My take on our top juniors

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Tayshaarn Tonga. The Keebra Park State High School student who is part of the Titans partnered schools Rugby League Academy Program was part of the 2021 Gold Coast Invitational U13 King of Country Rugby side that won the Tournament with Tayshaarn Tonga operating at half in the Invitational side’s two matches on Days One and Two.

Tayshaarn Tonga scored in each of his two matches that he played in the King of Country Tournament, being on Day One against the USQ Saints and Day Two against Far North Coast.

On Day One of the Tournament against USQ, late of the match, Tayshaarn Tonga ran to his right from the back of a ruck to crash over from three metres out. Tayshaarn Tonga’s Day Two try against Far North Coast was not dis-similar to his Day One try. On Day Two, once again Tayshaarn Tonga picked the ball up from the back of a ruck but in this occasion ran to his left to dive over from two metres out.

In 2020 Tayshaarn Tonga played for Keebra Park SHS in the school boy Bronco’s Old Boys Cup Rugby League competition, starting in the final against Marsden State High School, with Keebra Park going down 26 – 6 to their fellow Titans partnered school.

Tayshaarn Tonga was Keebra Park’s sole try scorer in the Grand Final when he darted over from dummy half from close range in the second half, with Tayshaarn Tonga getting the ball down under the posts in the second half.

In addition to playing for the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL competition, in 2020 Tayshaarn Tonga played for the Coomera Crushers in the GCDRU U12 competition, including scoring a double in Round Four against the Yatala Rams and Round Two against the Bond Pirates.

In 2020 Tayshaarn Tonga also played touch and was part of the SQBD Sharks U12 side that took part in the 2020 NYC Boys Tournament and was part of the Sharks side that won the Final 4 – 3 against the BC Cobra’s.

Whilst he did not score in the final, Tayshaarn Tonga scored a hat trick in Round One against the CQ Bulls and doubles in Round Two and Four against the SWQ Swans and NQ Cyclones respectively.

In late 2020 Tayshaarn Tonga was named in the 2020 U12 Queensland Youth Academy Squad.

Tayshaarn Tonga also played Oztag in 2020, representing Coomera Oztag.

Tayshaarn Tonga’s calling card from an attacking perspective is his passing and game management abilities. In terms of his running game, he is not going to be known as someone that is going to beat a defender with speed, but he does very good foot work that he uses to good effect in tight spaces.

Tayshaarn Tonga has a very good step off both feet and can put together combinations of steps over a short distance to break free of situations where he is seemingly surrounded by defenders. Also maybe it’s only me, but he seemed to rarely take a big hit when running through the centre of the ruck.

Going back to his speed briefly, as noted Tayshaarn Tonga is not overly quick, but he does have some reasonable speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. Tayshaarn Tonga’s running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around.

Tayshaarn Tonga’s kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus he finds the ground for a lot of his kicks. Tayshaarn Tonga can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line. Tayshaarn Tonga is also a decent goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him kicking to have an opinion as to whether he can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward.

Defensively Tayshaarn Tonga tackles well low and that is seemingly his main tactic against wide running forwards rather than trying to tackle them ball and all and potentially being bumped off. His quick feet and sense of timing and anticipation enable him to see plays developing in front of him quickly and Tayshaarn Tonga is able to adjust and look to shut down the attacking play prior to it fully developing. In short he is quite a solid defender in the half or five eight position.

In 2021 Tayshaarn Tonga will play for the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL U13 Division One competition as well as play for Keebra Park in their various South East Queensland School Boy Rugby League competitions.

Tayshaarn Tonga, with his solid passing game and sound tactical kicking skills is a more than impressive rugby league half or hooking option and with added experience no doubt Tayshaarn Tonga will continue to develop into a very solid rugby league player, regardless of his ultimate position.

With his solid passing and kicking skills Tayshaarn Tonga has a playing style similar to Titans captain Jamel Fogerty. Both Fogerty and Tayshaarn Tonga are primarily game managers rather than looking to run themselves but Tayshaarn Tonga certainly has the speed off the mark and elusiveness to make an opposition if they forget about him.

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Gazniah To’omaaga. The Keebra Park State High School student who is part of the Titans partnered schools Rugby League Academy Program and was part of the 2021 Gold Coast Invitational U13 King of Country Rugby side that won the Tournament with Gazniah To’omaaga captaining the Invitational side from flyhalf.

Post the Tournament Gazniah To’omaaga was named on the interchange bench in the All-Tournament Team.

In 2020 Gazniah To’omaaga played for Keebra Park in the school boy Bronco’s Old Boys Cup Rugby League competition, starting in the final against Marsden State High School, with Keebra Park going down 26 – 6 to their fellow Titans partnered school.

In addition to playing for the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL competition, in 2020 Gazniah To’omaaga played for the Coomera Crushers in the GCDRU U12 competition, including scoring a double in Round Four against the Yatala Rams and also scoring in Round One against the Helensvale Hogs, Round Two against the Bond Pirates and Round Five against Surfers Paradise. Gazniah To’omaaga also kicked a conversion in Round Three against the Helensvale Hogs.

Gazniah To’omaaga also played Oztag in 2020, representing Coomera Oztag.

Gazniah To’omaaga has a stocky build and does not necessarily have great speed either off the mark or once he is moving but with his low centre of gravity has provided difficult for defences to combat when playing at lock or five eight. Gazniah To’omaaga is adept however at drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball.

For a five eight I would argue that Gazniah To’omaaga’s speed when be considered average for a five eight, but if he transitions to the back row I would consider it to be above average. Gazniah To’omaaga does not appear to have an extra gear when he gets into open space.

Gazniah To’omaaga’s calling card from an attacking perspective is his passing and game management abilities. Gazniah To’omaaga seems to have the ability to drift across the field and a wait for opportunities to develop as a defender on the edge of the ruck over commits causing gaps to develop in the defensive line. Once a gap develops Gazniah To’omaaga has quick hands and timing to provide a weighted pass to his support runners.

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

Gazniah To’omaaga’s speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half. I have noted that Gazniah To’omaaga is aggressive and seems to want to win every one on one battle and he invariably does.

Gazniah To’omaaga will play the 2021 season with the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL U13 Division One competition as well as continue to play for Keebra Park in their various South East Queensland school boy rugby league competitions.

Gazniah To’omaaga has spent a lot of time in the halves in both rugby and rugby league but is certainly a lot bigger than your traditional half or five eight and that is why ultimately think that Gazniah To’omaaga will end up as a ball playing second rower.

With his size and ball playing skills, for me Gazniah To’omaaga has the physical characteristics and playing style similar to Manly Sea Eagles second rower Josh Schuster who was also a former junior rugby league representative level five eight for New South Wales U16 and U18 sides.

Both Schuster and Gazniah To’omaaga are big enough to handle the rigours of playing in the forwards but both also have the ball skills to regularly unlock defences with subtlety and sleight of hand that will no doubt catch defenders off guard if they are not concentrating.

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Mateo Faleono. The Keebra Park State High School student who is part of the Titans partnered schools Rugby League Academy Program and has been an impressive performer in both rugby and rugby league over the last couple of seasons.

Late May 2021 saw Mateo Faleono named in the Gold Coast Cyclones U14 Representative Rugby Squad and 2021 also saw Mateo Faleono named in the South Coast Schools U15 Rugby Representative side.

In 2020 Mateo Faleono played for the Colleges Knights in the GCRU U13 competition taking the competition by storm, including scoring four doubles.

Mateo Faleono scored doubles in Rounds Two, Three, Four and Eight against the Bond Pirates Red, Bond Pirates Blue, the Helensvale Hogs and Bond Pirates White respectively. Mateo Faleono also scored in Round Seven against Bond Pirates Red.

Mateo Faleono’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.

At this stage of his career Mateo Faleono is primarily a hard straight runner with little subtlety or footwork prior to contact with the defensive line but there have been more than a few signs in 2020
that his footwork is slowly but surely developing nicely.

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

Defensively Mateo Faleono regularly is the first player up to target the ball carriers, even though he is one of the bigger forwards in his team and will make solid initial contact as well as having the ability of defending one on one.

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

In 2021 Mateo Faleono will play for the Coomera Cutters in the GCRL U14 Division One competition as well as play for Keebra Park in their various South East Queensland School Boy Rugby League competitions.

Mateo Faleono is a big strong young man but at the same time possess exceptional speed and mobility of a player of his size as thus is seemingly an ideal candidate to be considered a young rugby league second rower with outstanding potential.

From an NRL player comparison perspective I would consider a player comparison for Mateo Faleono with Penrith Panthers destructive second rower Viliame Kikau as more than accurate and appropriate. Both Mateo Faleono and Kikau are exceptionally destructive on the fringes of the ruck and take a power of stopping by defences who have to allocate multiple resources to achieve that task.

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Qwayde Whakatihi. The local junior plays for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League competition and also attends Titans partnered Keebra Park State High School as part of the Elite Rugby League Academy program.

2021 saw Qwayde Whakatihi represent Queensland in the National Indigenous Touch Championships.

In 2020 Qwayde Whakatihi played for Keebra Park State High School in the school boy Bronco’s Old Boys Cup Rugby League competition, starting in the final against Marsden State High School, with Keebra Park going down 26 – 6 to their fellow Titans partnered school.

In 2020 Qwayde Whakatihi also played touch and was part of the SQBD Sharks U12 side that took part in the 2020 NYC Boys Tournament and was part of the Sharks side that won the Final 4 – 3 against the BC Cobra’s, scoring one of the Sharks tries in the Final.

In addition to his try in the Tournament Final, Qwayde Whakatihi scored in Round One against the CQ Bulls, Round Two against the SWQ Swans and Round Four against the NQ Cyclones.

Qwayde Whakatihi’s calling card from an attacking perspective is his passing and game management abilities. In terms of his running game, he is not going to be known as someone that is going to beat a defender with speed, but he does very good foot work that he uses to good effect in tight spaces.

Qwayde Whakatihi has a very good step off both feet and can put together combinations of steps over a short distance to break free of situations where he is seemingly surrounded by defenders. Also maybe it’s only me, but he seemed to rarely take a big hit when running through the centre of the ruck.

Going back to his speed briefly, as noted Qwayde Whakatihi is not overly quick, but he does have some reasonable speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. Qwayde Whakatihi’s running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around.

Qwayde Whakatihi’s kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus he finds the ground for a lot of his kicks. Qwayde Whakatihi can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line. Qwayde Whakatihi is also a decent goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him kicking to have an opinion as to whether he can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward.

Defensively Qwayde Whakatihi tackles well low and that is seemingly his main tactic against wide running forwards rather than trying to tackle them ball and all and potentially being bumped off. His quick feet and sense of timing and anticipation enable him to see plays developing in front of him quickly and Qwayde Whakatihi is able to adjust and look to shut down the attacking play prior to it fully developing. In short, Qwayde Whakatihi is quite a solid defender in the half or five eight position.

In 2021 Qwayde Whakatihi will play for the Southport Tigers in the GCRL U13 Division One competition as well as play for Keebra Park in their various South East Queensland School Boy Rugby League competitions.

Qwayde Whakatihi, with his solid passing game and sound tactical kicking skills is a more than impressive rugby league half or hooking option and with added experience no doubt Qwayde Whakatihi will continue to develop into a very solid rugby league player, regardless of his ultimate position.

Adam Reynolds of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and soon to be Brisbane Bronco, has for me a playing style that people can use as a comparison for Qwayde Whakatihi. Like Reynolds, Qwayde Whakatihi is only reasonably slight of build but has a more then decent step and enough speed, especially off the mark to gain separation from the defensive line.

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Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu. The New Zealand born youngster from the Taranaki region which is on the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island linked with the Titans mid-way through the 2019 season.

2021 saw the young front rower plat at the U18 level in New Zealand.

In 2020 Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu was set to continue his rugby league career in New Zealand and would have pushed for a spot in the 2020 Taranaki U17 representative side as well as in the Mid-Central Vipers U17 representative side for the New Zealand National U17 Youth Championships that were scheduled to be held late in the 2020 season. Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu was also likely to continue to play touch as well in coming seasons, including for Patea Area High School.

In 2019 Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu attended Patea Area High School and was part of the school’s rugby league U15 side as well as representing his school at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Mixed Touch Championships that were held late in 2019 in Rotorua on New Zealand’s north island.

2019 also saw Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu play for the Taranaki U15 representative rugby league side.

Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu is a big strong front rower who is a powerful runner of the football, who knows only one way and that is straight ahead and can offload once he has impacted the defensive line or has crashed through it, in addition Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu is quite effective when his team is attacking close to the try line.

Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu can either take the ball himself, and when he gets low he is very difficult to stop or Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu can run as a decoy and attract defenders away from the real axis of attack.

For a front rower Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu does actually have quite decent speed and footwork, certainly well above average for a player of his size. Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu does however seem to carry the ball in his right hand away from his body.

Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu is obviously suited to defending in the centre of the ruck rather that the fringes and will understandably have some trouble with nippy runners out of dummy half. Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu’s calling card though is the strength and power to effectively engage the opposing forward early in their run and use his natural strength to win the forward battle in the centre of the ruck. Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu can defensively handle any one on one battle that presents itself over the course of a match.

At only seventeen years old, Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu has plenty of time in the U18 age group and will play with multiple teams in relation to club, school boy and representative sides.

Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu is a big strong powerful young man, ideally suited to the centre of a rugby league field and that is where he has always played and for that matter, will always play.

Te Poutokomanawa Matatahi-Tali Tonu is a big strong young man who runs hard and straight and has a playing style for me that is reminiscent to that of Canberra Raiders front rower Dunamis Lui.

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Baxter Turner. The talented Ballina Seagulls front 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.

Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition saw Baxter Turner start in the front row for Ballina against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Round Two against the Marist Brothers Rams Lismore saw Baxter Turner drop back to start from the bench with Baxter Turner being one of the Seagulls try scorers in their 66 – 0 victory.

Baxter Turner moved back into the Ballina starting side at lock for the Round Three match against the Kyogle Turkeys. In Round Four against South Grafton, Baxter Turner scored after starting the match in the front row.

Baxter Turner continued in the front row in Round Five in the local derby against the South Grafton Rebels before starting from the bench in Round Six against the Clarence Coast Magpies. Baxter Turner was then back in the front row in Round Nine against Marist Brothers.

In May 2021, Baxter Turner 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.

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.

Baxter Turner started in the front row in all eleven in Ballina’s 2020 matches, finishing with twenty four points from three tries and six conversions with all of those conversions coming in separate matches.

Baxter Turner scored an outstanding 2020 Group One U12 Grand Final double and also scored in Round Nine against the South Grafton Rebels. Baxter Turner also kicked a conversion in the Grand Final.

Baxter Turner is quite a tall front rower with plus speed for a front rower, in fact his speed would be above average for a forward of any position. Baxter Turner uses this speed to impact the defensive at top speed. He does not necessarily get back deep, but his plus speed off the mark as well as plus top speed enables him to still fit the line hard.

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

Once he impacts the defensive line Baxter Turner also is adept at redirecting his momentum to address the next defender who is coming in the defend him. Baxter Turner’s core body strength also enables him to make significant ground after contact dragging defenders with him.

In defence Baxter Turner regularly is the first player up to target the ball carriers, even though he is one of the bigger forwards in his team and will make solid initial contact as well as having the ability of defending one on one.

Baxter Turner is not averse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique and decent agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents, his technique is also quite decent for a taller player and Baxter Turner gets low in defence to look to mitigate the possibility of his tackles slipping up around the hard and neck area of shorter opponents.

Baxter Turner’s calling card though is the functional strength and power to effectively engage the opposing forward early in their run and use his natural strength to win the forward battle in the centre of the ruck. Baxter Turner can handle any one on one battle that presents itself from a defensive perspective.

Baxter Turner will continue to play the 2021 season with the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One U13 competition.

Even though Baxter Turner has spent the last couple of seasons playing almost exclusively in the front rower for the Ballina Seagulls, with his build and good speed I think that Baxter Turners best position is probably in the second row with the ability to step into the front row for short periods of time.

From an NRL rugby league player comparison perspective for Baxter Turner, a player that springs to mind as a similar player is the Penrith Panthers and New South Wales State of Origin lock Isaiah Yeo. Both Baxter Turner and Yeo are tall, strong and very good athletes with considerable untapped potential in their game especially from an attacking perspective.

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Jett Stocker. In early October 2020 Jett Stocker was part of a Titans Group 18 U16 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players from both side’s wore Titans jerseys.

When club rugby league commenced for the 2021 season in Northern New South Wales, Jett Stocker started on the right wing for the Tweed Coast Raiders U18 NRRRL side in Round One against the Cudgen Hornets.

Jett Stocker also started on the right wing in Round Two against the Bilambil Jets and produced two smart pieces of play in his side’s six point loss.

In the 43rd minute, with Bilambil attacking the Raiders line, Jett Stocker turned and chased an attacking Jets chip kick, taking the ball on the full running backwards. Jett Stockers momentum took him into the in-goal area, but he immediate spun around and got down low to get back into the field of play just in front of the onrushing chase. If Jett Stocker had not gotten down low, there is no doubt he would have been trapped in goal forcing a Raiders line drop out.

Then in the 45th minute with the Tweed Coast attack stalled near the halfway mark, Jett Stocker pushed his way into dummy half, racing to his left at the still back peddling Jets defensive line. Such was the speed of Jett Stocker, the Bilambil defenders had no choice but to make the tackle even though they had not gone back the ten metres, thus giving away the penalty.

Jett Stocker also started on the right wing in Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls, in the 21st making ten metres out of dummy half after commencing his run two metres out from his own try line.

Jett Stocker continued on the right wing in Round Five against Marist Brothers Lismore as well as in Round Seven against the Kyogle Turkeys.

In the 2020 Group 18 U16 competition Jett Stocker played for the Bilambil Jets. In the 2020 Group 18 U16 regular season, the Bilambil Jets win five matches, scoring 152 points and conceding 118 to finish with a +34 points differential.

In 2019 Jett Stocker played for the Group 18 U15 representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, playing primarily coming off the bench and also represented Group 18 in 2018 in the U14 age group when he was playing for the Tweed Coast Raiders.

For his build, Jett Stocker is very quick down the sidelines with a good in and away to beat defenders on the outside and will not get caught from behind if he gets into open space. Whilst his speed off the mark cannot be considered explosive Jett Stocker has good top end speed once he gets moving with his speed able to be considered in the above average category for a winger.

In addition to his speed Jett Stocker seems to have the ability to “freeze” his direct opponent with his ability to step quickly off both feet before accelerating around them usually on the touchline side.

One thing that I have noticed a couple of times is Jett Stocker’s use of a stutter step to stop or slow the momentum of the opposing defender and then Jett Stocker accelerates to the outside forcing the defender to chase from a standing start. For his size, Jett Stocker is also quite good in the air, both in terms chasing attacking kicks and defending them. The timing of his jump and the height he gets are the two qualities that make Jett Stocker so good in the air.

On the wing, with his smaller frame Jett Stocker is able to come in and take runs through the centre of the ruck, and effective runs at that. Jett Stocker will take off from dummy half and use his elite foot work make a lot of the “tough” yards.

Jett Stocker will continue play the 2021 season with the Tweed Coast Raiders in the impressive and continuing to improve NRRRL U18 competition and will also be U18 eligible in 2022.

With his deceptive elusiveness, Jett Stocker could no doubt also play at fullback but for me wing seems to be his best position moving forward.

From an NRL player comparison perspective Jett Stocker has a number of similarities to Titans fullback/winger Corey Thompson. Jett Stocker does not have the top end speed of Corey Thompson (although he is a lot quicker than he looks) but is quick off the mark and has the same innate ability to make the first defender miss in the congestion in the middle of the ruck or wider out in the backline.

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Kobi Walpole. In early October 2020 Kobi Walpole was part of a Titans Group 18 U16 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the two team’s wore Titans jerseys.

Kobi Walpole started Round One of the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition for the Cudgen Hornets on the left wing scoring a double in their impressive 38 – 6 first up victory against the Tweed Coast Raiders.

Kobi Walpole’s first try came in the 33rd minute when he dived over in the left corner after receiving a cut out pass from Harvey Moase. Kobi Walpole took the ball ten metres out and actually did well as the pass was a fraction behind him and he got the ball down under immense pressure from the cover defence.

Kobi Walpole scored his second try only seven minutes later in the 40th minute when he received an inside pass from left centre Cooper Camby and once again scored near the left corner.

Kobi Walpole also started on the left wing in Round Two against Casino RSM and was prominent early on in the match with his first contribution coming in the opening minute when he took a Casino RSM tactical kick on the full fifteen metres out from his own line. As soon as he took possession, Kobi Walpole ran towards his left, beating two defenders in a twenty metre run down the left touchline.

Kobi Walpole made a further break down the left touchline in the 9th minute when he was able to carry the ball twelve metres.

Kobi Walpole made it three line breaks down the left touchline in the first half when in the 20th minute he broke away down the touchline before offloading on his inside to one of his giant front rowers (No. 20). Kobi Walpole stayed alive, getting the ball back from the front rower and got to within six metres of the line before he was finally stopped.

It was not just with the ball that Kobi Walpole made an impact in the opening minutes, including stopping a Casino RSM try in the 5th minute when he stopped his opposite number just short of the line on the 5th tackle and in the second minute, Kobi Walpole got out of marker quickly to get into the ribs of the RSM fullback and drive him back eight metres and also forcing the ball loose in the tackle.

Unfortunately Kobi Walpole took a head knock early in the second half and was unable to see the match out.

Kobi Walpole continued on the left wing in Round Four in the local derby against the Bilambil Jets and scored once again in the Hornets victory. Kobi Walpole scored in the 15th minute when he got into dummy half and burrowed over to the left of the play the ball from less than a metre out from the line.

Kobi Walpole also started on the right wing in Round Five against Byron Bay with Cudgen going down in a tough encounter. Kobi Walpole then dropped back to the bench for Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys and Round Ten against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

In the 2020 Group 18 U16 competition Kobi Walpole played for the Cudgen Hornets. In the regular season in the 2020 Group 18 U16 season, Cudgen won two games and lost eight, along the way scoring 138 points and conceding 244 to finish with a -106 points differential.

In 2019 Kobi Walpole played for the Group 18 U15 representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, primarily coming off the bench to play in the outside backs.

Even though he does not have great top end speed Kobi Walpole is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing wingers. One good thing about his play in attack is that Kobi Walpole stays on his wing and is regularly outside his opposite number allowing his inside players to be able to find him in attack and in the games that I have seen he stays back and does not over run the players that are inside of him.

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

In terms of defence, Kobi Walpole is solid and seemingly understands the attributes of his opposite number to the extent that he alters his defensive positioning if he is against speedy, elusive wingers and against larger wingers.

Like most young outside backs though Kobi Walpole will continue to work on when to come out of the line to cut down the time and space of opposing centre, against staying out on his opposing winger and when to drop back to cover the side line, Kobi Walpole’s time at centre has clearly helped in these situations in terms of positioning and when to tackle low compared to looking to when to wrap up the attacking player with a ball and all tackle.

Kobi Walpole will continue play the 2021 season with the Cudgen Hornets in the NRRRL U18 competition and is also U18 eligible for the Hornets in 2022.

Kobi Walpole is quick and elusive but is not necessary a big outside back thus ultimately with his hand eye co-ordination and finishing skills, Kobi Walpole looks to be a solid wing option and one that is going to be a real try scoring threat.

Penrith Panthers try scoring right winger Charlie Staines is a good approximation when looking both at the attributes of Kobi Walpole and his playing style. Neither Kobi Walpole or Staines are necessarily the biggest wingers, but they are effective in their role and are try scorers pure and simple.

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Ethan Hickey. In early October 2020 Ethan Hickey was part of a Titans Group 18 U16 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players from both team’s wore Titans jerseys.

When club rugby league commenced for the 2021 season in Northern New South Wales, Ethan Hickey started at lock for the Tweed Coast Raiders U18 NRRRL side in Round One against the Cudgen Hornets.

Ethan Hickey also started at lock in Round Two against the Bilambil Jets, once again impressing with his work rate in his side’s six point loss and also started at lock in Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls.

In Round Five against Marist Brothers Lismore, after starting at lock once again, Ethan Hickey scored his first try of the season in the NRRRL U18 competition. In the 43rd minute, Ethan Hickey moved into dummy half five metres out from the line, immediately running to his right and he was able to crash over between two defenders under the posts.

Ethan Hickey started from the bench in Round Seven against the Kyogle Turkeys, scoring in the 49th minute when Stevie O’Connor put up a bomb that came down right on the try line with Ethan Hickey on the spot to scoop up the ball after it was dropped by the Kyogle fullback to score ten metres from the left upright.

After a Covid 19 interrupted Round Nine, Ethan Hickey wore the No. 13 jersey once again in Round Ten against the Byron Bay Devils and was able to get over the line to score from close range in the Raiders impressive 16 – 4 victory. Ethan Hickey also started at lock in Round Eleven against Casino RSM.

In the 2020 season Ethan Hickey played for the Tweed Coast Raiders and in late 2020 Ethan Hickey was named in the 2021 Tweed Coast Giants U16/17 Boys Oztag squad.

With the ball Ethan Hickey is a very good distributor and will take the ball to the line in an effort to set up his supports. Ethan Hickey is adept at drawing an opposing defender out of the defensive line and then putting his support runner through the resulting gap. In terms of his speed, I would suggest that an appropriate definition of his speed would be that he is quick off the mark but does not have an extra gear when he breaks into open space.

Regardless of the state of the game Ethan Hickey will back his judgement and take the game on. Assisting his play is the fact that he makes the decision what to do with the ball quickly thus enabling the ball to get out wide quickly.

Ethan Hickey’s passing game is solid but seems to be slightly better when he is passing to the right side of the field. His ability to dummy and go also seems slightly more effective when he is running to the right side of the field.

Ethan Hickey has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field. Ethan Hickey also has developed the ability to get his kick away defensively and thus can kick out of dummy half which is a great skill in his ****nal to have.

Ethan Hickey is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side both in attack and defence.

Defensively like the way that he takes the line on, Ethan Hickey is aggressive and attacks the ball carrier rather than waiting for the attackers to come to him and clearly looks to limit the time opposition players have to generate momentum before they get to him.

Against players similar in size or reasonably close to it, Ethan Hickey is very aggressive and makes sure that he finishes off every tackle in an effort to win everyone on one individual battle against his opponent.

In 2021 Ethan Hickey will continue to play for the Tweed Coast Raiders in the NRRRL U18 competition and will also be U18 eligible in 2022.

Even though he played a significant portion of the 2021 NRRRL U18 season at lock, with his tenacity and intensity I believe that that hooker projects as Ethan Hickey’s best position but depending on a particular game situation, he could also play at lock as a running forward and also a link between his teams forwards and backs.

From a player comparison perspective, for Ethan Hickey due to his size and tenacity, a playing style and comparison akin to former Titan and New South Wales State of Origin hooker Nathan Peats would be appropriate from a style, leadership courage and determination perspective.

[mdrew]

Haizyn Mellars. Haizyn Mellars started on the left wing for the Nerang Roosters in Round One of the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition as they take on the Burleigh Bears and was one of the Roosters try scorers in their impressive first up victory.

Haizyn Mellars also started on the left wing in Round Two against the Currumbin Eagles and scored for the second match in a row when in the 49th minute when he ran over the top of the Currumbin fullback to get the ball down in the left corner after initially receiving the ball ten metres out down a short left blindside.

Haizyn Mellars could have scored a second try just minutes later when good work from Jeremaiah Tamepo saw Haizyn Mellars set to race away down the left touchline but unfortunately he could not reign the ball in.

Haizyn Mellars also made a 6th minute line break when he burst twenty five metres down the left touchline after being put away by Jeremaiah Tamepo. Haizyn Mellars made another line break in the 30th minute when he burst fifteen metres down the left touchline before being tackled ten metres out and was awarded a penalty for being subject to a lifting tackle.

Haizyn Mellars produced a smart piece of play in the 20th minute when he took an attacking kick on the full on the last tackle near the left touchline and immediately was able to pass the ball on the inside before he was taken into touch.

It was not just in an attacking sense that Haizyn Mellars was good in the air as was evidenced in the 22nd minute when he leapt high in his in-goal in defuse a bomb under pressure and then Haizyn Mellars wasted no time in racing the ball back to the twenty metre mark for the restart and was able to make eight metres as a result.

Haizyn Mellars took the ball on the full once again from a defensive perspective again in the 42nd minute, on that occasion however just out from his own line and then Haizyn Mellars fought his way eighteen metres downfield to get in the ball to near the hallway and was subsequently awarded a penalty when he was not afforded the opportunity to get to his feet quickly.

Haizyn Mellars was also strong defensively in the match including in the 18th minute when he came off his left wing to hit the Currumbin right centre just ten metres out when he was facing a two man overlap. Impressively Haizyn Mellars then raced back from marker to help hold up the Currumbin right second rower over the line.

Haizyn Mellars added a strong ball and all tackle in the 21st minute on his opposite number of Currumbin threatening ten metres out from the line.

After missing Round Three, Haizyn Mellars made the most of his return to the right wing in Round Four scoring a double as Nerang defeated the Ormeau Shearers 30 – 14. Haizyn Mellars also started on the left wing in Round Six against the Helensvale Hornets as well as in Round Nine against the Currumbin Eagles.

Prior to the start of the GCRL U18 Division One competition, Haizyn Mellars started on the left wing for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the 2021 MM Cup competition. Haizyn Mellars started all seven of the Seagulls matches, including their 40 – 18 semi-final loss to Queensland Champions, the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Easing the hurt of the loss a touch was the fact that Haizyn Mellars scored the opening try of the match, in the 7th minute when he was on the end of a Wynnum Manly backline movement that saw him dive over in the left corner.

In total from his seven 2021 MM Cup matches, Haizyn Mellars scored on six occasions to finish with a strike rate of 85.71%. In addition to his semi-final try, Haizyn Mellars scored a double in Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins and also scored against Redcliffe in Round Five.

In the 2021 MM Cup season Haizyn Mellars also scored twice against the Easts Tigers with those matches being in Rounds Three and Six.

2021 also saw Haizyn Mellars play school boy rugby league for Marsden State High School in the Langer Cup Reserve Grade competition and he had a particularly good match in Round Three against Wavell State High School.

From a running perspective, Haizyn Mellars just seems to glide across the field and it appears effortless, no matter who is chasing him, they will not catch Haizyn Mellars, I am talking near James Roberts type of pace but he has a much more effortless running style to that of the current Wests Tiger Rabbitoh and former Titan.

Haizyn Mellars does not necessarily have a side step per say, it is more of a swerve and he has a number of variations, with the scary part being that there is absolutely no loss of speed at all, making him incredibly difficult to stop when Haizyn Mellars is in open space and is moving towards a fullback who is near stationary.

Haizyn Mellars’s passing skills are also developing into those of the highest quality, he can pass equally well from either side of his body and can throw every type of pass imaginable, he can chime into a back line at full pace and then decelerate quickly to maintain his balance a pop a good short ball to his supports, he can throw a great spiral pass to his backline or he can quickly anticipate the numbers a throw a great cut out pass to exploit over laps.

Defensively Haizyn Mellars also stands out, with his closing speed and recovery speed he makes an impact on that side of the ball as well. With his speed, Haizyn Mellars 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.

Similar to the attributes that make Haizyn Mellars such an effective defender, Haizyn Mellars is as you would expect a great returner of the ball. His sense of timing, speed and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of kicks on the full and then accelerates looking to exploit any gaps on the kick chase or takes as many metres as possible that are on offer.

Haizyn Mellars exceptional lateral movement and sure hands means that he is a danger to make a large amount of ground from short attacking kicks by the opposition as he comes forward at full speed and retrieves with absolutely no loss of momentum and then will surprise the attacking team well before they can reorganise the defensive line.

Haizyn Mellars will finish the 2021 season playing for the Nerang Roosters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and may also play a match or two in the GCRL U20 competition.

Even though I believe that Haizyn Mellars could be an effective left centre, with his finishing ability, left wing seems to be Haizyn Mellars ideal position.

George Jennings of the Melbourne Storm is an ideal NRL playing style for Haizyn Mellars when you take into account his ability to stay on his wing and exploit even the smallest gap down the sideline.

Haizyn Mellars is a rare commodity for a rugby league player, that being an elite finisher and is destined to be near or at the top of the try scoring list of any competition that he is involved in.

[mdrew]

Ashton Harley. In June 2021, Ashton Harley 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.

Ashton Harley played the 2021 season with the Kyogle Turkeys in the NRRRL U18 competition, with his first appearance coming in Round Four against Casino RSM when Ashton Harley came off the bench.

Ashton Harley also came off the bench in Round Five against Bilambil before moving into the Turkey’s starting side at hooker against Murwillumbah and continued at hooker in Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets.

After missing Round Seven as a result of playing for the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side, Ashton Harley started Round Eight against the Cudgen Hornets at hooker.

Round Nine against Northern United saw Ashton Harley move to the second row and Ashton Harley continued in the second row in Round Eleven against the Kyogle Turkeys.

In 2020 Ashton Harley played for the Kyogle Turkeys in the Group One U16.5 competition starting all of his matches lock. Ashton Harley scored twice in the 2020 Group One U16.5 competition, with his first try coming in Round Five against Casino RSM and he also scored in Round Seven against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

One of Ashton Harley’s first tastes of representative rugby league came in 2018 when he was named at lock in the Group One U14 side that took part in the New South Wales Country Age Championships.

Where Ashton Harley really excels is his outstanding, quick and late footwork, Ashton Harley’s very good late and quick foot work enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late.

Even when he is taking a hit up in the centre of the ruck, Ashton Harley’s feet are always moving and he is constantly making slight adjustments to his running angle and he is also able to maintain his speed regardless of the multiple directional changes. Ashton Harley seems just to run at a faster pace than other forwards on the field. These attributes lead to a number of line breaks and Ashton Harley has the speed to convert them into tries himself in the majority of situations.

Ashton Harley’s speed is probably a touch above average for a forward but it is the speed that he is able to generate from only a few paces which makes it play faster from a defenders perspective as he gets to the defensive line quicker than the defenders anticipate and thus they are unable to set themselves properly for the initial contact. This means that Ashton Harley can bend the line back regularly even though he is not the biggest forward running around.

When in the dummy half role, Ashton Harley is a solid distributor who generates good spin on the ball when passing to either side of the ruck and passes off the ground in one fluid movement which enables him to get good accuracy and distance on his passes spreading the ball to the fringes of the ruck quickly.

From a running out of dummy half perspective, Ashton Harley explodes out of dummy half, staying low to take advantage is his natural strength and low centre of gravity and like when he takes a hit up when playing in the second row, Ashton Harley’s feet are always moving and always looks for a quick play the ball.

Ashton Harley’s defensive technique revolves around timing and execution probably more that strength or power. Ashton Harley’s head is always correctly positioned and he always drives with his shoulder into the attacker and never just jersey grabs.

Ashton Harley also tackles with both shoulders equally effectively as well. The impressive thing for me also is that Ashton Harley never seems to bounce off the ball when he makes a front on tackle meaning his target area and the ability to hit the area on a regular basis is exceptional. This is no fluke in relation to Ashton Harley, this is clearly as a result of an outstanding technique as well as determination and dedication to his craft.

Ashton Harley’s lateral speed and mobility is quite good due to his quick twitch feet and thus he is effective at defending against smaller dynamic runners out of dummy half as well as half backs and five eights running of the fringes looking to isolate forwards.

Ashton Harley will play the 2022 season with the Kyogle Turkeys once again in the NRRRL U18 competition where he will look to push towards an NRRRL First Grade opportunity with the Turkeys.

Ashton Harley, prior to this year has played primarily at lock but this year has played more at hooker and certainly has made the most of playing in the dummy half role to the extent that I anticipate that going forward Ashton Harley will more likely than not operating almost exclusively at hooker no matter what the level of competition.

With his ability to play quality minutes both as a running forward as well as at dummy half, Melbourne Storm and New Zealand International Brandon Smith shapes as a more than reasonable NRL player comparison for Ashton Harley. Both Ashton Harley and Smith are solidly built players who charge head long into the defensive line but also have a capacity to handle effectively long minutes at dummy half from both a ball distribution and running perspective.

[mdrew]

Brandon Williams. In June 2021 the halfback from the Murwillumbah Mustangs was part of a Titans U18 Northern Rivers squad that played the Titans U17 JTS squad at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans Round Fourteen NRL match against the Sydney Roosters.

Brandon Williams played the 2021 season with the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the NRRRL U18 competition starting Round One at halfback against the Bilambil Jets with Brandon Williams kicking three conversions in the match.

Brandon Williams also started at halfback in Round Two against Northern United and after Murwillumbah had a number of consecutive bye weeks, Brandon Williams then started at halfback in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys once again.

Round Seven against the Byron Bay Devils saw Brandon Williams continue at halfback for the Mustangs, operating on the left side of the field as has been the norm in 2021 as he did in Round Eight against Marist Brothers Lismore.

Brandon Williams had an outstanding match against Marist Brother, recording two try assists and a great 40/20 with Murwillumbah scoring from the restart. Brandon Williams kicked his 40/20 in the 13th minute of the match after receiving the ball to the right of the dummy half, kicking the ball hard and low with the ball running into touch eighteen metres out from the try line.

Brandon Williams first of two try assists came in the 19th minute when he threw a cut out pass out of dummy half to his right down a short blind side to put his right winger over in the corner from three metres out.

Brandon Williams added his second try assist in the 26th minute when he 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 his left winger Matthew Bollard who 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, Brandon Williams was back at halfback for Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets and was heavily involved in Byron Jones last minute try. Brandon Williams initially ran the ball towards the left side of the field but came back to the right beating three defenders along the way and then was sable to put Byron Jones into space for him to score near the right corner.

From an attacking perspective at this stage of his career Brandon Williams is more of a runner of the ball rather than necessarily being an organiser but certainly there are flashes that show Brandon Williams is more than capable of being an organiser and leading his side around the field taking into account the game plan and state of the game.

Brandon Williams’s regularly looks to take the line on himself with above average to near plus speed off the mark as well as exceptional evasive skills to complement his speed off the mark, Brandon Williams is especially effective later in halves when the big forwards start to visibly fatigue.

In the second half of last year, Brandon Williams started to balance his game more and started to become more of a distributor and play maker. Brandon Williams has always had this ability but as he has progressed up in age groups you can see that his understanding the game and his role in it with a more balanced approach to strategy and the game plan.

Defensively Brandon Williams is a feisty young man whose attitude and effectiveness in defence defies his size. He will take on any size opponent and even against the biggest of opponents will get in front of them and aim to fit them as hard as possible. Against opponents closer to his size Brandon Williams will aggressively make the tackle and let his opponent know about it.

In 2022 Brandon Williams will either look to break into a Hastings Deering’s Colts squad, likely with either Tweed Heads or Burleigh or move up to the NRRRL First Grade competition with the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

From a position perspective, Brandon Williams is only small in stature but with his organisational skills developing and speed off the mark nearing the plus category I believe that his best position as he transitions to senior rugby league is in the half back position. It would be interesting to see how Brandon Williams would go at fullback with his elusive running style and developing ball playing skills.

For me Brandon Williams has a similar playing style to that of former Titan and current Brisbane Bronco Albert Kelly. Like Kelly Brandon Williams has the speed off the mark to be able to exploit gaps and also has a bit of unpredictability about him which keeps defensive lines honest especially when he runs with the ball in two hands. At the same time however, Brandon Williams is also a good organiser who can direct his team around the field.

[mdrew]

Jacob Gulliver. In June 2021 the winger from the Bilambil Jets was part of the Titans U18 Northern Rivers squad that played a Titans U17 JTS squad at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans Round Fourteen NRL match against the Sydney Roosters.

Jacob Gulliver played the 2021 season with Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL U18 competition starting Round One on the right wing against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

Jacob Gulliver continued on the right wing through the next five NRRRL U18 rounds, including in Round Five against Kyogle with Jacob Gulliver scoring his first try of the 2021 NRRRL U18 season in the 35th minute when he was on the end of a Jets backline movement and raced eight metres down the touchline to get the ball down in the right corner under heavy pressure.

Jacob Gulliver was named to continue on the left wing in Round Nine against the Byron Bay Devils and made a great try saving tackle in the first half when he bundled his opposite number into touch just metres out from the right corner.

Jacob Gulliver continued on the left wing in Round Ten against the Marist Brothers Rams before dropping back to start from the bench in Round Eleven against the Ballina Seagulls.

Even though he does not have great top end speed Jacob Gilliver is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing outside backs. Jacob Gilliver’s bread and butter play in the centres is a good in an away to hold the defender and beat him on the outside, Jacob Gilliver then has the ability to draw and pass to his support if the opposing winger looks to come in, thus creating an overlap either on the outside or the inside to his team mates to exploit.

When playing on the wing Jacob Gilliver always seems to stick to the sideline which means his inside attackers will know where he is at all times, thus allowing them to confidently off load the ball if an overlap is created. I have not seen him score any highlight reel tries that seem to be the norm for modern day wingers, but Jacob Gilliver will score the tries that he should score and the team needs him to score.

In terms of defence, Jacob Gilliver is solid from a technique and initial contact perspective and seemingly understands the attributes of his opposite number to the extent that he alters his defensive positioning if he is against speedy, elusive wingers or against larger wingers who look to try to run straight over him. Jacob Gilliver has the size to handle both tackling low as well as defending in a ball and all fashion depending on the circumstances that confronts him at a particular time.

2022 will see Jacob Gulliver likely continue with the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL competition where he will look to push towards an NRRRL First Grade opportunity.

With his performances on the wing for the Bilambil Jets in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition, it seems certain that Jacob Gulliver will continue on the wing for the duration of his rugby league journey.

From a player comparison perspective for Jacob Gulliver, think of someone along the lines of Queensland State of Origin and North Queensland Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt as a solid winger who will score his fair share of tries by being in the right place at the right time and not making simple unforced errors. Like Feldt, Jacob Gulliver is just a solid no frills type of player who will certainly be appreciated by his team mates.

[mdrew]

Andrew Stubbs. In June 2021 the winger from the Bilambil Jets was part of the Titans U18 Northern Rivers squad that played a Titans U17 JTS squad at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans Round Fourteen NRL match against the Sydney Roosters.

Andrew Stubbs played the 2021 season with the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL U18 competition starting Round One on the left wing against the Murwillumbah Mustangs. Andrew Stubbs also started on the left wing in Rounds Two, Three and Four against Tweed Coast, Northern United and Kyogle respectively.

After missing Round Five, Andrew Stubbs started from the bench in Round Six against Casino RSM.

For his build, Andrew Stubbs is very quick down the sidelines with a good in and away to beat defenders on the outside and will not get caught from behind if he gets into open space. Whilst his speed off the mark cannot be considered explosive Andrew Stubbs has good top end speed once he gets moving with his speed able to be considered in the above average category for a winger.

In addition to his speed Andrew Stubbs seems to have the ability to “freeze” his direct opponent with his ability to step quickly off both feet before accelerating around them usually on the touchline side.

One thing that I have noticed a couple of times is Andrew Stubbs’s use of a stutter step to stop or slow the momentum of the opposing defender and then Andrew Stubbs accelerates to the outside forcing the defender to chase from a standing start. For his size, Andrew Stubbs is also quite good in the air, both in terms chasing attacking kicks and defending them. The timing of his jump and the height he gets are the two qualities that make Andrew Stubbs so good in the air.

On the wing, with his smaller frame Andrew Stubbs is able to come in and take runs through the centre of the ruck, and effective runs at that. Andrew Stubbs will take off from dummy half and use his elite foot work make a lot of the “tough” yards.

Defensively the area that Andrew Stubbs has impressed me the most is his ability to defend against any size opponent, from small quick outside backs to big strong powerful backrowers running wide of the ruck.

Andrew Stubbs seemingly has more strength that his size would indicate, and he uses this strength to move up and hit around the area where the ball is usually held regardless of the size of the opponent running at him.

I did not often see Andrew Stubbs come in when he did not need to, preferring to stay on his oppose number and trusting his teams inside defenders.

2022 will see Andrew Stubbs likely continue with the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL competition where he will look to push towards an NRRRL First Grade opportunity.

With his performances on the wing for the Bilambil Jets in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition, it seems certain that Andrew Stubbs will continue on the wing for the duration of his rugby league journey.

For me a currently NRL player with a similar skill set to Andrew Stubbs is former St George Dragons winger and New Zealand International Jason Nightingale. Like Nightingale Andrew Stubbs may not necessarily stand out but regardless he is effective in every aspect of the game of rugby league. Andrew Stubbs is just a solid rugby league player and I would argue very much underrated.

[mdrew]

Jordan Gallagher. In June 2021 the half/five eight from the South Grafton Rebels was part of a Titans U18 Northern Rivers squad that played the Titans U17 JTS squad at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans Round Fourteen NRL match against the Sydney Roosters.

Jordan Gallagher started the season as part of the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad, starting Round One of the competition at five eight against the Wests Tigers. In fact Jordan Gallagher started at five eight in all four of his matches for the Northern Rivers Titans at five eight, missing only Round Three through injury.

Jordan Gallagher played the 2021 season with the South Grafton Rebels in the Group Two U18 competition starting Round One at halfback against Macksville and Jordan Gallagher also captained the Rebels side.

Jordan Gallagher continued at halfback for the duration of his matches and also was the Rebels goal kicker in a number of matches, including kicking conversion in Round Three against Coffs Harbour and he also kicked two conversions against Coffs Harbour in Round Eight.

Jordan Gallagher continued at halfback and captain in Round Nine against Sawtell, with Jordan Gallagher scoring his first try of the 2021 Group Two U18 season and also kicked a conversion in the Rebels 18 – 10 loss.

Round Ten saw Jordan Gallagher continue at halfback and captain for the Rebels with Jordan Gallagher kicking four goals from as many attempts in their 20 – 18 victory over Coffs Harbour. Jordan Gallagher then also from the halfback position kicked three goals in Round Twelve against Sawtell in a 22 – 10 Rebels victory.

Jordan Gallagher continued at halfback in Round Thirteen against Coffs Harbour and kicked a conversion and a penalty goal in the Rebels two point victory.

Jordan Gallagher’s calling card from an attacking perspective is his passing and game management abilities. In terms of his running game, he is not going to be known as someone that is going to beat a defender with speed, but he does very good foot work that he uses to good effect in tight spaces.

Jordan Gallagher has a very good step off both feet and can put together combinations of steps over a short distance to break free of situations where he is seemingly surrounded by defenders. Also maybe it’s only me, but he seemed to rarely take a big hit when running through the centre of the ruck.

Going back to his speed briefly, as noted Jordan Gallagher does have some reasonable speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. Jordan Gallagher’s running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around.

Jordan Gallagher’s kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus he finds the ground for a lot of his kicks. Jordan Gallagher can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line. Jordan Gallagher is also a decent goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him kicking to have an opinion as to whether he can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward.

Defensively Jordan Gallagher tackles well low and that is seemingly his main tactic against wide running forwards rather than trying to tackle them ball and all and potentially being bumped off. His quick feet and sense of timing and anticipation enable him to see plays developing in front of him quickly and is able to adjust and look to shut down the attacking play prior to it fully developing. In short he is quite a solid defender in the five eight position.

Jordan Gallagher will complete the 2021 season with the South Grafton Rebels in the Group Two U18 competition and In 2022 Jordan Gallagher will either look to break into a Hastings Deering’s Colts squad, likely with either Tweed Heads or Burleigh or move up to the Group Two First Grade competition with either the South Grafton Rebels or the Grafton Ghosts.

Jordan Gallagher has played exclusively in the halves this season in the Group Two U18 competition but with his organising skills as well as his passing and kicking skills, hooker may well be ultimately the best position for Jordan Gallagher.

Jordan Gallagher is fast becoming a favourite of mine with his enthusiasm and all-out effort regardless of the position and role that he is asked to play. To that end a player comparison with former Wests Tigers utility Josh Reynolds would not be too far away. Jordan Gallagher however does not have the silly penalties and niggle that Josh Reynolds had in his game however.