangaparaoe College could not have been more different to the one discussed above. Yorel Alapaki took a hit-up on the left side of the field about sixty five metres out from the try line and after breaking through the defensive line by running over a defender outpaced the Whangaparaoe College cover defence to score an impressive try.

Late in 2018 Yorel Alapaki was the co-captain of the Auckland Niue U16 side that played an Auckland U16 side, starting that match in the second row. In 2018 Yorel Alapaki was also captain of the Northern side in the New Zealand Development Rugby League Finals held in March.

Yorel Alapaki also represented the Cook Islands in the 2018 U18 Rugby League Oceania Sevens tournament scoring against the Solomon Islands in Round Four.

In 2017 Yorel Alapaki represented the Akarana Falcons U15’s at the New Zealand National Age Championships playing in matches against local rivals the Auckland Vulcans as well as the Northern Swords.

Yorel Alapaki is a solidly built young man with deceptive speed, both off the mark and at the top end. From hooker he can take off quite quickly and is difficult to tackle as a result of his low centre of gravity thus he makes a lot of post contact metres.

Close to the line Yorel Alapaki is decisive in terms of when to run and when he does he gets down low and pumps his legs.

From a passing perspective, both out of dummy half and in general play Yorel Alapaki has a simple passing technique from both sides of his body which leads to accurate and long passes both off the ground and when playing “out the back”.

When he is playing in the backrow Yorel Alapaki runs hard and uses good running lines rather than late footwork to counter the defensive line. In New Zealand Yorel Alapaki primarily operated on the left side when he played in the second row.

When engaged with the defensive line Yorel Alapaki continues to fight for every metre through the use of his upper body strength and constant pumping of his legs, similarly he always fights for a quick play the ball.

Defensively Yorel Alapaki hits very hard and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in.

Yorel Alapaki is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier, he sets a good stable base with his lower body.

2022 will see Yorel Alapaki likely push for a spot in either the Tweed Heads Seagulls or Burleigh Bears U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts squads and no doubt Yorel Alapaki will also add to the number of Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade matches that he played in 2021.

Over his junior rugby league career in New Zealand Yorel Alapaki played in every position in the forward pack bar front row but looking at how he plays I would anticipate that Yorel Alapaki will eventually settle in the second row over the coming seasons although that is definitely not set in stone.

In the short to medium term however, as much as I don’t want to say it, Yorel Alapaki may be the ideal interchange player, being one that can come on and play either hooker or in the second row effectively and play big minutes in either position as well.

From an NRL player comparison perspective, with his size, speed and tenacity, for me Yorel Alapaki has a playing style akin to Newcastle Knight and former New South Wales State of Origin player Jamie Buhrer. Both can spend some time either at dummy half or in the second row and not let their team down at either position.