My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

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

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

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

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

At the 2021 Marsden State High School Rugby League Excellence Awards, Chris Vaimilli was named in the centres in the Marsden State High School Team of the Year and was also awarded the Junior Boys Sports Person of the Year. The fact that Chris Vaimilli kept William Semu out of the starting side really does highlight the quality and depth of the Titans Partnered Rugby League Excellence Program.

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

It was not just in the 2021 Bronco’s Old Boys Grand Final where Chris Vaimili excelled, in the regular season also against Ipswich State High School, Chris Vaimili had a “career” match scoring a staggering four tries in a big Marsden SHS victory.

Chris Vaimili’s first try came in just the 4th minute when he backed up a break by Marlee Smith to receive the off-load and dive over in the left corner.

Chris Vaimili’s second try came in the 15th minute when once again he dived over in the left corner after being on the end of a good ball from Jeremaih Toko who had chimed into the back line on the left.

The 19th minute saw Chris Vaimili complete his hat trick when after receiving a cut-out pass from ZJ Watene, Chris Vaimili charged into a big gap before utilising a left foot step to beat the Ipswich SHS fullback to put the ball down mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Chris Vaimili made it four tries in the match in the 38th minute when after receiving the ball thirty five metres out from the try line and breaking the defensive line down the left touchline before cutting off his left foot and outpacing the cover defence to get the ball down mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Chris Vaimili almost scored a fifth try in the 34th minute when from a Marsden SHS scrum win five metres inside their own territory Chris Vaimili charged onto the ball, running an inside shoulder route, going straight through the Ipswich SHS right sided defence with Chris Vaimili racing away only to be brought down just three metres out from the try line.

2021 also saw Chris Vaimili named in the Queensland School Boy U12 Rugby League Merit Team after representing Met East in the trials.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With his size, strength, speed and power Chris Vaimili is eerily similar to New Zealand Warriors rookie centre Rocco Berry. Both Berry and Chris Vaimili just ooze talent and seem destined to have long and successful rugby league careers ahead of them, not just at the NRL but at the representative level as well.

[mdrew]

Kingston Seve. At the conclusion of the 2021 rugby league season the outstanding prospect was named at fullback in the 2021 Keebra Park Rugby League Team of the Year. The fact that Kingston Seve was selected at fullback in the side shows just how well that he played in 2021 when you look at who Kingston Seve beat out for the honour.

Kingston Seve dominated a number of his matches in the Bronco’s Old Boys Cup in 2021 including a stellar performance against Wavell State High School recording a try assist in just the 5th minute of the match. Kingston Seve positioned himself behind the Keebra Park SHS play the ball which was around five metres from the try line and just as ball was played Kington Seve moved to his left, taking possession and immediately accelerating towards the defensive line. Just prior to engaging the defensive line, Kingston threw a long cut out pass to his left to put his left winger over in the corner.

Kingston Seven also highlighted what a great kicker returner he is in the match when in the 23rd minute he took the Wavell SHS long kick on the full seventeen metres out from his own line while moving forward at full speed. After taking possession Kington Seven sliced between five oncoming defenders, yes straight through five, before stepping off his right foot to break three more defenders before eventually being tackled from behind forty three metres from his own line after making an exceptional twenty six metres. Kingston Seven did not rest on his laurels and immediately attempted to get to his feet but his attempt was thwarted by the defence with Kingston Seve deservedly being awarded a penalty as a result.

Kingston Seven scored a great solo try in the 13th minute of a 2021 Bronco’s Old Boys regular season match against Redcliffe State High School when he chimed into the backline as Keebra Park SHS threw the ball out to the right. Kingston Seve received the ball near mid-field around twenty metres out and ran to his right. Kingston Seve dummied to his outside on a number of occasions as the defence backpeddled. As he neared the try line Kingston Seve took on the responsibility of scoring himself by slicing between two defenders and crash over three metres in from the right corner post.

Kingston Seve is an agile ball runner who relies on his outstanding speed and elusiveness to make it difficult for larger opponents to line him up rather than brute strength. When lining up at fullback Kingston Seve always makes himself available for offloads in the centre of the ruck where his quick twitch feet can cause some damage as opposing forwards start to tire.

Kingston Seve has above average speed but not absolute blazing speed, relying instead on his positioning to compensate. When he retrieves the ball Kingston Seve makes a decision quickly about where to look to run around a staggered defensive line or to run straight in an effort to take the yards on offer.

An aspect of his play that is very good is Kingston Seve’s ability to chime into the back line and use his elusiveness to slip through the line, when he comes into the back line, it seems to be mainly when the attacking play is being directed towards the left hand side of the field. I note also that as soon as he breaks into space Kingston Seve starts working through his options in relation to whether he should run himself or look to set up his support players.

Also Kingston Seve’s hands at fullback are safe for a young player regardless of the type of kick put towards him. His other calling card is his positioning, he always seems to be the right place at the right time, to defuse bombs, attacking short kicks, potential 40/20 kicks etc. Kingston Seve can on occasion get caught a little shallow but relies on his timing and anticipation to compensate when tracking balls that have been kicked when the intention of going over his head.

Kingston Seve will take a hit defensively when needing to make the tackle in the last line of defence and will focus exclusively on the ball carrier, forcing the attacking player to make the decision of what to do with the ball, rather than proving the attacker the avenue to make an easier decision.

Kingston Seve is also adept at using the sideline to restrict the attacking options of any opponent who makes a break. To be more effective defensively Kingston Seve will need to add additional muscle to his frame as he only has a slight build at present, although Kingston Seve does have some height and seemingly has the body type to add muscle mass without compromising his speed and elusiveness.

Kingston Seve does also have decent hands when short attacking kicks are put in and is elusive enough when he retrieves the ball to get out of the touch in goal when it appears that that task is unlikely if not impossible.

In 2022 Kingston Seve will continue to play for Keebra Park State High School moving up to the School Boys Renouf Shield competition.

Kingston Seve was outstanding at fullback for Keebra Park in 2021 and he just seems a natural in that position with his elite speed, ability to beat the first defender and back up through the centre of the ruck. Kingston Seve also does not lack courage as can be evidenced by his courage under the high ball as well as his defence against attackers who are charging directly at him after they have broken through the initial defensive line.

With his beautifully balanced running style, elite speed, developing ball playing, tackle breaking ability and the fact that he plays the game with just a natural affinity, Kingston Seve’s playing style is eerily similar to that of Tom Trbojevic as a taller player with speed and strength as well as the ability to be a regular try scorer.

Like Tom Trbojevic Kingston Seve just looks like he is playing at a pace far quicker than the players around him and has the same explosiveness off the mark as Trbojevic and his sense of timing, anticipation and plus top end speed present as similar to Trbojevic as well, he is just as natural on a rugby league field.

[mdrew]

Gazniah To’omaga. At the conclusion of the 2021 season the Gold Coast local and Year Eight student was named at five eight in the 2021 Keebra Park Rugby League Team of the Year. The fact that Gazniah To’omaga was selected at five eight in the side shows just how well that he played in 2021 when you look at who Gazniah To’omaga beat out for the honour.

Gazniah To’omaga played in the Keebra Park Renouf Cup School Boy side in 2021 including starting at five eight in their tough semi-final loss to Marsden SHS with Gazniah To’omaga scoring an outstanding solo try in the 17th minute. Gazniah To’omaga received the ball to the right of the play the ball ten metres from the line. Initially Gazniah To’omaga dummied to a runner who was coming back underneath before dummying to his right. The dummies to each side opened up a small gap in the Marsden SHS defensive line which Gazniah To’omaga took advantage by slicing through. Just prior to the try line Gazniah To’omaga ran straight over the Marsden SHS fullback to crash over under heavy pressure adjacent to the right upright.

Gazniah To’omaga also had a strong match earlier in the 2021 season against Wavell State High School that included a superb 23rd minute line break. From just five metres out from his own line Gazniah To’omaga received the ball to the left of the scrum and then sliced straight through the Wavell SHS defensive lien and showed some real pace in a sixty metre run downfield before being able to off-load to his left to keep the movement going.

Gazniah To’omaga also played well against Keebra Park State High School setting up a try in the 21st minute with a pin-point bomb from near halfway towards the right corner. The ball was ideally weighted and placed so that the Keebra Park SHS right winger could run and jump above the Marsden SHS defence taking the ball on the full and crossing out wide on the right.

Gazniah To’omaga recorded a further try assist against PBC SHS when in the 22nd minute from forty metres out and to the right of the play the ball Gazniah To’omaga put in a short chip to his unmarked right winger who took the ball on the full at full speed to run away and score.

At the start of 2021 Gazniah To’omaga represented the Gold Coast Barbarians U13 side at the King of Country Rugby Tournament that was held on the Gold Coast with Gazniah To’omaga playing fly half (No. 10) for the Barbarians in the three day Tournament. Gazniah To’omaga in fact captained the Barbarian’s side. Post the Tournament Gazniah To’omaaga was named on the interchange bench in the All-Tournament Team.

2021 also saw Gazniah To’omaga play for the Coomera Cutters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U13 Division One competition.

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

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

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

Gazniah To’omaga just has a great passing game in all aspects, he has a very good long passing game and can get the ball out to his centres quickly and Gazniah To’omaga is equally adept at taking the ball to the line and delivering a short pass to hole running backrowers just as the defence is converging on him. There just is not a pass that Gazniah To’omaga cannot throw with timing, precision and results.

Gazniah To’omaga gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run upon receipt of the ball.

A key attribute to how Gazniah To’omaga plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations within a game and the required game plan.

Gazniah To’omaga is not necessarily the quickest five eight running around but he does have some reasonable speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. Gazniah To’omaga’s running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around.

Gazniah To’omaga’s attacking and tactical kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus he finds the ground for a lot of his kicks. Gazniah To’omaga can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line.

Gazniah To’omaga is also a solid goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him taking goal kicks to have an opinion as to whether he can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward.

Where Gazniah To’omaga projects very well is in the defensive aspects of rugby league, in essence he is a very good defender for the half back or five eight position, this includes against opposing halves who will try to use footwork and evasion to beat him or against big wide running forwards. No matter who is running at him, Gazniah To’omaga’s timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group and competition level in general.

Gazniah To’omaga’s defence is an area that stands out when you watch him play in person. Gazniah To’omaga from my perspective at least defends like a second rower, which means his team’s defensive strategy can be accommodated to account for the fact that a “defensive minder” is not a critical requirement for any team that has Gazniah To’omaga defending in the front line.

In 2022 Gazniah To’omaga will continue to play for Keebra Park State High School moving up to the School Boys Hancock Cup competition as well as continue to play for the Coomera Cutters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U14 Division One competition.

Gazniah To’omaga is more of a defensive orientated player, but with his outstanding kicking game and elite passing skills he certainly has the opportunity to continue to play at five eight in the coming years. It would be interesting to see Gazniah To’omaga operate as a ball playing lock where he would be an ideal link between his teams forwards and back and would allow his team to set up to run the ball to either side of the field with play makers on both. Also with his size and Gazniah To’omaga would not be out of place running with the ball in the centre of the field either.

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

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

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

[mdrew]

Feepale Feaunati. At the conclusion of the 2021 season the powerhouse Year Eight prospect was named in the second row in the 2021 Keebra Park Rugby League Team of the Year. The fact that Feepale Feaunati was selected at five eight in the second row shows just how well that he played in 2021 when you look at who Feepale Feaunati beat out for the honour.

Feepale Feaunati had some strong performances in the 2021 Renouf Shield competition for Keebra Park SHS including a try scoring performance against Wavell State High School when in the 3rd minute he crashed over from three metres out on the right side of the field breaking two tackles in the process.

Feepale Feaunati also scored in the 7th minute of a match against Marsden State High School when whilst operating on the left side of the field, Feepale Feaunati picked up an errant pass on the second bounce before spinning clock-wise to get away from the Marsden SHS defender who had raced up to try to grab the bouncing ball. After spinning clockwise Feepale Feaunati was too big, strong and fast for the defence to rumble forward ten metres to score seven metres in from the left corner post.

The young man is not just an outstanding rugby league prospect but he is also a very talented rugby player, playing for the Sunnybank Dragons in Brisbane.

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

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

Defensively the most impressive aspect of Feepale Feaunati’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. For Keebra Park SHS in 2021 he continually made up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions.

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

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

In 2022 Feepale Feaunati will continue to play for Keebra Park State High School moving up to the School Boys Hancock Cup competition as well as likely continue to play club rugby for the Sunnybank Dragons Rugby Club in Brisbane.

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

A near perfect NRL player comparison for Feepale Feaunati is boom New Zealand Warriors rookie second rower Eliesa Katoa. Both Feepale Feaunati and Katoa are big strong and powerful and can break tackles seemingly at will. Similarly both are hard hitters defensively but also have a solid tackling technique including placing their head appropriately.

[mdrew]

Marlee Smith. The exciting second row prospect was recently named on the interchange bench in the 2021 Marsden State High School Rugby League of the Year. The fact that Marlee Smith was named on the bench really does highlight the quality and depth of the Titans Partnered Rugby League Excellence Program.

For Marsden State High School in 2021 Marlee Smith played in the Bronco’s Old Boys Competition including starting at right second row in Marsden SHS’s 44 – 12 Grand Final victory against Ipswich State High School with Marlee Smith throwing the last pass to put Alex Paisa over for Marsden SHS’s second try in the Grand Final which they went on to dominate.

Just after throwing the final pass for Alex Paisa’s try Marlee Smith, in the 8th minute made a long forty metres line break down the right touchline with the run starting thirty metres out from his own line. As he approached the Ipswich SHS fullback Marlee Smith was able to get the ball away to his right with the move leading to a long range Marsden State High School try.

Marlee Smith had another outstanding match earlier in the 2021 Bronco’s Old Boys season against Ipswich State High School once again with Marlee Smith scoring one try, setting up another as well as producing a great line break.

Marlee Smith from the left second row position scored in the 26th minute when from twenty metres out on the left side of the field Marlee Smith ran into a gap off a great ball from ZJ Watene. After palming off the Ipswich SHS fullback Marlee Smith put the ball down ten metres in from the left corner post.

Marlee Smith only had to wait until the 4th minute of the match to record his try assist when after breaking the line thirty five metres out, Marlee Smith drew the Ipswich SHS fullback and passed to his left to put left centre Chris Vaimili over for the first of his five tries in the match.

Marlee Smith broke through the Ipswich SHS right sided defence once again in the 18th minute when he split the gap between two defenders and surged twenty metres to just over halfway down the left channel.

One of Marlee Smith’s best school matches in the 2021 Bronco’s Old Boys Cup was against Keebra Park SHS when after starting the match at left second row Marlee Smith scored an outstanding double, in fact Marlee Smith came close to scoring a hat trick but was held up in just the 4th minute of the match.

Marlee Smith scored the first of his two tries in the 12th minute when burst over from twelve metres out after receiving an off-load from his inside and crashing over in the left corner. Marlee Smith scored his second try in the 45th minute and once again he scored it in the left corner after he received a cut-out pass from his inside.

Marlee Smith also scored in Round Two in the 2021 Bronco’s Old Boys Cup against Forest Lake State High School when mid-way through the first half he was on the end of a Marsden SHS backline movement to the right with Marlee Smith receiving the ball in a mile of space and he had an easy fifteen run to the line.

2021 also saw Marlee Smith represented Met East at the QSSRL school boy U12 Championships with Marlee Smith subsequently named in the 2021 Queensland School U12 Rugby League Merit Team.

Marlee Smith was also named in the 2021 Queensland Maori U12 Rugby League Representative Merit Team.

In late November 2021 Marlee Smith represented the U13 Tonga Team at the 3PTAG (non-contact modified rugby league) Cultural Touch Tournament held at Marsden SHS.

Running with the football, Marlee Smith 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 although you can see that when he gets fired up all subtlety and thoughts of self-preservation goes out the window and he becomes a giant wrecking ball.

Marlee Smith does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability. Marlee Smith actually does have a decent off load usually with his right hand when he has impacted the defensive line as well and regularly showcases this in game situations.

In game situations Marlee Smith is also showcasing his ability to offload prior to the defensive line, a skill that he has developed and incorporated is recent seasons.

Defensively Marlee Smith can certainly hit very hard, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads.

Marlee Smith has more than reasonable lateral mobility for a forward and due to the fact that he bends his hips when looking to make a tackle he 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. Marlee Smith can however get fired up and really cause havoc defensively.

2022 will see Marlee Smith move up to the Renouf Shield school boy competition for Marsden State High School.

With his hard working mentality and hard running and tough tackling attributes Marlee Smith seems destined to stay in the second row long term.

Marlee Smith has a similar playing style to that of Titans second rower and New Zealand International Kevin Proctor as a second rower who can defend either in the centre of the ruck or a little wider out as a foil for his half or five eight, a defensive minder if you will.

Also like a young Kevin Proctor Marlee Smith is also a strong ball runner who can regularly break tackles and has more than decent speed once he is through the line.

- - - Updated - - -

[mdrew]

Xhai Waerea. The tough, hard uncompromising young rugby league front rower and rugby hooker from northern New South Wales was a standout at hooker for the U13 Far North Coast Representative Rugby side that played in the King of Country Rugby Tournament held on the Gold Cost and at the competition of the Tournament Xhai Waerea named on the bench in the Team of the Tournament alongside older brother Brocklyn who is also an outstanding rugby and rugby league prospect.

In 2021 Xhai Waerea played in the U13 Group 18 competition for the Tweed Coast Raiders, operating primarily in the front row and dominating the competition.

Xhai Waerea also played club rugby in 2021, playing in the Far North Coast U13 Rugby Competition for Coolangatta Tweed. In the matches that he played in for Coolangatta Tweed, Xhai Waerea played at hooker.

Xhai Waerea had a monster season for Coolangatta Tweed in the Far North Coast U13 Rugby Competition, scoring hat tricks in Rounds Two and Four against Casino and Ballina respectively and Xhai Waerea also scored doubles in Round Seven against the wonderfully Named Evan Head Killer Whales and in Round Nine against Casuarina Beach. Xhai Waerea also kicked a conversion against Evans Head in Round Seven.

Running with the ball, Xhai Waerea 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.

Xhai Waerea has very good speed off the mark but not necessarily great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability. The key to his running is his ability to drop his shoulder into the defenders at the right moment, to go along with his late foot work. These attributes make Xhai Waerea very difficult to tackle and he can rarely be stopped one on one.

Throw in a decent turn of pace off the mark and you have a player who is difficult for a defensive line to combat. Keebra Park had all sorts of trouble defending against him and he seemed to break at least one tackle every time he ran the ball that Wednesday night. He was just an absolute powerhouse over the course of the entire match.

Defensively Xhai Waerea hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribcage 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, read that Xhai Waerea is very good at winning the wrestling battle in the ruck, he is a naturally strong young man.

Xhai Waerea defends in the centre of the ruck and seems best suited in the long run defending there and adds a degree of intimidation to any forward pack he plays for. Against Keebra Park he dominated their giant forward pack for large stretches of the match.

Xhai Waerea really does know how to tackle effectively, as he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards and then explodes through his core. Throw in a touch of aggression and you have someone in Xhai Waerea who can dominate a game defensively and is able to seal off one side of the ruck on his own.

Xhai Waerea no doubt continue to work on his strength and lateral movement as he progresses but his work ethic and motivation is such that continued hard work is not an issue for Xhai Waerea.

2022 will likely see Xhai Waerea continue to play both rugby league for the Tweed Coast Raiders in the Group 18 U14 competition and rugby for Coolangatta Tweed in the Far North Coast U14 Rugby Competition. No doubt Xhai Waerea will also be in contention for representative honours in both rugby league and rugby in 2022 as well.

Xhai Waerea is big, strong, powerful and has outstanding speed and mobility for his size and strength and Xhai Waerea also has a mean aggressive streak and Xhai Waerea is ideally suited to playing in the front row on a rugby league field both now and well into the future.

The way that Xhai Waerea handles himself on the football field reminds me of Sydney Roosters and New Zealand International enforcer Jarrod Warera-Hargraves as a big strong hard as nails forward leader with a skill set that belies the intimidating presence that he projects on the field, and you also add in leadership skills in the most demanding position on a football field, a good mix all round and a heck of a lot of raw talent potential to harness in relation to Xhai Waerea.

I used the same NRL player comparison in Jarrod Warera-Hargraves that I did with Xhai Waerea’s older brother Brocklyn. Heck what a scary thought that would be for opposition players in the future if the two brothers bookended a team’s front row. The opposing forward pack would be a sick, sore and sorry bunch after a game against the two powerhouse brothers.

[mdrew]

Siu Pulepule. The young giant from Coomera will be attending Keebra Park State High School in 2022 as part of their Year Seven intake and will play in the School Boy Bronco’s Old Boys Cup competition.

In early 2021 even though he was still U12 eligible Siu Pulepule was part of the Gold Coast Barbarians U13 side that played in the King of Country Rugby Tournament that was held on the Gold Coast.

Siu Pulepule had previously tasted representative rugby when in 2019 he played for the U10 Queensland Samoan representative side.

For a big strong young man, Siu Pulepule also has above average (to plus) speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Siu Pulepule is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

Siu Pulepule is not just a strong runner of the ball he as noted above has excellent footwork prior to the line and also some very good short passing both before the line and when in contact with defenders in the defensive line.

On a lot of his runs Siu Pulepule 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.

Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Siu Pulepule play his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance.

Defensively Siu Pulepule has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier regardless of the size of the opponent. Siu Pulepule sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

Siu Pulepule’s good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players on the fringes of the ruck and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork but moving up quickly but at the same time maintaining his balance.

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

Siu Pulepule will play the 2022 with Keebra Park State High School in the Year Seven Bronco’s Old Boys School Boy competition. Siu Pulepule will also play club rugby league for the Coomera Cutters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U13 Division One competition and for the Coomera Crushers in the GCRU U13 Rugby competition. Representative rugby league and rugby is also not out of the question in 2022 for Siu Pulepule as well.

Whilst Siu Pulepule is a big, tall young man he has outstanding speed and mobility and at the very least for in the short time Siu Pulepule will be an outstanding rugby league second row prospect.

With his size, strength, power, speed and dominating physical presence Siu Pulepule is a mirror image of Titans, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International stand out Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. He is only still very young but Siu Pulepule really does have all world type of potential. Siu Pulepule really could be absolutely anything when it comes to his ultimate rugby league future.

[mdrew]

Caleb Gould-Waiariki. (Revised) The young half/hooker deservedly signed a contract with the Titans in 2018 after season after season of impressive performances across the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League competition as well as in representative Gold Coast Vikings sides and school boy rugby league with Coombabah State High School.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s first 2021 hit-out was for the Titans U19 squad that in late January when he played against a Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad. Caleb Gould-Waiariki started the match on the bench but came on at half time, playing in the dummy half role for the Titans for the majority of the second half before late in the match moving to a running forward role at lock.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki made a more than positive contribution to the Titans victory early in the second half when in the 7th minute of the second half, Caleb Gould-Waiariki moved to his right to prevent one of the Bears second rowers from scoring with an outstanding defensive effort. Caleb Gould-Waiariki was able to hold back the Bears players until help arrived to stop the Bears from scoring.

Caleb Gould Waiariki’s first hit-out with the 2021 Burleigh Bears MM Cup side came when he started at hooker in the Bears second trial against the Easts Tigers.

Caleb Gould-Waiakiri made his presence felt early in the match when in just the 6th minute he burst out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball splitting the Easts Tigers defensive line before finding right centre Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who in turn put winger Levi Jones over to score in the right corner.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki recorded a try assist of his own in the 34th minute with a deft right foot kick out of dummy half. Caleb Gould-Waiariki went into dummy half nine metres out from the Easts Tigers line directly in front of the goal posts. When the ball was played Caleb Gould-Waiariki took a step back and to the left before putting in the grubber kick which pulled up nicely a metre or so from the dead ball line which was perfect for Brody Smitka to dive on in front of two Easts Tigers players.

In Round One of the 2021 MM Cup competition, Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker against the Souths Logan Magpies and was immediately in the action making the first tackle of the match from the kick-off with Brody Smitka also in on the tackle.

Caleb Gould Waiariki was heavily involved in Burleigh’s opening try of the match when in the 5th minute Joseph Shannon charged onto the ball from around six metres out from the line, cutting to his left immediately prior to receiving the ball from Caleb Gould-Waiariki to take advantage of a big gap. The only defender in the vicinity being the Souths Logan hooker could only hold on for the ride as Joseph Shannon carried him over the try line to get the ball down under the posts at the dressing room end of Pizzey Park.

In the 26th minute of the match Caleb Gould-Waiariki produced what must already be a contender for tackle of the year. Souths Logan Magpies lock Vincent Sefo fly into the ball from close range and looked as if he was going to score under the posts untouched. Caleb Gould-Waiariki however came from the clouds, moving to his right and got hold of Sefo, twisting him clockwise and then as the two players were falling to the ground in the in-goal, Caleb Gould-Waiariki was able to twist under Sefo’s body and keep the ball from getting to the ground. I could use a thousand words to try to describe the tackle but nothing but seeing the tackle can do justice to just how good the tackle was.

in the 53rd minute, Caleb Gould-Waiariki showed that he is always concentrating when after making ten metres and attracting a multitude of Souths Logan Burleigh front rower Joseph Shannon was able to get an off-load away to Caleb Gould-Waiariki who darted another ten metres downfield.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also started at hooker in Round Two against the Ipswich Jets and scored a double for the Bears in their impressive 44 – 16 victory and making the first of many darts out of dummy half in the 4th minute of the match.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored his first try in the 29th minute when he dived out of dummy half from less than a metre away from the line to the right of the play the ball to get the ball down under the posts.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s second try of the match came in the 49th minute of the match with another darting run out of dummy half. Caleb Gould-Waiariki was at dummy half ten metres out from the Jets line directly in front of the goal posts. Caleb Gould-Waiariki darted out of dummy half to right before cutting back to his left two to find space before straightening up and diving over adjacent to the left goal post.

In the 9th minute Caleb Gould-Waiariki was part of a long Burleigh break down the left side of the field. Arama Hau took the ball off Caleb Gould-Waiariki who was the dummy half and after a bustling ten metre, run off-loaded to Caleb Gould Waiariki who darted thirty metres down field with Arama Hau scoring just two tackles later.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki produced a smart piece of play in the 13th minute of the first half, Caleb Gould-Waiariki went into dummy half around ten metres out from the line on the final tackle. Caleb Gould-Waiariki moved out of dummy half to his left, putting in a strong stab kick in the same direction, the kick bounced off a number of legs and had to be forced in-goal by the Ipswich fullback.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki produced a strong defensive effort in the 21st minute when he, with the assistance of Jeremaiah Tamepo halted the momentum of the Ipswich Jets right winger and then dragged him into touch forty metre out from the try line.

After missing Round Three Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named to start at hooker for Round Four match against the Souths Logan Magpies.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also started at hooker in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets scoring the final try of the match in Burleigh’s remarkable victory.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s try came in the 68th minute to seal the Bears come from behind victory. Caleb Gould-Waiariki packed into a scrum at lock after Burleigh were awarded a scrum feed that they took in the middle of the field ten metres out after a Syris Schmidt bomb to the left wing was dropped by the Jets.

From the back of the scrum, Caleb Gould-Waiariki initially dummied to his left before running himself and ran ten metres untouched to score next to the left upright.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also recorded a try assist in the match when in the 37thth minute he ran out of dummy half to his right before straightening up his run to freeze the defence in place before passing to his right for Brody Smitka to crash over from five metres out.

Just three minute Caleb Gould-Waiariki added a second try assist when in the 37thth minute he burst out of dummy half to his right, thirty five metres out from the line, beating two defenders before a step off his left got him through the line and then Caleb Gould-Waiariki was able to draw the fullback and offload to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who was backing up to crash over.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was in the match early making the first of his many forays out of dummy half on the third play the ball of the match when he darted to his right.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki produced an outstanding and smart piece of play in the 26th minute. With Ipswich playing the ball less than a metre out from the Bears line, Caleb Gould-Waiariki positioned himself to the right of the play the ball and as soon as the ball was played bolted forward, timing his run perfectly to intercept the pass from the dummy half and getting the ball twenty five metres out from his own line.

Round Six being the final regular season round of the 2021 MM Cup competition saw Caleb Gould-Waiariki once again line up at hooker in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Caleb Gould-Waiariki scoring the match winning try in the 68th minute of Burleigh’s 34 – 20 come from behind victory.

With Burleigh down by two points with less than two minutes remaining Caleb Gould-Waiariki was the Bears hero. Still playing at halfback on the right side of the field, Caleb Gould-Waiariki received the ball from the dummy half twelve metres out from the line, and after extravagantly dummying to his left, cut back to his right and charged diagonally back towards the uprights diving over three metres from the right upright.

In addition to his last match heroics, Caleb Gould-Waiariki also recorded an 18th minute try assist when from dummy half two minutes out from the line, Caleb Gould-Waiariki put in a short right foot kick through the Seagulls line with right second rower Seth Nikotemo timing his run perfectly to get the ball down easily on the right side of the field.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki recorded a second try assist in the 65th minute when he took the ball to the line and proved a good short ball to his right to put Seth Nikotemo into a gap and after fighting hard, Seth Nikotemo was able to crash over ten metres to the right of the uprights.

In the second half Caleb Gould-Waiariki moved to halfback with Eren Eden coming off the bench to play in the dummy half role, but the position change in no way affected Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s significant contribution to Burleigh last gasp victory.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki made a line break from the halfback position in the 55th minute when after receiving the ball to the right of the play the ball, Caleb Gould-Waiariki cut back to his left from fourteen metres from the line, breaking two tackles to get to within a metre of the line next to the left upright and was then awarded a penalty for interference in the play the ball.

Defensively Caleb Gould-Waiariki had some good moments in the match, including in the 49th minute when a driving tackle on the Tweed Heads right winger forced him back three metres.

In the Queensland Rugby League 2021 MM Cup Player of the Year Award Caleb Gould-Waiariki was awarded six votes.

Impressively Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named on the Burleigh interchange bench for the Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts Round Four match against the Norths Devils and even more impressively actually started the match at five eight.

In February 2021 Caleb Gould-Waiariki took part in the South Coast Open school boy trials and was named at hooker in the South Coast Maroon Open school boy side as a result of his trial performances.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki started South Coast Maroon’s Day One match at hooker although he also spent time at five eight in the match.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored in the 57th minute of the match when whilst playing at five eight he received the ball to the left of the play the ball dummying to his right before slicing through the line from ten metres out, beating three defenders on the way to the line.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also recorded a line break assist in the 22nd minute when he ran out of dummy half to his right and put Travis may into a gap.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki started Day Two against Met North at five eight and recorded a 10th minute try assist when after receiving the ball to the right of the play the ball, drafted in the same direction before putting K-CI Newton-Whare into a big gap twenty metres out.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki made it third tries in as many days when he also scored on Day Three as South Coast Maroon went up against Darling Downs. Late in the match, Caleb Gould-Waiariki packed in at the back of a scrum with a South Coast feed thirty five metres out from the line and fifteen metres in from the left touchline. Caleb Gould-Waiariki picked the ball up from the back of the scrum immediately taking off down the blindside. Caleb Gould-Waiariki was tackled from behind just before the line but was able to reach out with his right arm to get the ball down. It appeared live that he bounced the ball but the referee awarded Caleb Gould-Waiariki the try.

2021 also saw Caleb Gould-Waiariki line up once again for Coombabah State High School in the South East Queensland School Boy Langer Cup competition starting Round One at halfback against Mabel Park State High School.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki could not have made a more impressive start to the match making a line break in just the second minute, making twenty metres utilising impressive footwork getting to within five metres of the line before being put to ground.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki continued at halfback in Round Three against PBC State High School, scoring a second half try in an impressive display.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored in the 45th minute, when after receiving the ball two passes off the ruck on the right side of the field, Caleb Gould-Waiariki ran to his left with the ball out in front of his body. As he approached the PBC defensive line, Caleb Gould-Waiariki brought the ball back into his body and accelerated through a gap after one of the PBC defenders had cheated to the outside with Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s speed getting him across the line midway between the left goal post and corner post.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was not that far away from also scoring in the 16th minute of the first half when he kicked through a PBC lost ball, regathering the ball but he was brought down from behind just five metres from the line.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was also named at halfback for Round Four against Ipswich State High School and the crafty young man recorded a try assist in the 33rd minute when Joseph Shannon charged onto a pass from Caleb Gould-Waiariki who then looped around to get the off-load and then through a great cut out pass of around twenty metres to put his left winger over in the corner.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was at his scheming best once again in the 52nd minute when he put in a right foot grubber to the left corner which had to be taken dead by the Ipswich SHS defence to force a line drop out.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki continued at halfback for Round Five against St Mary’s College Toowoomba and he put on a play making clinic including recording two try assists as Coombabah SHS belted their Toowoomba based rivals 38 – 0.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s opening try assist came in the 9th minute when he took the ball down a short left blindside and threw a great cut-out pass to his left to put his left centre over in the corner.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki recorded his second try assist in the 45th minute when he put in a perfectly weighted right foot stab kick towards the left corner with the ball sitting up perfectly for his left second rower to charge onto the ball to score wide out.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was also named to start at halfback in Round Six against Marsden State High School.

Post the completion of the 2021 Langer Cup competition, Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named by the Courier Mail as one of the 2021 Langer Cup most impressive rookies.

At the end of the 2021 season, Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named at No. 38 in the Courier Mail Top 60 school boys from the GPS Rugby, AIC Rugby and Langer Cup competitions.

In 2020 Caleb Gould-Waiariki was part of the Coombabah State High School Langer Cup Open A school boy rugby league squad for the Term Three school boy rugby league competition playing against fellow Gold Coast schools PBC and Keebra Park.

In July 2020 Caleb Gould-Waiariki started from the bench coming on at hooker for the Coombabah Open A Langer Cup side in the first half in their Langer Cup qualifying match against St Mary’s in Toowoomba.

Unfortunately Coombabah State High School went down in the match but with Coombabah State High School 18 – 0 Caleb Gould-Waiariki was the catalyst for Coombabah fighting back to 18 all before St Mary’s pulled away late in the second half.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored Coombabah’s first try of the match late in the first half when from close range he darted out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball to score under the posts from two metres out.

After being knocked out of the Langer Cup, Caleb Gould-Waiariki and his Coombabah State High School team mates took part of the Gee Cup school boy competition, going through the competition as the undefeated Southern Division Champions and taking on Mabel Park State High School in the 2020 Gee Cup Grand Final that was held at Langland’s Park.

In the 2020 Gee Cup Grand Final that Coombabah won 50 – 8 Caleb Gould-Waiariki started from the bench, playing in the dummy half role when he was on the field.

At the conclusion of the school boy rugby league season, Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named in the 2020 Coombabah State High School Team of the Year.

The Titans contracted local junior Caleb Gould-Waiariki has already played a number of matches in Titans colours including starting at hooker for the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020.

In the match against the Newcastle Knights Caleb Gould-Waiariki provided his usual solid service out of dummy half and produced a number of darting runs out of dummy half to put the Titans on the front foot.

In late October 2020, Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named in the 2021 Burleigh MM Cup squad.

Also in early 2020 Caleb Gould-Waiariki 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 Covid 19 pandemic. In late 2020 Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named in the 2021 Queensland State of Origin U20 Touch Team.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was however named in the South East Queensland Sharks U18 touch side for the National Youth Championships that were held in October 2020, with the Sharks losing their semi-final 8 – 6.

Caleb Gould Waiariki also started from the bench for the Titans U16 side in their match against the Newcastle Knights in January 2019.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki came off the bench in the 2019 Titans match to play in the dummy half role mid-way through the first half spelling Kaden Somerville and made an immediate impact with his speed out of dummy half. In the second half Caleb Gould-Waiariki made an outstanding run out of dummy half after a quick play the ball from left winger Dayton To’a breaking through the centre of the ruck and was only brought down after a long break.

One of Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s most recent matches for the Titans was when he started at hooker for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park scoring an outstanding try in the first half.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki dated out of dummy half to his left sixty metres out from the line, running right through the centre of the PNG ruck before swerving to his left to round the fullback to score in the left corner in a display of individual brilliance and some impressive speed both off the mark and sustaining it for the duration of his run to the try line.

The local young hooker also started from the bench for the Titans U15 side as they defeated a U15 Balmain Tigers touring side 16 – 10 in late 2018 which was in fact the first match in a Titans jersey post his contract signing.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki came onto the field mid-way through the first half moving into the dummy half role and in his first run made 20 metres or so from dummy half splitting the Tigers defence right down the middle through the centre of the ruck.

Later in the first half Caleb Gould-Waiariki played his part in the Titans second try with a great long pass out of dummy half to his right to Titans five eight Riley Lack who threw an equally good long pass to winger Timothy Seilaff-Burns to score in the left corner.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki had an outstanding start to the 2019 season in the South East Queensland U16 Challenge when he scored a hat trick and kicked a conversion on Match Day One as his Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side defeated Brisbane Red 32 – 10 at Mudgeeraba.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also scored through a break right through the centre of the ruck on Match Day Three against Brisbane Red and added a fifth try in Round Four as his Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side defeated Brisbane Green 44 – 4.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was also part of the 2019 Queensland U16 Emerging Origin squad, with the squad completing their first camp of the year recently on the Sunshine Coast. On the last day of the camp the squad was split into two sides for an opposed session. Titans Brody Smitka and Bailey Martin were also part of the squads that day.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker in Round One of the 2019 GCRL U16 Division One for Runaway Bay against Mudgeeraba.

In total for Runaway Bay, in the GCRL U16 Division One competition in 2019, Caleb Gould-Waiariki who also played a fair bit of five eight, played in six matches scoring five tries (83.33% strike rate) and kicking a solitary goal against Burleigh to finish the regular season with a points haul of twenty two points.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored doubles against Mudgeeraba and Southport and also scored in the regular season against Burleigh to account for his five tries.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki was named in the 2019 South East Queensland Green U16 side the for the Queensland Age Championships starting for them at hooker. Post those Championships Caleb Gould-Waiariki was selected at hooker in the Queensland City U16 side for their match against Queensland City U16’s.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki played the entire sixty minutes of the match against Queensland U16 Country running for forty three metres (twelve post contact), broke a tackle when he dashed twenty metres through the centre of the ruck from dummy half in the first half and made a team leading twenty one tackles, missing only one at a very solid tackling efficiency of 95.28%.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki finished the 2018 GCRL U15 Division One season with Runaway Bay as the competitions equal leading try scorer with fifteen, a feat he accomplished from just twelve matches to finish with a 125% strike rate. Caleb Gould-Waiariki also kicked two conversions in the competition, both coming in a late season match against the Coomera Cutters to finish with sixty four points on the season.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki had a huge match in early August 2018 when he scored five tries in a match against Currumbin. In addition Caleb Gould-Waiariki scored a hat trick against Burleigh and also scored a double against Helensvale. Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s other tries came in matches against Mudgeeraba, Ormeau and then in a three match span scored against Burleigh, Coomera and Ormeau in consecutive weeks.

In Week One of the 2018 U15 Division One Finals series, Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker as Runaway Bay went down 28 – 12 to Ormeau. With Caleb Gould-Waiariki once again at hooker, Runaway Bay bounced back in Week Two of the finals defeating Burleigh 34 – 24 with Caleb Gould-Waiariki scoring in the win.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki also started at hooker in the U15 Division One Preliminary Final scoring a try and kicking two goals as Runaway Bay qualified for the Grand Final courtesy of a 58 – 14 victory over Coomera,

In the Grand Final Caleb Gould-Waiariki started at hooker but could not prevent Runaway Bay going down 38 – 20 to the Ormeau Shearers. Caleb Gould-Waiariki did however cross for one of Runaway Bay’s four tries in the Grand Final.

In addition to his club duties with Runaway Bay in the GCRL U15 Division One competition, Caleb Gould-Waiariki played four matches of club rugby on the Gold Coast with the Griffith University Colleges U15 side.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s first game was in Round Nine against the Gold Coast Eagles when he started from the bench and Caleb Gould-Waiariki also started from the bench in Round Eleven against Wollongbar/Alstonville.

Round Thirteen saw Caleb Gould-Waiariki start at fly half (No.10) against the PBC Alleygators and he also started at fly half in Round Sixteen against Casino.

Caleb Gould Waiariki is also an outstanding touch player, making numerous representative sides including being named in the 2020 Australian U18 Mixed Touch side that was due to play in the 2020 Youth Trans-Tasman Touch competition before the competition was cancelled.

In 2017 Caleb Gould Waiariki played for the South Queensland Sharks in the Queensland U14 Touch Championships, being named Player of the Final and subsequently was named in the U14 Titans representative touch side.

In 2015 Caleb Gould Waiariki played for the South Queensland Sharks in the Queensland U12 Touch Championships and was named Player of the Competition.

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

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

Caleb Gould-Waiariki will also wait until the last possible moment to release the football. Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s best attribute in relation to his passing game is the speed, timing and accuracy when he passes to his outside backs.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run. Impressively Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s passing is one fluid movement from picking the ball off the ground all the way to the ball leaving his hands and also impressively Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s passing is impressive to both sides of the field including the distance that he can accurately pass the ball.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s defence for a hooker is very good, for a hooker his size his initial contact is more than solid and he can defend effectively one on one against far larger forwards, Caleb Gould-Waiariki sets a good base with his lower body and explodes upwards with his shoulders to drive into opposing forwards.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki’s intensity and continuous effort means that he will track the ball across the field and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside. Caleb Gould-Waiariki literally tackles everything that moves in the centre of the ruck and displays a solid repeatable defensive technique and is able to make multiple tackles in any given defensive set of six tackles. Caleb Gould-Waiariki also works hard at marker.

Caleb Gould-Waiariki will play the 2022 season with the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts side and is also Colts eligible in 2023.

Prior to the last season or two I was of the opinion that Caleb Gould-Waiariki would ultimately find himself at half back or five eight in rugby league but playing the last couple of seasons at hooker Caleb Gould-Waiariki has been quite outstanding and as a consequence may just have found his ideal position in that role.

Based on my observations of Caleb Gould-Waiariki playing at hooker, I would suggest that a current NRL player with a similar playing style would be new St George Dragons signing and former New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International hooker Isaac Luke.

Like Isaac Luke, Caleb Gould-Waiariki is a more than capable runner out of dummy half and a very solid defender with developing distribution skills as well as the ability to be able to kick out of dummy half.

[mdrew]

Tamihana Ratima. The young man from the Hawara Hawks and Patea Area High School in the central area of the New Zealand North Island has signed a contract with the Titans that will take him through until the end of the 2024 season being the final season of his schooling at Marsden State High School and U18 eligibility.

Tamihana Ratima will move over to Australia in early 2022 to attend Titans partnered Marsden State High School and is likely to play in the School Boy Walters Cup competition. Tamihana Ratima will also play for the Souths Logan Magpies in the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup competition.

Tamihana Ratima had an outstanding 2021 rugby league campaign for both the Hawara Hawks and in representative rugby league representing the Taranaki Maori U15 Representative side.

Impressively Tamihana Ratima also represented the Mid-Central Vipers U16 side at the 2021 New Zealand U16 National Youth Tournament even though he was still U15 eligible and had a particularly impressive match on Day One of the Tournament against the South Island Scorpions, starting the Vipers 24 – 20 victory on the right wing, scoring an early second half double.

Tamihana Ratima scored his first try in the 29th minute of the match when he received the ball ten metres out on the right touchline. Tamihana Ratima stepped off his right foot to come back inside away from the touchline and then Tamihana Ratima straightened up to crash over between three Scorpions defenders eight metres in from the right corner post.

Tamihana Ratima completed his double just four minutes later in the 33rd minute and his try was for all intents and purposes a carbon copy of his first try, once again with Tamihana Ratima receiving the ball on the right touchline ten metres out and then cutting back inside to crash over out wide on the right.

Tamihana Ratima also scored against the Wellington Orca’s when in just the 3rd minute Tamihana Ratima dived over in the right corner after a sweeping move from the Vipers that started on the opposite side of the field to where Tamihana Ratima was situated.

Tamihana Ratima also started the 2021 National Youth U16 Tournament Grand Final for the Mid-central Vipers on the right wing in a 22 – 10 victory against the South Island Scorpions.

In early 2021 Tamihana Ratima was part of the New Zealand Warriors U15 Development Squad attending a number of Development camps over the course of the 2021 season that were run by former New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International Stacey Jones.

2021 was not the first season that Tamihana Ratima had achieved representative honours as in 2019 and 2020 he represented the Taranaki Junior Representative Rugby League side in the U13 and U14 age groups respectively.

Tamihana Ratima is very difficult to stop once he is in motion, his speed, power and body height all contribute to this. On the wing when Tamihana Ratima can wind up and build momentum he looks to run over his direct opponent rather than try to run around them. In fact in the majority of occasions it is Tamihana Ratima that actually initiates the contact and I do not recall seeing a player other than Tamihana Ratima being able to run over his direct opponent with absolutely no loss of momentum.

From a speed perspective I would argue that Tamihana Ratima’s speed is a tick above average for a winger (plus for a second rower) but obviously the key attribute from an attacking perspective is how hard he hits the defensive line when running with the ball. Like his overall speed Tamihana Ratima’s lateral mobility is probably just a tick above average but plays a lot quicker due to his decisiveness and intensity.

Tamihana Ratima with his size and strength is also able to make a lot of ground after contact with his ability to absorb the initial defensive contact and maintain his balance, momentum and body control.

When he is close to the line Tamihana Ratima is able to absorb a significant amount of punishment and still hold his running line thus Tamihana Ratima is able to score close to the side line without being pushed over the sideline regardless of the number of defenders looking to do so. The ability to absorb contact is on display when Tamihana Ratima comes into the centre of the field to take the ball up into the teeth of the defensive line.

Defensively for a big strong powerful young man, Tamihana Ratima actually has good discipline for such a young player and in the main stays on his man rather than coming in and looking for the big hit. Do not get me wrong Tamihana Ratima will on occasion aim to smash the opposing outside if they do not see him coming but in the main he is quite disciplined and looks to ensure his opposing winger does not get on his outside looking to use their speed against him.

As noted above Tamihana Ratima will attend Titans partnered Marsden State High School in 2022, playing in their Walters Cup School Boy side although an opportunity in the Marsden State High School Langer Cup A squad is not out of the question as well. Tamihana Ratima will also play for the Souths Logan Magpies U16 Cyril Connell Cup side early in 2022.

To date in New Zealand for his school, club and representative sides Tamihana Ratima has played both on the wing and second row, primarily on the right side of the field and at around 184cm and 95kg Tamihana Ratima has the size, speed, strength and power to play at a high level in either of those positions and for that matter in the centres as well so it will be very interesting to see where Tamihana Ratima lines up for the Souths Logan Magpies and Marsden State High School in 2022.

With his size, speed and tackle breaking ability Tamihana Ratima has a playing style reminiscent to Wests Tigers and former New Zealand Warriors centre (and winger) Ken Maumalo. Like Maumalo, Tamihana Ratima is an exceptionally quick, hard running, explosive outside back (and occasional second rower) who just has the innate, natural ability to make the right decision in terms of timing, positioning and decision making when a try is in the offing and will put it all on the line to get the ball across the strip every time Tamihana Ratima has the opportunity to do so.

[lonegull]

Michael Roberts has signed with the dolphins

[mdrew]

Dominique Sandow. The exciting youngster originally from the Nanango Staggs Junior Rugby League Club in country Queensland signed a two year deal with the Titans JTS program in 2021 after also being on the radar of the Brisbane Bronco’s, in fact Dominique Sandow was part of their Elite Development Program prior to signing with the outstanding Titans JTS program.

In June 2021 Dominique Sandow started at fullback for a Titans U17 JTS side that played a Titans Northern Rivers U18 squad at Cbus Stadium as a curtain raiser to the Titans Round Fourteen NRL match against the Sydney Roosters.

Dominique Sandow was part of the South Logan Magpies U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad in 2021, starting their trial against Wynnum Manly at Capalaba on the wing before moving to fullback in the second half in a match that the Magpies won six tries to one.
After missing Round One of the 2021 Cyril Connell Cup competition, Dominic Sandow was named to start from the bench in Round Two against the Ipswich Jets however he was a late scratching from the final Magpies seventeen.
Dominique Sandow was named to start Round Five against the Tweed Heads Seagulls on the wing.

In late May 2021 Dominique Sandow was part of the Met East U18 QSSRL Open School Boy representative side and started at fullback in their Day One match against Sunshine Coast.

On Day Three of the U18 QSSRL Championships Dominique Sandow started at five eight (he was wearing jersey 1) for Met East against Met West. Dominique Sandow wasted no time making a contribution when he did some good work on the left to put his left winger into space with the winger able to score out wide.

Dominique Sandow was at it again in the second half when he backed up a break through centre field and after he received the ball Dominique Sandow drew the fullback and passed to his right to his support.

The Day Four fifth and sixth place play-off match against South Coast II saw Dominique Sandow start at five eight and operating on the left side of the field where he teamed up well with fellow Titan William Semu.

2021 also saw Dominique Sandow move to the Titans partnered and highly successful Marsden State High School where he immediately started training with the Opens squad in preparation for the 2021 Langer Cup Open A elite school boy competition.
Round One of the 2021 Langer Cup School Boy Rugby League competition saw Dominique Sandow start at five eight against Keebra Park and then he moved to fullback for Round Two against Ipswich State High School and recorded a first half try assist.

In the 7th minute, Dominique Sandow backed up a break from William Semu receiving a pass from the left centre on the inside, before cutting back towards the left touchline and passing to an unmarked left winger to dive over in the left corner.

Dominique Sandow then came off the bench in the Round Four blockbuster against PBC State High School but moved into the Marsden SHS starting side at fullback in Round Five against Mabel Park State High School and Dominique Sandow came close to scoring in the first half but he was dragged down from behind just short of the line.

After the competition was suspended for a number of weeks due to a Covid 19 lock down, Dominique Sandow was named as an emergency for Marsden SHS in their semi-final against Ipswich State High School.

In the 2021 Langer Cup Grand Final against PBC State High School, Dominique Sandow was named on the bench for Marsden SHS.

Dominique Sandow started Round Three of the Langer Cup Reserve Grade competition for Marsden SHS at five eight against Wavell State High School and was heavily involved throughout the match including a first half try assist when he put left winger Shane Rapson over in the corner after drawing in both his immediate opposite defender and the next Wavell SHS right sided defender.

In the 2021 Langer Cup Reserve Grade Grand Final Dominique Sandow started at fullback for Marsden State High School against Wavell State High School, throwing the final pass for two of Marsden SHS’s tries, the first to Shane Rapona and the second to Apa Twidle but Marsden SHS fell agonisingly short as a result of a last minute Wavell SHS try.

After the completion of the Langer Reserve Grand Final Dominique Sandow was named at fullback in the Courier Mail Team of the Grand Finals.

2021 also saw Dominique Sandow play for Souths Acacia Ridge in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League U16 Division One competition where he operated primarily at fullback for the Magpies as well as occasionally at five eight.

The 2020 even though he was still U15 eligible, Dominique Sandow played in the Sunshine Coast U16 competition for Gympie, starting Round One against Coolum on the bench before moving into the starting side at fullback in Round Two against The Bay where he stayed for the remainder of the 2020 season.

Early in 2020 Dominique Sandow, from Murgon State High School, was selected in the Wide Bay U15 school boy representative side. Dominique Sandow also represented Wide Bay in 2017 at the 11/12 Queensland Boys State Championships, starting in the centres for Wide Bay.

In 2019 Dominique Sandow played for the Nanango Staggs in the U14 South Burnett rugby league competition leading the Staggs to a 14 – 10 Grand Final victory over Murgon.

In addition to being named player of the 2019 U14 South Burnett Grand Final, Dominique Sandow was named the South Burnett U14 competitions Player of the Year and was named the South Burnett Rugby League Junior Eagle.

2019 also saw Dominique Sandow represent the Central U14 side at the Queensland Junior State Championships scoring on Day Two against South East Queensland White.

When he runs the ball, Dominique Sandow is exceptionally quick and explosive, with exceptional speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space. Dominique Sandow also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed.

In addition Dominique Sandow 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 Dominique Sandow 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, Dominique Sandow’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 Dominique Sandow is an absolute handful to tackle with his speed and evasion skills.

Defensively in the fullback position Dominique Sandow 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 Dominique Sandow does have is ability to force attackers who are in open space to try to beat him down the side line. Dominique Sandow 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.

Dominique Sandow will play the 2022 season at the U17 Division One level for Souths Acacia Ridge in the GBJRL competition and will push for a spot in the Souths Logan Magpies 2022 U18 MM Cup squad. Dominique Sandow will also be U18 MM Cup eligible in 2023. Dominique Sandow will also continue to be part of the Titans JTS program over the course of the 2022 season.

Dominique Sandow has played both at fullback and in the centres over recent seasons in both club and representative sides and whilst he has played very well in the centres, with his speed, especially off the mark, and elusiveness, both out wide and through the centre of the ruck, I certainly think that Dominique Sandow will settle at fullback in the long term, although in the short term, Dominique Sandow will almost certainly continue to play in the centres as well.

With continued development of his play making and passing skills Dominique Sandow has intriguing potential for the coming seasons.

For me Dominique Sandow has a similar playing style to that of current Brisbane Bronco’s and former Titan and English Super League halfback and occasional fullback Albert Kelly. Like Kelly, Dominique Sandow has the electric speed off the mark to be able to exploit gaps in the defensive line (as well as the speed to finish them off) and Dominique Sandow also has a bit of unpredictability about him which keeps defensive lines honest especially when Dominique Sandow runs with the ball in two hands directly at the line at pace.

[mdrew]

Caleb Hodges. (Revised) Caleb Hodges is currently undertaking the 2021/22 pre-season with the Titans NRL squad as a member of the Titans Rookie Squad looking to impress Justin Holbrook and the other NRL coaches.

The northern New South Wales born youngster is contracted to the Titans until the end of the 2022 season and in 2021 trained as part of the Titans Rookie Squad who were training once a week at the Titans main facility.

Impressively Caleb Hodges was one of a number of Titans rookie players that trained with the Titans NRL squad in the first five week block of the 2020/21 NRL pre-season.

In early March 2021, Caleb Hodges started from the bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in their final 2021 trial against the Burleigh Bears.

Caleb Hodges started Round Two of the 2021 Queensland Cup on the wing for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against Wynnum Manly and played all eighty minutes.

In the match, Caleb Hodges ran for seventy five metres (thirty two post contact and twenty one kick return metres), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 2.91 seconds and made seven tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Caleb Hodges then started on the wing in the previously postponed Round Twelve of the Queensland Cup against Souths Logan with Caleb Hodges playing the entire eighty minutes once again, running for seven metres and made three tackles.

In Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Caleb Hodges started at left centre for the Tweed Heads Seagulls as they took on the Souths Logan Magpies.

In the 3rd minute of the match Caleb Hodges made his first Colts hit-up of the 2021 season when he received the ball to the right of the dummy half making twelve metres to get the ball out to forty metres away from his own line.

Caleb Hodges continued his efforts running with the ball in the 6th minute when he ran the ball from a Seagulls scrum win to the left, beating two defenders on their outside making twelve metres and doing a good job staying away from the left touch line.

Caleb Hodges showed his speed in the 33rd minute of the match when he chased through a short Seagulls kick-off getting to the ball first on the twenty metre mark to surprise Souths Logan with Caleb Hodges making it to twelve metres out before he was stopped by the defence.

Defence has always been one of Caleb Hodges strong suits and that was highlighted in the 48th minute when he produced a strong tackle close to his own line. Caleb Hodges engaged the Souths Logan right centre initially holding him up before driving him into touch.

Caleb Hodges also started at left centre in the Round Two local derby against Burleigh with Caleb Hodges scoring one of the Seagulls tries in their 32 – 24 victory.

Caleb Hodges try came in the 47th minute when he followed through a short grubber kick from Brenton Daley-Holton with the ball sitting up perfectly for Caleb Hodges to retrieve and get down four metres in from the left corner post.

Caleb Hodges wasted no time becoming involved in the match being involved with Taine Udjur-Berghan in Burleigh’s first tackle of the match when they tackled Bears five eight Byron Vaovosa who was returning the Seagulls first kick.

Caleb Hodges made the first of many runs down his left side in the 4th minute when he was able to make fifteen after cutting back behind the play the ball to get the ball out to thirty metres away from his own line.

Caleb Hodges made another strong run in the 20th minute when after pushing off two would be tackles, he made twenty metres down the left.

Caleb Hodges also produced a strong defensive effort in the 18th minute, when he flew off his line to confront Burleigh right centre Tony Francis front on before his powerful opponent could gain momentum. Another strong defensive effort from Caleb Hodges came in the 35th minute when Caleb Hodges cut down Burleigh fullback Will Evans with a copy book low tackle as Evans was trying to run across field.

Caleb Hodges produced a great try saving tackle in the 58th minute when he moved to his left to bundle Burleigh right second rower Blake Campbell over the touchline less than two metres from the corner post after Campbell had made a line break twenty five metres back down field.

Caleb Hodges’s speed off the mark was highlighted in the 71st minute when after he received the ball whilst standing still, Caleb Hodges exploded off the mark before stepping to his left leaving two defenders in his wake and get the ball over the halfway mark after making fifteen metres.

Caleb Hodges also started at left centre in Round Three against the Redcliffe Dolphins and in Round Four against the Ipswich Jets.

After missing and number of weeks, including playing for Tweed Heads in the Queensland Cup, Caleb Hodges was named in the centres for Round Twelve of the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition against the Central Queensland Capra’s.

Caleb Hodges was named at left centre in the Seagulls Week One Final against the Souths Logan Magpies.

At just 18 years old Caleb Hodges made his Queensland Cup debut when he started on the wing in Round One of the 2020 Queensland Cup season for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Northern Pride. Unfortunately Caleb Hodges did not get an opportunity to add to his debut Queensland Cup match in 2020 after the season was shut down just days after Round One due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Caleb Hodges spent the 2020 off season training with the Titans Rookie Squad as well as training with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad for the 2020 season and was part of the Titans Rookie Squad that played the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in early February 2020.

Caleb Hodges’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 a great effort by the young 18 year old. Caleb Hodges spent the majority of his time on the field on the wing but also got an opportunity in the centres as the match progressed and he settled into the higher standard of rugby league.

Caleb Hodges also started at left centre for the Tweed Heads A Grade side in their late February 2020 trial against the Burleigh Bears.

Caleb Hodges made his Queensland Cup debut in Round One of the 2020 competition on the right wing against the Northern Pride. In his Queensland Cup debut Caleb Hodges played thirty seven minutes, running for thirty seven metres (eight post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.88 seconds and made five tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency, not a bad debut at all for an 18 year old.

When community rugby league recommenced in July 2020 Caleb Hodges played for the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL competition starting Round One in the NRRRL First Grade competition at right centre against the Ballina Seagulls. In the match Caleb Hodges kicked two conversions in the Jets close loss to the eventual premiers.

Caleb Hodges is contracted to the Titans until the end of the 2021 season and is one of a number of Titans players who were outstanding for the highly successful 2019 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side.

Caleb Hodges started at left centre for the 2019 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side’s Round One victory over the Western Mustangs 58 – 18 with Caleb Hodges scoring a first half try. Caleb Hodges ran fifty metres down the left touchline to score after receiving a great ball from five eight Toby Sexton and then was able to bring the ball around to near the posts.

Caleb Hodges scored the winning try in the last minute in Round Three against Burleigh when he pouched on a great grubber kick by Tweed Heads five eight Kade Hill to score out wide to seal a great Seagulls comeback.

Caleb Hodges also scored a late try in Round Four against the Central Queensland Capra’s when playing at left centre received a cut out lob pass from five eight Kade Hill to score out wide in the left corner.

Tweed Heads had to win well in their Round Six match against the Mackay Cutters which they did 72 – 0 with Caleb Hodges crossing once again. Playing left centre, Caleb Hodges ran a good line into a gap three metres out from the line and was presented with a great pass from left second rower Brendan Paiakura.

In the Tweed Heads Seagulls semi-final win against Souths Logan, Caleb Hodges once again crossed. After good inside work from Solomon Torrens Caleb Hodges took the ball on the left with little room to move, but after getting outside his direct opponent was able to streak down the left touchline to somehow get the ball down right in the left corner under heavy pressure.

Caleb Hodges was also outstanding at left centre in Tweed Heads Grand Final victory over Wynnum Manly, as he was in the National U18 Grand Final against Illawarra when he added another try to his resume. For the try, Caleb Hodges flashed down the left touch line before cutting inside the Illawarra fullback to score out wide on the left of the field.

Caleb Hodges played the entire seventy minutes in the National Final, running for ninety seven metres (twenty eight post contact) broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.33 seconds and made fourteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 61%.

Caleb Hodges in 2019 was once again part of the PBC Open A rugby league side including starting at left centre in the Langer Cup derby against Keebra Park in June.

Caleb Hodges also started at left centre for PBC in their Queensland GIO Cup quarter final win over St Mary’s High School Toowoomba 50 – 6 scoring an outstanding first half try in the match.

From a set of six after a St Mary’s drop out (Caleb Hodges in fact made the tackle in the in goal to force the drop out) Caleb Hodges ran into a gap around forty metres out with his speed and power far too much for the St Mary’s fullback to handle.

Caleb Hodges was a solid performer for PBC at left centre in their tough Gold Point loss in the Queensland GIO Cup semi-final loss to Marsden State High School.

Caleb Hodges made his Hastings Deering’s Colts debut In Round Twenty Three against the Northern Pride starting at left centre and scoring in the 23rd minute of the match as Tweed Heads qualified for the finals on the back of a 36 – 10 win.

Caleb Hodges ran a straight crash line from his left centre and smashed through one tackle before scoring around five metres from the left corner post. The straight crash line is one of the hardest one to run as it is anticipated that you are going to get hit hard, but Caleb Hodges proved his courage and strength to score on debut.

Caleb Hodges played his second Hastings Deering’s Colts match for Tweed Heads Week One Elimination Final loss to the Mackay Cutters 23 – 10 starting at left centre.

In early 2019 Caleb Hodges was part of the Titans U18’s in their match at Coffs Harbour against the Newcastle Knights U18 SG Ball squad which ended five tries all.

2019 also saw Caleb Hodges start at left centre for the Titans U18 side in their match against North Queensland that was played as the curtain raiser to the Titans/ Warriors NRL match in June.

Also in 2019 Caleb Hodges was selected in the South Coast U18 side for the QSSRL U18 Championships after playing in the centres in the trials. Caleb Hodges primarily played left centre for South Coast in the U18 QSSRL Championships.
South Coast went through the Championships undefeated including coming from behind to defeated Northern in the final 22 – 16. Caleb Hodges was subsequently named in the Queensland School boy’s side for the Australian School boy Championships.
At the 2019 ASSRL U18 Championships, Caleb Hodges started all of Queensland matches on the left wing including the semi-final against New South Wales Combined Independent Schools when he scored a first half try highlighting his speed and evasive qualities.
The former Group 18 (NSW) centre or winger had an outstanding 2018 season including starting on the wing for the PBC School Boy side that won the GIO Cup National Final against Patrician Brothers College Blacktown.

Caleb Hodges also started from the bench for PBC in the Queensland GIO Cup Final against Kirwan State High School and also having a hand in the success of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side in the 2018 season.

Caleb Hodges joined the Tweed Heads MM Cup squad and PBC State High School in 2018 with an impressive pedigree including representing the U16 New South Wales Indigenous side in 2017 where he started in the second row and also representing Group 18 on numerous occasions in the junior age levels.

Caleb Hodges played his club rugby league in the 2017 season for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the U16 Group 18 competition, with a team mate being former Titans linked front rower Jordan Tauali’i.

For the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the MM Cup competition in 2018, Caleb Hodges played in four matches scoring for two tries. Caleb Hodges scored his first try in Round Six against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and also scored in Tweed Heads semi-final against Souths Logan.

Caleb Hodges was named to start on the interchange bench in Round One but did not make the final 17 but came into the Tweed Heads side in Round Five against the Townsville Blackhawks and stayed in the side for the remainder of the season.

Caleb Hodges started from the interchange bench in Rounds Five and Six and in the centres for Round Seven and the semi-final. Interesting Caleb Hodges was named to start at hooker in Round Six against Wynnum Manly but ended starting from the bench instead in that match.

Caleb Hodges played his club rugby league on the Gold Coast with the Bilambil Jets and in 2018 played in all three grades for the Northern New South Wales based club.

In the U17 Division One competition, in 2018 Caleb Hodges played in four matches for Bilambil scoring against Ormeau. Caleb Hodges also made two appearances in the GCRL U19 competition with those matches being against Burleigh and Currumbin.

Caleb Hodges made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut in May of 2018 when he came on against the Tugun Seahawks.

Caleb Hodges was a regular for the PBC Open side’s 2018 GIO Cup campaign starting from the bench in their Queensland GIO Cup final victory over Kirwan State High School and moved to the starting side on the left wing for the GIO Cup National Final against Patrician Brothers College Blacktown with PBC running out 20 – 12 winners to be crowned the 2018 GIO Cup National Champions.

Caleb Hodges’s style of play is that of a powerful wide running centre or back rower with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average to plus.

Caleb Hodges is quite quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, he has an extra gear again which is a plus attribute for such a strong powerful second rower, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a big strong powerful young player who can cause nightmares for any defensive line. Caleb Hodges seems to line up on the left side of the field more so than the right, but I have no doubt moving forward that he will be able to play on either side of the field, he seems to be just so skilful.

For a player of his size, he runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball during a game. For a young player, Caleb Hodges seems to have a good understanding of when to off load the ball, currently most of his off loads occur when he is part way through the defensive line and can get his right arm free to pass to his outside support runners.

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

Caleb Hodges’s speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring players or the opposition outside backs running out of dummy half.

Defensively Caleb Hodges has a very good low tackling technique, he is by no means a big player but his defensive low tackling technique is very good, Caleb Hodges 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.

Caleb Hodges signed a two year deal with the Titans that will keep him on the Gold Coast until the end of the upcoming 2022 season. Caleb Hodges is spending the 2022 off-season training with the Titans Rookie Squad and also get an opportunity to train with the Titans NRL side.

Impressively Caleb Hodges is still Colts eligible in 2022 and just like 2021 I would think that Caleb Hodges will start in the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side, hopefully cementing either a centre or wing spot.

Caleb Hodges is perfectly suited to the centres in rugby league and with his speed, elusiveness and positional sense, although he can also certainly operate on the wing at a high level. I note that as a junior Caleb Hodges spent time in the second row but I think that he is far effective in the centres rather than closer in to the centre of the ruck.

From a player comparison perspective, for me with his knack of breaking tackles when they really should not be able to and the defence knows that they are going to run from dummy half, there are aspects of the play of retired Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian Test centre Justin Hodges in Caleb Hodges’s game.

Caleb Hodges just seems to have a natural affinity for rugby league and plays with a confidence and freedom which is rarely seen at any level including the NRL.

[mdrew]

Cooper Bai. The powerful young lock or second rower from the Burleigh Bears Junior Rugby League club was part of the Titans U13 side that took on a Western Mustangs side at Mudgeeraba in February 2019, his first match in a Titans jersey.

In early January 2021 Cooper Bai was part of a small group of Titans 2021 U15 players who after attending a Titans camp, trained with the Titans NRL squad. Post that camp Cooper Bai signed a contract that will keep him with the first NRL club that his father played for. In late 2021 Cooper Bai also attended a joint session with the Titans JTS Program and the Titans NRL squad with Cooper Bai getting some one on one instruction from David Fifita.

In October 2021 Cooper Bai was named in the powerful Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad.

In November 2021 Cooper Bai was named in the Miami Raptors U16 2022 State Cup Oztag squad and in October of the same year represented Marymount College at the 2021 Queensland All Schools Oztag Championships and at the end of the Championships was named in the Year Ten Boys First XVI All Schools Championship Team.

Even though he was still U15 eligible in June 2021, Cooper Bai was a member of the Titans JTS U16 Development side that drew with a Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL fixture against Manly, playing lock in his time on the field. Cooper Bai was one of only two 15 year old’s in the Titans U16 JTS squad with the other being Sam Stephenson.

Cooper Bai played for the Gold Coast based Marymount College once again in 2021 including in the Titans Cup Boys Year Nine/Ten Boys Division One competition and had a big Round Two match against St Michael’s College. Whilst Cooper Bai did not score in Marymount College’s 38 – 0 win he made some telling runs with the ball, none better than in the second half when he took a hit-up from a St Michael’s College kick-off and charged over the halfway mark before being stopped with Marymount College scoring two plays later.

Early February 2021 saw Cooper Bai make it through the first stage of the South Coast U15 QSSRL School Boy Representative Trials.

In 2021 Cooper Bai played for the Burleigh Bears in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition, playing for Burleigh Marron and started at right second row in their 2021 U15 Division One Grand Final victory against Burleigh White.

Cooper Bai put an exclamation mark on the Grand Final in the 59th minute with an outstanding long range try. Near the halfway mark Cooper Bai chased through a short grubber kick with Cooper Bai retrieving the ball thirty five metres out from the line. Cooper Bai was initially tackled ten metres from the line but was not held and quickly got to his feet and stepped off his left foot and crashed over mid-way between the corner post and goal posts on the right hand side of the field.

Cooper Bai also performed strongly in the 2021 GCRL U15 Division One Major Semi-final, once again starting at right second row for the Bears against the Helensvale Hornets and recording a try assist towards the end of the second half when after breaking through the Helensvale left sided defensive line near the halfway mark Cooper Bai positioned his right winger, drawing the Hornets fullback and passing to his right to put his winger over in the right corner.

Cooper Bai also had a strong match at right second row in Round Ten against the Coomera Cutters, a match that saw Cooper Bai make a strong line break mid-way through the second half when from just inside his own territory Cooper Bai burst through the centre of the Cutters defensive line and ran thirty five metres before drawing the Coomera fullback and passing to his right to his winger who unfortunately was dragged into touch just short of the right corner.

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

In 2020 Cooper Bai was part of the Burleigh Bears U14 Division One side in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. Burleigh finished the 2020 season going down 40 – 0 in the play-off round to Helensvale. The Burleigh U14 Division One side finished the regular season with six wins from their seven matches, scoring 250 points and conceding only thirty four to have an impressive +216 points differential.

From a trivia perspective, Cooper Bai is the son of former Titans, Melbourne Storm and PNG International winger Marcus Bai.

Early in the 2019 season Cooper Bai was named in the Gold Coast Vikings U13 squad starting in the second row for the Vikings. After the completion of the competition, Cooper Bai was selected in the 2019 South East Queensland U13 training squad.

Cooper Bai started in the second row for Burleigh in Round One of the 2019 GCRL U13 Division One competition against Coomera but also spent time in the centres this season for Burleigh.

In total for Burleigh in the 2019 GCRL U13 Division One competition regular season, Cooper Bai played in ten matches scoring four tries including a Round Six double against Currumbin as well as tries in Rounds One and Three against Coomera and Nerang respectively.

In Round One of the finals Copper Bai started in the second row and scored for Burleigh as they went down 24 – 22 to Ormeau and also started in the second row in Week Three being their Preliminary Final victory.

In the GCRL U13 Division One Grand Final Cooper Bai started at left second row and had a very good second half but Burleigh ended up going down 26 – 22 to the Helensvale Hornets in a high quality affair.

Cooper Bai also played school boy rugby league in 2019 and at the Marymount College Sports Awards Presentation Night he was named as U13/14 Sky Best Back and U15/16 Blue Best and Fairest.

In 2018 Cooper Bai played for Burleigh in the U12 Division One competition playing in twelve matches, scoring thirty points from three tries and nine goals, including scoring Burleigh’s only try in their 28 – 6 U12 Division One Grand Final loss to Helensvale. Copper Bai started the Grand Final in the second row, scoring in the first half for the Bears.

In addition to his 2018 Grand Final try Cooper Bai scored against Runaway Bay and Coomera. Interestingly, all of his nine conversions were kicked in separate matches over the course of the 2018 season.

2018 also saw Cooper Bai captain the Marymount Catholic Primary School side in the NRL Development Cup Final played at Suncorp Stadium with the Gold Coast school running out 16 – 12 winners against Cairns West Primary School.

Cooper Bai started the match at lock and scored Marymount’s Catholic Primary School’s first try when he cut back inside the Cairns West defence to score under the posts to level the score up at 6 all in the first half.

Cooper Bai is a big strong young man who does not rely just on his size and speed and using his natural running balance to either engage the opposing defenders and off load, run either an inside or outside shoulder route or an in and away to slow the forward momentum of the defender and accelerate on the outside.

For a player of his size, Cooper Bai also has a very good passing game. When the ball is passed out to the back line, Cooper Bai is very good at straitening up the attacking vector of his team and pass to his outside supports if they have room to move further out wide.

From a speed perspective has above average to plus speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, Cooper Bai will not be caught from behind other than from only the fastest of opponents and Cooper Ba is also very good at positioning his support players when he gets to the fullback. The only possible question about Cooper Bai’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the plus category as he matures and inevitably fills out.

Defensively Cooper Bai 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 opponent gets on his outside.

For me when I saw him play for Burleigh this year Cooper Bai was the defensive leader of his side of the field and other defenders keyed off him in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside.

Cooper Bai 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.
Cooper Bai will play the 2022 season with the Burleigh U16 Division One side and no doubt is in line for junior representative honours in years to come, including in 2022 as part of the powerful Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup side.

Cooper Bai is a big strong powerful young man with some real speed for his size and therefore seems an ideal fit in the second row on a rugby league field. I do however believe that Cooper Bai did play a couple of matches for Burleigh in the centres in 2021 and will likely continue to do so for the next couple of seasons at least.

For me a current rugby league player with similar attributes and a similar playing style is former Manly Sea Eagles and St George Dragons backrower Joel Thompson, as a big strong player who can transition between centre and second row although I think that just like Joel Thompson, Cooper Bai’s skill set plays slightly better in the second row taking all things into account.

[Bayside Titan]

Hey mdrew. Is that Cooper Bai that is seen in a picture with David Fafita today ? Is he also Marcus son at all ?

[mdrew]

Yes that’s him mate, and yes he is Marcus’s youngest so n

Hey mdrew. Is that Cooper Bai that is seen in a picture with David Fafita today ? Is he also Marcus son at all ?