My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Joshua Donovan-Skinner. The exciting young Grafton Ghosts fullback or centre is part of the Titans 2020 Group One Academy squad that was training on a weekly basis in Ballina in Northern New South Wales. Ghosts team mate Lockie McLaughlin is also part of the exciting Titans JTS squad based in the Group One region of Northern New South Wales.

In November 2020 Joshua Donovan-Skinner started once again training with the Titans development squad from the Group One region under the direction of former Titans NRL player Kane Elgey.

In Round One of the 2021 Group One U14 competition, Joshua Donovan-Skinner started in the centres for the Grafton Ghosts against the Marist Brothers Rams Lismore and was a multiple try scorer for the Ghosts scored as they disposed of the Rams 38 – 12.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner also started in the centres in Round Two against Casino RSM and in Round Three in the local derby against the South Grafton Rebels.

Over the course of the 2021 season with the Grafton Ghosts, Joshua Donovan-Skinner transitioned to fullback playing some outstanding matches in that position including in Round Eleven against Casino RSM.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner was heavily involved in a lot of the good things that the Ghosts did in their Round Eleven victory, including a strong sequence in just the 7th minute of the match. From a Grafton scrum win fifteen metres out from the line, Joshua Donovan-Skinner positioned himself to the right of the scrum, after receiving the ball after Grafton won the scrum, Joshua Donovan-Skinner took the ball to the line before executing a good short pass to his right to a charging Lockie McLaughlin who was dragged down just short of the line.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner continued to loop around to the right, receiving the ball after Lockie McLaughlin played the ball. After receiving the ball from the dummy half Joshua Donovan-Skinner threw a long cut-out pass to his right to put his unmarked right centre over in the right corner. Joshua Donovan-Skinner then stepped up to convert the try that he set up from the right touchline.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner recorded another try assist in the 49th minute when after receiving the ball on the left side of the field, he threw a cut out pass in the same direction to put his five eight over in the left corner.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner continued his strong match in the 26th minute when he produced another strong run after chiming into the backline on the right with Joshua Donovan-Skinner getting through the line before getting an off-load away with his left arm.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner made another line break in the 34th minute on that occasion from a kick return. The ball initially went over Joshua Donovan-Skinner’s head forcing him to track back and collect the ball twenty metres out and in front of his own posts. After retrieving the ball Joshua Donovan-Skinner ran to his right and was able to get outside the Casino RSM defensive line and charge thirty metres down the right touchline. Joshua Donovan-Skinner was eventually tackled near the halfway mark and after a scuffle that included the majority of players on the field, Joshua Donovan-Skinner was awarded a penalty.

In addition to kicking three conversions, Joshua Donovan-Skinner came close to scoring himself for the Ghosts when in the 56th minute when he received the ball near the halfway mark and put up a mid-field bomb, Joshua Donovan-Skinner chased the kick through himself and was on the spot to recover the ball after it was dropped by the Casino RSM fullback. Joshua Donovan-Skinner retrieved possession around twenty metres of the try line and got within two metres of the try line before being dragged down right in front of the posts.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner started in Round One of the 2020 Group One U14 competition for the Grafton Ghosts as their season got off to a winning start on the back of a 46 – 0 victory over the Kyogle Turkeys.

In total in the 2020 Group One U14 competition the Grafton Ghosts won nine out of their ten matches scoring 208 points and conceding 62 to finish with a positive points differential of +146.

After and outstanding 2020 Group One U14 regular season, Joshua Donovan-Skinner was part of the Grafton Ghosts side that took on the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Grand Final. Unfortunately Grafton went down 30 – 16 after a very close first half.

The Grafton High School student played the 2019 Group One U13 season with the Grafton Ghosts and started in his sides 24 – 16 Grand Final victory over the Clarence Coast Magpies scoring in the premiership decider.

In the 2019 Group One U13 competition Joshua Donovan Skinner played in twelve matches in the Grafton Ghosts blue and white colours including the finals scoring an impressive ninety four points comprised from fifteen tries (125% strike rate) and seventeen goals. Joshua Donovan-Skinner as a consequence finished the 2019 season as the Group One U13 equal leading try scorer (equal with Clarence Coast’s Tyrelle Waters who is also in the Titans Group One Academy squad), leading goal kicker and leading points scorer to record an impressive trifecta.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner scored a hat trick against Kyogle in late June 2019 and also scored three doubles which came against Kyogle, South Grafton and Ballina. As well as his Grand Final try, Joshua Donovan-Skinner also scored in matches against Clarence Coast (in two matches in the regular season), Casino RSM, Lismore Marist Brothers and in the Preliminary Final against the South Grafton Rebels.

With the boot Joshua Donovan-Skinner kicked five goals in a match on two occasions which were against Lismore Marist Brothers and Kyogle mid-season. In the match against Kyogle, Joshua Donovan-Skinner also scored a hat trick to finish the match with an individual point’s haul of twenty two points.

In 2019 Joshua Donovan-Skinner also played one match in the Group One U14 competition which was against Lismore Marist Brothers. Earlier that day Joshua Donovan-Skinner scored twenty two points in the U13 match to cap a great day for the young man.

In 2018 Joshua Donovan-Skinner played fourteen matches in the Group One U12 competition finishing the season with thirty eight points from four tries and eleven goals with his tries coming in separate matches against South Grafton twice, Casino RSM and Clarence Coast.

In 2017 Joshua Donovan-Skinner made his representative debut when he played for the U11 North Coast side in the New South Wales U11 Age Championships.

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

On many occasions when he makes a break, Joshua Donovan-Skinners support could not keep up and thus he used his incredible footwork and speed to beat the opposing fullback by himself. There is nothing that Joshua Donovan-Skinner 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 Joshua Donovan-Skinner also played up in the line quite often and was his team’s primary attacking option.

In addition Joshua Donovan-Skinner also has the ball playing skills to set up his support runners and get them lines to run into when defenders came out of the line to negate his time with the ball in hand. He obviously was a key target for defences but he understands that he cannot do it all himself and thus became adept at drawing defenders out of the line and putting his support runners into the subsequent hole. As his play making skills continue to evolve, the attacking possibilities are endless.

In terms of running the ball back from kicks, Joshua Donovan-Skinner’s timing and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of balls on the full and makes a quick decision whether to run the ball flat out back into the oncoming defenders or look to create an opportunity by running across field. Regardless Joshua Donovan-Skinner is an absolute handful to tackle with his speed and evasion skills.

Joshua Donovan-Skinner 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 Joshua Donovan-Skinner will be necessarily a team’s primary general play kicker, although that is not set in stone, but has the skill set to be at the minimum and very good secondary option when the primary kicker is under pressure.

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

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

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

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

Joshua Donovan-Skinner played the 2020 season in the Group One U14 competition and the 2021 in the U15 comeptition with the Grafton Ghosts and was set to play for Grafton High School in various Northern New South Wales High School boy rugby league competitions including the DEX Shield. Joshua Donovan-Skinner would likely have been part of the Group One U14 representative side for the 2020 New South Wales Country Age Championships however they were cancelled.

Joshau Donovan-Skinner will play the 2022 season with the Grafton Ghosts U16 Group One side and from a representative perspective will be in the mix for a spot in the 2022 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition.

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

From a player comparison perspective, I will once again qualify my comments that when I am making a player comparison I am talking about a playing style rather than potential career path. For me Joshua Donovan-Skinner has a little bit of former South Sydney Rabbitoh, Queensland State of Origin captain and Australian Test centre Greg Inglis in his game in terms of being a damaging ball runner as well as being able to put on a big hit from a defensive perspective.

On his day, which are becoming increasingly more frequent Joshua Donovan-Skinner can be a damaging ball runner who can just break a game open with a piece of individual brilliance.

[mdrew]

Brady Turner. In June 2021, Brady Turner 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.

Brady Turner was named in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side for their Round One match against the Wests Tigers.

Even though he gave away a lot of size to the opposing Wests Tigers forward pack, Brady Turner performed very well in both attack and defence in his stints on the field with his work rate being one his impressive attributes that were on display over the course of the match.

Brady Turner also started in the front row in Round Two against local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs in Nambucca Heads and was immediately in the action with a great tackle as North Coast returned the kick-off. For me Brady Turner was the best player on the field for the Northern Rivers Titans in the match.

Brady Turner started once again in the front row in Round Three against the Greater Northern Tigers producing an outstanding display which started from just the second hit-up of the match with a strong run.

Brady Turner also produced a strong charge from the third hit-up from the restart after Jaylen Taewa had scored in the 33rd minute. Once again Brady Turner charged into the Tigers forward pack making significant post contact metres,

Brady Turner was also very good defensively in the match including being on hand to hold up the Greater Northern Tigers front rower over the line with the assistance of Cameron Bevan. Brady Turner produced another try saving tackle in the29th minute when he brought down the Greater Northern Tigers hooker who had tried to sneak over from dummy half.

Early in the second half, Brady Turner produced a great front on one on one tackle that absolutely rattled the opposing forward.

Brady Turner continued in the front row in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters as usual impressing early, including taking two of the hit-ups in the opening set of six in the match after Central Coast kicked off.

Brady Turner also started in the front row in Round Five against the Newcastle Knights and as usual was involved from the start, including taking the third hit-up of the match.

Brady Turner deservedly scored his first try of the competition in the 15th minute when after a six again call, he charged onto the ball from ten metres out, producing a slight jink off his left foot before reaching out to get the ball down ten metres to the left of the uprights.

Brady Turner then took the hit-up from the resultant kick-off and then the 4th hit-up in the same set.

Brady Turner also had a strong defensive match including a big front on tackle on the Newcastle centre (No. 3) in the opening minutes of the second half. Brady Turner produced a different type of tackle a couple of minute later but it was equally effective when he cut the legs out from under the Newcastle No. 11 and then also made the next tackle when the Newcastle dummy half tried to sneak out of dummy half to Brady Turner’s left when he was at marker.

In the 51st minute of the match, Brady Turner produced the highlight reel moment of the match (and maybe the season) when he rampaging seventy metres down field right through the centre of the Newcastle ruck after charging onto the ball near his own try line. Brady Turner broke at least four tackles in the incredible run that led to a try a minute later and on at least one occasions near the halfway mark it appeared that he would be brought down but Brady Turner kept fighting and was able to break away from the defence and kept making ground.

At the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans Awards Night, Brady Turner was presented with the 2021 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Coaches Award.

In early October 2020 Brady Turner was part of the Titans Group 18 U14/15 side that played a trial match against a Titans Gold Coast U14 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 the 2020 Group 18 U15 competition Brady Turner played for Murwillumbah Colts who won two matches and lost eight, scoring 122 points and conceding 298 to finish with a points differential of -176. After the completion of the 2020 Group 18 U15 season, Brady Turner was named the Murwillumbah U15 Best and Fairest.

The Murwillumbah youngster was also part of the Titans 2018/19 Group 18 U14 Development Squad after playing the 2018 season in the Group 18 U13 competition and the 2019 season in the Group 18 U14 competition.

In September 2019 Brady Turner was named the Group 18 U14 Player of the year after an outstanding campaign in the Group 18 U14 competition and in early in October was part of a Titans U14/15 NRRRL side that played the Titans U14 Gold Coast/Brisbane Academy side in a development match at Tweed Heads Piggabeen ground starting in the second row as his Invitational team went down 32 – 10 in an entertaining and high quality match.

Brady Turner played the 2019 season with Murwillumbah in the Group 18 U14 competition and was selected in the Group 18 for the U14 age group at the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships held in Port Macquarie starting in the second row for the Group 18 U14 side with Brady Turner scoring in Group 18’s second match of Day One of the Championships as Group 18 went down 26 – 20 to Group Four.

Brady Turner is more than just a rugby league player, finishing as the 2019 Boys 14 Years Age Athleics Champion, amongst other things winning the discus event at the Murwillumbah Athletics Carnival. Brady Turner went on to win the U14 Discus event at the Far North Coast Athletics Championships with a throw of 34.49 metres.

Brady Turner was also the Murwillumbah Year 13 Athletics Championin 2018 also winning the Discus event in that year.

Seeming running more to the left side of the field, Brady Turner runs 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 players.

Brady Turner 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. His speed could probably be considered above average for a centre but when he plays in the back row.

Defensively Brady Turner has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier either in the centres or when defending in the forwards. Brady Turner sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

Brady Turner’s 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.

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

Brady Turner will play for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition and he will also be U18 eligible in 2023. Brady Turner will also likely be a member of the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup Squad in 2022.

With his size and speed combination to is hard to envisage Brady Turner playing anywhere but the second row as his rugby league career progresses towards its ultimate destination.

In relation to identifying an NRL player that compares favourably from a playing comparison perspective for Brady Turner you need to look no further than Sydney Roosters and New South Wales State of Origin second rower Angus Creighton as a player who will look to run into gaps in the defensive line with speed and timing and who can defend either in the centre of the ruck or a little wider out as a foil for his half and five eight, a defensive minder if you will.

[mdrew]

Antioch Faitala-Mariner. The Brisbane based Titans contracted winger signed a multi-year contract at the start of the 2019 year after some impressive displays for the Titans Logan based junior development squads. In positive news for the Titans Antioch Faitala-Mariner resigned with the Titans for an additional couple of seasons in late 2020.

In January 2021 Antioch Faitala-Mariner started at right centre for the Titans U17 side in their annual match at Coffs Harbour against the Newcastle Knights with Antioch Faitala-Mariner having the opportunity to showcase his blazing speed on a number of occasions with the Titans deserved 32 – 20 victory.

In 2021 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was part of the Easts Tigers U18 Mal Meninga squad and started on the wing in their 26 – 12 trial victory over the Ipswich Jets.

In Round One of the 2021 MM Cup against the Redcliffe Dolphins, Antioch Faitala-Mariner moved to fullback and also started at fullback in Round Two against the Norths Devils and in Round Three against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

Antioch Faitala-Mariner was also named to start at fullback in Round Four against the Redcliffe Dolphins but in fact started the match in the centres and also started in the centres in Round Five against the Norths Devils scoring his first try of the 2021 MM Cup season in the Tigers 26 all draw.

Round Six being the final regular season round of the 2021 MM Cup competition saw Antioch Faitala-Mariner line up in the centres against Wynnum Manly.

In November 2020 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was named in the Easts Tigers 2021 MM Cup squad and he will also be MM Cup eligible in 2022.

The explosive winger was part of a Titans U15 side that played against another Titans U15 side and a Western Mustangs U15 selection at Mudgeeraba in February 2019 in a round robin set of matches and subsequent to those matches signed a contract linking the winger to the Titans until the end of the 2021 season.
In January 2020 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was part of the Titans U16 side that played and defeated a Newcastle Knights U16 Harold Matthews side in Coffs Harbour 18 – 14 in an outstanding display by the Titans.
In early 2020 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was selected in the Brisbane Stingers U16 trial squad for the U16 South East Queensland pre-season Challenge after some impressive early season performances unfortunately however the competition was cancelled as a result of the Conavirus pandemic in the week leading up to the commencement of the competition.

Also in 2020 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was part of the Brisbane State High School GPS school boy First XV side starting round One at outside centre (No. 13) against TSS, starting there as well in round Two against Gregory Terrace and for that matter for the remainder of the season.

In 2020 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was also a member of the Brisbane State High School’s Ahletics squad that participated the 2020 GPS Athletics Carnival. At the carnival Antioch Faitala-Mariner represented Brisbane State High School in three track events.

Antioch Faitala-Mariner ran 12.07 seconds in the 100 metre U16 sprint, ran the second leg in the U16 4 x 100 metre relay with Brisbane State High School recording a time of 45.31 seconds and ran the final leg of the Brisbane State High School 4 x 400 metres relay team that finished 4th in a time of 3 minutes 59.01 seconds.

In early October 2019 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was part of the Titans U15 side that played a Balmain Tigers U15 side at Piggabeen in Northern New South Wales with the Titans winning 34 – 16 in impressive fashion with Antioch Faitala-Mariner starting on the right wing for the Titans and coring an impressive individual try. From a Titans scrum win around thirty metres out, Antioch Faitala-Mariner received the ball to the left of the scrum win, stepping off his left foot to beat the initial defender before beating the Balmain fullback with a effortlessly quick swerve to his left to score essentially untouched.

The powerful young winger hails from the Easts Tigers club in Brisbane’s East and played one match for the GBJRL U15 Division One Tigers side in 2019 before moving up to play the remainder of the 2019 season with the Tigers in the GBJRL U16 Division One side scoring two tries in his thirteen matches in that competition.

To be selected to move up to the U16 Division One side is a real feather in Antioch Faitala-Mariner’s cap as the U15 Division One side went all the way to the Grand Final but the Easts Tigers hierarchy identified that he could handle the step up in age and they were proved correct with their assessment over the course of the 2019 season.

Antioch Faitala-Mariner also played rugby in 2019, playing for Brisbane State High School in the GPS U15A competition and was also selected in the Queensland Maroon side for the 2019 Queensland Junior U15 Gold Cup competition.

Antioch Faitala-Mariner played for the Easts Tigers in the 2018 GBJRL U14 Premier Division competition in 2018 including starting in the Grand Final that Easts won 26 – 20 against a Norths Devils side that included fellow Titan contracted U15 player, centre Shannon Subritzky-Stewart.

In 2018 Antioch Faitala-Mariner was also part of the South East Queensland Green U14 side that took part of the Queensland U14 Age Championships and started on the wing in the final that ended in a 16 all draw against South East Queensland White. In total for the 2018 South East Queensland U14 Green side, Antioch Faitala-Mariner played in all four of their matches starting all of them on the wing.

In rugby Antioch Faitala-Mariner represented Met East in the Queensland U12 Rugby Championships in 2016 and was named as their player of the match against Sunshine Coast on Day Two of those Championships.

Plus plus straight line speed with outstanding balance and body control are the primary attributes that Antioch Faitala-Mariner possesses on a football field. It would be extremely unfair to purely put Antioch Faitala-Mariner’s success down to purely his speed, he is also has a very good in and away with a solid right fend.

One thing that Antioch Faitala-Mariner also does well is change the axis of the attack just prior to receiving the ball, when at full speed Antioch Faitala-Mariner would adjust the angle of his run immediately prior to receiving the ball and target the gap between his opposition winger and the outside centre and with his speed Antioch Faitala-Mariner was regularly able to explode through the resultant gap. When returning kicks Antioch Faitala-Mariner hunt’s across field before cutting back and looking to exploit a fractured defensive line with speed and power.

Regardless of where he receives the ball Antioch Faitala-Mariner is an exceptional attacking player. If he gets an off load from a forward through the middle he is through the gap before the defence can react, if he gets the ball in space out wide he is make it very difficult for the opposing defender to get a clean shot at him and if Antioch Faitala-Mariner gets the ball from a kick, if the defensive line is not straight in the chase he can make significant ground both before and after contact.

Seemingly like all modern day outside backs Antioch Faitala-Mariner has exceptional balance, spacial awareness and body control enabling him to score some amazing tries along the touchline with for all intent sand purposes the only part of his body in the field up play is the hand that he uses to put the ball down.

With his speed off the mark and elusiveness Antioch Faitala-Mariner should also be very productive running out of dummy half where he can gain immediate separation from the marks with his speed and then gain momentum with his power and make ground as a result through the centre of the ruck, especially when brining the ball out of his own territory.

Defensively Antioch Faitala-Mariner uses his size to good effect, he drives with his shoulder into his opponent and has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and his opposing centre gets on his outside. Other defenders keyed off him in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside.

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

2022 will see Antioch Faitala-Mariner play for the Easts Tigers in the GBJRL U18 Nev Blair Division One competition after he is part of the 2022 Easts Tiges MM Cup squad.

With his speed and try scoring ability Antioch Faitala-Mariner seems destined to be an outstanding rugby league winger who has the potential to be an NRL regular reasonably quickly and potentially a representative one as well if things break his way.

In many respects potentially the best NRL player comparison for Antioch Faitala-Mariner is the Titans own Phillip Sami. Like Sami, Antioch Faitala-Mariner is an exciting ball runner who should also be a prolific try scorer at the NRL level including multiple exciting spectacular and long range ones as well as being an outstanding kick returner and under rated defender on the wing.

[mdrew]

Jay Blazek. In late October 2020, Jay Blazek was named in the 2021 Burleigh MM Cup squad and came off the bench in their first 2021 MM Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Jay Blazek came into the Burleigh Bears 2021 MM Cup side in Round Four when he started at right centre against the Souths Logan Magpies and also started at right centre in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets.

Jay Blazek made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut off the bench for Helensvale in Round Seven against the Southport Tigers and also came off the bench in Round Nine against the Burleigh Bears as well as in Round Ten against the Currumbin Eagles.

Jay Blazek also started on the bench after the GCRL First Grade season recommenced for Round Eleven against Runaway Bay before moving into the starting side at lock in Round Twelve against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks.

In Round One of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition Jay Blazek started at lock as well as captaining the Helensvale side and scored the Hornets final try in their 20 – 14 win over the Ormeau Shearers.

Jay Blazek scored in the 43rd minute when he backed up a long break from his left centre to score in the left corner. Jay Blazek positioned himself well to score, initially he was backing up in the inside but when the centre cut inside, Jay Blazek moved from right to left to ensure that he had a clear run to the line.

Jay Blazek also started at lock in Round Two against Burleigh, scoring a double in the Hornets impressive victory.

Jay Blazek scored his first try in the 43rd minute from a Helensvale scrum win ten metres in front of the left upright. Jay Blazek picked the ball up from the back of the scrum immediately running to his right, beating the initial tackle before moving parallel to the defensive line. Jay Blazek dummied to his right before straightening up to cross fifteen metres from the right upright.

Jay Blazek added his second try in the 54th minute when he scooped up a Burleigh loose pass forty two metres from the try line and running away to put the ball down under the posts.

Jay Blazek was outstanding for Helensvale in Round Five starting at lock against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks contributing a try to the Hornets 50 – 10 victory with his try coming in the 14th minute. After Helensvale were awarded a penalty twenty metres from the line, Jay Blazek took the tap restart quickly with the Redbacks defensive line still retreating.

To get past the initial defenders, Jay Blazek stepped off his right foot and then almost immediately off his left but just before the line he was tripped off in a desperate tackle but has not held and got to his feet in an instant to get over the line adjacent to the left upright.

Jay Blazek’s exceptional match also included three try assist with the initial one coming in just the 2nd minute of the match when he threw a cut-out pass to his left to put Dredin Goldsmith into a big gap for the centre to easily score.

Jay Blazek recorded his second try assist in the 32nd minute when after taking a quick tap from a penalty from sixty five metres from the line, Jay Blazek darted fifteen metres downfield before drawing a defender and passing to his left to his fullback to run away to put the ball down under the posts untouched.

Jay Blazek’s third and final try assist of the match came in the 36th minute when after breaking through the line himself he drew the fullback, passing to his left to put halfback Koen Stambera after to score under the posts.

Jay Blazek has heavily involved in another Helensvale try in the 51st minute when after picking up a Mudgeeraba lost ball seventy metres from the line, ran to his right and was seemingly tackled but the referee deemed that he was not held and Jay Blazek was on his feet quickly to continue to run before cutting back towards centre field and off-loading to Zac Johnson to set up a try further downfield.

Jay Blazek continued t lock and captain in Round Six against the Nerang Roosters, recording a line break in the 10th minute when he just burst through the centre of the Nerang forward pack, making forty five metres. Jay Blazek showed his speed in the 6th minute of the match with a great chase and tackle from behind after the the Nerang fullback had made a long break down his left touchline.

Jay Blazek also started at lock in Round Thirteen against the Nerang Roosters, scoring in the 34th minute when he ran down a wide right blindside from the back of a Helensvale scrum win from fifteen metres out witj Jay Blazek getting the ball down five metres in from the right corner post.

Jay Blazek then continued at lock in Round Fourteen against the Southport Tigers, scoring a double in the Hornets exciting one point victory.

Jay Blazek scored his first try in the 33rd minute when from ten metres out from the line, Jay Blazek received the ball to the right of the play the ball and after doble pumping a dummy to his right sliced through the defence to score ten metres from the right upright.

Jay Blazek added his second try in the 50th minute when from ten metres out but on this occasion to the left of the play the ball, Jay Blazek dummied twice before slicing through the defensive line to put the ball down under the posts.

The match also saw Jay Blazek make an 8th minute line break and also threw the last pass for Jared Johnson’s 42nd minute try.

In Week One of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One Finals series, Jay Blazek was named at lock and captain as the Hornets took on the Currumbin Eagles.

Jay Blazek led the Hornets to an impressive 18 – 8 victory with Jay Blazek scoring twice. Jay Blazek’s opening try came in the 36th minute when after picking the ball up on the bounce ten metres from the line directly in front of the posts, Jay Blazek was able to maneouver his way over the line near the right upright.

Jay Blazek completed his double in the 42nd minute when once again from ten metres out, Jay Blazek picked the ball up from the back of a scrum, running to his right for around twenty metres before cutting towards the try line and was able to get the ball down under heavy pressure midway between the corner post and goal post on the right side of the field.

Jay Blazek also started at lock and captain for Helensvale in Week Two of the GCRL U18 Division One Finals against the Nerang Roosters.

In the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One Grand Final Jay Blazek captained the Helensvale Hornets side from lock against the Nerang Roosters.

At the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League Awards Night, Jay Blazek was named the Joint U18 Player of the Season alongside Burleigh’s Boston Tagg.

After his two try performance in Round Two of the U18 Division One competition earlier in the day, Jay Blazek came off the bench for Helensvale in their Round Two GCRL U20 match against Burleigh.

Jay Blazek moved into the Helensvale U20 starting side at fullback in Round Four against Runaway Bay but moved back to the bench for Round Five against the Currumbin Eagles.

After the Covid 19 enforced lock down, Jay Blazek was named at lock for Round Eleven against the Runaway Bay before starting at right centre in Round Thirteen against the Tugun Seahawks.

In Round One of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League pre-season competition, Jay Blazek started at five eight for the Helensvale U20 side that played round robin matches against Burleigh and Runaway Bay.

Jay Blazek moved to centre for Round Two of the pre-season competition and scored as the Hornets defeated the Shearers.

At the 2021 Helensvale Hornets Rugby League Presentation Night Jay Blazek was named the Helensvale First Grade Rookie of the Year and he was also named the U18 Player of the Year.

Jay Blazek started Round One of the 2021 Langer Cup School Boy competition at lock for Coombabah State High School against Langer Cup newcomers Mabel Park State High School scoring in the 41st minute when he backed up a break by front rower Quezan Eteru to race away to score untouched under the posts.

Jay Blazek also started at lock row in Coombabah SHS’s tough Round Two loss against Wavell State High School as well as in Round Three against PBC State High School.

Jay Blazek was also named at lock for Round Four against Ipswich State High School and continued at lock in Round Five against St Mary’s College Toowoomba scoring one try and setting up another as Coombabah SHS put their opponents to the sword in a comprehensive 38 – 0 victory.

Jay Blazek scored an outstanding try in the 21st minute when he backed up a break from deep inside Coombabah SHS territory by Tana Clark. Jay Blazek loomed up on Clark’s right and one he received the ball fifty five metres from the line, Jay Blazek easily outpaced the cover defence to dive over near the left corner.

Jay Blazek’s try assist came in the 26th minute when after running to the left side of the field and bumping off one defender, Jay Blazek was able to attract one defender out of the line and big a good short pass away to his left to put Dre Goldsmith into a big gap ten metres out with the powerful right centre easily getting across the line.

Jay Blazek was also named to start at lock in Round Six against Marsden State High School.

Post the completion of the 2021 Langer Cup competition, Jay Blazek was named as one of the Courier Mail’s Best Blue Collar workers.

The former Titans linked Helensvale Hornet’s first hit out of the 2020 season was when Jay Blazek started in the centres for the Burleigh MM Side in their trial against the Easts Tigers in a solid early season hit-out.

When Community rugby league re-commenced in July 2020 Jay Blazek played for Helensvale in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition.

From a Titans perspective Jay Blazek started from the bench for the Titans U16 side in their early October 2019 match against PNG U16’s at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park ground with the Titans winning 44 – 12 on the Friday night in ideal conditions for rugby league.

In the 2019 season Jay Blazek played twelve matches for the Helensvale Hornets in the GCRL U16 Division One competition scoring three tries including a double in a Week One Finals loss 42 – 20 to Burleigh. Jay Blazek’s other try came in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay as he finished the season with a 25% strike rate.

Early in 2019 Jay Blazek was part of the Gold Coast Vikings U16 train on squad and then represented the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 Pre-season Challenge against sides from Ipswich, Brisbane (three teams) and Gold Coast Vikings Yellow.

In 2018 Jay Blazek played eleven matches for Helensvale in the U15 Division One competition scoring five tries (45.45% strike rate) including a double against Mudgeeraba and also scored against Currumbin in two separate matches to account for the majority of his five tries.

Running with the football, Jay Blazek has good footwork prior to the line and does not often just put his head down and run straight but uses his solid footwork to try to work the gaps between defenders rather than trying to simply run over them and uses his solid frame to his advantage.

Jay Blazek does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed but seems to be able to sustain his top speed over a reasonable distance, but Jay Blazek will work hard and make the most of his ability in that aspect.

Jay Blazek actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well. Where Jay Blazek is very effective is close to the opposition try line where gets down low and charges into the defensive line and has the strength to carry multiple defenders across the line.

Defensively Jay Blazek is not a big hitter, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads. One area where Jay Blazek is quite effective whether he is defending on the fringes of the ruck or in the centre of the ruck including when he is defending at marker, is against smaller attackers who look to use their foot work.

Jay Blazek has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a solid forward and due to the fact that he also is not necessarily that tall, Jay Blazek is usually is able to wrap up the smaller attackers without his tackles slipping up to around the head or neck, and thus giving away penalties and thus field position.

Jay Blazek will probably not stand out during a game but will work hard both in attack and defence and leave all the eye catching things like big hits, line breaks and one handed off loads to other forwards who will benefit from his hard working style doing all of the little things in a match.

Jay Blazek will likely push for a spot in the 2022 Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and will also be Colts eligible in 2023 but if not Jay Blazek will continue to play for Helensvale in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition, likely by-passing the U20 competition all together to cement a spot in the Hornets First Grade side.

Jay Blazek just looks a natural playing in the centre third of a rugby league field and with his above average lateral mobility and speed in general I can see a developing lock or second rower with some very good footwork prior to the defensive line as well as being a strong dependable defender in the centre third of the field as well. I appreciate that Jay Blazek has spent time in the centres but ultimately I believe that he will end up in the back row.

With his solid frame and functional strength Jay Blazek reminds me from a player comparison perspective of a very much smaller version of New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International forward Leeson Ah Mau although Jay Blazek is not as big as Ah Mau and has a touch better lateral mobility but a similar all effort running style and mentality.

Both are strong and tough and lot quicker from a speed perspective than people on occasion give them credit for. Also both Ah Mau and Jay Blazek do not submit in tackles easily, constantly pumping their legs gaining substantial post contact metres and then trying to get as quick a play the ball that they can by fighting the oppositions wrestling tactics on the ground.

[mdrew]

Zinzan Kahu. The young half back arrived on the Gold Coast in late 2019 moving up from Melbourne with his family to pursue his rugby league dream on the Gold Coast as part of the Keebra Park Open rugby league squad.

After trialling well Zinzan Kahu, in late October 2021 was named in the 2022 Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad.

Zinzan Kahu, who is the cousin of former Bronco Jordan Kahu had an outstanding start to his 2021 school boy rugby league campaign, staring for the Keebra Park Year 11/12 Division One Titans Cup side.

2021 also saw Zinzan Kahu play club rugby, playing for the Coomera Crushers in the Gold Coast Rugby U18 competition, crossing for a number of tries including in a 27 – 26 victory over Helensvale and a 19 – 15 loss to Surfers/Nerang.

Zinzan Kahu added two tries and five conversions, also starting at No. 10 against the Spartans.

In February 2020 Zinzan Kahu was named in the Gold Coast Vikings U16 Training Squad in preparation for two Vikings teams to be named but unfortunately the U16 South East Queenslandd Challenge was cancelled as a result of the Covid 19 lock down.

Zinzan Kahu played the 2020 school boy rugby league season as part of the Keebra Park Year Ten Walters Cup side, playing at half back including in their 14 – 12 semi-final loss to Marsden State High School. The match saw Zainzan Kahu kick a late 40/20 which ultimately led to a try to Arama Hau that put Keebra Park back into the match only for them to fall agonalising short of victory.

Zinzan Kahu was set to start the 2020 season with the Nerang Roosters in the Gold Coast Rugby League Division One U16 competition before the league suspension but was able to make his debut for Kebra Park in February 2020 just prior to rugby league being shut across Australia at all Community levels.

In 2019 the young half played a lot of rugby league including representing Victoria in both the U15 ASSRL Pool B school boy Championships and at the U15 New South Wales Country Age Championships, Southern Zone. Zinzan Kahu also played for the Waverley Panthers in the NRL Victoria U15 club rugby league competition.

For the U15 Victorian school boys side in the 2019 U15 ASSRL Championships, Zinzan Kahu started at half in all four of Victoria’s matches including the Pool B final against the ASSRL ATSI Invitational side, unfortunately Victoria went down 20 – 14 in the final.

In his four matches at the U15 ASSRL Championships Pool B competition for Victoria Zinzan Kahu finished with a 50% strike rate from his four matches, scoring in Game One against the ASSRL ATSI Invitational side and Game Three against the Northern Territory. Zinzan Kahu was named Victoria’s best against the ASSRL ATSI Invitational side in Game One of the Championships.

Zinzan Kahu produced a number of outstanding plays at the 2019 U15 ASSRL Championships, a number of which, including his two tries are described below.

Zinzan Kahu scored his first try of the Championships against the ASSRL Invitational side when late in the first half he took down the blind side on the left side of the field around twelve metres out. Zinzan Kuhu dummied twice to his right being on the inside to his fullback to open up a gap and then broke two tackles on his way to the try line.

Zinzan Kahu’s second try of the Championships came against the Northern Terrirtory. Zinzan Kahu was once again operating on the left. After passing to a forward who was tackled, Zinzan Kahu doubled around the paly the ball to take the pass from the play the ball down a very short blind side running at the back peddling defenders with the ball out in front of his body in both hands shaping to pass on a number of occasions before scoring before the defence could adjust.

Zinzan Kahu also recorded a number of try assists in the Championships including a try assist for Victoria’s first try of the match against the Northern Territory. Zinzan Kahu was operating on the right when he took the ball right to the line before popping a great short ball to his right to send his right second rower over.

In the same game against the Northern Territory, Zinzan Kahu also recorded a try assist in the second half when he was playing on the left side of the field. Zainzan received the ball off the dummy half around fifty five metres out from the line putting his left second rower through a gap and then backed up on the outside to take the offload. With three Northern Territory players hanging off him Zinzan Kahu produced a stunning out of the back of his left hand offload to a Victorian interchange forward to score wide out on the left.

Zinzan Kahu added a further try assist for Victoria’s first try against Western Australia when from the right side of the field he put in a pin point kick across field to the left corner for his winger to take the ball on the full to score.

Against the ASSRL Invitational side Zinzan Kahu threw a beautiful long flat pass to his left to his left centre who had positioned himself outside his direct opponent to score wide out.

Post the Championship Final the former Keysborough College Melbourne student (now Keebra Park State High School student of course) was named at half in the U15 ASSRL Pool B Merit Team.

2019 was the second season that Zinzan Kahu represented the U15 Victorian side at the ASSRL U15 Championships after also being part of the 2018 side when he played four matches at hooker as a 14 year old.

Late in 2019 Zinzan Kahu started at half in all four of NRL Victoria’s matches at the New South Wales Country U15 Age Championships kicking a conversion on Day One against Illawarra.

On Day Two Zinzan Kahu played in matches against Group Six and Group Seven and the following week was part of the NRL Victoria side that went down in their Final series match against Group Three.

In 2017 Zinzan Kahu played five matches for NRL Victoria at the New South Wales Country U14 Championships even though he was still U13 eligible that year.

In amongst his representative duties for Victoria in 2019, Zinzan Kahu also played for the Waverley Panthers in the NRL Victorian U15 club competition, playing a total of ten matches including starting the Grand Final at half, but the Panthers went down 12 – 9 to the wonderfully named Sunshine Cowboys side.

Over the course of the 2019 season in his ten matches Zinzan Kahu scored nine points from two tries and a field goal which he kicked in late July against the Northern Thunder. Zinzan Kahu’s tries came early in the season against the Werribee Bears and Hume City Bulldogs.

As previously noted Zinzan Kahu has been a regular Victorian rugby league representative for a number of seasons, with his first taste coming in 2016 when he represented the Victorian U12 side at the National U12 Championships and scored in Victoria’s opening three matches against Western Australia on Day One, the ACT on Day Two and Northern Territory on Day Three a match which also saw him kick a conversion.

In attack, Zinzan Kahu generally plays an understated role, focussing more on the distribution and game management aspects of his role as a half. A key attribute to how Zinzan Kahu plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations encountered within a game and where and when they occur on the field.

Zinzan Kahu will though take the line on when the opportunity arises however, but as noted his best attribute is that of a game manager with the ability to draw defenders out of the line and put his runners into the subsequent hole that is generated.

Zinzan Kahu has decent speed off the mark and quick twitch feet in confined space but does not have explosive acceleration or high top end speed but he appears quicker as he runs at the right time and is decisive when he takes off.

From a kicking perspective Zinzan Kahu has a solid kicking game, with reasonable distance and accuracy on all types of kicks, from tactical kicking for field position or from a close range attacking perspective. I am sure that moving forward focussing on his kicking skills will be a key focus area both from a distance and accuracy perspective.

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

In 2022 Zinzan Kahu will be looking to immediately break into the Keebra Park Langer Cup A side and will also continue to play in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition.

Outside of a couple of matches at hooker for Victoria at the U15 level in 2018 when he was just 14 years of age Zinzan Kahu has settled into the half back role very comfortably and seems set to stay there for the duration of his rugby league career. Without doubt however if required Zinzan Kahu could slot back in and cover the dummy half role if the situation requires and potentially even cover at fullback as well such is his skill set in relation to game management and ball distribution.

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

Both Alexander and Zinzan Kahu make the task of managing the game plan and directing their team around the field from the half back position look easy and natural and both seemingly have as much time as they need to accomplish the required task expertly.

[mdrew]

David Torrens. The exceptional, lightning quick will of the wisp utility from the Clarence Coast Magpies in Northern New South Wales is currently part of the Titans Group One Junior Academy Squad that was training on a weekly basis at Ballina on Tuesday afternoons. In late October 2020 David Torrens was once again selected in the Titans Group One Elite Academy.

In November 2020 David Torrens started once again training with the Titans development squad from the Group One region under the direction of former Titans NRL players Matt Srama and Kane Elgey.

David Torrens started Round One of the 2021 Group One U15 competition in the second row as the Clarence Coast Magpies took on the Ballina Seagulls.

David Torrens also started in the second row in Round Two against the South Grafton Rebels and was one of the Magpies try scorers in their 24 – 12 victory. David Torrens also kicked a conversion in the match.

Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls also saw David Torrens start in the second row and one of the Magpies try scorers as they went down 10 – 8 in a close contest. David Torrens moved to five eight for Round Four against Lismore Marist Brothers and maintained his place there in Round Five against the Grafton Ghosts.

David Torrens continued at five eight in Round Six against the Ballina Seagulls before moving to hooker in Round Eight against Marist Brothers, a match that saw score for the Magpies.

David Torrens started at hooker once again in Round Nine against South Grafton and scored two tries and kicked one conversions in the Magpies 32 – 12 victory. David Torrens also started at hooker in Round Ten against the Clarence Coast Magpies and came close to scoring in the 17th minute when he was held up over the line after running out of dummy half to his right from three metres out from the line.

The match also saw David Torrens record a 51st minute try assist when after packing into a scrum with a magpies feed at lock, David Torrens raced to his right after picking up the ball at the back of the scrum fifty five metres from the line. To beat the first defender that he encountered, David Torrens stepped off his left foot and then when confronted by another defender he threw an overhead pass to his right to Gregory Griffen who raced away to score in the right corner.

David Torrens continued at hooker in Round Twelve against the Grafton and David Torrens was also named to start at hooker in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM.

In late June 2020 David Torrens started training with his Claence Coast Magpies club side in preparation for the late start of the Group One U14 junior rugby league competition. Round One saw David Torrens interestingly start for the Magpies at lock as Clarence Coast defeated the South Grafton Rebels 24 – 10.

After Clarence Coast’s Round Two match was postponed, Titans linked David Torrens was back at lock for Round Three of the Group One U13 competition scoring his first try of the 2020 season against Ballina as Clarence Coast defeated Ballina 24 – 8. David Torrens made it two tries from as many matches when he once again started at lock and scored in Round Five against Ballina.

Round Six against Casino RSM saw David Torrens move to half back as the Magpies defeated Casino RSM 28 – 0. In Round Ten David Torrens moved back to lock and scored as Clarence Coast defeated Ballina 52 – 6.

In total in the 2020 Group One U14 regular season David Torrens scored three tries from five matches in fiish the regular season with a 60% strike rate.

David Torrens started the 2020 Group One U14 Grand Final at lock as the Magpies took on the Grafton Ghosts, scoring as the Magpies became 2020 Premiers on the back of a 30 – 16 come back victory.

After an outstanding 2019 season for the Magpies in the Group One U13 competition David Torrens was deservedly named the competitions Best and Fairest Player in a competition where there was multiple stand out players.

For Clarence Coast in the Group One U13 competition in 2019 David Torrens was part of the Magpies Grand Final side that went down 24 – 16 to the Grafton Ghosts and amongst his try scoring feats over the course of the 2019 season was a Round Twelve Double against Casino RSM in late August.

2019 also saw David Torrens represent McLean High School in the annual DEX Shield school boy rugby league competition.

In 2018 the McLean High School student represented the U12 North Coast Rugby League side at the New South Wales State Trials that were held in Mudgee.

When David Torrens 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 handleDavid Torrens when he runs the ball. David Torrens can apbtly be described as a speed machine.

David Torrens 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 David Torrens used his incredible footwork and speed to beat the opposing fullback by himself.

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

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

Defensively David Torrens is stronger than he looks and when you couple that with a naturally aggressive defensive mentality you have a very good defender on your hands. David Torrens has a very good low tackling technique, including head placement when defending against big forwards running on the fringes of the ruck and has good initial contact.

Against opposing halves David Torrens will quickly get up into their face when they run the ball and physically and mentally dominate them making them experience the full effects of every tackle that he makes. David Torrens also works very hard out of the marker position in defence and does not take that fact that he is at marker as an opportunity to have a rest.

David Torrens is also very quick at putting pressure on opposing kickers whether that be sprinting out of the marker position at the kicker or flying out of the defensive line when it is evident that a kick is in the offing.

David Torrens will play the 2022 season with the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Group One U16 competition and will also represent McLean High School in the 2022 DEX Shield School Boy Rugby League competition.

David Torrens, in 2002 will also be in line to play representative rugby league in the U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition.

David Torrens has played primarily at half back in his fledgling rugby league career and where whilst that is likely where he will end I think that David Torrens would make an outstanding fullback where from his vantage point at the back David Torrens can see the entire field and be able to pick and choose where and when to inject himself into the game.

I do note however that David Torrens spent the majority of his playing time at lock in 2020 for the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Group One U14 competition, I would anticipate in an effort to take advantage of the new rules that came in over the course of the 2020 season.

From a player comparison perspective, the one player that does spring to mind is from a player comparison perspective for David Torrens is newly resigned South Sydney Rabbitohs and New South Wales State of Origin five eight Cody Walker.

Both Walker and David Torrens are exceptional attacking talents who can do almost anything on a football field from an attacking perspective, make it look east and are exciting to watch, when they gets the ball the level of anticipation rises as you cannot wait to see what they is going to do with the ball.

When playing at lock, a more than reasonable comparison for David Torrens would be how the Titans own Tyronne Peachy plays when he is in the forwards. Like Pechy, David Torrens, floats across field looking for opportunities to exploit his speed advantage and also is outstanding when he gets into dummy half and explodes from there when the defence is still back peddling, David Torrens gets to them and goes past them before they can react.

David Torrens simply put is just a natural when it comes to playing rugby league and his potential is just about unlimited and he has as much chance of any junior I have ever seen at achieving his dream of playing in the NRL in years to come.

[mdrew]

Reece Warburton. In 2021 Reece Warburton was part of the Group One Clarence Coast Magpies U16 squad and after a Round One bye, Reece Warburton started at fullback for the Magpies as they kicked off their 2021 season in Round Two against the Marist Brothers Rams with Reece Warburton kicking three conversions in the Magpies 38 – 6 victory over the Rams.

Reece Warburton also started at fullback in Round Three against the Grafton Ghosts, kicking a conversion in the Magpies 16 – 10 loss. Reece Warburton continued at fullback against Kyogle in Round Four and had a day out, scoring two tries and kicking three conversions in the Magpies 22- 14 victory.

From fullback once again in Round Five against the Grafton Ghosts, Reece Warburton scored once again as well as kicking a conversion in the match.

Round Seven once again saw Reece Warburton start at fullback, kicking a conversion in the Magpies loss to Casino RSM. Also starting at fullback in Round Eight against Marist Brothers, Reece Warburton scored a try and kicked three conversions.

Reece Warburton continued at fullback in Round Eleven against the Kyogle Turkeys with Reece Warburton kicking two conversions and also started at fullback in Round Twelve against the Grafton Ghosts kicking a conversion in the Magpies eight point loss.

Reece Warburton was also named to start at fullback in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM, kicking one conversion in the Magpies 22 all draw.

The young flyer is a Titans linked youngster that was part of the 2019/20 Titans Group One Academy Squad that was training on a weekly basis at Ballina on Tuesday afternoons.

In late June 2020 Reece Warburton started training with his Claence Coast Magpies club side in preparation for the late start of the Group One U15 junior rugby league competition. Round One of the 2020 Group One U15 competition saw Reece Warburton start at half back and scored ten of his Clarence Coast’s twenty four points from a try and three goals as the Magpies defeated South Grafton 24 – 8.

Reece Warburton also started at half back in Round Three and kicked a conversion as the Mgpies went down 18 – 12 to Ballina. Starting at half back once again in Round Four Reece Warburton scored and kicked a conversion as the Magpies defeated Grafton 10 – 8 in a hard fought match played in wet conditions.

Round Six of the 2020 Group One U15 competition saw Reece Warburton come off the bench as the Magpies went down 20 – 10 to Casino RSM. Reece Warburton was back in the Clarence Coast starting line up at half back for Clarence Coast in Round Seven against Kyogle and scored as the Magpies went down 22 – 14.

Reece Warburton added a further try from the fullback position in Round Ten as Clarence Coast went down 32 – 10 to Ballina.

In total in the 2020 Group One U16.5 competition Reece Warburton scored four tries and kicked five goals for a total individual regular season points haul of twenty six points from six matches.

Reece Warburton played in ten matches in the 2019 Group One U14 competition and scored in all of them to finish with eighteen tries on the season for an exceptional 180% try scoring strike rate. Reece Warburton also kicked fifteen goals to break through the 100 point mark for the season, finishing with 102 points to average a fraction over ten points per match.

Reece Warburton’s 2019 season started with a bang scoring five tries and kicking two goals in Round One against Lismore Marist Brothers and went from strength from strength from there. Reece Warburton added a late season hat trick against the South Grafton Rebels as well as a double against the Ballina Seagulls.

Reece Warburton’s remaining tries came in separate matches against Kyogle, South Grafton, Casino RSM twice and Grafton twice.

In 2019 Reece Warburton was also part of the McLean High School U14 side that defeated Grafton High School 38 – 12 in the U14 DEX Shield Final which is an annual school boy rugby league competition for schools in the Grafton/Lismore area. Reece Warburton was one of McLean High School’s try scorers in the final when he scored after a hard straight run through Grafton High School defence.

Reece Warburton also scored in the 2019 U14 DEX Shield Final semi-final against McAuley Catholic College.

Reece Warburton also played touch for McLean High School in 2019 and was part of their U15 side that went through the Northern Rivers Zone competition undefeated and as a consequence made the Northern Rivers Zone team.

In 2019 you can add the title of Mclean High School Athletics U14 Age Champion to Reece Warburton’s resume.

The MacLean High School student’s 2019 season was no fluke as was evidenced by his 2018 season. In eleven Group One U13 matches in 2018 he averaged two tries per game (200% strike rate) and also kicked 14 goals to finish the season with 116 points to average over ten points per game once again.

Reece Warburton scored five tries in a June 2018 match against Kyogle and added four in Round One against Casino RSM. In addition Reece Warburton scored hat tricks against Lismore Marist Brothers and South Grafton, going on to score in ten of his eleven matches.

In 2018 Reece Warburton also played in eight Group One U14 matches for the Clarence Coast Magpies scoring in four of them being against Lismore Marist Brothers, Kyogle and Grafton in two matches. Reece Warburton also kicked four goals including three in June 2018 against the Kyogle Turkeys.

In terms of his attacking play Reece Warburton is a smooth beautifully balanced natural runner of the ball who has above average to plus top end speed and good evasiveness to get on the outside of his opposing defender with a decent fend that enables him to keep opposing defenders at a distance and away from his body.

Reece Warburton is also adept at straitening up the axis of attack one he has received the ball when he chimes into the back line to ensure his outside supports have room to move and exploit any advantages identified.

Reece Warburton has quite a good step, predominately off the left foot, so he certainly has the skills to adjust his running line as required.

Reece Warburton does not have the size or strength to run over the top of opposing defenders thus he needs to use his speed and guile to make an impact and the earlier he gets the ball the better but as noted just needs to straighten up the attack on occasion.

Defensively Reece Warburton has a very good low tackling technique, he is by no means a big player but his defensive low tackling technique is very good, he can defend opposing centres one on one, and is one of the better low tacklers I have seen in junior rugby league. Tackling around the legs seems to have become a lost art, but when done right it is in my opinion it is still the most effective way of defending.

Reece Warburton will play the 2022 in the NRRRL U18 competition and will also represent McLean High School in the 2021 DEX Shield School Boy Rugby League competition.

Reece Warburton has blazing speed as well as outstanding balance and body control and whilst he is only slightly built can absorb a lot of punishment and keep pushing through. With his speed and elusiveness Reece Warburton has the ability to play multiple position sat very high level including fullback, wing, centre and in 2020 half back.

Ultimately I believe that Reece Warburton likely ends up on the wing but that is absolutely no sure thing and a future at either centre or fullback certainly cannot be ruled out.

From a player comparison perspective for Reece Warburton, think of someone along the lines of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Queensland State of Origin centre Dane Gagai as a smooth moving try scoring outside back who is elusive and difficult to defend against as a result.

Like Gagai, Reece Warburton is also a solid defender without necessarily standing out per say in that aspect of rugby league.

Reece Warburton is a flyer, pure and simple and one thing is for certain speed is something that you cannot teach, you either have it or you don’t and Reece Warburton has it in spades and more importantly knows how to use it on the field.
Similarly Reece Warburton just seems to have a knack of knowing when a try scoring opportunity is about to eventuate and be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of it. His statistics from this season’s (and 2018) Group One U14 competition and previous seasons for that matter certainly bear that out.

[mdrew]

Te Ahurei Epapara. The giant young New Zealander had an outstanding career in both rugby and rugby league across the ditch but headed over to the Gold Coast and was looking to cement a spot in the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad in 2020. Te Ahurei Epapara was also part of the Bears Colts squad in 2021.

Te Ahurei Epapara’s first hit out of the 2021 season was when he lined up for the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad against a Titans U19 selection in late January at Burleigh with the Bears going down 32 – 20 with no conversions attempted in the match which to be fair the Titans U19 side dominated for large portions.

In early March 2021, Te Ahurei Epapara started on the interchange bench for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side as they took on the Tweed Heads Seagulls in a trial. Te Ahurei Epapara came into the match in the second row, playing right second row and was more than solid defensive including making three tackles in a row in the 55th minute.

With the ball in hand, Te Ahurei Epapara was just as strong including a ten metre charge getting the ball into Tweed Heads territory before his forward momentum was halted.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Te Ahurei Epapara named on the extended bench for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers and was also named on Burleigh’s extended bench for the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls however Te Ahurei Epapara ended up starting the match at left second row, making his initial contribution in just the second minute with a strong ten metre run in Burleigh’s first set of six in the match.

In the 43rd minute Te Ahurei Epapara continued to work hard and was rewarded with a sixteen metre gain after receiving the ball from the dummy half and stepping of his left to get to the soft spot behind the play the ball.

Te Ahurei Epapara made his 2021 starting debut at right second row in Round Six against the Townsville Blackhawks and also started at right second row in the previously postponed Round Ten match against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

Then in Round Thirteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Te Ahurei Epapara came off the bench as he was named to do in Round Fourteen against the Northern Pride however he was a game day scratching from the Bears side.

Te Ahurei Epapara made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut off the bench for Burleigh in Round Seven against the Currumbin Eagles.

Te Ahurei Epapara started at lock for the Burleigh GCRL U20 side for their Round Two match against the Helensvale Hornets.

Te Ahurei Epapara started Round Five against Runaway Bay and scored the final try of the match when he ran a crash line from close range to score mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Te Ahurei Epapara also started at left second row in Round Six against the Helensvale Hornets and in Round Seven against Runaway Bay.

After the Covid 19 enforced lock down, Te Ahurei Epapara was named on the bench for Round Eleven against the Currumbin Eagles before moving into the starting line-up in the second row in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay.

Te Ahurei Epapara continued at right second row in Round Fourteen against Helensvale with Te Ahurei Epapara scoring for the Bears in just the 3rd minute of the match when he burst onto the ball on the right side of the field from twelve metres out to score fifteen metres in from the right corner post.

Te Ahurei Epapara was immediately into the match as he made the opening tackle of the match after Burleigh had kicked off.

Te Ahurei Epapara was also named at right second row in Week One of the 2021 GCRL U20 Finals series against the Helensvale Hornets.

Te Ahurei Epapara also started at right second row in the 2021 GCRL U20 Preliminary Final against the Currumbin Eagles.

Te Ahurei Epapara also started at right second row for Burleigh in the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 Grand Final against the Runaway Bay Seagulls with Te Ahurei Epapara’s first hit-up of the match accounting for fifteen metres down the right channel to get the ball out of the Burleigh twenty metre area.

Te Ahurei Epapara made a further strong hit-up in th e23rd minute when he was able to make ten metres before off-loading to his right and he went even better in the 26th minute when a great out of the back of the right hand off-load by Te Ahurei Epapara put Jesse Sommerville away on a winding thirty metre run to get within twenty metres of the try line.

Round Fourteen of the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition saw Te Ahurei Epapara named to start from the bench against the Currumbin Eagles. Te Ahurei Epapara also came off the bench in Burleigh’s Week Two Finals victory against the Tugun Seahawks.

Te Ahurei Epapara started Round One of the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for the Burleigh Bears at right centre (after being named on the bench earlier in the week) and proved to be a handful when running the ball, regularly making post contact metres against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls as Burleigh started their campaign with a solid first up victory.

Unfortunately for Te Ahurei Epapara the Round One match against Wynnum Manly was the one and only round of the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition that was played due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

In 2019 Te Ahurei Epapara played school boy rugby for the powerhouse New Zealand school Rotorua Boys High playing primarily at lock (loosely equates to second row in rugby league) in their talented First XV side. Te Ahurei Epapara also played a number of First XV matches at No. 8 including a key match against Tauranga Boys College.

In 2019 Te Ahurei Epapara also played 7’s rugby for Rotorua Boys High including in the U19 Bay of Plenty 7’s tournament where Te Ahurei Epapara was named Rotorua Boys High best forward at the tournament.

Prior to the 2019 season Te Ahurei Epapara played a significant amount of rugby league including representing the Wai-Coa Bay Colts in the New Zealand U17 National Youth Tournament in 2018 starting all five of their matches at lock with those matches being against the Auckland Vulcans, Wellington Orca’s twice, Counties Manukau Stingrays and Northern Swords.

In 2018 Te Ahurei Epapara represented the Bay of Plenty side at the U17 Northern Districts Rugby League Tournament and in 2015 was an Upper Central Zone U15 rugby league representative. In the Bay of Plenty area Te Ahurei Epapara played for the Pikiao Warriors rugby league club. Te Ahurei Epapara in fact represented Bay of Plenty from the U13 age group all of the way up to and including the U17’s.

Te Ahurei Epapara will attack the edge of the ruck looking to isolate a defender and keep his right arm free to off load. If his support runner is on his inside he has the strength to maintain contact with the defensive line and pop a short pass. If his support is on his outside Te Ahurei Epapara is adept at flicking the ball out of the back of his hand a la Sonny Bill Williams.

Te Ahurei Epapara runs with the primary intention to engage the defensive line front one, he does not over complicate the task and runs straight and hard getting his shoulders down low just prior to contact. His broad shoulders and strong frame back him a difficult proposition to handle.

As noted he looks to isolate a defender, if that defender goes low Te Ahurei Epapara will off load with his right arm and if the defender looks to tackle him around the chest, Te Ahurei Epapara will initiate the contact and continue to pump his legs to either gain as much ground as possible or to break the tackle completely through sheer force of will.

In addition Te Ahurei Epapara to above average speed with a high knee lift and the constant pumping of his legs Te Ahurei Epapara will break through the initial defensive line more often than you think likely. Te Ahurei Epapara also has outstanding mobility which enables him to get to his feet quickly once he has been tackled aiding in the continuation of the momentum that he has established for his team.

Defensively the aggressive nature of the initial contact made by Te Ahurei Epapara is the primary component of his defensive methodology, in short Te Ahurei Epapara attacks opposition runners front on. Te Ahurei Epapara looks for the big front on hit as often as possible but does actually have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining leverage and balance when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck.

Te Ahurei Epapara looks to obtain both physical and mental dominance over his opponents in all aspects of the game and as you would except with an aggressive player of his size Te Ahurei Epapara will also win the ground wrestle on the vast majority of occasions.

Te Ahurei Epapara is still Colts eligible in 2022 and will more than likely be a part of the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and no doubt will also add to his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade matches with the Burleigh Bears as well.

Te Ahurei Epapara is a giant of a young man but for his size has outstanding speed and mobility and as you would expect from New Zealand school boys who have played No. 8 in their schools First XV also has exceptional ball skills and a hardness and toughness about them as well as outstanding leadership attributes.

Te Ahurei Epapara will also certainly start in the second row for Burleigh this season and at 186cm and 96kg has the size to handle the rigors of that position.

Ultimately Te Ahurei Epapara projects to be a great hard running, wide running, offloading runner with very good athletic skills and the heart and desire to succeed no matter what, down the track however a move to the front row is not out of the question for the talented New Zealander.

[mdrew]

Jack Glossop. The former North Queensland Cowboys NYC and Townsville Blackhawks front rower or lock was set to line up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in 2020 prior to the season lasting only one round but early in 2021 resigned for the Tweed Heads Seagulls for the 2021 Queensland Cup competition in a positive step for the Seagulls.

In early March 2021, Jack Glossop started in the front row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Seconds side in their final trial against the Burleigh Bears and scored within the opening two minutes when he charged onto the ball from close range to score under the posts.

Jack Glossop initially was named on the bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Round Three of the Queensland Cup but was not in the final Seventeen and he was also named on the bench for what would have been his Queensland Cup debut for Round Four against the Burleigh Bears however he was a late omission from the match once again.

Jack Glossop once again was named on the bench for Round Five against the Redcliffe Dolphins, making his Queensland Cup debut in the Seagulls impressive 28 – 16 victory. Jack Glossop was on the field for twenty four minutes, running for thirty one metres (fourteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 2.96 seconds and made thirteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.86%.

Jack Glossop also was named to start from the bench in Round Seven against the Ipswich Jets, however he was a late scratching from the match.

Round Nine against the Norths Devils saw Jack Glossop start from the bench, playing twenty six minutes, running for twenty five metres (eleven post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 2.68 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 100%.

After a Covid 19 hiatus, Jack Glossop was named to start from the bench for Round Nineteen against the Northern Pride however he was a late scratching from the match.

Jack Glossop also was named on the bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Round Twenty against the Townsville Blackhawks coming on to play eighteen minutes. In his eighteen minutes on the field, Jack Glossop ran for forty two metres s(seventeen post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.38 seconds and made six tackles.

Jack Glossop continued off the bench in Round Seventeen against the PNG Hunters, playing twenty three minutes, running for fifty seven metres (twenty two post contact), breaking three tackles, playing the ball at an average speed of 3.49 tackles and made ten tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Jack Glossop then was named to continue on the bench in the Seagulls Week One Final against the Norths Devils however he was a late scratching from the match.

Jack Glossop however did start on the bench in Week Two of the Finals in the Seagulls victory over Redcliffe with Jack Glossop scoring in the 56th minute of the 41 – 22 victory.

Playing thirty one minutes, Jack Glossop ran for sixty seven metres (twenty one post contact), made a line break, played the ball at an average speed of 3.46 seconds and made thirteen tackles.

Jack Glossop also started from the bench in the Preliminary Final against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

In total in the 2021 Queensland Cup competition Jack Glossop played in three matches, broke two tackles, ran for 135 metres (fifty nine post contact), off-loaded twice and made thirty eight tackles at a tackling efficiency of 95%.

In April 2021, Jack Glossop was named in the Gold Coast Vikings First Grade South East Queensland Chairman’s Challenge initial squad.

Jack Glossop’s first official hit out of the 2020 season came when he started from the bench for the Seagulls in their Queensland Cup trial win over the Souths Logan Magpies at Tugun in mid-February in wet and slippery conditions.

Jack Glossop also started in the front row for the Tweed Heads A Grade side in their late February 2020 trial against the Burleigh Bears and was named on an extended bench for Round One of the 2020 Queensland Cup competition but ultimately did not make the final Tweed Heads Seventeen for the match.

Jack Glossop was on the radar of various NRL clubs since he was just 15 years old, Jack Glossop at that age was part of both the North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Bronco’s Development programs but ultimately made the decision to sign with the Cowboys, moving to Townsville once the former Gladstone Valley’s junior finished his schooling at St Brendon’s Yeppoon.

In 2019 Jack Glossop was part of the Townsville Blackhawks Queensland Cup but did not make his debut, he was however named to start from the bench in Round Seventeen but ultimately did not make his debut.

In 2018 Jack Glossop played in the Hastings Deering’s Colt’s competition for Townsville playing in the Blackhawks first eleven matches before missing the remainder of the season. In his eleven matches Jack Glossop scored four tries including a Round Two double against Ipswich and also scored in Round One against the Mackay Cutters and Round Eight against the Victoria Thunder.

Jack Glossop started seven of his 2018 Colts matches at lock, one in the front row, being Round Eleven against Wynnum Manly and the remainder from the interchange bench.

In 2017 Jack Glossop was part of the North Queensland Cowboys NYC squad, making his debut in Round Two against Manly, starting from the bench and scoring on debut as well as being named the Cowboys best.

In total in the NYC competition in 2017 Jack Glossop played in sixteen matches, starting fourteen off the bench including their Week One Finals loss to Manly. Jack Glossop made his first NYC start when he started at lock in Round Eight against the Newcastle Knights and also started at lock in Round Nine.

In 2015 and 2016 Jack Glossop was part of the Townsville Blackhawks MM Cup squad’s and in 2016 was also part of the Blackhawks squad that took on the Penrith Panthers in the U18 National Final.

Running with the football, Jack Glossop has good footwork prior to the line and does not often just put his head down and run straight but uses his solid footwork to try to work the gaps between defenders rather than trying to simply run over them.

Jack Glossop does not have great speed off the mark or necessary above average high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of the ability he possesses. Jack Glossop actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well.

Defensively Jack Glossop is a solid hitter, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads rather than just trying to belt the opposition. One area where is quite effective whether Jack Glossop is defending on the fringes of the ruck or in the centre of the ruck including when he is defending at marker, is against smaller attackers who look to use their foot work.

Jack Glossop has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a front rower and due to the fact that he also is not that tall and is usually is able to wrap up smaller attackers without his tackles slipping up to around the head or neck too often.

In 2022 Jack Glossop will be part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad and he will be looking to make his starting debut in that competition after so coming close in 2022 with the Seagulls.

For his entire rugby league career to date including juniors, representative and school boy’s Jack Glossop has played either lock or in the front row and with his playing style and size, there is no reason to indicate that that situation will alter any time soon.

From a player comparison perspective for Jack Glossop, one player with a similar playing style from my perspective is Parramatta Eels front rower Nathan Brown, as a solid forward who will probably never be a star but will be a solid contributor to a team’s forward pack and overall team success none the less.

[mdrew]

Izaya Leato-Beckett. After missing the opening rounds of the 2021 season proper, Izaya Leota-Beckett started at right centre for the Burleigh Bears GCRL U20 side in their Round Six match against the Helensvale Hornets, recording a double, with both tries coming in the opening thirteen minutes of the match.

In the 6th minute, Izaya Leota-Beckett followed through a Nelson Ewing kick to the Burleigh right corner with Izaya Leota-Beckett getting a perfect bounce to score in the kick corner. Izaya Leota-Beckett chased through another Nelson Ewing kick to his side of the field in the 13th minute and he leapt above the defence to catch the ball one handed and once again score in the right corner.

Izaya Leota-Beckett made his first 2021 appearance in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition in the Round Eleven local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls, starting on the left wing.

Izaya Leato-Beckett’s first hit out of the 2021 season was when he lined up for the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad against a Titans U19 selection in late January at Burleigh.

Izaya Leota-Beckett then started at fullback, playing the first half of the Bears trial against the Easts Tigers against the Easts Tigers that finished in a twenty all draw with Izaya Leato-Beckett perfoeming solidly both from an attacking perspective as well as positionally.

Late in the first half, Izaya Leato-Beckett almost got himself on the Burleigh try scoring list when he backed up a long break by Cameron Brown but unfortunately Cameron Brown’s pass back inside to Izaya Leato-Beckett went to ground.

The following week in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls, Izaya Leota-Beckett moved to the bench for the final trial.

The tall, long striding young Gold Coast local started from the bench for the 2020 Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in their Round One victory against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls coming on for his Hastings Deering’s Colts debut in the first half of the match and making an immediate impact in an encouraging debut.

Post the 2020 Community Rugby League restart Izaya Leato-Beckett played for the Ormeau Shearers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition including scoring an impressive individual try in Round Seven agaisnt the Helensvale Hornets.

Izaya Leato-Beckett was also outstanding in Round Ten, scoring a hat trick against the Currumbin Eagles, to ensure that Ormeau clinched the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 Minor Premiership.

Unfortunately Ormeau lost their Preliminary Final against Currumbin but Izaya Leato-Beckett was one of Ormeau’s best as well as scoring one of the two tries that Ormeau scored in the 26 – 8 loss to the Eagles.

Also in early 2020 Izaya Leato-Beckett was named in the 2020 Queensland U20 Touch team but their competition did not go ahead due to the shut down as a result of the Civid 19 pandemic. Later in the 2020 year however Izaya Leato-Beckett was named in the Gold Coast Senior State Cup Mixed Open side for the 2020 Senior State Cup. Also in late 2020 Izaya Leato-Beckett was named in the 2021 Queensland State of Origin U20 Touch Team.

Izaya Leato-Beckett is better known as a touch player, representing both Queensland and Australia in recent years. In 2019 Izaya Leato-Beckett represented the U18 South Queensland Sharks at the Australian U18 Touch Championships recording a 100% strike rate through his seven matches at the Championships with a number of those tries coming from long range and as a result of Izaya Leato-Beckett using his impressive footwork through the middle of the field and then being able to comfortably outpace the cover defence over the remainder of the journey to the try line, on an number of occasions being over extended distances.

Izaya Leato-Beckett is a bit of an enigma in terms of how he plays, Izaya Leato-Beckett certainly plays what is in front of him. Izaya Leato-Beckett is adept at running himself and has a very good turn of speed off the mark and similarly can throw some superb passes to his support runners, but at the same time passes will go to ground because his team mates are sometimes not thinking along the same lines that he does or at the same speed.

To that extent currently Izaya Leato-Beckett is a much better runner of the ball and can step off both feet and is quite strong for his size and will shrug off larger defenders if they try to go high and wrap up the ball. Izaya Leato-Beckett drifts across field very slowly and then just explodes off the mark through any gapsthat he identifies in a staggered defensive line utilising a quick and fast step and outstanding speed off the mark.

Izaya Leato-Beckett normally carries the ball in his right hand away from his body and as a consequence of his height and long arms is regularly able to get off loads away as a result of keeping his right arm free from interference when contact is made with the defensive line and then being in a position to offload the ball across his body to his left or out of the back of his right hand to the right. In relation to the comments in the paragraph above in relation his off loading attributes, think of the Eels Brad Takairangi.

Defensively Izaya Leato-Beckett is actually quite aggressive in terms of finishing off tackles and certainly seems adept at getting his hands between attackers and their support players and knocking the ball down or taking an intercept.

Izaya Leato-Beckett’s quick feet enable him to defend well especially against small light stepping attackers as he can mirror their movement and use his long arms to engage them before they get in too close to his body and use his normal leverage advantage against him.

Izaya Leato-Beckett is set to play the 2022 season as part of the Burleigh Bears U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts squad once again and if not will likely line up for the Bears in the Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition or potentially higher.

Izaya Leato-Beckett with his height and size can seemingly play a variety of positions on a rugby league field including but not limited to fullback, in the centres as well as on the wing and also in the second row if it came to that.

Regardless of position Izaya Leato-Beckett is one of the more intriguing players that were new to the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad in 2020 in terms of background, potential and physical and skill set available to him and that did not change in 2021.

With his height and speed Izaya Leato-Beckett has a playing style akin to that of talented Penrith Panthers rookie fullback or left centre and former Australian school boy’s sensation Stephen Crichton. Both have height and speed as well as the ability to negotiate their way through congestion when at first glance there did not appear to be any room to move at all. They both also have outstanding hands from a ball control perspective.

The scary part is that both Izaya Leato-Beckett and Creighton have the capacity to add additional muscle mass (a fair bit too) without at all impacting on their speed, balance and body control. Both also have outstanding hand eye co-ordination and spacial awareness to add to all of the other attributes that they have.

With continued rugby league experience under his belt, Izaya Leato-Beckett could be very very special talent indeed.

[mdrew]

Jed Mulcahy. It is hard not to cheer for try scoring and goal kicking front rowers and that is exactly what this young man from the Kyogle Turkeys junior rugby league club is.

In Round Two of the 2021 Group One U14 competition Jed Mulcahy started in the front row for Kyogle as the Turkeys took on Casino RSM with Jed Mulcahy scoring twice and converted two tries as the Turkeys defeated South Grafton 48 – 0.

Jed Mulcahy also started in the front row in Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls and was one of the Turkeys try scorers in their 32 – 18 loss. Jed Mulcahy added a further try in Round Five against Lismore Marist Brothers after starting the match once again in the front row.

Jed Mulcahy started once again in the front row in Round Six against South Grafton and scored a double as the Turkey’s prevailed 34 – 20 and also started in the front row in Round Eight against the Grafton Ghosts.

Also starting in the front row in Round Nine against Casino RSM, Jed Mulcahy had a huge match scoring four tries and kicking a conversion for an eighteen point individual haul as the Turkey’s defeated Casino RSM 34 – 12.

Jed Mulcahy continued in the front row in Round Eleven against the Clarence Coast Magpies and added a further try to his impressive season. Jed Mulcahy also started in the front row in Round Twelve, crossing for a hat trick against the Marist Rams.

Jed Mulcahy finished the abridged 2021 Group One U14 regular season as the competitions fourth leading try scorer with sixteen tries.

Jed Mulcahy’s athletic prowess is not just confined to the rugby league with the young man winning the Kyogle High School U14 Cross Country race.

In 2020 Jed Mulcahy played for Kyogle in the Group One U13 rugby league competition and then regularly backed up for the U14 match.

In Round One of the 2020 Group One U13 competition Jed Mulcahy scored a double against the Grafton Ghosts and then in Round Three added a hat trick and a conversion for a fourteen point individual haul as his Turkeys side defeated the South Grafton Rebels 34 – 4.

Jed Mulcahy continued his run of points scoring in Round Four against Ballina, scoring try and kicking a conversion in the Turkeys 22 – 18 victory. Jed Mulcahy started in the front row and scored once again in Round Five as Kyogle defeated Casino RSM 30 – 16 and scored once again in Round Six as the Turkeys defeated South Grafton.

Jed Mulcahy was back on the try scoring list in Round Seven against the Clarence Coast Magpies, but unfortunately the Turkeys went down 34 – 6 to the Magpies. In Round Eight against Grafton, Jed Mulcahy moved to start the match at five eight.

Jed Mulcahy moved back to his usual front row position for Round Nine against the Clarence Coast Magpies and made the most of the change, scoring a hat trick as the Turkeys defeated the Magpies 30 – 22. Jed Mulcahy also started in the front row in Round Ten, being the final regular season round against Grafton.

Jed Mulcahy finished the 2020 Group One U13 regular season scoring thirteen tries in just nine matches to finish the season with a strike rate of 144%.

Jed Mulcahy played his first match in the 2020 Group One U14 competition in Round Two, starting on the wing and then started Round Three in the front row against South Grafton, on each occasion starting in U13 match earlier in the day. Jed Mulcahy then came off the bench in Round Four against the Ballina Seagulls.

In 2019 Jed Mulcahy was part of the U12 Lismore Diocese rugby league trials from St Brigid’s Kyogle and is also a talented cricketer as well as a St Brigid’s School Captain.

Jed Mulcahy is a hard running player who never seems to just put his head down and runs straight, he always uses a slight step prior to contacting the defensive line, coupled with the fact that he drops his shoulder into defenders, means that he is a bit of a handful to tackle and he is not often knocked back onto his heals. He is also good at maintaining his momentum after impacting the defensive line.

Jed Mulcahy has a huge high work rate and I would suggest that he would normally be at or near the top of his team’s statistics in terms of the number of hit ups he makes and on occasion runs a very good inside shoulder route to supplement his other attacking attributes. Jed Mulcahy does not off-load the ball much however and probably never be one based on how he asked to play the game.

Defensively Jed Mulcahy 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. This season Jed Mulcahy’s speed and mobility seemed to have increased and as a consequence he was better able to mirror the opposition attacker’s movement more effectively.

Jed Mulcahy will probably not make a large amount of hits that are going to knock opposing forwards backwards, but opposing forwards are going to feel everyone and start to look out for where he is in the defensive line.

In 2022 Jed Mulcahy will play for the Kyogle Turkeys in the Group One U15 competition and like in 2021 may well play a number of matches up in the 2022 U16 competition.

Jed Mulcahy is a big strong young man who has played essentially his entire junior rugby league career to date in the front row and I believe that he will stay in the same position that being in the front row going forward.

Jed Mulcahy is a big strong tough rugby league front rower with a touch of aggressiveness in his game and therefore from an NRL player comparison perspective, for Jed Mulcahy would be Titans front rower Jaimen Jolliffe as a front rower who will continue to take the ball up all day long and also be very effective at it as well and one who is a touch underrated defensively in terms of how hard his initial contact is in defence as well as his capacity to continually get back into the defensive line, set himself and move up to make the next tackle for long stretches.

[mdrew]

Toby Hannah. The young Casino RSM five eight is not just a game manager but a talented ball runner and goal kicker as well and that was on show on multiple occasions over the course of the 2020 Group One U13 and 2021 U14 seasons.

After Casino RSM had a Round One bye, Toby Hannah started at five eight in Round Two of the 2021 Group One U14 season against the Kyogle Turkeys and kicked a conversion as Casino RSM went down 22 – 10.

Toby Hannah also started at five eight in Round Three against Marist Brothers Rams, kicking four conversions in Casino RSM’s big win. Toby Hannah also started at five eight and kicked two more conversions in Round Four against the Grafton Ghosts and continued at five eight in Round Five against Ballina.

Toby Hannah moved to fullback in Round Seven against Clarence Coast and kicked two conversions but was back at five eight in Round Eight against South Grafton when he score a try and kicked a conversion. Toby Hannah also started at five eight in Round Nine against Kyogle Turkeys.

Toby Hannah also started at five eight in Round Ten against the Marist Rams kicking three conversions from as many attempts in Casino RSM’s six point loss.

Toby Hannah continued at five eight in Round Eleven against the Grafton Ghosts kicking a conversion and was in the match from the kick off when his kick-off went deep, saling over the head of the Ghosts players to go dead in-goal and force Grafton to drop the ball out from under their own posts in an outstanding start to the match for Casino RSM.

Toby Hannah also recorded a try assist against Grafton in the 48th minute when from thirty metres on the right side of the field, Toby Hannah put up a bomb towards the left corner that was dropped by the Grafton right winger with the Casino RSM halfback on hand to force the ball down in the in-goal.

Also starting at five eight in Round Twelve against the Marist Rams, Toby Hannah kicked three conversions from as many attempts.

Toby Hannah once again started at five eight in Round Thirteen against the Clarence Coast Magpies and kicked three conversions from four attempts.

In Round One of the 2020 Group One U13 competition, Toby Hannah started at five eight and scored a try and kicked three from three conversions against Ballina. Toby Hannah also started at five eight in Round Two against the Kyogle Turkeys scoring eight of Casino RSM’s twelve points in their 12 – 4 win from a try and two conversions from as many attempts.

Toby Hannah added a conversion in Round Three as Casino RSM went down 26 – 14 to the Grafton Ghosts. In Round Four in a 42 – 4 win over South Grafton Toby Hannah who started at five eight once again scored fourteen points from a try and five conversions.

Round five saw the young five eight score a try and kick two goals against the Kyogle Turkeys and in Round Six Toby Hannah kicked three goals as Casino RSM went down 30 – 22 to the Clarence Coast Magpies.

In a high quality Round Seven match against Ballina, the exciting five eight scored a try and kicked two goals as Casino RSM went down 34 – 20 and also kicked two goals in Round Eight in a 24 – 12 loss to the Ballina Seagulls. Toby Hannah also started at five eight in Round Nine against the Grafton Ghosts.

In the final regular season round of the 2020 Group One U13 competition being Round Ten, Toby Hannah started at five eight and scored sixteen points from a try and six goals as Casino RSM defeated South Grafton 40 – 4.

In total in the 2020 Group One U13 regular season competition Toby Hannah scored seventy six points from ten matches, made up of six tries and twenty six goals.

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

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

Toby Hannah literally just flicks his wrists and the ball flies out of his hands like a perfectly aimed bullet. I personally do not recall seeing a young play maker which such outstanding command and control in relation to hs passing game.

Toby Hannah’s passing game is just so natural and precise and really is impressive for such a young player and certainly bodes well for his future in a play mking role whether that is at five eight or half back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When confronted with forwards running directly at him on the edge of the ruck, Toby Hannah will get in front of them and use his shoulder in an effort to contain them until defensive help arrives. Due to his speed off the mark Toby Hannahis also a very good cover defender as he tracks the ball across the field and has a solid low tackling technique from the side.

Toby Hannah will play in the Group One U15 competition in 2022 for Casino RSM.

When you have a player with the ability to see a number of plays ahead of what is currently happening and has the ball playing and game management skills to take advantage of that you put them in a position to have the balls in their hands as much as possible. Toby Hannah is one such player and therefore playing five eight or half seems to be the ideal position for him now and into the future.

This young man can do it all run, pass, kick and tackle all whilst seemingly having all the time in the world to make a decision and then work through alternatives. Toby Hannah seems always to be one or two plays ahead of everyone on the field and playing at a different level as well.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style and skill attributes to Toby Hannah for me is Penrith Panther and New South Wales State of Origin half Nathan Cleary as a half who really takes control of his team and just does everything well including goal kicking and running the ball amongst other impressive traits.

[mdrew]

Grant Brown. Round One of the 2021 Group One U14 competition saw Grant Brown start at five eight for the Clarence Coast Magpies against the Ballina Seagulls and scored a double as Clarence Coast got their season off to a winning start on the back of a 34 – 8 victory. Grant Brown also started at five eight in Round Two against the South Grafton Rebels.

Grant Brown continued at five eight in Round Five against the Grafton Ghosts and had a day out, scoring four tries and kicking a conversion to finish the match with an individual points haul of eighteen.

Grant Brown continued at five eight in Round Six against Ballina and scored a try and kicked a conversion in the Magpies 36 – 16 loss. Round Seven against Casino RSM saw Grant Brown, from five eight, score two tries and kcik three goals in a 38 – 12 victory.

Grant Brown continued his 2021 rich vein of form in Round Eight against Marist Brothers, scoring three tries and kicking a conversion after starting the match at five eight.

Grant Brown once again started at five eight in Round Nine against South Grafton and contributed two tries and two goals in the Magpies 44 – 6 victory.

Interstingly Grant Brown was named to start at hooker in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM with the move paying dividends with Grant Brown scoring twenty two of the Magpies fifty eights points from five tries and a conversion in a Clarence Coast 58 – 22 victory.

Grant Brown finished the abridged 2021 Group One U14 regular season as the competitions third leading try scorer with nineteen tries.

After scoring a double in Round One of the U14 match against Ballina, Grant Brown came off the bench in Round One of the U15 competition and kicked two conversions as the Magpies held on to beat Ballina 12 – 10. Grant Brown also came off the bench for the U15 Magpies side in Round Five against Grafton, after scoring four tries in the U14 match earlier in the day an was also on the bench in Round Eight against Marist Brothers.

The electric Titans linked Clarence Coast Magpies junior rugby league centre or fullback (and occasional five eight in 2020) had an outstanding start to the 2020 Group One U13 season and turned that start into a heck of a 2020 season overall with consistently high standard performances each and every round of the 2020 Group One U13 season.

As a result of his outstanding 2020 season in the Group One U13 competition, the McLean High School student was selected to be part of the Titans Elite Academy Squad and has been training under the watchful eye of former Titans NRL player Kane Elgey.

In Round One of the Group One U13 2020 season Grant Brown started at right centre and scored a hat trick as the Magpies defeated the South Grafton Rebels 46 – 16 to get their 2020 season off to an outstanding start.

Grant Brown then backed up to start on the bench for the Group One U14 Round One fixture and made it four tries on the day for the Clarence Coast Magpies as they defeated the Rebels 26 – 16 in that age group. Grant Brown was also on the bench for the Round Three Group One U14 fixture against the Ballina Seagulls that immediately followed the U13 match.

Grant Brown moved to fullback for Clarence Coast’s Round Three Group One U13 match against the Ballina Seagulls, scoring one try and kicking a conversion as the Magpies went down 32 – 22 to the Seagulls.

Grant Brown was back in the centres in Round Four against the Grafton Ghosts and kicked two conversions. Grant Brown then started from the bench for the Magpies U14 side also against Grafton in the following match of the day.

Round Five saw Grant Brown once again start in the centres and score a try and kick three goals for a ten point individual haul as Clarence Coast defeated Ballina 34 – 22. Grant Brown kicked a further five goals in Round Six as the Magpies defeated Casino RSM 30 – 22.

Grant Brown moved back to fullback for Round Seven against Kyogle and made the most of the switch scoring a double and kicking three conversions.

Grant Brown moved positions once again in Round Nine, moving to five eight for the Magpies as they went down 30 – 22 to the Kyogle Turkeys, but Grant Brown scored sixteen of the Magpies points (72.73%) from a hat trick and two goals.

In total in the 2020 Group One U13 season Grant Brown scored seventy six points from seven matches, including scoring twelve tries (171% strike rate) and kicked fourteen goals, to average just on eleven points per game.

Grant Brown 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, Grant Brown 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, Grant Brown usually is able to maintain his balance and running line as well as keep an arm free, looking to offload.

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

Grant Brown is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy, I am not sure whether he has the consistency at this point in time to be a team’s primary goal kicker, if not he will be a very useful back-up.

Grant Brown played the 2020 Group One rugby league competition in his usual U13 age group but also played multiple matches up in the Group One U14 age group.

In 2022 Grant Brown will play for the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Group One U15 competition and like in 2021 may well play a number of matches up in the U16 competition.

Grant Brown with his outstanding combination of speed and elusiveness looks certain to be able to stay in the centres long term. Identifying and nurturing young strike centres is probably the most difficult thing in rugby league, and to that extent I will be following Grant Brown’s career as he continues to grow, mature and develop.

I do note however that Grant Brown is also a more than capable fullback as was evidenced by his 2020 performances in the Group One competition for Clarence Coast and whilst I ultimately believe that he will end up in the centres, it is definitely not out of the realms of possibility that Grant Brown will not make the fullback position his own and be an outstanding one at that.

In relation to a current NRL player with a similar playing style to Grant Brown my observations would suggest that Brisbane Broncos and Tongan International centre Ketone Staggs is similar. Both Staggs and Grant Brown are tough, quick, aggressive and deceptively strong ball runners who know the way to the try line and get there with regularly. Similarly Grant Brown and Staggs are outstanding defenders with a technique first approach to that aspect of rugby league.

Grant Brown is just a natural footballer who just oozes class, skill and confidence on a rugby league field and the sky is the limit for this outstanding naturally gifted and outstanding rugby league talent from northern New South Wales.

[mdrew]

Dylan Watkins. Dylan Watkins is a talented fullback/five eight who attends Ballina Coast High School and plays for the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One competition which is situated in the Titans catchment area.

In Round One of the 2021 Group One U14 competition Dylan Watkins started at fullback for the Ballina Seagulls against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Dylan Watkins also started at fullback in Round Two against Marist Brothers Lismore and kicked a conversion as the Seagulls prevailed 18 – 8.

Dylan Watkins added a further two tries and a conversion in Round Three against Kyogle after starting the match at fullback once again. Dylan Watkins then scored a hat trick in Round Four against South Grafton after once again starting the match at fullback, even though he wore the No. 6 jersey.

Dylan Watkins was electric once again in Round Five against Casino RSM, scoring a hat trick for the second match in a row from the fullback position.

Dylan Watkins was at his dynamic best in Round Six from the fullback position against the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring a staggering five tries in the Seagulls 36 – 16 victory.

Dylan Watkins also started at fullback against the Grafton Ghosts in Round Seven and once against scored for the Seagulls. Starting at fullback once again in Round Nine against Marist Brothers Dylan Watkins scored another double.

In Round Ten against Kyogle Dylan Watkins continued at fullback and scored an outstanding five tries in the Seagulls big win. Dylan Watkins also started at fullback in Round Eleven against the South Grafton Rebels.

Dylan Watkins continued at fullback in Round Twelve against Casino RSM and scored eighteen individual points from four tries and a conversion.

Dylan Watkins started Round Thirteen against the Grafton Ghosts at five eight and scored in the Seagulls touch one point loss, 27 – 26.

Dylan Watkins finished the abridged 2021 Group One U14 regular season as the competitions leading try scorer with twenty seven tries.

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

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

In March 2021 Dylan Watkins was part of the Ballina Coast High School’s U15 touch side that went through the 2021 U15 Far North Coast Touch Trials that were held at Tweed Heads and as a consequence of his performances at the trials Dylan Watkins was selected in the Far North Coast U15 Touch representative side even though he is still U14 eligible in 2021.

The exceptionally classy Ballina Seagulls five eight could not have had a better start to the 2020 Group One U13 rugby league season, scoring five tries and kicking a conversion in Round One to finish Ballina’s 28 – 18 win over Casino RSM with an outstanding twenty two point individual haul being 78.57% of his team’s points in the match. In fact the five tries that Dylan Watkins scored in the match were the only five that Ballina scored highlighting just how dominant Dylan Watkins performance against Casino RSM was.

Dylan Watkins continued his outstanding form in Round Two of the 2020 Group One U13 competition scoring two tries and kicking a conversion for a ten point individual haul as Ballina defeated South Grafton 22 – 4, once against playing five eight in the match for the Seagulls.

Dylan Watkins outstanding 2020 continued in Round Three scoring a hat trick and kicking two goals, for an individual game tally of sixteen points as Ballina defeated Clarence Coast 32 – 22 to maintain their 2020 unbeaten record.

Dylan Watkins also started at five eight in Round Four against the Kyogle Turkeys scoring and kicking a goal but the Seagulls went down 22 - 18. Dylan Watkins added a further two tries after starting once again at five eight in Round Five in a 34 – 22 loss to Clarence Coast. Dylan Watkins added a further double in Round Six against Grafton in a 26 – 24 loss also from the five eight position.

Round Seven in a 34 – 20 win against Casino RSM saw the exciting five eight score a further four tries and also kick a conversion to finish the match with an individual points haul of eighteen.

In Round Eight in a Seagulls 24 – 12 win against Casino RSM, Dylan Watkins scored four tries for the second round in a row from the five eight.

Dylan Watkins 2020 try scoring feats (and points scoring) continued unabated in Round Nine when he scored twenty six of his team’s sixty points (43.33%) from five eight, from three tries and seven goals as Ballina defeated South Grafton 60 – 14.

Round Ten being the final Group One U13 regular season round did not see a slowdown in Dylan Watkins try scoring and points scoring in a 24 all draw with the Clarence Coast Magpies. Dylan Watkins scored sixteen of his sides points (67%) from three tries and two goals.

In total in the 2020 Group One U13 regular season competition Dylan Watkins scored a staggering twenty nine tries (290% strike rate) and kicked fifteen goals to finish with 146 points to average just under three tries and 14.6 points per game.

Dylan Watkins started at five eight in the 2020 Group One U13 Grand Final against the Grafton Ghosts where he had an outstanding match scoring eighteen of Ballina’s twenty two points from three tries and three conversions as the Seagulls went down 32 - 22.

Dylan Watkins made his Group One U14 debut off the bench in Round Seven scoring as the Seagulls defeated Casino RSM 32 – 0. Dylan Watkins had scored four tries in the U13 match earlier in the same day.

In Round Eight of the 2020 Group One U14 competition, Dylan Watkins once again came off the bench for the Ballina side and scored a double as Ballina defeated Casino RSM 32 – 0. Like in Round Seven, Dylan Watkins had scored four tries in the U13 match earlier in the day between the same two teams.

Dylan Watkins made his Group One U14 starting debut in Round Nine, starting in the halves and scoring a try as Ballina defeated South Grafton 20 – 10 after Dylan Watkins scored a hat trick and kicked seven goals in the earlier U13 fixture between the same two sides.

In total in the Group One U14 competition Dylan Watkins played in three Group One U14 matches scoring four tries for a 133% strike rate.

Dylan Watkins is also an outstanding touch player, in late 2020 being named in the U14 Ballina Bull Sharks Touch Representative Team for the New South Wales State Junior Cup.

It is hard to put in words that do justice to just how talented Dylan Watkins is especially in terms of running the ball, he has outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end speed which must be considered above average regardless of position.

Dylan Watkins with his speed is able to exploit even small gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot, Dylan Watkins also has incredible acceleration as well as outstanding balance and body control. It is that exceptional speed trait which opens up time and space for his incredible (and still evolving) ball playing skills as well.

Teams automatically start to focus heavily on Dylan Watkins when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that then open up holes wider out in the defensive line that Dylan Watkins can readily exploit.

Dylan Watkins 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 Dylan Watkins can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can react and readjust.

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

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

Defensively Dylan Watkins 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.

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

Another area where Dylan Watkins has a plus attribute is in relation to his leaderships skills. He is a strong confident personality and that translates to a leader on and off the field and you can see that the other players gravitate towards him.

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

Dylan Watkins will play the 2022 Group One rugby league competition for the Ballina Seagulls in the U15 age group as well as playing his school boy rugby league with Ballina Coast High School.

Dylan Watkins has the speed, body control, elusiveness and ball skills to continue to be an outstanding five eight on a rugby league field for a long time.

I must admit I would really like to see how Dylan Watkins skills and athletic ability would translate to the fullback position where he would have more room to move and be in a position to be the second receiver when the ball is played out the back by the half or five eight. I think that Dylan Watikins would be dynamic in the custodian role but as long as he has the ball in his hands, good things will happen for Dylan Watkins and his team mates.

With his outstanding skill set coupled with his size and speed combination Dylan Watkins is simply a player of immense potential and the play of Parramatta Eels NRL boom rookie five eight Dylan Brown is a more than fair and accurate comparison.

Both Dylan Watkins and Brown have the ability to play to a set game plan as well as playing what is in front of them and unlike some current NRL halves have the youthful courage to look to win the match rather than trying not to lose it.

I appreciate that it is a big call but for me a further comparison to Darren Lockyer is not unreasonable. Dylan Watkins has more speed however than when Darren Lockyer moved to five eight. Dylan Watkins really does present on the field as an exceptional naturally gifted young player who does not take that natural ability that he possesses for granted.

Dylan Watkins can do it all run, pass, kick and tackle all whilst seemingly having all the time in the world to make a decision and then work through alternatives that are at his disposal. Like Lockyer Dylan Watkins seems always to be one or two plays ahead of everyone on the field and playing at a different level to team mates and opponents alike as well.

[mdrew]

Noah Croudace. The former Titans linked Burleigh and PBC youngster started on the wing for the Titans U16’s and scored as they defeated PNG 60 – 10 in a late 2018 match at Burleigh and also started on the right wing as the Titans U16’s went down 30 – 10 to New South Wales Country U16’s at Cudgen in what can best be described as wet and miserable conditions.

Noah Croudace started on the right wing for the 2021 Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in their trial against the Easts Tigers which finished in a twenty all draw but if not for some outstanding defensive efforts from Noah Croudace Burleigh may not have drawn the match.

Noah Croudace impressive defensive effort started in just the 4th minute when he forced the ball loose from the grasp of the Easts Tigers left winger when he was racing towards the left corner after taking the ball on the full from a cross field kick. Noah Croudace had to readjust quickly after the ball had gone over his head but he spun around to make the try saving tackle.

The Easts Tigers once again may have scored had it not been from Noah Croudace in the 24th minute, when facing a three on one overlap, Noah Craudace came off his wing to bring down the Tigers left second rower (No. 12) with a copy book left shoulder tackle, ensuring that the Easts second rower had no chance to get the ball away.

The following week as the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side as they took on the Tweed Heads Seagulls in a trial, Noah Croudace moved to the bench for the match against the Bears local rivals.

In Round Four of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Noah Croudace started on the right wing for the Bears as they went down on the Norths Devils.

When the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League competition commenced, Noah Croudace started at fullback for the Burleigh Bears U20 GCRL side as they played a Pre-season Round One round robin against Helensvale and Runaway Bay.

Noah Croudace scored in their second match of their round robin matches against Helensvale when he ran into a hole on the right side of the field to score from around twenty metres out.

In Round Three of the GCRL U20 Pre-season competition, Noah Croudace started from the bench as Burleigh played the Currumbin Eagles.

In Round Two of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition Noah Croudace started at fullback for Burleigh as they took on Helensvale and was one of the Bears try scorers with his try coming in the 55th minute when Noah Croudace burst over the line from a Burleigh scrum win with Noah Croudace receiving the ball to the right of the scrum eighteen metres. Unfortunately took a knock to the head as he was putting the ball down.

Noah Croudace was back at fullback in Round Five against Runaway Bay scoring an impressive solo try late in the match when he ran onto the ball from forty metres out and to the left of the dummy half, breaking the Seagulls defensive through the utilisation of two left arm fends and then outpacing the fullback to score next to the right upright.

Noah Croudace has also involved in Burleigh other try when from dummy half a metre from the line, he threw a long flat pass to his right for Te Ahurei Epapara to crash over.

Noah Croudace comtinued at fullback in Round Six against Helensvale and recorded a great line break in the 27th minute when he broke through the Hornets line from fifty five metres out through the utilisation of a left foot step, then aftyer beating the fullback, Noah Cru=oudace was brought down from behind just five mtres from the try line.

Noah Croudace also started at fullback in Round Seven against Runaway Bay, in Round Ten also against Runaway Bay and also against Currumbin in the previously postponed Round Eight fixture.

Noah Croudace continued at fullback in Round Eleven against the Currumbin Eagles.

After the Covid 19 enforced lock down, Noah Croudace was named at fullback for Round Eleven against the Currumbin Eagles and also was named to start at fullback in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay.

Noah Croudace also started at fullback in Round Thirteen against the Helensvale Hornets with Noah Croudace scoring Burleigh’s final try of the Bears 30 – 18 in the 61st minute when he ran onto a pass seventeen metres out, immediately getting on the outside of the Helensvale right centre and racing over to score mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Noah Croudace then continued at fullback in Round Fourteen against the Currumbin Eagles as well as in Week One of the 2021 GCRL U20 Finals series against the Helensvale Hornets.

Noah Croudace also started at fullback in the 2021 GCRL U20 Preliminary Final against the Currumbin Eagles as the Bears qualified for the Grand Final.

Noah Croudace also started at fullback for Burleigh in the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 Grand Final against the Runaway Bay Seagulls with Noah Croudace’s first touch coming when on Burleigh’s second tackle of the match, he brought the ball literally off his own line to the left of the play the ball and did well to get down low when faced with an on rushing Runaway Bay defensive line to ensure that he was not forced back into the in-goal in the opening minute of the match.

Noah Croudace then did well in the 5th minute when from a Burleigh scrum win on the opposite side of the field, he was able to beat a tackle and make eighteen metres just in from the right touch line to get the ball inside forty metres from the try line.

Noah Croudace added a further solid run in the 30th minute when he was able to make fifteen metres out of dummy half when he picked up the ball and ran to his right to get the ball into Runaway Bay territory. Noah Croudace was then awarded a penalty when he was not allowed to play the ball to a timely fashion.

At the 2021 Burleigh Bears Awards Presentation Noah Croudace was named the Burleigh Gold Coast Rugby League U20 Player of the Year.

Noah Croudace started Round One of the 2020 MM Cup competition for the Burleigh Bears on the right wing against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls which unfortunately ended up being the only round player of the 2020 MM Cup competition.

When training initially restarted for the revised 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League season, Noah Croudace commenced training with the Burleigh U20 side but then transitioned back to the Burleigh U18 Division One side.

When the Gold Coast Rugby League competition started in late July 2020 Noah Croudace played for the Burleigh Bears U18 Division One side, primarily on the right wing including scoring a double in Round Two against the Currumbin Eagles. In fact for the majority of the U18 Division One competition Noah Croudace was a regular try scorer for the Bears.

After being part of the Burleigh U18 Division One side that defeated Runaway Bay in the Preliminary Final, Noah Croudace started at right centre for Burleigh in the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One Grand Final against the Currumbin Eagles.

As the 2020 season progressed Noah Croudace also played a number of matches for the Burleigh GCRL U20 side also playing primarily on the wing in that competition although he did start a number of matches at right centre as well. Noah Croudace was part of the Burleigh U20 Preliminary Final side that went down in the last minute to Helensvale 26 – 24.

In 2019 Noah Croudace was part of the Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad and was named on an extended bench for Round Four against Townsville but unfortunately did not make the final seventeen but made his debut starting on the wing in Round Six as Burleigh overcame the previously unbeaten Wynnum Manly Seagulls to finish the 2019 season on a high with the 23 – 22 victory.

Noah Croudace played the 2019 season with Burleigh in the GCRL U18 Division One competition playing in six regular season matches, scoring five tries to finish with a strike rate of 83.33%. Noah Croudace had outstanding start to his 2019 U18 Division One campaign scoring doubles in his opening two matches ironically both matches were against Currumbin. Noah Croudace’s other regular season try was against the Bilambil Jets in early August.

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

In the 2019 GCRL U18 Division One Grand Final against Southport Noah Croudace started on the right wing and had some good moments including a line break down the right wing in the match which ultimately turned into a forward slog with the Bears winning 28 – 12 in a very physical affair.

2019 also saw Noah Croudace play multiple matches for PBC in both the Langer Cup and GIO Cup competitions including starting on the right wing for PBC in their heart breaking Gold Point GIO Cup Queensland semi-final 23 – 22 loss to Marsden State High School.

In the match Noah Croudace was very effective down the right touchline including making a long break in the first half which almost led to a PBC try.

Early in the 2018 season Noah Croudace represented the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 Challenge, scoring a double, including a try in the last minute to defeat Ipswich.

In 2018 Noah Croudace only played in one U16 Division One match with that match being the Preliminary Final when he started from the bench with Burleigh going down 28 – 26 to Currumbin in a high quality contest.

Unfortunately Noah Croudace was struck down with injury in 2019 while playing for PBC but it is good to see him over the injury now so that he can undertake the MM Cup pre-season with Burleigh with the aim of establishing himself in the team from Round One.

Whilst in does not have a great deal of speed off the mark, Noah Croudace does have above average top end speed once he gets moving and can break tackles by using a very good fend, when he gets to the outside, this prevents defenders from getting he under his ribs and thus he can maintain his running line under defensive pressure.

Even taking into account what I have said in the paragraph, from a speed perspective Noah Croudace is an interesting one. It does not appear when Noah Croudace is space that he is moving quickly but players that I consider who have above average speed for an outside back do not gain ground on him, thus clearly Noah Croudace is a lot quicker than he looks.

The proof is in the pudding so they say and Noah Croudace has been able to outpace some very quick players over the course of the last couple of seasons.

Noah Croudace also has very good hands and over the course of the last two MM Cup seasons he had to pick up a number of passes from either low down or above his head and also has a good in and away to complement his other attacking attributes.

Noah Croudace is not the biggest player and the obvious question is whether he is strong enough to handle the defensive side of rugby league at the higher levels, I would argue that the answer is absolutely yes. In defence against the bigger outside backs running around, Noah Croudace looks to cut down the time that the opposition have to gain momentum thus eliminating the size differential as a defensive aspect to take into consideration.

Noah Croudace was once again part of the Burleigh MM Cup squad in 2020, starting in Round One before the season’s cancellation. Once the Gold Coast Rguby League restarts Noah Croudace started the season playing for Burleigh in the GCRL U18 Division One competition once again as they looked to replicate their successful 2019 season.

In 2022 Noah Croudace likely once again be part of the Burleigh Bears U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and add to the matches that he played in 2021.

Even though Noah Croudace could handle playing in the centres and certainly fullback as well, with his ability to conceptually understand where the touch line is and use the limited space to his advantage both in attack and defence I would consider it probable that Noah Croudace will continue to play on the right wing as he begins his transition to the senior rugby league ranks in 2020 and beyond.

Noah Croudace is just a solid player who seems to be able to break tackles even against seemingly far bigger, stronger and faster opponents thus from a comparison perspective I can see aspects of the play of former Brisbane Broncos outside back Jack Reed when watching Noah Croudace play out wide in the centres or on the wing.

Noah Croudace is just an effective player who slips under the radar a little and probably will continue to do so for most if not all of his rugby league career but regardless Noah Croudace is an effective player out wide for any team and who if given the right opportunity could forge a very successful rugby league career.