My take on our top juniors

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Riley Buchanan. The northern New South Wales youngster is currently a member of the Titans Tweed Heads based junior academy.

In early January 2021 Riley Buchanan was part of a small group of Titans 2021 U15 players who after attending a Titans camp, trained with the Titans NRL squad, then in mid-February 2021 Riley Buchanan played in a Titans U15 Invitational Trial at Burleigh, a trial which included only the best of the 2021 Titans U15 squad members.

In May 2021 Riley Buchanan was part of the South Coast U15 QSSRL School Boy representative side, playing the Championship Final against Met West at left second row.

Riley Buchanan made a strong start in the Championship Final when in the 6th minute he made a good run accounting for fifteen metres and promoting the ball into Met West territory.

Riley Buchanan produced some other strong runs, none better than in the 23rd minute when charged onto the ball from the Met West kick-off to the Nayte Saaga try and was awarded a penalty as a result of being hit by a shoulder charge.

At the completion of the Championships, Riley Buchanan was named at left second row in the 2021 QSSRL U15 School Boy Merit Team.

On Day One Riley Buchanan played his usual left second row position and generated a line break in the 30th minute when he charged into a gap receiving the ball from his left from Zane Harrison, unfortunately thirty metres downfield, Riley Buchanan’s pass to his left was knocked down by the Met West fullback.

Riley Buchanan started at right second row on Day Three against Met North and was in the action early taking the second hit-up of the match and was able to get the ball out to the thirty metre mark.

Riley Buchanan also scored on Day Three when in the 27th minute, Riley Buchanan received a good ball from his hooker who had skipped out of dummy half to his right. After he received the ball Riley Buchanan spun 360 degrees clockwise to get the ball down.

Riley Buchanan made twenty metres in the 46th minute when he retrieved the ball from a Nayte Saaga short kick-off to the right side of the field, getting to twenty metres out from the line before the Met North defence could recover.

Riley Buchanan also made a strong defensive play in the match when early in the first half, he along with Isaac Harrison and Jett Bryce combined to hit and hold up a Met North runner ten metres from his own line and force him back eight metres towards his own goal line, with the ball coming loose as the Met North player desperately trying to off-load.

In early June 2021 Riley Buchanan started at right second row for the PBC Year Nine school boy rugby league side in their victory against Keebra Park and he was one of the try scorers for PBC when in the 35th minute Riley Buchanan made a straight charge onto the ball from eight metres out to the right of the dummy half with Riley Buchanan’s run proving too much to handle with Riley Buchanan crashing over five metres from the left upright.

In 2020 Riley Buchanan played right second row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls U14 side in the Group 18 junior rugby league competition with the Seagulls going through the ten regular season rounds undefeated, scoring 316 points and conceding just 64 to finish the regular season with +252 points differential from their ten matches to record an average winning margin of just above twenty five points.

As a result of their outstanding season the Tweed Heads Seagulls U14 side qualified for the Grand Final against the Tugun Seahawks. Tweed Heads prevailed in the 2020 decider 30 – 4 with Riley Buchanan starting the Grand Final at right second row and being heavily involved throughout, including a strong run in the early minutes of the match, with Tweed Head scoring two play the balls later after Riley Buchanan’s quick play the ball.

Riley Buchanan also scored in the Grand Final when he scored next to the right goal posts in the first half. With Tweed Heads playing the ball two metres out from the try line, Riley Buchanan charged onto the ball to the right of the play the ball and dragged three defenders with him over the try line to get the ball down adjacent to the right upright.

Post the season Riley Buchanan was nominated to the Tweed Heads Seagulls Junior Rugby League’s International Player with the Most Potential.

In early October 2020 Riley Buchanan was part of the Titans NRRRL U14/U15 Invitational squad that played a match against a Titans Gold Coast based U14 side, with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience and in a Titans jersey as well.

In 2020 Riley Buchanan played in the Northern New South Wales Cochrane Cup school boy competition representing Banora Point High School in the U14 age group in the one day competition which was held at St Johns College Woodlawn’s campus, with Riley Buchanan being nominated as one of Banora Point’s best in their four matches. Banora Point won one and lost three matches on the day.

Riley Buchanan also played Oztag in 2020 making the U14 Boys Queensland Fury side for the Queensland Oztag Super Series after representing the Tweed Coast Giants. In late 2020 Riley Buchanan was named in the 2021 Tweed Coast Giants U14/15 Boys Oztag squad.

In 2019 Riley Buchanan was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Black side that took on Tweed Heads Seagulls White in the Group 18 U13 Grand Final, starting the match at left second row scoring an outstanding long range individual solo try in the first half.

Riley Buchanan was operating on the left side of the field and received the ball two passes off the ruck seventy metres out from the Seagulls White line. Riley Buchanan used his speed and size to burst between two defenders before rounding the fullback with speed to his left and then Riley Buchanan outpaced the cover defence to score ten metres to the left of the uprights.

Riley Buchanan was just as damaging in the second half of the Grand Final including a strong run early in the half of seventeen metres to the right of the dummy half to get the ball to near the halfway.

Midway through the second half Riley Buchanan produced another strong effort three passes to the left off the back of a scrum, making sixteen metres, most post contact, to get the ball to within twenty metres of the try line. Towards the end of the second half, Riley Buchanan once again ran the ball from a scrum win making eleven metres to get within nine metres of the try line.

Riley Buchannan also had a strong 2019 Group 18 U13 Preliminary Final scoring for the Seagulls as they qualified for the Grand Final with his try coming in just the 8th minute of the match. Operating on his usual left side of the field, Riley Buchanan scored another outstanding long range solo try.

As in the Grand Final, Riley Buchanan received the ball on the left side of the field, seventy metres out breaking through three initial attempted tackles before outpacing the Jets cover defence to get the ball down midway between the corner post and goal posts on the left side of the field.

Riley Buchanan came close to scoring in the 5th minute of the Preliminary Final when he charged onto the ball twenty metres out, breaking five tackles on the way to getting to within two metres of the line before the desperate Jets defence was able to halt his forward progress.

Riley Buchanan just five minutes later in the 10th minute made twenty hard fought metres taking the hit-up from the kick-off after his long range try. Riley Buchanan initially received the ball on his own ten metre line and was able to give his side good field position by getting the ball out to his own thirty metre mark.

Midway through the second half Riley Buchanan once again gave the Seagulls good field position when he ran onto the ball to the left of the dummy half making twenty five metres to get the ball five metres into Bilambil territory and just two minutes later Riley Buchanan made a further seventeen metres to get the ball into the twenty metre attacking zone.

Riley Buchanan capped off a great Preliminary Final performance in the 24th minute of the second half with yet another left side of the field run that made twenty five metres with Riley Buchanan eventually being stopped ten metres out from the try line.

Late in the 2019 Group 18 U13 regular season Riley Buchanan had a stringing match against the Jets once again, scoring three tries and assisting in another as Tweed Heads recorded a strong win.

Riley Buchanan scored his first try in just the 2nd minute of the match with a type of try that has almost become his signature, being a long range solo try. In this instance, Riley Buchanan attacked sixty three metres out from the line, once again on the left side of the field. After bursting through two initial attempts to tackle him, Riley Buchanan beat another defender with a right arm fend and had the pace to bring the ball around to score under the posts.

Riley Buchanan’s second try came in the 13th minute when from thirty five metres out, Riley Buchanan ran the ball down a short left blindside off the back of a Seagulls scrum win, beating six tackles and as he did for his first try, Riley Buchanan was able to bring the ball around to place it under the posts.

Riley Buchanan’s hat trick was completed in the 19th minute of the first half and once again was a long range try. Riley Buchanan got outside of his direct opponent on his left on the halfway mark before stepping the Jets fullback and for the third time in the match put the ball down directly under the goal posts.

Riley Buchanan very nearly scored a fourth try in the match but after a fifty metre run down the left touchline offloaded to his left around two metres out from the line. It is likely that Riley Buchanan would have scored if he had kept the ball but instead Riley Buchanan made certain that his team would score by offloading to his team mate who was guaranteed to score in the left corner from close range.

In addition to his exceptional running with the ball, Riley Buchanan used his size and strength in defence as well including a big driving tackle over the top of Tweed White’s right second right which bent the young man backwards.

Riley Buchanan also played for Tweed Heads in the 2018 U12 Group 18 Grand Final.

Also in 2019 Riley Buchanan played a game or two of club rugby with the Coolangatta Tweed Baa Baa’s and amongst others scored in Round Three against the Gold Coast Eagles.

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

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

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

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

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

Riley Buchanan will continue play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Group 18 junior rugby league competition, in 2021 in the U15 age group, where once again that side will be the team to beat after their unbeaten 2020 season.

From a rugby league position perspective Riley Buchanan presents as an ideal rugby league second rower with the ability to run wide of the ruck and able to offload both before (a developing skill) and when he is contact with the defensive line.

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

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Izayah Petricevich. One player in the Titans U13 side that defeated the Western Mustangs 40 – 12 in February 2019 was Nerang Rooster Izayah Petrichvich when he played left centre and scored two tries. In the match Izayah Petricevich also spent some time in the second half on the left wing and was also just as effective in that position.

In great news for the Titans, Izayah Petrichvich signed a multi-year contract with the Titans in August 2021 after strong interest from other NRL clubs.

In February 2021 Izayah Petrichvich took part in the South Coast U15 school boy trials and was named in the South Coast Squad for the QSSRL Championships as a result of his trial performances and started the Championship Final against Met West on the left wing.

At the completion of the Championships, Izayah Petrichvich was named on the left wing in the 2021 QSSRL U15 School Boy Merit Team alongside numerous South Coast team mates such as Sunny Kama, Zane Harrison and Riley Buchanan.

On Day One against Met West Izayah Petrichvich started the match on the left wing and scored South Coast’s first try of the Championships when in the 5th minute he took an intercept and raced eighty metres to dive over in the left corner.

Izayah Petrichvich scored his second try of the match in the 27th minute when he benefited from a great pass down a short left blind side from Jett Bryce to crash over in the left corner.

Izayah Petrichvich heavily involved in Jett Bryce’s 38th minute try when Nayte Saaga put in a chip kick to the left wing which was collected by Izayah Petrichvich who off-loaded in one movement to Jett Bryce to run away to score under the posts.

Izayah Petrichvich also scored on Day Two against Capricornia when in the 50th minute he anticipated a long pass to his side of the field, taking an intercept and running eighty five metres to score under the posts.

His intercept try capped a couple of impressive minutes for Izayah Petrichvich as in the 58th minute he came off his wing to smash the Capricornia right second rower and as he was forcing him back stole the ball in the one on one tackle.

2021 also saw Izayah Petrichvich once again represent Coombabah State High School in school boy rugby league, starting Round One of the Walters Cup agaisnt Redcliffe State High School at left centre.

Izayah Petrichvich also started at left centre in Round Four against Ipswich State High School scoring one try and setting up another in Coombabah’s 14 all draw.

Izayah Petrichvich scored in the 32nd minute when he backed up his left winger to get the ball nineteen metres out and was able to surge away from the cover defence to get the ball down mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Izayah Petrichvich’s try assist came in the 7th minute when he showed quick hands to get the ball away to his left down a short blindside and close to the try line to put his left winger over in the corner.

Izayah Petrichvich scored once again in Round FIve against Forest Lake State High School when in the 29th minute from the left centre position, Izayah Petrichvich received a pass from his inside and was able to dive over in the left corner.

Izayah Petrichvich also started at left centre in Round Six against Marsden State High School.

Izayah Petrichvich also played for the Titans in early October 2020 when he was part of the Titans U14 side that played a Titans U14/15 NRRRL Development squad at Cbus Stadium.

2021 also saw Izayah Petrichvich play basketball and in April 2021 he was part of the Gold Coast Waves U16 representative side that took part in the Queensland U16 Division One State Basketball Championships.

In the Waves Game One on Day One, Izayah Petrichvich scored six points (three two point shots) as the Waves defeated the Rockhampton Rockets 89 – 33. In Game two, also on Day One, Izayah Petrichvich scored thirteen points (three two point shots and seven free throws) as the Waves defeated the Townsville Heat 84 – 68.

The Waves also played two matches on Day Two of the Championships, the first being a 119 – 63 victory over the North Gold Coast Seahawks with Izayah Petrichvich scoring seven points (three two point shots and a free throw). The Waves suffered their first defeat of the Championships in their second match on Day Two when they went down 112 – 77 to the Northside Wizards, with Izayah Petrichvich scoring seven points once again from three two point shots and a free throw.

Game Five which came on Day Three of the Championships saw the Waves lose in heart breaking fashion 79 – 78 to the Toowoomba Mountaineers with Izayah Petrichvich converting two two point baskets to finish the match with four points.

From his five matches at the 2021 Queensland U16 Basketball Championships in the regular rounds, Izayah Petrichvich scored thirty seven point to average 7.4 points per game.

On Day One of the Qld U16 Basketball Championships Finals Series Izayah Petrichvich had a huge game for the GC Waves scoring 18 from six two point shots and six free throws as they defeated Sunshine Coast Rip Black 94-92.

On Day Two of the Finals, Izayah Petrichvic scored a two point bucket as the Waves won again beating the Townsville Heat 68 – 64.

In 2020 Izayah Petricevich was part of the Coombabah State High School Hancock Cup school boy rugby league side and in the first minute of Coombabah’s Round Five match against Marsden State High School scored an outstanding ninety five metre individual try. Izayah Petricevich, playing left centre received the ball two passes off the ruck and broke thorugh two Marsden defenders before running ninety five metres to score down the left touchline.

Izayah Petrichvich also scored in Round Two against Wavell State High School, when in the first half he ran a good outshoulder route from eight metres out and scored after a good pass from Coby Black found him on the charge.

At the completion of the season, Izayah Petrichvich was awarded the Coombabah State High School 2020 Year Nine Rugby League Coaches Award.

In 2020 Izayah Petrichvich was part of the Helensvale Hornets U14 Division One side in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. Helensvale finished the 2020 season with a 40 – 0 win in the first against second play off round against Burleigh.. The Helensvale U14 Division One side finished the regular season on top of the table with six wins from their seven matches, scoring 296 points and conceding only thirty eight to have a +258 points differential.

Early in the 2019 season Izayah Petricevich was named in the Gold Coast Vikings U13 representative squad and played left centre in the Championships including scoring in the Vikings first match on Day one diving over in the left corner against Brisbane Red.

Izayah Petricevich started the 2019 GCRL club season for Nerang in their Round One match against Ormeau.

Izayah Petricevich moved to five eight for Round Four scoring as Nerang went down 68 – 10 to Burleigh.

In total for Nerang, Izayah Petricevich played in three GCRL U13 Division One matches scoring against Burleigh as noted above.

With the movement in the U13 competition in 2019, Izayah Petricevich also played in five U13 Division Two matches scoring seven tries (140% strike rate) including a hat trick against Mudgeeraba in Round Eleven and a Round Twelve double against Helensvale. Izayah Petricevich’s other 2019 U13 Division two regular season tries came against Burleigh White and the Jimboomba Thunder.

In 2019 Izayah Petricevich was also a key member of the Coombabah State High School Year 8 Renouf Cup school boy side including scoring a 90 metre long range half try as Coombabah overcame a six point half time deficit to defeat Forest Lake State School 36 – 16 in the Renouf Cup Grand Final.

Izayah Petricevich started the match at left centre and scored in the second half. Forest Lake State High School spun the ball to the left but the ball was dropped out wide when they were on the attack.

From a standing start Izayah Petricevich retrieved the ball and took off down the left touch line, at one point it appeared that the Forest Lake fullback would get to him but Izayah Petricevich was able to put on an extra burst of speed to break the jumper grab to score.

In 2018 Izayah Petricevich finished the Gold Coast Rugby League U12 Division One competition as the second leading try scorer with nine tries from ten matches (90% try scoring strike rate), playing primarily in the second row but also spending time in the centres.

Izayah Petricevich scored hat tricks against Currumbin and Coomera in 2018, a double against Burleigh Marron, with his other try coming in Round Two against Mudgeeraba.

Even though he does not necessarily plus top end speed (It is certainly in the above average category though but probably just falls a touch below the plus category) Izayah Petrichvich is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing outside backs.

Izayah Petrichvich’s bread and butter play in the centres is a good in an away to hold the defender and beat him on the outside, Izayah Petrichvich then has the ability to draw and pass to his winger if the opposing winger looks to come in, thus creating an overlap on the outside.

When playing on the wing Izayah Petrichvich 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.

When defending in the centres, Izayah Petrichvich really does look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop, his timing in those situations is quite good to the extent that he does not often over comment thus allowing his opponent to get on his outside.

Izayah Petrichvich does not let the play unfold in front of him, he looks to disrupt as early as possible and usually does so effectively.

With his size and defensive tendencies when defending in the centres, Izayah Petrichvich is more suited to an up and in defensive methodology compared to a sliding system, where quicker opposing centres look to get on his outside and try to use their pace against him although he is not necessarily a slouch in that department.

Izayah Petricevich will play the 2021 season with Nerang in the U15 age group on the Gold Coast.
Izayah Petricevich will also play for Coombabah State High School in their school boy rugby league side in 2021 in terms of school boy rugby league.

In 2022 Izayah Petrichvic will progress to the U16 Cyril Connell Cup competition with either Tweed Heads or Burleigh and no doubt will also progress to the Coombabah State High School Open A side for the school boy Langer Cup competition.

Izayah Petricevich is a tall young who played very well at left centre for both the Titans and Vikings U13 sides in 2020 season, a position that I would anticipate that he will continue to play for the foreseeable future. For completeness I note that Izayah Petricevich spent time in the second row in 2018 however since that time he has played exclusively either in the centres or on the wing on the left side of the field.

I appreciate that Izayah Petricevich this season played a number of other positions for Nerang in 2019 including at five eight but I personally believe that his skill set plays perfectly at left centre especially when taking into account his size/speed combination.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style to Izayah Petricevich is for me Parramatta Eels and New South Wales State of Origin Blake Ferguson, like Izayah Petricevich is a very good kick returner and has the size, strength and speed to be a real handful for an opponent’s three quarter line, especially when he looks to run straight at the defensive line. Like Ferguson, Izayah Petrichvich is also a try scorer and a very good one at that.

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Esmonde Parangi. The talented five eight moved over from the Northlands Region of New Zealand (the region north of Auckland) to attend Keebra Park High School in 2020.

In Round One of the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition Esmonde Parangi started at halfback for Runaway Bay as they took on the Mudgeeraba Redbacks, kicking four conversions and recording a try assist in the Seagulls 42 – 6 opening round victory.

Esmonde Parangi’s try assist did not come until the 66th minute but certainly as worth the wait. Esmonde Parangi initially broke the Redbacks line forty metres out by utilising a right foot step and then as the cover defence converged on him Esmonde Parangi threw an exquisite right arm flock pass around the back of a defender to put his right centre over in the corner.

In addition to his solid goal kicking, Esmonde Parangi’s tactical kicking was showcased during the match including a great 40/20 in the 13th minute of the match when he kicked down a short right blind side to put Runaway Bay back onto the attack.

Even though Runaway Bay ended up winning the match well they were under pressure early in the match with Esmonde Parangi being on hand twice to defuse a threat.

On the first occasion in the 22nd minute, Esmonde Parangi tracked back well to defuse a Mudgeeraba attacking kick in front of his own posts and then in the 23rd minute Esmonde Parangi produced a great covering tackle on the Mudgeeraba right centre who looked as if he would score comfortably.

Esmonde Parangi also started at halfback in Round Two against the Southport Tigers with his kicking game late in the late being a key reason why Runaway Bay was able to come away with a hard fought victory.

In the 45th minute, Esmonde Parangi put in a deft right foot chip to the right corner from thirty metres out with Southport being trapped in that corner and in the 47th minute Esmonde Parangi produced an inside pass to a support runner before receiving the ball back and grubbering through the line, forcing Southport to ground the ball in their own in-goal. Runaway Bay scored the match winning try from the subsequent set of six tackles.

Round Five saw Esmonde Parangi start at five eight against Burleigh in their tough one point loss. In addition to kicking a conversion, Esmonde Parangi also recorded a try assist and a great 40/20 in the first half.

Esmonde Parangi’s try assist arrived in the 12th minute when on the last tackle he put in a right foot stab kick from thirteen metres out into the in-goal. The Burleigh defenders made a mess of trying to defuse the kick and Seagulls winger Cody Brose took advantage of the confusion to dive on the ball.

Esmonde Parangi produced another outstanding right foot stab kick in the 46th minute, on that occasion from five metres out with Burleigh forced to take the ball dead and restart by way of a goal line drop out.

Esmonde Parangi kicked his outstanding 40/20 in the 15th minute when from an acute angle down a short right blindside just inside his own forty, Esmonde Parangi was able to find touch fourteen metres out from the line.

Esmonde Parangi showed quick hands in the 6th minute when under pressure he was able to shift to his right to create space for himself and off-load to put Titan Vaikai inside space.

Esmonde Parangi continued at five eight in Round Six against the Currumbin Eagles scoring a great solo try of the 52nd minute of the match. Operating on the right around ten metres from the line, Esmonde Parangi put in a right foot grubber kick for himself and beat the Currumbin defenders to the ball, getting downward pressure on it a metre from the dead ball line.

Esmonde Parangi continued at five eight in Round Seven against the Ormeau Shearers as well as in Round Nine against the Southport Tigers. Esmonde Parangi recorded a try assist against the Tigers in the 24th minute when whilst operating on the right side of the field, from eleven metres out he grubbered into the in-goal for his right second rower to get to the ball easily in front of the Southport fullback.

Round Ten against the Nerang Roosters saw Esmonde Parangi continue at five eight against the Nerang Roosters with one of best moments in the match coming in the 19th minute when Esmonde Parangi took the ball to the right and from thirteen metres out put in a well weighted grubber into the line goal which Nerang had to take dead in-goal.

Round One of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League pre-season competition saw Esmonde Parangi start at halfback for the Runaway Bay U20 side that played round robin matches against Burleigh and Helensvale.

In early 2020 Esmonde Parangi went back to New Zealand for the Covid 19 lock down period but returned to Australia in early June to continuing his schooling at Keebra Park.

When school boy rugby league recommenced in July 2020 Esmonde Parangi was part of the Keebra Park Titans Cup Open Division Two side including starting at five eight and kicking a conversion in Round Three as Keebra Park defeated Beenleigh 46 – 0.

Esmonde Parangi also started at five eight and scored in the second half in the Titans Cup Division Two Boys 36 – 10 Grand Final victory against Chisholm Catholic College. Esmonde Parangi was operating on the left and passed to his lock forward who broke the defensive line down the left touch line before passing back inside to Esmonde Parangi who stepped off his left foot to beat the Chisholm fullback before running diagonally across field to score mid-way between the up rights and corner post on the right side of the field after the move had started on the left.

In 2019 Esmonde Parangi was a trialist for the New Zealand U16 side playing for Team Fisher-Harris in the trial on the last day of the National U16 camp and kicking a conversion as his side defeated Team Papali’I 24 – 16.

Esmonde Parangi played for the Northern Swords U17 representative side in 2019 at the New Zealand U17 National Youth Tournament, starting all four of their matches at fullback. Esmonde Parangi’s sole points of the Tournament came in Match Four when he kicked two goals against the Wellington Orca’s. Esmonde Parangi’s other matches at the U17 New Zealand National Youth Tournament were against the South Island Scorpions, Counties Manukau Stingrays and the Auckland Vulcans.

Esmonde Parangi played in two competitions in the Northlands Region in 2019 being the U17 Sam McKendry Cup and the Adam Blair School Boy Cup.

In the 2019 Sam McKendry U17 competition Esmonde Parangi played eight matches for Tautoro scoring two tries and kicking ten goals for a twenty eight point season haul. Esmonde Parangi scored against the Hikurangi Stags and Takahiwai Warriors and in the match against the Stags also kicked three goals. Esmonde Parangi also kicked four goals against the Hikurangi Stags in a late season match.

Esmonde Parangi played three matches for Kaitaia College in the Adam Blair School Boy competition in 2019 finishing with twenty points from a try and eight goals. Esmonde Parangi’s try came against Okaihau College and he also kicked five goals in that match for a fourteen point haul. Esmonde Parangi also kicked three goals against Whangarei Boys High.

In late 2019 Esmonde Parangi was named as a Finalist Far North District Council ABS Junior Sports Person of the Year Far North Sport Award for his performances in rugby league of the over of the 2019 season.

In 2018 Esmonde Parangi was part of the Northern Swords side that played in the 2018 U15 National Youth Tournament playing in matches against Wai-Coa Bay twice, the Auckland Vulcans and the South Island Scorpions.

Also in 2018 Esmonde Parangi, even though he was still U15 eligible played in five matches in the U17 Sam McKendry Cup scoring twenty points from two tries and six goals. Esmonde Parangi scored against the Takahiwai Warriors and Nga Puhi Toa.

Esmonde Parangi was also the top points scorer and goal kicker in the 2018 U15 Elijah Taylor Cup competition finishing with eighty nine points from his ten matches, scoring in nine of those matches and averaging just under nine points per match.

Esmonde Parangi scored five tries which came in separate matches against the Tautoro Titans, the Portland Panthers, the Hikurangi Stags and in two separate matches against the Takahiwai Warriors across the 2018 Elijah Taylor Cup season.

With the boot Esmonde Parangi kicked eight goals in a June 2018 match against the Portland Warriors (also scoring in that match with finish with a twenty point haul) and seven goals in early July 2018 against the Takahiwai Warriors. In the match against the Takahiwai Warriors Esmonde Parangi finished with nineteen points with his sole field goal of the season coming in that match as well.

In 2018 Esmonde Parangi also played two matches for Kaitaia College in the Adam Blair School Boy rugby league competition finishing with sixteen points from three tries and two goals with all of his points coming in a match against Northland College in what was his first match for Kaitaia College that season.

When he runs the ball, Esmonde Parangi is exceptionally quick and explosive, with exceptional speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space, teams in his age group even in representative competitions, teams just could not handle him when he had the ball. Esmonde Parangi also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed.

In addition Esmonde Parangi 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. Esmonde Parangi obviously is a key target for defences but Esmonde Parangi 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 that was created.

As his play making skills continue to evolve, the attacking possibilities in relation to Esmonde Parangi are endless.

Esmonde Parangi 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 he will be necessarily a team’s primary general play kicker.

Although that is not set in stone, but Esmonde Parangi has the skill set to be at the minimum and very good secondary option when the primary kicker is under pressure and only needs to work on getting his kicks away quickly to take full advantage of his natural kicking ability.

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

No matter who is running at him, Esmonde Parangi’s timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group in general. His defence is an area that stands out when you watch Esmonde Parangi play in person, he is just a solid defender.

Esmonde Parangi will likely in 2022 aim for a spot in either the Burleigh Bears or Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and will also be Colts eligible in 2023.

With his ability to play right at the defensive line, getting the ball in his hands as much as possible is critical therefore for me Esmonde Parangi is a natural five eight although with his speed and ball playing ability I can understand why he has also spent time at fullback prior to 2019 and may well also spend time there in the future.

From a player comparison perspective for Esmonde Parangi, the one player that does spring to mind is some to be South Sydney and former Brisbane Broncos and former Queensland State of Origin five eight Anthony Milford, as an exceptional talent who can do almost anything on a football field from an attacking perspective and is exciting to watch.

When Esmonde Parangi gets the ball the level of anticipation rises as you cannot wait to see what Esmonde Parangi is going to do.

Esmonde Parangi may potentially end up at a different position, being fullback but the elusive and explosive running ability on top of the regular presentation of sublime ball skills translate to a similar playing style to Anthony Milford at his off the cuff best.

To further expand on the NRL comparison a touch between Milford and Esmonde Parangi you can probably go back to Milford’s Canberra Raiders days just after he came into the NRL to get the best visual reference for why I chose this comparison when trying to give people a fair and reasonable comparison for Esmonde Parangi.

Esmonde Parangi is an electric young attacking player with dazzling footwork and is an outstanding addition to the Gold Coast rugby league ranks for this and subsequent seasons.

[mdrew]

Jedd Windle. The Byron Bay/Lennox Head backrower represented the Group 18 U14 side in 2018 in the New South Wales Country Age Championships and post those Championships was selected as part of the Titans 2018/19 Group 18 U15 Development Squad and was involved in the Titans U15 sides that took on another Titans side as well as the Western Mustangs in early February at Mudgeeraba.

In June 2021, Jedd Windle 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.

Jedd Windle’s first appearance for the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side came in Round Two when he started from the bench against local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs at Nambucca Heads. Jedd Windle moved into the starting side in the second row in Round Three against the Greater Northern Tigers.

Jedd Windle was then named on the Northern Rivers Titans extended bench for their Round Four match in Lismore against the Central Coast Roosters. Jedd Windle then started from the bench in Round Five against the Newcastle Knights.

Jedd Windle played for the Byron Bay Devils in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition scoring his first try of the season in Round Five when he rumbled his way over to get the ball down ten metres in from the right corner post against the Cudgen Hornets.

Jedd Windle also scored in Round Six against the Marist Brothers Rams after starting the match at right second row. Jedd Windle’s try came in the 52nd minute of Byron Bay’s win when from eight metres out and to the left of the play the ball Jedd Windle charged through two defenders to get the ball down fifteen metres from the right upright.

From the right second row position, Jedd Windle also scored in Round Ten against the Tweed Coast Raiders, when in just the 3rd minute, Jedd Windle charged onto the ball from ten metres out after Byron Bay had spun the ball to the right from the left touchline with Jedd Windle getting the ball down mid-way between the goal post and corner post on the right side of the field.

Jedd Windle also started at right second row in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM.

Jedd Windle made his deserved NRRRL First Grade debut in Round Four, starting at right second row as the Devils accounted for Northern United 64 – 4 and made his second appearance off the bench in Round Eleven against the Kyogle Turkeys before also being named on the bench for Round Thirteen against Casino RSM.

Jedd Windle also played rugby in 2021, playing for the Lennox Head Trojans in the Far North Coast U18 competition, starting Round One against Casurina Beach at No. 8.

Round Three saw Jedd Windle move to open side flanker (No. 7) and scoring against Wollongbar/Alstonville and he continued at No. 7 in Round Four, scoring once again, on this occasion against Lismore.

Jedd Windle moved positions once again in Round Five, starting the match at blindside flanker (No. 6) against Casino with the position change having no impact on Jedd Windle crossing the line as he scored for the third match in a row.

Jedd Windle came into the 2020 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side in Round Three against the Central Coast coming off the bench in the match spending time in the front row in his time on the field.

Even though he was U16 eligible, Jedd Windle started the 2020 season (in late July) as part of the Byron Bay U18 NRRRL side starting Round One against Cudgen at right second row and also started at right second row in Round Four against Marist Brothers Lismore. In Round Seven against Casino RSM Jedd Windle also started in the second row as the Devils defeated Casino RSM 30 – 20.

Round Nine of the 2020 NRRRL U18 competition saw Jedd Windle start in the second row and score for Byron Bay as they defeated Marist Brothers Lismore 28 – 14. Jedd Windle also started in the second row in Round Ten against Ballina.

In Byron Bay’s 2020 NRRRL U18 Gold Preliminary Final against Marist Brothers Lismore, Jedd Windle started at left second row and scored as Byron Bay went down in extra time in an exceptional match in which neither team deserved to lose.

Jedd Windle scored in the first half when he received a pass when he was outside of the last Marist defender and he was able to run fifteen metres to score eight metres in from the left corner. Jedd Windle almost scored a second try, but after darting out of dummy half to the left was stopped millimetres short of the line.

Late in the 2019 season Jedd Windle represented Group 18 at the U15 New South Wales Country Age Championships in Port Macquarie being named in the front row for the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships.

In May 2019 Jedd Windle was named in the NSW Country U15 Gold side for the NSW Rugby Age Championships after representing the Far North Coast Dolphins in the 2019 NSW Country Championships held in Lismore.

Jedd Windle also represented the Northern region NSW CCC U15 rugby league side at their trials held in May 2019 in Sydney after the Ballina Coast High School student stood out for the Far North Coast side in the Northern Trials.

In the 2018 U14 New South Wales Country Age Championships for Group 18 Jedd Windle played in all three of Group 18’s matches which were against Group’s 21, Four and Two.

In 2018 Jedd Windle also played rugby for Lennox Head in the Far Norther Coast U14 competition playing in twelve matches including their semi-final loss to Wollongbar/Tweed. He started all bar one match, being Round Eleven against Lismore when he started from the bench at No. 8 and was outstanding on his way to scoring thirteen tries and kicking twelve conversions.

Jedd Windle scored hat tricks against Lismore in Rounds Six and Eight and scored doubles against Lismore in Round two and Wollongbar/Tweed in Round Twelve. Jedd Windle’s other tries came against Wollongbar/Tweed in Rounds Three, Five and Nine.

With the boot Jedd Windle kicked three conversions against Lismore in Round Two and against Wollongbar/Tweed in Round Twelve.

Jedd Windle is by no means the biggest second rower running around but he really does throw himself into the defensive line. Jedd Windle’s normal running line seems to be on a slight angle away from the ruck and as noted on occasion he will veer back towards the ruck, I would not call it a step but more of a change to his running angle rather than a specific change of running direction.

Jedd Windle can also run a very good outside shoulder route and rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

Jedd Windle also has very good late and quick foot work which 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. Jedd Windle’s speed can certainly be considered above average for a backrower.

Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Jedd Windle play his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Jedd Windle has a hard edge to his play and Jedd Windle’s initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier either in the centres or when defending in the forwards.

Jedd Windle sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them. Jedd Windle is also adept at finishing off the tackle and slowing the subsequent play the ball down.

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

Jedd Windle is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where Jedd Windle will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

2021 will see Jedd Windle line up once again for the Byron Bay Devils in the NRRRL U18 competition and will no doubt once again be a member of the 2022 U18 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad for the second season in a row.

Jedd Windle’s game is not just about his size and speed, he has an indefinable quality about the way he plays in terms of his ability to understand what his team needs over the course of the match and respond accordingly, whether that is a straight run into the defence or a big tackle to fire up his team mates.

From a style perspective think of a someone along the lines of Brisbane Bronco 2021 captain and New Zealand International second rower Alex Glenn as an intense aggressive well-rounded backrower with the ability to break the line by himself or as a result of running a good line.

Like Glenn, Jedd Windle is also an extremely efficient and effective defender who will hit hard when the opportunity presents itself and looks to always dominate his opponents physically in all aspects of the game.

Jedd Windle was born to play rugby league, it is as simple as that.

[mdrew]

Harvey Moase. The Northern New South Wales junior has been part of the Titans JTS program for a number of seasons and has already worn a Titans jersey in a number of junior development matches over the last season or two.
In June 2021 Harvey Moase 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 with Harvey Moase starting the match at halfback and drawing praise for his performance from Titans Development Staff.

Harvey Moase started at halfback for the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side for their Round One match against the Wests Tigers and had an outstanding match which saw him cross for a second half double.

Harvey Moase’s first try came early in the second half, when after kicking towards the right corner, he was on hand when a heavy tackle from Michael Roberts dislodged the ball from the Wests Tiger’s fullbacks grasp, under Harvey Moase being on the spot to pick the ball up and race away to score under the posts.

Later in the second half Harvey Moase scored his second try when he backed up fullback Ben Moyle who had split the Wests Tigers line through the centre of the ruck. Ben Moyle drew the fullback to send Harvey Moase away in score under the posts in the 57th minute. Harvey Moase then proceeded to convert his own try.

Harvey Moase was also heavily involved in Michael Robert’s first try of the match, early in the first half. Harvey Moase kicked towards the right wing with the ball taking a wicked bounce, right winger Blake Forder flew through and toe’d the ball forward for Michael Roberts to pick up on the bounce and crash over under the posts.

Over the course of the match, Harvey Moase’s tactical kicking into the right corner kept the Wests Tigers on the back foot and midway through the second half, Harvey Moase’s kick travelled into the in-goal and as a result of a strong Michael Roberts tackle, the West Tigers fullback could not get back into the field of play, thus forcing a goal line drop out.

After his outstanding Round One performance, Harvey Moase also started Round Two against local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs at Nambucca Heads at half back and produced another solid display and another try as the Titans went down to the Bulldogs.

Harvey Moase scored early in the first half when he produced a winding run back to the left side of the field, which included a right foot step before straightening up to dive over under the posts under heavy pressure. Harry Moase made his try scoring run after receiving a pass from fullback ben Moyle after initially passing to Moyle on the right side of the field.

Harvey Moase also continued to showcase his tactical kicking in the match, including a pin point kick towards the left corner in the 19th minute of the first half which came down less than a metre from the North Coast line when the Titans defence right there to drag the catcher back into the in-goal for a Northern Rivers Titans restart.

Harvey Moase also produced an outstanding kick in the 21st minute of the first half, this time to the right corner, once again the ball came down close to the North Coast line with the Bulldogs left winger unable to take the ball cleanly.

Harvey Moase also started at halfback in Round Three against the Greater Northern Tigers once again highlighting his tactical kicking including a smart short kick into the in-goal in just the third minute of the match to force the Tigers to restart by way of the goal line drop out.

From the resultant set of six after the drop out, Harvey Moase had a try assist when he put up a pinpoint kick to the right corner which found Harry Sivewright on the chest for him to score untouched.

Harvey Moase also started at halfback in Round Four at Lismore against the Central Coast Roosters, kicking three conversions including converting Blake Forder’s 67th minute try from the right touchline. Harvey Moase in fact set up Blake Forder’s try with a deft right foot grubber into the in-goal in the right corner.

A minute earlier Harvey Moase had forced the Central Coast fullback to take the ball dead when he put in a right foot grubber kick into the in-goal. Harvey Moase set up Blake Forder’s try from the resultant restart.

Harvey Moase continued at halfback in Round Five against the Newcastle Knights and produced a great try saving tackle in the opening minutes of the second half when he scrambled to his right to get to the Newcastle fullback and prevent a try. Harvey Moase made another try saving tackle in the second half of the match in the 63rd minute when he got low and stopped the Newcastle No. 14 when he tried to sneak over from dummy half from close range to the right of the play the ball.

Harvey Moase started at halfback for the Cudgen Hornets in Round One of the NRRRL U18 competition, kicking five conversions and recording two try assists as the Hornets defeated the Tweed Coast Raiders 38 – 6.

Harvey Moase’s opening try assist of the match came in the 33rd minute when he ran the ball down a short left blind side, taking the ball all of the way to the line before throwing a cut out pass to his left to his left winger to dive over in the corner. Harvey Moase then produced to kick the conversion from right on the touchline.

Harvey Moase recorded his second try assist in the 51st minute when he put in a right foot stab kick to the right for Cudgen to score once again.

Harvey Moase was also heavily involved in a Cudgen try in the 15th minute when he put in a chip kick to the right wing which was retrieved by Cudgen with right centre Jett Forbes ultimately racing away to score.

Harvey Moase also started at halfback in Round Two against Casino RSM kicking four conversions, including one from five metres in from the left touchline in the 11th minute and recording two try assists in the Hornets solid victory.

Harvey Moase’s first try assist was recorded in the 21st minute when he ran the ball down a short left blindside ten metres out and throwing a cut out pass to put his support runner over in the left corner.

Harvey Moase added his second try assist of the match in the 28th minute when he took the ball to the line and threw a short ball to his inside to put Darcy Townsend through the line and subsequently score.

Harvey Moase made a strong run of his own in the 58th minute when he received the ball on the right but ran a winding route back to the left, breaking five tackles before off-loading the ball.

Harvey Moase continued at halfback in Round Four in the local derby against the Bilambil Jets and after missing Round Five, Harvey Moase was back at halfback and kicked two conversions in Round Six against Byron Bay.

Harvey Moase continued at halfback in Round Seven against the Marist Brothers Rams, kicking four conversions in Cudgen’s victory including an outstanding kick from the right touchline in the 52nd minute to convert a Tobey Carpenter try.

Harvey Moase also started at halfback in Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys and kicked nine conversions from ten attempts (90% strike rate) in the Hornets comprehensive victory.

In addition to his outstanding goal kicking, Harvey Moase was heavily involved in multiple Hornets tries with the first of those involvements coming in just the 3rd minute when he took the ball to the line on the right side of the field near the halfway mark, putting his right second rower, Rohan Beggs, into a gap with the right second rower subsequently drawing the Kyogle fullback to send Jett Forbes on a twenty metres run to put the ball down under the posts.

Harvey Moase also recorded a line break assist in the lead up to Dominic Bowman’s 9th minute try when he put Jett Forbes into a gap with the right centre subsequently drawing the Kyogle fullback to send right winger Dominic Bowman over in the right corner.

Harvey Moase continued at halfback in Round Ten against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.
Harvey Moase was part of the Titans U16 side that defeated the Newcastle Knights U16 Harold Matthews side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020, 18 - 14 in wet and slippery conditions coming off the bench in that fixture.
Harvey Moase kicked his 2020 representative season off starting at half back for the Northern Rivers Titans U16 side in their first trial of the season when they defeated the North Coast Bulldogs in an outstanding first up hit out in northern New South Wales.
Harvey Moase was set to start at half back for the Northern Rivers Titans in Round One of the 2020 U16 Andrew Johns Cup against the Eels at Cudgen however the match was cancelled due to the wet conditions prevailing that weekend.

Harvey Moase started Round Two of the U16 Andrew Johns Cup at halfback against the Newcastle Knights in Ballina kicking a conversion in their 28 – 22 victory and added a try assist early in the match when he threw the last pass to right winger Jamal Laurie after a scrum based move down a short right blind side.

Harvey Moase also started at half in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters and recorded a try assist when he ran across field to his right to put centre Michael Roberts into a hole with a great weighted pass.

Harvey Moase also started at halfback in Round Four against the Greater Northern Tigers and added another try assist to his 2020 playing resume. In just the second minute of the match, Harvey Moase put in a pin point bomb to the right corner for winger Jamal Laurie to leap up and take on the full to score a spectacular try.

Harvey Moase was once again at half in the Round Five local derby against North Coast leading his side around the field well in their 20 – 18 victory.

Harvey Moase played the 2020 community rugby league season with the Cudgen Hornets in the Group 18 U16 competition primarily at half back including an outstanding effort in Round Four against South Tweed and a similarly impressive performance in Round Five against the Murwillumbah Colts.

The 2020 U16 Group 18 Cudgen Hornets finished the regular season winning two games and losing eight, along the way scoring 138 points and conceding 244 to finish with a -106 points differential. Post the season Harvey Moase was named the Cudgen Hornets Group 18 U16 Best Back and was also named as the joint Cudgen Hornets Junior Representative Player of the 2020 season.

Harvey Moase made his NRRRL U18 debut for Cudgen in Round Four of that competition off the bench as the Hornets defeated Murwillumbah 18 – 14. Harvey Moase played for the Cudgen U16 side the previous day.

Harvey Moase continued his run in the NRRRL U18 competition in Round Five, starting the match against the Bilambil Jets at half back as well as Round Six against the Tweed Coast Raiders when he teamed up in the halves with Tanu Nona and also started at half back in Round Seven against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

In Round Seven against the Bilambil Jets, Harvey Moase once again started at half back as he did in Round Eight against the Tweed Coast Raiders.

In Cudgen’s 2020 NRRRL U18 Major semi-final loss against Murwillumbah Harvey Moase started at half back. Harvey Moase was also on the bench in the 2020 NRRRL Green U18 Grand Final playing right second row as the Hornets defeated Murwillumbah 28 – 16 in a bad tempered Grand Final.

In early October 2020 Harvey Moase was part of the 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 wore Titans jerseys.

In late 2020 Harvey Moase was named in the 2021 Tweed Coast Giants U16/17 Boys Oztag squad.

In February 2019 Harvey Moase started at half back for one of the Titans two U15 sides in their round robin matches against each other and the Western Mustangs with the youngster leading his Titans side around well in very hot conditions.

Harvey Moase also started at half back for the Titans U15 side that defeated a Balmain U15 side 34 – 16 in early October producing an outstanding performance in Titans colours leading the Titans side around the field well and also produced an outstanding tactical kicking display, including a first half 40/20 with the Titans scoring off the subsequent scrum feed,

In September 2019 Harvey Moase was named the Group 18 U15 Player of the year after an outstanding season with the Cudgen Hornets U15 side and was also named the Group 18 Representative Player of the Year.

Late in the 2019 season Harvey Moase represented Group 18 at the U15 New South Wales Country Age Championships in Port Macquarie starting at half.

Late in the 2019 season at the Group 18 Presentation night Harvey Moase was deservedly named as the Group 18 U15 Representative Player of the Year.

In 2019 Harvey Moase also represented the Northern region NSW CCC U15 rugby league side at their trials held in May in Sydney after the Kingscliff High School student stood out for the Far North Coast side in the Northern Trials.

The young Cudgen Hornets half represented the Group 18 U14 side in 2018 in the New South Wales Country Age Championships and post those Championships was selected as part of the Titans 2018/19 Group 18 U15 Development Squad.

In the 2018 U14 New South Wales Country Age Championships for Group 18 Harvey Moase started at half in all three of Group 18’s matches which were against Group’s 21, Four and Two kicking conversion against Group Two.

Harvey Moase has above average speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus category and top end speed which can probably be classified in the above average range.

Harvey Moase with his speed is able to exploit gaps in the defensive line with a very good step off either foot and incredible acceleration as well as outstanding body control.

Harvey Moase has very good timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Harvey Moase also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Harvey Moase is going to do.

Harvey Moase has a very good kick on him and also has good accuracy to go with the power that he generates. His kicking game suggests he will be a real 40/20 threat as he matures and progresses. Harvey Moase also gets his kicks away quickly thus not allowing the defenders to put an undue amount of pressure on him.

Harvey Moase does have some subtly though in his kicking, he is adept at grubber kicking into the opposition in goal line as well as putting appropriate weight on his chip kicks, in an effort to get a repeat set of tackles. In short Harvey Moase is a very good tactical kicker, who is above average in all aspects and flashes plus ability in a few attributes such as range, weighting of the kicks and of course direction.

It is more that conceivable that Harvey Moase is going to be a 40/20 threat in the coming seasons, the fact that he gets his kicks away quickly with such depth and accuracy also adds to this more than reasonable hypothesis.

Defensively Harvey Moase is a very strong young man for his size with solid 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. Harvey Moase also has a very good low tackling technique which is simple, repeatable and effective against all size opponents.

Harvey Moase will play the 2022 season with the Cudgen Hornets in the NRRRL U18 competition and will also be in line to represent the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad for the second season in a row.

With his ability to see the entire field as if he has a bird eye view of it and his ability to guide and direct his side around the field, adhering precisely to the game plan, Harvey Moase is ideally suited to controlling a side from the half back position.

Harvey Moase definitely reminds me of former Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights five eight Brock Lamb. Like Lamb, Harvey Moase is highly composed under pressure, with an above average kicking game, both tactical and attacking as well as goal kicking for that matter and underrated running, ball playing and passing skills.

[Whats Doing]

Hi Mdrew. I was wondering how Oskar Bryant compares to Blake Mozer who is rated as a future star as a hooker. If Mozer is that far ahead, what are the chances of the titans securing him once off contract with the Broncos.

[mdrew]

For me, Mozer is not ahead at all, they are very close in terms of long term potential all be it they play a very different style. Both were also in the South Coast Open school boy side this year and both were named in the Queensland School Boy Merit side as well.

Oskar Bryant is busier, more of an all action type and better running and kicking out of dummy half, Mozer is a bit better as a game manager at this point and slightly better defensively at this stage of their careers.

Hi Mdrew. I was wondering how Oskar Bryant compares to Blake Mozer who is rated as a future star as a hooker. If Mozer is that far ahead, what are the chances of the titans securing him once off contract with the Broncos.

[Whats Doing]

For me, Mozer is not ahead at all, they are very close in terms of long term potential all be it they play a very different style. Both were also in the South Coast Open school boy side this year and both were named in the Queensland School Boy Merit side as well.

Oskar Bryant is busier, more of an all action type and better running and kicking out of dummy half, Mozer is a bit better as a game manager at this point and slightly better defensively at this stage of their careers.

Well that is promising seeing we are desperate for a hooker to come through our systems. Thanks for the update

[mdrew]

Kai Dalli. Ballina Seagulls Group One U13 centre Kai Dalli had an outstanding 2021 season, scoring sixteen tries through his first ten matches, scoring in nine of them for a 160% strike rate. The only match that Kai Dalli has not scored in was his first match of the 2021 season which was in Round Three against Kyogle.

Kai Dalli has scored hat tricks in Rounds Six and Eight against Clarence Coast and Casino RSM respectively. He has also scored doubles in Round Four and Five against South Grafton, Round Ten against Kyogle and Round Eleven against South Grafton.

Round Twelve against Clarence Coast saw Kai Dalli score a try and kick a conversion. Kai Dalli was then named in the centres for Round Thirteen against the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring twice in Ballina’s impressive 46 – 12 victory.

Kai Dalli finished the abridged 2021 Group One U13 regular season as the competitions equal third leading try scorer with eighteen seven tries.

Kai Dalli is a quick centre with a fluid running style with a classic centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. In term of his play, the in and away is his bread and butter, he has very good speed off the mark and can break to the outside quickly, couple that with long arms, which he uses to great effect with a powerful fend makes him difficult to tackle. When opposing centres are able to get hold of him, Kai Dalli usually is able to maintain his balance and keeps an arm free, looking to offload.

Kai Dalli has more tools though than just an in and away, he will also use his size and strength to run straight over smaller opposing centres as well as also having the skill to step back inside of the defender if he is pushing to the outside too early. What Kai Dalli is also adept at doing is timing his pass to his outside supports if the outside defender looks to come in and help defend him allowing an overlap to develop on the outside.

Due to his size and strength, Kai Dalli is a very good defender regardless of position. He will not necessarily hit hard, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing centre and wrapping him up ball and all. He 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, Kai Dalli 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 Kai Dalli line-up for the Ballina Seagulls once again in the Group One U14 competition. If representative rugby league restarts in 2022 Kai Dalli will immediately be in the mix for those opportunities.

Kai Dalli is big strong and powerful and whilst at present can spends time in the centres I believe that he is destined to end up in the forwards, likely in the front row but to be fair Kai Dalli has the speed and mobility to potentially play in the second row.

For me Kai Dalli has a playing style akin to that of Brisbane Bronco’s centre Kotoni Staggs, both just exhibit a feel and desire for the game of rugby league that just cannot be taught and can also play multiple positions equally effectively.

I appreciate that I have used Kotoni Staggs has a player comparison and that Staggs plays in the centres for the Bronco’s rather than where I anticipate where Kai Dalli ultimately ends up, but I am using him as a comparison as Kai Dalli runs with the same type of power, intensity and aggressiveness.

[mdrew]

Elijah Freeman. The young Casino RSM lock or hooker had an outstanding 2021 season in the Group One U14 competition.

Elijah Freeman started at lock in Round Eleven against the Grafton Ghosts and was one of Casino RSM’s try scorers in the 18 – 10 loss. Even though he started the match at lock, Elijah Freeman spent long portions of the match in the dummy half role, excelling in that position as well.

Elijah Freeman scored in the 45th minute when he moved into dummy half a metre from the line, dummying to his left before diving over just to the right of the play the ball mid-way between the corner post and goal posts on the right side of the field.

The Round Eleven match also saw Elijah Freeman make a long fifty metre line break directly through the centre of the ruck when his hard charge enabled him to burst through the Ghosts defensive line.

Elijah Freeman also started at lock in Round Ten against the Marist Rams and once again was one of Casino RSM’s try scorers in a touch six point loss.

In the 18th minute Elijah Freeman was able to score in the right corner from ten metres out. Initially Elijah Freeman received the ball ten metres to the right of the goal posts and was able to get on the outside of the Rams defence and then held his line when hit by the cover defence to get the ball down in the right corner.

Prior to Round Ten, Elijah Freeman scored a Round Three double against the Marist Rams and also scored in Round Two (Kyogle), Round Four (Grafton) and in Round Eight against the South Grafton Rebels.

Elijah Freeman also played for Casino RSM in 2020 in the Group One U13 competition, spending time at hooker, lock and second row.

When Elijah Freeman runs the ball, he is exceptionally quick and explosive, with outstanding plus speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space, teams in his age group in the Group One junior competition teams just could not handle Elijah Freeman when he runs the ball. Elijah Freeman can aptly be described as a speed machine.

Elijah Freeman also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed. On many occasions when he made a break, his support could not keep up and thus Elijah Freeman used his incredible footwork and speed to beat the opposing fullback by himself.

There is nothing that Elijah Freeman 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 Elijah Freeman also played at the line quite often and was his team’s primary attacking option but impressively is cognisant of getting his team mates involved in his teams attacking game plan and structure.

In addition Elijah Freeman 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. Elijah Freeman 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 Elijah Freeman play making skills continue to evolve, the attacking possibilities for him are limitless.

Elijah Freeman is aggressive in defence whether defending in the centre of the ruck or on the fringes or even wider out 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.

Elijah Freeman’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 he is aggressive, but not to the extent that he will give away penalties, he just wants to win every one on one contest. Elijah Freeman is also a very good cover defender as a result of his speed and tenacity.

Due to his speed and athleticism and for that matter hard work and determination Elijah Freeman covers across the field well, thus putting him in a good position to make the tackle when the ball is turned back inside from the halves as is the case so often in the modern game.

In 2022 Elijah Freeman will play for Casino RSM once again in the Group One U15 competition. If representative rugby league restarts in 2022 Elijah Freeman will immediately be in the mix for those opportunities.

From a position perspective Elijah Freeman shapes as a utility player who can fit in at either lock or hooker and be a link between his forwards and backs as well as being a very good ball runner in his own right.

From a player comparison perspective, Elijah Freeman 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. Like Peachey, Elijah Freeman can be a utility player who a coach can plug into a variety of positions and handle each of them well.

In saying that Elijah Freeman is certainly more than good enough to start at either lock or hooker in any level of competition and I mean ANY level.

[mdrew]

Traevon Basinauro. One of the best ball runners in the Group One competition in 2021 was Marist Rams five eight Traevon Basinauro who played in the Northern New South Wales Group One U13 competition.

The electric young five eight scored twelve tries through the opening twelve rounds and he also converted one of his own tries in Round Eleven against Casino RSM.

Traevon Basinauro scored four tries in Round Four against Clarence Coast, a hat trick in Round Three against Casino RSM, doubles in Round Eight against Clarence Coast and Round Eleven against Casino RSM. Traevon Basinauro also scored in Round Ten against Casino RSM.

Traevon Basinuaro’s Round Ten 28th minute try was a long range blinder. Casino RSM were on the attack and put in a chip kick towards their right wing, which came down a metre from the line and was regathered by a Casino RSM attacker who then attempted to off-load. Traevon Basinauro swooped onto the ball after the off-load went to ground with Traevon Basinauro collecting the ball a metre from his own line and then Traevon Basinauro raced ninety nine metres untouched and was able to slow down and place the ball down under the posts with no Casino RSM defenders in sight.

Traevon Basinuaro’s opening try of Round Eleven came in the 27th minute when he received the ball thirty five metres from the line off the dummy half with the play the ball near the right touchline. After receiving the ball Traevon Basinuaro exploded between two defenders as he continued to run to his right and from there his speed coupled with his diagonal run to his left was too much for the defence. Traevon Basinuaro crossed the try line in the left corner but he was able to bring the ball around seven or eight metres once he had crossed the line.

Traevon Basinuaro completed his double in the 51st minute of the match when from eight metres out, he ran to his left out of dummy half down a short left blindside to get the ball down in the left corner.

At this stage of his career, Traevon Basinauro is more of a running five eight and a dynamic one at that. It is hard to put in words just how talented Traevon Basinauro is in terms of running the ball, he has outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end speed which must be considered plus regardless of position.

Traevon Basinauro with his speed is able to exploit even small gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible acceleration as well as outstanding body control. It is that speed trait which opens up his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Traevon Basinauro 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 Traevon Basinauro can exploit either through a step or passing to his support runners.

Traevon Basinauro has above average 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 Traevon Basinauro 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.

Traevon Basinauro also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Traevon Basinauro is going to do.

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

Traevon Basinauro 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 Traevon Basinauro’s side of the field. In short just like his attacking play Traevon Basinauro is an outstanding defender for his position and size.

2022 will see Traevon Basinauro line-up for the Marist Rams once again in the Group One U14 competition. If representative rugby league restarts in 2022 Traevon Basinauro will immediately be in the mix for those opportunities.

Traevon Basinauro is an outstanding runner of the ball and with his developing ball playing ability he seems destined to be a young player who can stick at five eight as he progresses through the junior rugby league ranks.

From my perspective, a talented, unselfish attacking player with similar attributes to Traevon Basinauro is North Queensland Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater. Like Drinkwater, Traevon Basinauro has great acceleration to go along with a wicked sidestep and the developing play making skills to make opposition teams pay if defences look to focus too much on him.

[mdrew]

Luke Kofutua. (Revised) The former Western Australian raised youngster took the opportunity to move across to the Gold Coast to continue his sporting career at Keebra Park State High School for the start of the 2018 season and made an immediate impact being selected on the bench for the South Coast U15 QSSRL side after the early season trials.

In 2022 Luke Kofutua will move back from rugby to rugby league and line up for Burleigh in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition.

In 2020 Luke Kofutua played for the Nerang “Flying” Bulls in the Gold Coast District Rugby U17 competition, playing primarily off the bench but he did start a number of matches at No. 8.

In 2019 Luke Kofutua was selected in the Queensland White U16 representative side for the National U16 Rugby Championships, scoring in Queensland White’s first match of the Championships against Western Australia.

Even though Luke Kofutua spent time at Keebra Park State High School, he also spent time at Ipswich Grammar School playing school boy rugby in the vaunted GPS school boy rugby competition.

Even though he was still eligible to play at the U15 age group, Luke Kofutua has started off the 2018 season in the U16 Division One competition with the Southport Tigers and started Round Two (Southport had a Round One bye) against Burleigh from the interchange bench in Southport’s 22 – 4 victory in a hard fought clash. After his debut, Luke Kofutua played in an additional nine matches for the Southport U16 Division One side in 2018.

Luke Kofutua also played club rugby on the Gold Coast this season, playing for the Griffith University Colleges U15 side and started at No. 8 and scored a try in their 47 – 29 Grand Final victory that was played as a curtain raiser to the Rugby International between the Wallabies and Argentina on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago.

Luke Kofutua played in fifteen of Griffith University Colleges matches, seven at No. 8, five at open side flanker (No. 7), one at blind side flanker (No. 6) and one from the bench.

In those fifteen appearances, Luke Kofutua scored four tries, being in Round Three and Twelve against Bond Pirates, Round Nine and Fourteen against the Gold Coast Eagles.

In Western Australia, Luke Kofutua was a talented junior rugby player from Perth’s Thornlie State High School and in 2017 was selected in the Western Australian U14 State Championship rugby side. Luke Kofutua played No. 8 for the Kalamunda Junior Rugby club in Perth at the U14 level in 2017. Kalamunda were defeated in the Preliminary final 13 – 5 of that competition last year.

Luke Kofutua is a powerful wide running back rower 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. Luke Kofutua is quite 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 which is a plus attribute for such a strong powerful No. 8

Luke Kotutua’s speed thus makes it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space. Couple Luke Kofutua’s hard running style with a very good fend and you have a big strong powerful young player who can cause nightmares for any defensive line regardless of the code.

Defensively the most impressive aspect of Luke Kofutua’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. In the Perth Junior Rugby and Gold Coast Junior Rugby competitions he continually made up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions and then clean out in the rucks and mauls and then Luke Kofutua was also the first Epping player to take the ball up.

Whilst his stamina is impressive, so is Luke Kofutua’s initial contact, he uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier.

One match in the 2018 South Coast U15 QSSRL trials was outstanding, he came out of the line and smashed the Coombabah ball carrier (a more than talented youngster in his own right) with a superb front on tackle perfectly highlighting his timing toughness and technique regardless of his non-rugby league background.

Luke Kofutua is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role he is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward he has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.

Luke Kofutua will play the 2022 season with the Burleigh Bears in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition and Luke Kofutua will also be Colts eligible in 2023.

From a purely rugby league perspective the extremely talented former Western Australian rugby No. 8 looks and plays like an outstanding rugby league front rower who can either play in the centre of the field or a touch wider out on the fringes of the ruck as the game dictates and be equally effective in both situations.

The absolute perfect NRL player comparison for Luke Kofutua is Parramatta Eels and New South Wales State of Origin front rower Junior Paulo. Also like Paulo, Luke Kofutua is a very good off loader of the ball both before the defensive line and whilst he is in contact with it and defensively he is a strong presence with a solid repeatable front on tackling technique with a touch of aggressiveness involved as well.

Luke Kofutua is one of a number of Western Australian youngsters who have moved over to the Gold Coast in recent seasons. Another young player to come over from Western Australia recently is former South Perth Lions front rower or second rower Wailer Whaiapu who is now a Titans contracted player and also attends Keebra Park State High School like Luke Kofutua did.

[mdrew]

Billy Kilduff. Powerful Grafton Ghosts lock or second rower Billy Kilduff had a very solid season in 2021 in the Group One U15 competition in the Ghosts famous blue and white colours.

Billy Kilduff who started every match at either lock or in the second row for the Ghosts scored six tries in 2021 with doubles in Rounds Two and Six against Casino RSM and Marist Rams respectively as well as in Round Four against Casino RSM and Round Eight against the Ballina Seagulls.

Billy Kilduff also played for the Grafton Ghosts in 2020 in the Group One U14 competition, scoring in Round Five against the South Grafton Rebels.

Billy Kilduff uses quick and a touch 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 Billy Kilduff will target the smaller defenders on the edge of the ruck and burst through and for a big young bloke Billy Kilduff has very good speed over the medium term and has the strength to drag defenders with him when they do not wrap up his legs correctly.

I would consider that Billy Kilduff’s speed would be considered above average for a front rower 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 Thomas King runs at.

Defensively Billy Kilduff aims hits very hard and usually hits around the top of the ball region and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls by using wrestling techniques well.

Over the last year or so Billy Kilduff’s speed and mobility seemed to have increased and as a consequence he is better able to mirror the opposition attackers more effectively and thus be better positioned to defend against them.

2022 will see Billy Kilduff line-up once again for the Grafton Ghosts in the Group One U16 competition and no doubt Billy Kilduff will also push for representative honours in the 2022 U1d Andrew Johns Cup competition for the Northern Rivers Titans.

Billy 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 in Northern New South Wales.

With his height and mobility whilst he is growing into his body, for me Billy Kilduff has some playing style similarities to Brisbane Bronco’s NRL forward Ethan Bullemor. Like Bullemor, early in his career, Billy Kilduff is likely to be able to alternate between the front row and second row but as he develops and grows into his frame, Billy Kilduff, like Bullemor should settle into being a solid yet mobile second rower who can play long minutes in the limited interchange era of rugby league.

[mdrew]

Beau Hartmann. The tall, fast and powerful Grafton Ghosts Group One U14 left centre or second rower (normally left sided anyway) had an impressive 2021 season including in Round Ten when he scored four tries for the Ghosts against traditional rivals the South Grafton Rebels.

The four tries that he scored in the Round Ten match meant that Beau Hartmann had scored thirteen tries in the 2021 Group One U14 competition through the opening ten rounds.

Beau Hartmann who has started from the bench (or at the least named there) in all of his matches this season has also scored two hat tricks which came in Round Six against the Marist Rams and Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys.

Beau Hartmann also scored doubles in Round Seven against the Ballina Seagulls and Round Eleven against Casino RSM and Beau Hartmann also ctrossed the try line in Round One also against the Marist Rams.

Against Casino RSM in Round Eleven, Beau Hartmann scored the first of his two tries with an outstanding long range individual in the 9th minute when from seventy metres out Beau Hartmann received the ball on the left side of the field. As soon as he took possession of the ball, Beau Hartmann accelerated through a gap directly between two Casino RSM defenders before running around the fullback to his right and then Beau Hartmann was able to get the ball down under the posts.

Beau Hartmann recorded the second of his two tries in the 25th minute when after receiving the ball fifteen metres out and on the right side of the field, Beau Hartmann sliced through the Casino RSM before stepping off his left foot to beat the fullback and then brought the ball around to score next to the right upright.

Beau Hartmann also broke the Casino RSM line in the 21st minute with a strong twenty metre effort down the left side of the field before producing a good left arm off-load to keep the play going.

From the bench in Round Twelve against the Clarence Coast Magpies, Beau Hartmann crossed for a hat trick in the Ghosts big win.

Beau Hartmann continued in the No. 16 jersey in Round Thirteen against the Ballina Seagulls, scoring a double for the Ghosts in their nail biting 27 – 26 victory.

Beau Hartmann finished the abridged 2021 Group One U14 regular season as the competition’s second leading try scorer with twenty tries for a strike rate of close to 200%.

Beau Hartmann also scored two tries in the Group One U15 competition with both tries coming from a double in Round Nine against Casino RSM.

Beau Hartmann started at left centre in Round Eleven of the Group One U15 competition against Casino RSM after playing in the U14 match earlier in the day and showed that he could comfortably handle the step up in age group with an assured performance including a strong twenty metre line break to get the ball over the halfway mark through the centre of the field.

Beau Hartmann was also named to start from the bench in Round Thirteen against the Ballina Seagulls.

Beau Hartmann also played for the Grafton Ghosts in 2020 in the Group One U13 competition, operating primarily in the centres including starting in the centres in the 2020 Group One U13 Grand Final against Ballina with Beau Hartmann starring in the Grafton’s Grand Final win, including scoring an impressive hat trick in a dominant display.

In the 2020 Group One U13 regular season Beau Hartmann scored fifteen tries including an outstanding four try effort in Round Five against the South Grafton Rebels. Beau Hartmann scored hat tricks in Rounds One and Ten, on both occasions against the Kyogle Turkeys. Beau Hartmann also scored doubles in Round Seven against South Grafton and Round Nine against Casino RSM and also scored in Round Three against Casino RSM.

Beau Hartmann also attends South Grafton High School and has been an impressive performer in Athletics and Swimming amongst other ssports at various levels in addition to rugby league.

Beau Hartmann is a strong, powerful runner of the ball and once he has generated momentum he is very difficult to stop and regularly has been able to drag defenders with him after initial contact has been made.

Once he is in space, Beau Hartmann actually has very good top end speed, I would consider it above average when analysing his speed from a rugby league forward’s perspective, to add to the difficulties for the defensive line, he runs with a high knee lift and also has a powerful right hand fend.

Defensively the most impressive aspect of Beau Hartmann’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. For the Grafton Ghosts in the 2021 Group One U14 competition he continually made up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions.

Whilst his stamina is impressive, so is Beau Hartmann’s initial contact, he uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier immediately upon impact.

Beau Hartmann is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role he is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward Beau Hartmann has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.

2022 will see Beau Hartmann line-up once again for the Grafton Ghosts in the Group One U15 competition and no doubt Beau Hartmann will also play a number of matches up an age group in the Group One U16 competition. If representative rugby league restarts in 2022 Beau Hartmann will immediately be in the mix for those opportunities.

Whilst Beau Hartmann played the majority of the 2020 season in the centres for Grafton, with his size and speed I believe that ultimately Beau Hartmann will settle in the second row and a very good one at that. For completeness I note that Beau Hartmann also played in the centres in 2021 “up an age group” in the Group One U15 competition.

Beau Hartmann is an intriguing and in some ways unique prospect in the Titans catchment area with the size, speed and power combination of someone like Penrith Panthers and New South Wales State of Origin’s Isiah Yeo as a player who just looks a lass apart from the majority of other players on the field. If anything Beau Hartmann has more speed (a fair bit more speed) than Yeo.

[mdrew]

Makiah Torrens. The electric young five eight had an outstanding 2021 Group One U13 season with Casino RSM.

Round Ten against Marist Rams saw Makiah Torrens start at five eight with the exciting talent scoring twice in Casino RSM’s big win. Makiah Torrens also set up one of Casino RSM’s tries in the match and kicked three conversions as well.

Makiah Torrens opening try came in just the 3rd minute of the match and it is a brilliant individual effort. Makiah Torrens received the ball to the right of the dummy half forty metres out and initially ran to his right before cutting back to his left exposing the area behind the play the ball. After splitting the Marist defence, Makiah Torrens veered to his left to beat the fullback before stepping off his left to straighten up his run then beat two more would be defenders on the way to getting the ball down five metres in from the left corner post.

Makiah Torrens competed his double in the 41st minute when he scored under the posts after running the ball from one off a scrum. Makiah Torrens received the ball to the right of a scrum eighteen metres out and ran at the line, dummying to his left before cutting back to his right into a gap and subsequently getting the ball down under the posts.

Makiah Torrens recorded his try assist in the 7th minute of the match when from twenty metres out and operating on the right, Makiah Torrens put in a right foot grubber kick towards the right corner with the kick ideally weighted for a team mate to fly through and get the ball down in the right corner.

In Round Eleven also against the Marist Rams, Makiah Torrens was as close to unstoppable as a young player could get in dominating the match from start to finish. As well as scoring four tries, Makiah Torrens also kicked four goals.

In just the 5th minute, Makiah Torrens scored his opening try when after receiving the ball on the left side of the field, he charged onto the ball, receiving the pass from his inside twelve metres out and from there he Makiah Torrens was simply to strong and fast for the defence, running straight through a gap and past two defenders and then carried two more over the line to get the ball down ten metres in from the left corner.

Makiah Torrens added a second try in the 20th minute and it was probably the pick of the four that he scored in the match. Makiah Torrens received the ball fifteen metres from the try line and to the right of the play the ball. Once he took possession of the ball Makiah Torrens ran to his right at the line with the ball out in front of his body in both hands. When he was close to the defensive line, Makiah Torrens dummied twice to his right in quick succession before stepping off his right to beat two defenders before Makiah Torrens carried three more Marist defenders over the line to get the ball down three metres to the right of the uprights. Makiah Torrens then stepped up to kick the conversion.

Just two minutes later in the 22nd minute Makiah Torrens completed his hat trick when he exploded down the right touchline, breaking the line sixty metres out. After breaking the line, Makiah Torrens produced a late and explosive right foot step to easily beat the Marist fullback and from there Makiah Torrens had a comfortable and uninterrupted run to put the ball down under the posts.

Makiah Torrens made it four tries for the match in the 43rd minute when he backed up a break by a team mate down the left touchline, receiving the offload ten metres out and then was able to comfortably bring the ball around to put it down untouched under the posts.

Makiah Torrens added a further try from the five eight position in Round Twelve against the South Grafton Rebels. The Round Twelve match also saw Makiah Torrens kick two conversions.

Prior to Round Ten, Makiah Torrens had some outstanding matches as well, none better than in Round Seven against the Clarence Coast Magpies with Makiah Torrens finishing the match with an individual haul of twenty eight points from five tries and four conversions in a big Casino RSM victory.

Makiah Torrens also scored a Round Six double against the Marist Rams and scored in Rounds Two and Nine against the Kyogle Turkeys.

Through the opening twelve rounds, Makiah Torrens was scored sixteen tries and kicked nineteen goals for a total of 102 points.

Makiah Torrens continued at five eight in Round Thirteen against the Kyogle Turkeys, scoring fourteen of Casino RSM’s twenty two points from two tries and three conversions from four attempts.

Makiah Torrens finished the abridged 2021 Group One U13 regular season as the competitions equal third leading try scorer with eighteen seven tries.

In 2020 Makiah Torrens also played for Casino RSM in the Group One U13 competition scoring five tries, including doubles in Rounds Three and Four against the Grafton Ghosts and South Grafton Rebels respectively and also scored in Round One against the Ballina Seagulls.

It is hard to put in words just how talented Makiah Torrens is in terms of running the ball, he has
outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end
speed which must be considered plus regardless of position. Makiah Torrens with his speed and balance is able 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 his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Makiah Torrens when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that they open up holes wider out in the defensive line that he can exploit.

Makiah Torrens 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 Makiah Torrens 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. Makiah Torrens also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what he is going to do.

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

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

In 2022 Makiah Torrens will play for Casino RSM in the Group One U14 competition. If representative rugby league restarts in 2022 Makiah Torrens will immediately be in the mix for those opportunities.

Makiah Torrens has already established himself as an outstanding five eight prospect and no one can argue that five eight is his best position based on the quality of his play. Put simply that more that Makiah Torrens has the ball in his hands the better for him and his team mates.

For me Makiah Torrens has the size, strength, speed and power of Jack Weighton with the guile and ball skills of Cody Walker. Makiah Torrens has the potential to be a very special player, a very special one.