My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Blake Togo-Murphy. In early August 2022 Blake Togo-Murphy was deservedly named as one of the 2022 Tom Searle Scholarship winners at a ceremony attended by the likes of Greg Ingles.

Blake Togo-Murphy started the 2022 season as a member of the Premiership wining Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad with Aaron Singh-Goesel playing in six of the seven Northern Rivers Titans matches including starting on the left wing in both of the Northern Rivers Titans finals being the semi-final against the Dragons and the Grand Final win against the Wests Tigers.

Blake Togo-Murphy scored three times for the Northern Rivers Titans in the 2022 U16 Andrew Johns Cup with Blake Togo-Murphy scoring his first try in the 22nd minute of Round One against the Wests Tigers, the second in the 50th minute of Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters with Blake Togo-Murphy scoring his third and final try in Week One of the Finals series against the St George Dragons.

In Round Four against the Central Coast Magpies Blake Togo-Murphy scored in the left corner after receiving a pass from his inside from Ricco Waitatiti and against the Dragons in Week One of the finals, Blake Togo-Murphy backed up a long Northern Rivers Titans long line break to get the ball to his left from Zane Harrison with Blake Togo-Murphy then wrong footing the St George fullback to dive over to score four metres in from the left corner post.

Blake Togo-Murphy also attended St joseph’s College Benora Point High School in 2022 and played for them in a number of New South Wales School Boy rubgy league competitions.

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

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

Defensively Blake Togo-Murphy also stands out, with his closing speed and recovery speed he makes an impact on that side of the ball as well. With his speed, Blake Togo-Murphy has the luxury of being able to stand a touch deeper than some fullbacks yet still be able to close quickly to negate breaks by reducing the decision making time of the attacking player.

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

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

Blake Togo-Murphy will play the 2023 season in the NRRRL U18 competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls and is also likely to be a member of the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad with Blake Togo-Murphy also being U18 eligible in 2024.

Blake Togo-Murphy played exceptionally well for the U16 Northern Rivers Titans on the left (and right) wing and whilst no doubt Blake Togo-Murphy could also play in the centres on either side of the field, with his ability to find the try line on a regular basis on the wing, left wing would appear to be Blake Togo-Murphy’s best position moving forward.

Talented Penrith Panthers left winger Taylan May is an ideal NRL player comparison for Blake Togo-Murphy, both May and Blake Togo-Murphy, in addition to having the ability to find the try line on a very regular basis, including making the insanely difficult look easy, both May and Blake Togo-Murphy will come off their wing and help bring the ball out of their own territory whether that be from dummy half or a pass from the dummy half, either way Blake Togo-Murphy is fearless in that respect.

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Kason Tuai. The young man from the Melton Bronco’s in the Victorian Junior Rugby League competition joins the Keebra Park SHS Rugby League Excellence Program in 2023.

In the 2022 U14 Victorian Junior Rugby League competition Kason Tuai has operated primarily at right centre for the Melton Bronco’s with Kason Tuai scoring hat tricks in Round Three against the Waverley Oakleigh Panthers, Round Four against the Altona Roosters and Round Fifteen against the Northern Thunder.

Kason Tuai also scored doubles in Round Ten against the Casey Warriors and Round Thirteen also against the Casey Warriors.

In 2022 Kason Tuai represented the Staughton College School Boy Rugby League side in the Cameron Smith Shield competition.

Kason Tuai also played for the Melton Bronco’s in the 2021 Victorian Junior Rugby League Covid impacted U13 competition scoring ten tries in a limited number of matches.

From an attacking perspective Kason Tuai is a straight hard runner when he has the ball in hand, he runs a “crash” line if you will. Kason Tuai has also shown the ability to run both an inside and outside shoulder route and he runs both with pace and power and attracts multiple defenders to try to bring him down, a quick play the ball is also a key feature of Kason Tuai’s play.

When he impacts the defensive line Kason Tuai drops his shoulder into the defenders and regularly bumped off multiple defenders in a single run. Another key attribute which was mentioned earlier is that he is also a talented all be it an underrated distributor when defenders look to come in on him to shut down the play.

Kason Tuai understands that his style of play means that he attracts multiple defenders and he has become adept at delayed sleight of hand passes right at the defensive line which meant that the defensive line could not react to the aspect change in time to prevent ground being made by the support runner.

Due to his strength and fend Kason Tuai regularly gets on the outside of his opposite defender forcing the winger to make a decision as to whether to come in on him or stay with his direct opponent. If defenders come in on him, Kason Tuai has the quick hands to get the pass away prior to contact.

Kason Tuai also is big and strong enough as well as having very good core strength and balance to absorb the contact and still get the pass to his winger whilst maintaining his running line so that he does not force his outside supports closer to the touch line than they need to be. This also forces defenders to make a quick decision in relation to how they address this situation that they are confronted with.

If the opposing winger stays out, Kason Tuai is definitely quick enough to break into open space although I would not say that he has plus speed, but Kason Tuai is more than quick enough to gain separate from the cover defence. When you look at Kason Tuai’s build he may not look like he has a lot of speed, but he definitely does. Kason Tuai may not necessarily be the quickest off the mark but has very good acceleration once he is moving and can sustain his top pace over an extended period.

Devastating would be the appropriate way to describe the defensive style of Kason Tuai, he regularly comes out the line to literally smash the attacker coming at him. When an attacker is running directly at Kason Tuai he will explode quickly out of his stance coming forward quickly thus preventing the opposing defender from either getting a pass wider out or for that matter bracing himself for the upcoming contact.

A lot of bigger outside backs attempt to come out of the line a few occasions a match when the opportunity presents itself but Kason Tuai seemingly does it four or five times a match. As a result of his timing and anticipation it is not often that an attacking can either skip to the outside or get a pass away to a support runner. Kason Tuai just seems to have that knack of arriving just as his opponent receives the ball.

In saying what I have above however when necessary Kason Tuai is able to slide out and wait for the play to develop in front of him and is able to hold his momentum to the outside well in case his direct opponent looks to cut back inside as he is sliding out. Either way Kason Tuai has a solid defensive technique in relation to side on tackles and can also turn and chase in cover defence if necessary.

Kason Tuai will move up to the Gold Coast in 2023 to attend the Titans partnered Keebra Park SHS Rugby League Specialisation Program and will play in Keebra Park SHS’s famous colours in their numerous 2023 School Boy Rugby League competitions. Kason Tuai will also play club rugby league on the Gold Coast in the GCRL U15 Division One competition.

With his height and speed Kason Tuai looks like a natural born centre with the ability to be a legitimate strike centre and there are very few of them running around regardless of age group or competition. There is also little doubt that Kason Tuai would also be a revelation at fullback with the opportunity to see the entire field and pick and choose when to inject himself into a match on his terms.

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

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Simione Tauelangi. The young man from the Melton Bronco’s in the Victorian Junior Rugby League competition joins the Titans partnered Keebra Park SHS Rugby League Excellence Program in 2023 and beyond.

In the 2022 U14 Victorian Junior Rugby League competition Simione Tauelingi has operated primarily at left centre for the Melton Bronco’s with Simione Tauelingi scoring four tires in Round One against the Sunberry Tigers with Simione Tauelingi adding a hat trick in Round Eight against the Frankston Raiders.

Simione Tauelingi also scored doubles in Round Seven against the Northern Thunder and Round Thirteen against the Casey Warriors. Simione Tauelingi also scored in Round Fifteen against the Northern Thunder.

Simione Tauelingi also played for the Melton Bronco’s in the 2021 Victorian Junior Rugby League Covid impacted U13 competition scoring seven tries in a limited number of matches.

Simione Tauelingi is also an outstanding athlete including breaking the Victorian U13 200 metre sprint record in 2021 when he ran a time of 25.84 seconds.

For a centre, Simione Tauelingi is a strong, powerful young man who does not rely just on his size and speed by using his natural running gait and balance to either engage the opposing defenders and off load, run either an inside or outside shoulder route or an old fashioned in and away to slow the forward momentum of the direct defender with Simione Tauelingi able accelerate to the outside of the defender.

For a player of his size, Simione Tauelingi also has a very good passing game, when the ball is passed out to the back line, Simione Tauelingi 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 as a result of the defence pushing in. Obviously playing mostly at left centre Simione Tauelingi more often than not passes to his left but his simple and repeatable passing technique is no doubt transferrable to passing to the right side as well.

From a speed perspective Simione Tauelingi has plus speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, he will not be caught from behind other than from only the fastest of opponents and Simione Tauelingi is also very good at positioning his support players when he gets to the fullback. The only possible question about Simione Tauelingi ’s speed is whether it will stay at the plus category as he matures and inevitably fills out. I am betting it does.
Defensively Simione Tauelingi uses his size to good effect, he drives with his shoulder into his opponent and has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and his opposing centre gets on his outside.

Simione Tauelingi on an individual level has the body control and anticipation to redirect quickly and mirror the movement of the opposing attackers and anticipate what vector the attack will come from and innately understands when to allow the attacking play to develop in from of him and when and if to come out of the line to disrupt the attacking play prior to its formation.

Simione Tauelingi will move up to the Gold Coast in 2023 to attend the Titans partnered Keebra Park SHS Rugby League Specialisation Program and will play in Keebra Park SHS’s famous blue and maroon colours in their numerous 2023 School Boy Rugby League competitions. Simione Tauelingi will also play club rugby league on the Gold Coast in the GCRL U15 Division One competition.

Simione Tauelingi has played almost exclusively at left centre in his junior rugby league career to date and it is highly unlikely that a move to the Gold Coast will impact on that. At left centre Simione Tauelingi has the size, speed and elusiveness to be a very difficult proposition for opposing defences to handle.

With his size, speed and power Simione Tauelingi’s playing style is not dis-similar to that of standout Penrith Panther rookie NRL centre Izac Tago, both just ooze class and potential and just have something about them when you watch them play the game.

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Oskar Bryant. Midway through the 2021 season, Oscar Bryant’s outstanding form culminated with the high energy red headed hooker signing an NRL Development contract with the Titans.

Oskar Bryant undertook the 2021/22 pre-season with the Titans NRL squad as a member of the Titans Rookie Squad and looked to impress NRL coach Justin Holbrook and the other NRL coaches in at least the pre-Christmas component of the Titans NRL off-season training program.

Oskar Bryant started the Titans first 2022 NRL trial against the Brisbane Bronco’s at Cbus Stadium from the bench coming on to play in the dummy half role towards the end of the second half. As usual Oscar Bryant’s distribution out of dummy half was crisp and he also made six tackles.

In late July 2022 Oskar Bryant started at hooker for a Titans U19 side that played their annual match against the North Queensland Cowboys that was played as a curtain raiser at Cbus Stadium to the Titans Round Twenty NRL match against the Canberra Raiders.

Oskar Bryant’s initial significant contribution in the match was form a defensive perspective and came in the 6th minute when Oskar Bryant executed a great low tackle on a charging Cowboys front rower (No. 8) with Oskar Bryant bringing him down a metre out and directing in front of the posts.

In late January 2022 Oscar Bryant started at hooker for the Titans U19 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side and recorded a 72nd minute try assist when from right on the right line he popped a short pass to his right to a charging Jack Cullen who crashed over from close range.

Oscar Bryant was also involved in Elijah Lui’s last minute try, when after receiving an off-load from Arama Hau, he threw a long cut-out pass to his left to Jaylan De Groot who subsequently put Elijah Liu over in the left corner.

The first of Oscar Bryant’s trademark dummy half runs came in the 4th minute when he darted out of dummy half to his right making twenty metres out getting the ball eight metres into Burleigh territory.

Another Oscar Bryant dummy half run in the 23rd minute, on that occasion to the left out of dummy half saw Oscar Bryant make eleven metres getting within two metres out the try line. Then in the 27th minute Oscar Bryant ran once again to his left out of dummy half making a further ten metres to get the ball over the halfway mark, Oscar Bryant was then too quick to his feet and was awarded a penalty when he was denied the opportunity to play the ball quickly.

After coming back onto the field towards the end of the second half, Oscar Bryant highlighted the variety that he has in his game when he stepped to his right out of dummy half near his own forty metre line and kicked deep into the Burleigh left corner and then Oscar Bryant was immediately downfield to make the tackle on the Burleigh fullback around five metres out from the line.

Just two minutes later in the 70th minute Oscar Bryant darted out of dummy half to his left making a smart twelve metres before being tackled on the halfway mark.

Also in late 2021 Oskar Bryant was part of the Titans NRL squad that undertook a joint training session with ninety members of the Titans JTS Program.

In June 2022 Oskar Bryant was named in the New South Wales U19 side for their match against Queensland U19’s with Oskar Bryant named on the NSW extended bench for the match.

In late 2021 it was confirmed that Oskar Bryant would play the 2022 season as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and Oskar Bryant is also Colts eligible in 2023.

Round One of the 2022 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Oscar Bryant named on the Seagulls extended bench for their Round One clash against the Norths Devils however the match was postponed due to the extreme weather conditions in northern New South Wales.

Oskar Bryant started at hooker in the Round Two local derby against the Burleigh Bears and interesting late in the match in his second stint on the field spent time in the halves, acquitting himself well in that position.

Oskar Bryant along with Charlie Murray and Jack Cullen made the second tackle of the match after Tweed Heads had kicked off to get the match underway.

Oskar Bryant made the first of his trade mark runs out of dummy half in the 6th minute with a dart to his right to get the ball over the halfway mark with Oskar Bryant’s run accounting for sixteen metres.

Oskar Bryant made a further dummy half run to his right in the 25th minute making sixteen more metres to get the Seagulls within ten metres of the try line. Oskar Bryant continued his smart running out of dummy half in the 35th minute by making fourteen metres and then with the Bears defensive line still in disarray Oskar Bryant was able to off-load to his right to Jayden Wright.

Oskar Bryant ran himself once again in the 45th minute to his right and burst through the centre of the ruck, making an eighteen mete line break, getting just over the halfway mark.

Oskar Bryant showed that he worked hard on the weights in the off-season with his additional strength coming in handy in the 47th minute when he drove his right shoulder into the ribs of his opposite number. Then in the 48th minute along with Jaylan De Groot and Thomas Weaver, Oskar Bryant was on hand to hold up Burleigh lock Samuel Shannon over the try line.

Oskar Bryant continued at hooker in Round Three against the Townsville Blackhawks.

After missing a couple of matches Oskar Bryant came off the bench in Round Six against the Northern Pride in a big Seagulls big 66 – 0 coming onto the field around the 28 minute mark to operate in the dummy half role.

Oskar Bryant was heavily involved in Caleb Hodges 60th minute try when from around twenty metres out Oskar Bryant darted out of dummy half to his right and put in a grubber kick down a left blindside. The ball came off the fullback and back into the foot of Askar Bryant, flying back towards the Northern Pride fullback. The fullback was unable to take possession with Caleb Hodges racing through to collect the ball and reach out and plant the ball down with his right arm, five metres in from the left corner post.

Oskar Bryant then started from the bench in the rescheduled Round One match against the Norths Devils coming on to operate in the dummy half role in the 18th minute. Just two minutes later in the 20th minute Oskar Bryant ran out of dummy half from thirty metres to his right and as he approached the defensive line Oskar Bryant put in a right foot grubber kick for himself with Oskar Bryant retrieving the ball only to be tackled just a metre out from the try line.

Oskar Bryant made another strong effort out of dummy half in the 24th minute when from just prior to halfway Oskar Bryant ran out of dummy half to his left before cutting back to his right to make fifteen metres before off-loading to his right to a trailing Jaylan De Groot.

Oskar Bryant ran out of dummy half once again in the 30th minute when he ran to his left making fifteen more metres getting to within five metres of the try line.

Oskar Bryant continued his outstanding match in the 36th minute with a line break after running out of dummy half to his left from just inside Norths territory with Oskar Bryant bursting through the centre of the ruck to make twenty metres.

Round Eight against the Western Clydesdales saw Oskar Bryant continue off the bench with Oskar Bryant coming on to operate in the dummy half role in the 20th minute and made his first effort out of dummy half just a minute alter when he ran to his right making a twenty five metre line break to get to twelve metres out from the try line.

Oskar Bryant recorded a try assist and a further line break in the 26th minute after he raced out of dummy half to his left before cutting back to his right to the soft area behind the markers. Oskar Bryant made sixty five metres before drawing the fullback and passing to his right to send Jaylan De Groot away to score comfortably under the posts.

Oskar Bryant was also involved in Kyhan Weir’s 79th minute try when from close to the try line Oskar Bryant darted out of dummy half to his right and popped a good short ball to his right with Kyhan Weir crashing over to score under the posts.

Oskar Bryant moved back into the Seagulls starting side at hooker for Round Nine against the Ipswich Jets.

Oskar Bryant then moved to start at halfback in the rescheduled Round Seven match against the Souths Logan Magpies with Oskar Bryant executing a smart one on one strip in the 17th minute as the Magpies were trying to bring the ball out of their own territory.

Oskar Bryant was then back at hooker for Round Eleven against the Central Queensland Capra’s with Oscar Bryant showcasing his ability to kick out of dummy half in the 29th minute when from forty metres out from his own try line, Oskar Bryant stepped out of dummy half to his right and put in a low hard kick which came to rest right on the try line and five metres in from the right corner post.

Oskar Bryant then moved to five eight for Round Twelve against the Redcliffe Dolphins with Oskar Bryant recording a try assist in the 50th minute when from around eighteen metres out and on the left side of the field Oskar Bryant put up a bomb to the opposite side of the field with the ball coming down and being taken on the full a metre from the try line by Jotham Russell who got a pass away for Cooper Camby to score.

Oskar Bryant forced a goal line drop-out in the 42nd minute when on the last tackle Oskar Bryant put in a chip kick from twelve metres out with the Dolphins fullback subsequently being trapped into.

Oskar Bryant came close to kicking a great 40/20 in the 35th minute when from thirty five metres out from his own line Oskar Bryant put in a long kick which went into touch on the left side of the field less than a metre from the twenty metre mark.

Oskar Bryant pulled off a great try saving tackle in the 54th minute on his opposite number whilst defending on the left side of the field with Oskar Bryant taking his opposite number down just as he was able to burst through a gap three metres out from the line. Even though Oskar Bryant was injured whilst making the tackle, after a couple of minute he was able to get back to his feet and continue on.

Oskar Bryant moved back to start at hooker in Round Thirteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons with Oskar Bryant scoring a double in a tough four points Seagulls loss.

Oskar Bryant scored the first of his two tries in the 65th minute when he ran out of dummy half from four metres out and with the play the ball only three metres in from the left touchline. Oskar Bryant had the room to not just score but bring the ball around to near the right upright after an extravagant dummy to his left before darting over.

Oskar Bryant also scored in the 79th minute and once again it was a run out of dummy half that enabled Oskar Bryant to score. With the paly the ball five metres out from the try line and seven metres in from the right touchline, Oskar Bryant ran to his right and then was able to hold off one defender to score eight metres in from the right corner post.

Oskar Bryant also threw the final pass for Ben Liyou’s try in the 60th minute with a short no look pass to his right out of dummy half from close to the try line for Ben Liyou to crash over.

Oskar Bryant continued at hooker in the Round Fourteen local derby against the Burleigh Bears with Oskar Bryant recording a try assist in the 13th minute when he skipped out of dummy half to his right from within two metres of the try line with Oskar Bryant then trying a good short ball to his right to Ben Liyou who barged over to score five metres to the right of the uprights.

Oskar Bryant’s initial smart run out of dummy half in the 13th minute when Oskar Bryant ran to his left out of dummy half with Oskar Bryant making a twenty five metre line break before being tackled thirty metres out from the try line.

Oskar Bryant then made a further smart run of dummy half in the 37th minute when after receiving an off-load from Brent Barnes, Oskar Bryant made a fifteen metre burst through the centre of the field to get the ball forty metres out from his own try line.

Oskar Bryant made another line break in the 38th minute when he scooped out the ball with his right hand from dummy half with Oskar Bryant running to his left from forty metres out with Oskar Bryant getting within three metres of the try line but unfortunately Oskar Bryant was injured in the tackle and was not able to take any further action in the match.

In January 2021 Oskar Bryant started from the bench for the Titans U19 side in their annual match at Coffs Harbour against the Newcastle Knights coming on to play in the dummy half role and as usual Oskar Bryant brought a spark off the bench with his speed out of dummy half and overall enthusiasm.

In the second half Oskar Bryant was heavily involved in a number of Titans tries including when he darted out of dummy half to his left down a short blind side and put Titans left centre Tony Francis into a gap, with the powerful centre subsequently scoring in the left corner.

Oskar Bryant was at it again in the second half when he darted out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball and was then able to draw a defender a pass to his right to Sam McIntyre who was able to barge his way over for his first try in a Titans jersey.

Oskar Bryant has another string to his bow when at dummy half and that is on relation to kicking out of that position. In the 25th minute of the second half, on his own forty five metre line, Oskar Bryant stepped up of dummy half to the right of the play the ball, and off one step produced a strong well directed right foot kick to the Knights left corner. Oskar Bryant generated impressive distance on the kick with the ball pulling up within metres of the Knights line and the Titans right side defence making the tackle on the Knights winger just eight metres out from his own line.

A week after the match against the Newcastle Knights Oskar Bryant once again lined up for the Titans U19’s as they took on a Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad at Burleigh Juniors, coming off the bench and scoring with the Titans winning once again, this time 32 – 20 in a match that saw no conversions attempted.

Oskar Bryant got into the action almost immediately into the match. From dummy half, Oskar Bryant moved to his right and kicked for the right corner from right on the halfway mark. The kick was ideal, forcing the Burleigh fullback to go back into his in-goal. As the fullback was trying to bring the ball back into the field of play, he was hit by Kaleb Ngamanu with the contact forcing the ball loose for Reef Sommerville to simply put his hand on the ball to be awarded a try.

Later in the first half Oskar Bryant once again kicked out of dummy half, after moving to his right, in the right corner, with the Burleigh kick retriever tackled inside his own ten metre line. Oskar Bryant made it three kicks from dummy half into the right corner in the 35th minute with Burleigh trapped inside their own twenty as a result of Oskar Bryant’s kick.

Oskar Bryant’s try came late in the 37th minute of the first half when after passing out of dummy half to his right, he backed up front rower Isaac Matalavea-Booth who was able to get a right armed offload to his left to Oskar Bryant who received the ball ten metres out. Oskar Bryant took off towards the line beating the Burleigh fullback (No. 2 at the time) with a right foot step to dive over next to the left upright.

As usual Oskar Bryant also ran judicially out of dummy half in his two stints on the field in the match, including a smart run out of dummy half in the 30th minute of the first half when he ran to his right with his twelve metre run on the 5th tackle including a 360 degree spin to beat two defenders.

In early May 2021 a Titans U19 side travelled to North Queensland to play an U19 Cowboys selection in a curtain raiser to a Cowboys v Broncos NRL match with Oskar Bryant starting the match on the bench for the Titans, coming on to play in the dummy half role towards the end of the first half. Oskar Bryant also played in the dummy half role in his second stint of the field against the Cowboys as well.

In November 2020 Oskar Bryant was named in the powerful Tweed Heads Seagulls 2021 MM Cup squad.

In the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side’s second trial against Burleigh, Oskar Bryant started the second half at hooker and was his usual dynamic self when running out of dummy half.

One of Oskar Bryant’s darts out of dummy half directly led to a Josh Lynn try. Oskar Bryant ran out of dummy half to the right around eleven metres out from the line, drawing the Burleigh B defender before offloading to fullback Jaylan De Groot who then threw a quick short pass to his right to put Josh Lynn over.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker in Tweed Heads final 2021 MM Cup final against the Souths Logan Magpies at Logan.

In Round One of the 2021 MM Cup competition, Oskar Bryant started at hooker against the Ipswich Jets and scored a key try in the 61st minute of the match that put Tweed Heads back in front by two points, a lead that they kept for the remainder of the match.

Oskar Bryant moved into dummy half with the play the ball twenty metres out from the Ipswich line. As soon as the ball was played Oskar Bryant shot out of dummy half to the right down a short blind side before cutting back behind the play the ball to find open space. Oskar Bryant then used his speed to veer to the right and dive over to score mid-way between the goal post and corner post on the left side of the field.

In the 68th minute of the match with the clock ticking down Oskar Bryant showed what a talented game manager he is when he kicked out of dummy half forty metres out from his own line. Oskar Bryant took one step out of dummy half to the right of the play the bell with his right foot kick travelling in excess of fifty metres into the right corner, Oskar Bryant was then the first Seagulls defender down field to make the tackle on the Jets fullback.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker in Round Two against the Souths Logan Magpies, making the first tackle of the match when he confronted Souths Logan front rower Herman Tofaeono who charged into the Tweed Heads defensive line.

Oskar Bryant showed his desperation in defence in the 55th minute when he along with Ryan Foran both got underneath the Souths Logan hooker to hold him up over the line after he had tried to sneak over from dummy half to the right of the play the ball.

Oskar Bryant once again started at hooker in the Round Three Gold Coast derby against the Burleigh Bears making his presence felt in just the 4th minute of the match with a strong front on tackle directly in front of his own goal posts on Burleigh front rower Brody Smitka.

Oskar Bryant started his match with a strong tackle and finished it the same way in the 65th minute with a driving tackle on Burleigh five eight Travis May which forced him back four metres.

Oscar Bryant showcased his kicking skills out of dummy half in the 10th minute of the match when he stepped to the right of the play the ball kicking downfield from inside the forty and it was almost a perfect 40/20 with the Burleigh fullback just preventing the ball from going into touch.

Oskar Bryant was also named to start at hooker for Round Four match against the Ipswich Jets and in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets.

After being rested for Round Six against Burleigh Oskar Bryant was back for the 2021 MM Cup semi-final against Wynnum Manly and made his first telling run out of dummy half in the 21st minute when he darted out of dummy half to his right to make fifteen metres and get to within twenty metres of the try line.’

Oskar Bryant produced a smart piece of play in the 65th minute when he was defending at marker. Wynnum Manly tried a play to the right of the play the ball with the halfback running onto the ball before passing back inside to the dummy half, Oskar Bryant was having none of it however and stepped forward to take the intercept.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker in the 2021 MM Cup Grand Final as the Seagulls won back to back MM Cup Championships by defeating the Townsville Blackhawks in Townsville 30 – 24 with Oskar Bryant contributing a first half try assist to the victory.

In the 17th minute, Oskar Bryant took off out of dummy half to his right on the halfway mark, slicing through the middle of the Blackhawks defence after veering back towards the area behind the play the ball. After he was through the line, Oskar Bryant drew the fullback before passing to his right to Jaylan De Groot who raced away to score under the posts.

Tweed Heads were under pressure early and in the 6th minute, Oskar Bryant along with Jaylan De Groot and Thomas Weaver were able to stem the flow by holding of a rampaging Townsville front rower (No. 8) to stop the Blackhawks from scoring twice in the opening minutes.

Oskar Bryant pulled off another try saving tackle in the 59th minute when he was able to hold up the Townsville replacement dummy half next to the right uprights.

Oskar Bryant’s first run out of dummy half with the Grand Final came in the 8th minute when he ran out of dummy half to his left making thirteen metres to get within thirteen metres of the try line.

In the Queensland Rugby League 2021 MM Cup Player of the Year Award Oskar Bryant was awarded three votes.

In mid-February 2021 Oskar Bryant was named at hooker in the school boy Oceanic Opens side for the South Coast school boy QSSRL U18 trial against Broadwater. Following the final round of trials, Oskar Bryant was named on the bench for the 2021 South Coast U18 school boy QSSRL squad.

Oskar Bryant came off the bench on Day One of the Championships as South Coast defeated Met North with his first run out of dummy half coming in the 24th minute when he darted out of dummy half to his right.

Oskar Bryant started at hooker for South Coast on Day Three against Capricornia making his initial run out of dummy half in just the second minute down a short left blindside making twenty two metres before being tackled just nine metres from the line.

Oskar Bryant started the Championship Final against Met North from the bench but came into the match late in the first half.

At the completion of the Championships, Oscar Bryant was named in the bench in the 2021 QSSRL U18 School Boy Merit Team.

2021 also saw Oskar Bryant line up once again for PBC State High School in the South East Queensland School Boy Langer Cup competition with his first appearance in the Langer Cup coming when he started at hooker in Round Four against Marsden State High School.

In the match Oskar Bryant showed no signs of rust almost scoring in 7th minute when after throwing a big dummy to his left, Oskar Bryant charged towards the line from twelve metres out to get within a metre of the line before the Marsden SHS defence brought him down.

Oskar Bryant recorded a try assist in the 48th minute when Ryan Foran ran an underneath route down a short left blindside from four metres out after Oskar Bryant had darted to his left out of dummy half and got the ball inside to Ryan Foran who crashed over.

Oskar Bryant showcased his diverse skill set in the 12th minute with a great right foot kick out of dummy half from thirty eight metres from his own line, with the ball bouncing into the in-goal with the Marsden left winger only able to get the ball a metre out from his own line before being tackled by Michael Roberts.

Oskar Bryant continued at hooker centre in the much anticipated Round Five local derby against Keebra Park State High School and came close to scoring in the 9th minute when after a dart from dummy half Oskar Bryant was held up over the line.

Oskar Bryant was named to continue at hooker in Round Six against Mabel Park State High School, however he in fact started the match at halfback and recorded a try assist for PBC’s opening try of the match.

In the 23rd minute, Oskar Bryant received to the ball to the left of the play the ball around twenty metres from the line and immediately ran a diagonal route at the defensive line and was able to draw in a Mable Park defender and then threw a good short ball to his left to a charging Reef Sommerville who ran through a gap to score seven metres in from the left corner post.

The in the second half, Oskar Bryant showed that his defensive technique that he has honed whilst at hooker, is not wasted at halfback when near the halfway mark one of the giant Mabel Park SHS forwards tried to run over him. Oskar Bryant drove into him with his right shoulder driving him backwards and then hard into the ground.

After the competition was suspended for a number of weeks due to a Covid 19 lock down, Oskar Bryant was named at hooker for PBC State High School in their semi-final against Keebra Park State High School.

In just the 5th minute Oskar Bryant produced a typical dummy half run to the right of the play the ball with Oskar Bryant bursting thirty five metres downfield. A quick play the ball then saw PBC score the opening try of the match from the next play.

Oskar Bryant showcased another component of his outstanding skill set in the 27th minute with a great right foot kick out of dummy half that travelled fifty metres downfield and was perfectly placed, forcing the Keebra Park fullback to bring the ball out of the right corner.

Oskar Bryant produced another great kick out of dummy half in the 27th minute with this kick travelling sixty metres to once again force the Keebra Park fullback to bring the ball out of the right corner.

Oskar Bryant kicked twice later in the match, in the 53rd and 56th minutes, on both occasions out of dummy half with both kicks forcing the Keebra Park fullback to bring the ball back from his own try line.

Defensively Oskar Bryant had some good moments in the match including in the 14th minute, when he along with Jayden Wright, Michael Roberts and Keano Kini held up Blake Mozer over the try line.

Then in the 20th minute Oskar Bryant chased through a Thomas Weaver kick that pulled up in the in-goal with the Keebra Park fullback unable to get the ball back into the field of play before he was stopped by Oskar Bryant and Michael Roberts.

In the 2021 Langer Cup Grand Final against Marsden State High School, Oskar Bryant was named to start at hooker for PBC and showcased his elite and varied skill set in the 1st minute of the match with a long raking right foot kick out of dummy half from inside his own forty metre area with the ball pulling up in the in-goal forcing the Marsden State High School fullback to bring the ball back into play.

Oskar Bryant made the first of a number of telling runs out of dummy half in the 33rd minute when he ran to his left, making twenty metres through the centre of the ruck.

Post the completion of the 2021 Langer Cup competition, Oskar Bryant was named on the bench in the Courier Mails’ 2021 Langer Cup Team of the Season.

Oscar Bryant was then named at hooker for PBC in the Queensland Open School Boys Final (Phil Hall Cup) against St Brendan’s College Yeppoon with Oskar Bryant scoring in the 33rd minute with a trade mark run out of dummy half to his left from ten metres out and eight metres in from the left corner post.

At the end of the 2021 season, Oskar Bryant was named at No. 15 in the Courier Mail Top 60 school boys from the GPS Rugby, AIC Rugby and Langer Cup competitions.

Oskar Bryant was named to start at hooker for the Northern Rivers Titans in Round One of the 2020 U18 Laurie Daley Cup against the Parramatta Eels at Cudgen however the match was cancelled due to the incredibly wet conditions in the area at that time.

Oskar Bryant started Round Two of the U18 Laurie Daley Cup at hooker against the Newcastle Knights in Ballina and was impressive including a great break through the centre of the ruck in the first half of around forty metres before he drew the Knights fullback to send fullback Jaylan DeGroot away to score.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters and in Round Four against the Greater Northern Tigers recording a try assist when he threw the last pass to Noah Johannssen to score in the first half.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker for the Round Five local derby against the North Coast Bulldogs and was his usual busy self in the centre of the ruck in both attack and defence.

One of the most recent matches that Oskar Bryant played in a Titans jersey was when he started from the bench for the Titans U18 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020.

Oskar Bryant started Round One of the 2020 NRRRL U18 competition at hooker as Cudgen travelled to Byron Bay to take on the Devils and also started at hooker in Round Three against the Bilambil Jets and in Round Five against the Bilambil Jets. After missing a number of rounds, Oskar Bryant started Round Eight against the Tweed Coast Raiders at hooker.

In Cudgen’s 2020 NRRRL U18 Major semi-final loss against Murwillumbah Oskar Bryant started at hooker and also started at hooker as Cudgen qualified for the 2020 NRRRL U18 Grand Final on the back of a 24 – 16 Preliminary Final victory over the Bilambil Jets.

Oskar Bryant recorded a first half try assist in the match when he darted out of dummy half to his right from fifty metres out, splitting the Jets defence right down the middle before drawing the fullback passing to his left to send his support runner away to score.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker in the 2020 NRRRL U18 Grand Final and produced some telling dummy half runs through the centre of the ruck as Cudgen became Premiers on the back of a 28 – 16 win over Murwillumbah in a bad tempered match.

Oskar Bryant made his deserved NRRRL First Grade debut for the Cudgen Hornets in Round Six starting at half back against the Tweed Coast Raiders.

In a sign of the faith that Cudgen have in him, Oskar Bryant started from the bench in the Hornets 2020 NRRRL First Grade Elimination Final loss to the Bilambil Jets.

Also in 2020 Oskar Bryant was part of the PBC Langer Cup Open A school boy rugby league squad, where he operated primarily in the dummy half role. In PBC’s first trial after the Covid 19 pandemic, Oskar Bryant started at hooker for the PBC A side that played against the PBC B side.

Oskar Bryant started Round One of the Langer Cup on the bench as PBC took on Ipswich State High School and made an instant impact when he came on late in the first half, making a break through the centre of the ruck after running out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball. PBC scored two plays later with the Keebra Park defence still in disarray after Oskar Bryant’s line break.

Oskar Bryant was at it again early in the second half when he kicked down the centre of the field from dummy half, with the kick travelling sixty metres forcing the Ipswich fullback to bring the ball out of the in goal, with Oskar Bryant being one of the tacklers who brought him down less than a metre out. From the subsequent play the ball three PBC defenders, including Oskar Bryant forced the Keebra Park defender back into the in goal to force a goal line drop out.

Oskar Bryant in fact crossed the line in the second half when close to the line he dummied to his right before diving over but the potential try was called back when Reef Sommerville was adjudged (I am not sure why) to have interfered with the marker.

Oskar Bryant also started from the bench in Round Two of the 2020 Langer Cup and made a big difference when he came on, scoring in both halves in the 18 all draw. Oskar Bryant’s first try came in the dying moments of the first half. Oskar Bryant took off out of dummy half to his left charging five metres to score between two Wavell SHS defenders fifteen metres to the left of the up rights.

Oskar Bryant completed his double mid-way through the second half. Two metres out from the line just to the left of the up rights, Oskar Bryant got into dummy half and after skipping out to his left, Oskar Bryant shaped to pass to his left (it was not a dummy per say) before diving over.

After missing Round Three Oskar Bryant started from the bench in the Round Four local derby against Keebra Park and also started from the bench in Round Five against Marsden State High School and recorded a second half try assist when he produced some good footwork and pass out of dummy half to put his older brother Parker over under the posts.

Oskar Bryant also started on the bench for PBC as they qualified for the 2020 Langer Cup final on the back of an impressive 34 – 6 victory over Ipswich State High School.

Oskar Bryant started the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final from the bench row for PBC as they defeated Keebra Park 16 – 8 in a high quality match impressing with his high energy performance and also his short kicking game out of dummy half which resulted twice in Keebra Park having to restart play from a drop out.

In the Courier Mail 2020 Langer Cup Team of the Year, Oskar Bryant was named in starting side at hooker and in the Courier Mail 2020 Top 30 South East Queensland school boy rugby/rugby league list Oskar Bryant was named at No. 12.

In the Queensland School Boys Final against Kirwan State High School Oskar Bryant started on the bench as PBC travelled to take on their North Queensland based opponents and as usual added urgency and enthusiasm to the PBC when he came in into the dummy half role.

Oskar Bryant was also one of PBC’s try scorers in their 24 – 20 loss. Late in the second half, Oskar Bryant went into dummy half a metres out from the line. When the ball was played, Oskar Bryant took a couple of steps out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball and threw an extravagant dummy to his right only dive over next to the left upright. When I say next to the left upright, I literally mean right next to the left upright and it looked left he hit the upright as he was forcing his way over with two defenders trying to prevent him from scoring.

The young red headed hooker signed a multi-year contract with the Titans after an outstanding 2019 season with the Andrew Johns Cup premiership winning U16 Northern Rivers Titans side and his subsequent selection in the New South Wales Country U16 side which successfully undertook a three match tour of the United Kingdom in October 2019.

Oskar Bryant’s first match for the Titans was when he started on the interchange bench for the Titans U16 squad in their early October 2019 match against PNG at Pizzey Park with the Titans running out big winners in the match.

In the 2019 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition, Oskar Bryant started at hooker in all of the Northern Rivers Titans matches also scoring four tries including a double against the Greater Northern Tigers in Round Five and tries against and Newcastle in Round One and Central Coast in Round Four.

Post that competition, Oskar Bryant was selected at hooker in the 2019 New South Wales Country U16 side and started at hooker for them as they took on the U16 New South Wales Harold Matthew Cup representative side in a curtain raiser to the Penrith/Warriors NRL match at Penrith Park.

Oskar Bryant was Country’s sole try scorer in the match when he dived over from close range in the second half to the Country within two points. Oskar Bryant also received the Players Player Award post-match.

After that match, Oskar Bryant was selected in the New South Wales U16 side that defeated a U16 Pasifika team 36 – 6 at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday 9 June with Oskar Bryant starting the match on the bench.

Oskar Bryant was part of the New South Wales Country U16 side that embarked on a three match tour of the United Kingdom flying out in mid-November from Sydney. In Game One of the tour Oskar Bryant started at hooker and had a try assist as NSW Country defeated the Community Lions 62 – 0.

In the first half Oskar Bryant took off from dummy half splitting the defence directly down the middle from around seventy metres out from the line and drew the fullback before sending a pass away to his left to send the NSW fullback away to score under the posts. Oskar Bryant also started Game Two at hooker as the NSW Country side defeated the Leeds Rhino’s 32 – 10.

Oskar Bryant also started at hooker in Game Three of the New South Wales Country U16’s tour of the UK as they finished undefeated on the back of a 62 – 6 victory over a British Community Lions squad consisting of players from the Lancashire and Cumbria region of England.

Post the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup competition, Oskar Bryant moved directly to the NRRRL U18 side even though he was still U16 eligible, starting from the bench in Round Three and scoring a double against Murwillumbah to cap an outstanding debut. Oskar Bryant also scored in Round Five against Ballina when once again he started from the bench.

Oskar Bryant made his first NRRRL U18 start in Round Fourteen against Byron Bay starting the match against the Devils at hooker and scoring as well and added a further try in Round Sixteen against Murwillumbah.

Oskar Bryant kicked his first NRRRL U18 goals in Round Eleven when he kicked three goals for as many attempts for Cudgen as they drew 18 all with Casino RSM.

In total in the 2019 NRRRL U18 regular season competition this season Oskar Bryant played in eight matches, scoring twenty two points from four tries and three goals.

Oskar Bryant was also part of the dominant Cudgen 2019 U16 Group 18 side that won their Grand Final 44 – 6 against Byron Bay/Lennox Head.

Prior to 2019 Oskar Bryant represented Group 18 twice, at the U15 level in 2018 and in the U14’s in 2017.

Oskar Bryant was also part of the St Joseph’s College Benora Point school boy rugby league side in 2019 and picked up a couple of Player of the Match awards in their matches including in the Grand Final of the New South Wales All Schools U16 competition.

The team travelled to Sydney for the 75th year of the competition. After not winning a game in 2018 the Banora Point U16 side defeated Bega 32 - 6 and then Red Bend Forbes who won it last year 18 - 0 in their opening two matches.

A forfeit from the Manly district, Banora Point Mulwaree 18 - 0 in the semi-final. The Grand Final against Wadalba from the Central Coast was a tough contest and after trailing 4 -nil early Banora Point scored two tries for a 10 - 4 victory with, as previously noted, Oskar Bryant being named Player of the Final.

In 2018 from St Joseph’s College Banora Point Oskar Bryant was chosen from the Lismore Diocese to represent the U15 Northern Country Catholic Colleges Presidents squad.

Oskar Bryant is an extremely talented all round hooker, who excels at all three critical aspects of the modern day hooker, those being his distribution out of dummy half, selective running out of dummy half and defending in the centre of the ruck.

In terms of his distribution out of dummy half, Oskar Bryant is efficient in his passing and there is little wasted movement as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand then pass.

In the games that I have seen there is no discernible difference between his passing from either side of his body, and his passes are crisp and flat and also Oskar Bryant can pass a reasonable distance off the ground when the first receiver is standing a little wider of the play the ball.

Where Oskar Bryant is also extremely effective is leading his forwards onto the ball, he passes in front of the forward ensuring no loss of momentum to the run. In short Oskar Bryant is a very good game manager from the hooking position.

Where Oskar Bryant really stands out in terms of attacking play, is his speed out of dummy half, he is extremely quick and has exceptional footwork to take advantage of tiring forwards, using a step off both feet.

Oskar Bryant wins a lot of penalties by running at forwards who are offside, if the offside forward is called out of the play he has the speed to break into open space and has the pace to make it difficult for the cover defence to get to him.

Around the try line Oskar Bryant is also very good at making the right decision whether the go himself for the try line or pass, where he gets down low and drives with his legs. Due to the pace that Oskar Bryant plays the game at and his speed he is always available in terms of backing up in the centre of the ruck, when forwards get their arms free.

Oskar Bryant’s defence for a hooker is exceptional, for a smaller forward Oskar Bryant is a hard hitter and can defend effectively one on one against far larger forwards, he sets a good base with his lower body and explodes upwards with his shoulders to drive opposing forwards backwards and is also very good at slowing the play the ball down.

Oskar Bryant’s intensity means that he will track the play across and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside. Oskar Bryant literally tackles everything that moves in the centre of the ruck.

Oskar Bryant moved to PBC in 2020 and was a key piece in their GIO Cup and Langer Cup school boy rugby league campaigns in 2021 and Oskar Bryant was a member of the highly successful 2021 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad.

In 2023 Oscar Bryant will start the season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts side for the second season in a row. It would also not surprise to see Oskar Bryant make his Queensland Cup debut for the Tweed Heads Seagulls over the course of the 2023 season.

In 2023 Oscar Bryant will also continue to train with the Titans Rookie Squad and no doubt will also do multiple sessions with the Titans NRL squad over the course of the 2023 pre-season and NRL season.

Oskar Bryant is an outstanding dummy half both in terms of his distribution and his running and there is no doubt that he will stay there for the long term. The fact that Oskar Bryant is already a very good tactical kicker out of the dummy half position including being a legitimate 40/20 threat only increases his value as an NRL prospect with the Titans.

Oskar Bryant is by no means a big rugby league player but is a tough, hard all effort, high energy type of dummy half and on that basis a player comparison to Cronulla Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey is a more than fair and appropriate one from my perspective at least.

[mdrew]

Brady Turner. In June 2021, Brady Turner was a member of the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side that drew 28 all with a Titans JTS U16 side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL fixture against the Manly Sea Eagles.

In late 2021 Brady Turner was named in the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad and is also U18 eligible in 2023.

In late January 2022 Brady Turner started in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad that went down 16 – 12 in a trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side at Pizzey Park at the Titans annual “Super Saturday” of Titans JTS squad matches.

Round One of the 2022 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition saw Brady Turner start in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans side against the Macquarie Wests Tigers in Sydney’s west with Brady Turner putting in a typically whole hearted performance in both attack and defence.

Brady Turner made the first of multiple strong efforts in the 15th minute of the match when he charged onto the ball to the right of the play the ball from deep within his own territory to get the ball over the thirty metre line.

Brady Turner once again charged onto the ball in the 21st minute with a run of twelve metres to the left of the play the ball to get within five metres of the try line. Even though on that occasion he was held by three defenders, Brady Turner was able to off-load to hooker Ashton Harley who was able to get even closer to the line.

Brady Turner was also named in the front row in the Round Two local derby against the North Coast Bulldogs with Brady Turner producing an outstanding try assist in the 43rd minute. After North Coast dropped the ball out from their try line, Brady Turner took possession of the ball forty metres out and charged at the Bulldogs right sided defensive line. After breaking through the line, Brady Turner after beating three defenders along the way he when ten metres out from the line, he threw an overhead pass to his left to William James who scored in the left corner.

Brady Turner also produced a strong charge off the kick-off from Matthew Bollard’s opening try in the 15th minute.

Brady Turner continued in the front row for Round Three against the Greater Northern Tigers as well as in Round Four of the Central Coast Roosters and in the twice delayed final round being Round Five against the Newcastle Knights in Grafton.

In 2022 Brady Turner moved to PBC State High School starting Round One of the 2022 Langer Cup School Boy competition at left second row against Marsden State High School with Brady Turner making the opening tackle of the match along with Isaiah Scanlon after PBC SHS had kicked off.

Brady Turner had a great Langer Cup debut for PBC SHS including scoring in the 19th minute when from twenty metres out he ran onto a great double pumped short ball from Keano Kini. The pass was a touch behind Brady Turner but he held his nerve to take possession after a slight juggle and raced twenty metres to score five metres in from the left corner post.

Brady Turner made another strong charge in the 33rd minute when after running onto the ball to the right of the dummy half Brady Turner promoted the ball from twenty four metres out to get within two metres of the try line.

Then in the 39th minute Brady Turner charged at the defensive line and just after receiving the ball Brady Turner was hit by three Marsden SHS defenders but he just bounced off all three, running to his left to make another ten post contact metres.

Brady Turner was then named at left second row for Round Two against Redcliffe State High School.

Brady Turner started at right second row in the 2022 School Boy Langer Cup Grand Final against Ipswich SHS.

After missing multiple matches through injury Brady Turner returned for PBC SHS in Round Six of the Langer Reserve competition in the local derby against Keebra Park SHS with Brady Turner coming off the bench.

Brady Turner continued from the bench in Round Seven against Wavell SHS coming onto the field in the 15th minute to operate at left second row. Brady Turner made a great tackle in the 20th minute when he charged out of the defensive line and smashed the Wavell SHS halfback front on in a ball and all tackle that rocked the halfback for a number of minutes. The in the 22nd minute Brady Turner smashed one of the Wavell SHS front rowers (No. 8) over the top bending him backwards in the tackle.

Brady Turner played the start of the 2022 season with the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the NRRRL U18 competition putting in a try scoring double Player of the Match performance from the right second row in Round One against the Bilambil Jets.

Brady Turner scored the first of his two tries in the 36th minute through a great solo effort. With Murwillumbah restarting the game from a tap after a penalty Brady Turner ran onto the ball to the left of the tap restart and eighteen metres and literally burst straight through the centre of the Jets forward pack, breaking four tackles and carrying two more defenders over the line to crash over adjacent to the right upright.

Brady Turner scored his second try in the 57th minute but I will go back a play as if not for Brady Turner’s great effort on that play he would not have scored on the subsequent one. Brady Turner made a great line break of twenty five metres down the right channel and after breaking four tackles he got a great right arm off-load away to his inside with his team mate being tackled ten metres out from the try line. Brady Turner got to his feet and got back into position quickly as the ball came back to his side of the field with Brady Turner receiving the ball ten metres and then he cut back off his right foot and surged over mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Brady Turner was also named at right second row for Round Two against Northern United however the match ended up being postponed due to poor weather.

Brady Turner was also named at right second row in Round Three against the Lower Clarence Magpies and scored in the 50th minute when on the left side of the field and just four metres out, Brady Turner took a tap after the Mustangs were awarded a penalty and dived over basically untouched.

Brady Turner continued at right second row in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys with Brady Turner continuing his 2022 NRRRL U18 try scoring form when he crossed in the 46th minute. Brady Turner was stationed on the right side of the field and after taking possession from a long cut-out pass Brady Turner cut inside towards the centre of the field and from fifteen metres out burst through three tackles to crash over under the posts.

In addition to his strong run to score Brady Turner produced a strong run in the 36th minute when he made fifteen metres from a Mustangs penalty tap restart with Brady Turner producing an ultra-quick play the ball with Chad Jones scoring next to the posts as a result.

Brady Turner produced a further strong charge in the 43rd minute with his run starting near his own twenty metre mark and not finished until Brady Turner had carried the ball into Kyogle territory. Just three minutes later in the 46th minute Brady Turner made fifteen more metres and then produced a great right arm off-load to his left for his halfback to promote the ball further downfield.

Brady Turner was then named in jersey No. 15 in the Premiership Minor Semi-final against the Ballina Seagulls with Brady Turner playing at right second row and scoring in the 37th minute when with the play the ball just eight metres out and a metre in from the left touchline Brady Turner charged onto the ball and crashed over to score five metres in from the left corner post.

Interestingly Brady Turner started at left second row for the Burleigh Bears in Round Sixteen of the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition against the Nerang Roosters with Brady Turner recording a try assist in the 8th minute when after he was put through a gap by Bailey McConnell, Brady Turner drew the fullback and got the ball away to his inside back to Bailey McConnell who raced away to score the second of his three first half tries.

Brady Turner also recorded a line break assist in the 25th minute when from thirty metres out from his own try line Brady Turner got the ball away to send his left centre on a forty five metre run down the left touchline.

Brady Turner was named in the front row for the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side for their Round One match against the Wests Tigers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In early October 2020 Brady Turner was part of the Titans Group 18 U14/15 side that played a trial match against a Titans Gold Coast U14 squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players wore Titans jerseys.

In the 2020 Group 18 U15 competition Brady Turner played for Murwillumbah Colts who won two matches and lost eight, scoring 122 points and conceding 298 to finish with a points differential of -176. After the completion of the 2020 Group 18 U15 season, Brady Turner was named the Murwillumbah U15 Best and Fairest.

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

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

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

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

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

Seeming running more to the left side of the field, Brady Turner runs a very good outside shoulder route and rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support players.

Brady Turner also has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late. His speed could probably be considered above average for a centre but when he plays in the back row.

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

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

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

Brady Turner is U18 eligible once again in 2023 and will return to PBC SHS where once again Brady Turner will be a key member of their outstanding 2023 School Boy Langer Cup side.

Brady Turner will also be eligible in play for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the 2023 NRRRL U18 competition. From a representative stand point Brady Turner is eligible once again for the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup Squad but Brady Turner is also more than capable for being a key contributor for the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad if he chooses to go that route.

With his size and speed combination to is hard to envisage Brady Turner playing anywhere but the second row as his rugby league career progresses towards its ultimate destination. I appreciate that Brady Turner has played some front row at the representative level for the Northern Rivers Titans but for me with his mobility Brady Turner is a far better fit as an elite level rugby league second rower.

In relation to identifying an NRL player that compares favourably from a playing comparison perspective for Brady Turner you need to look no further than Brisbane Bronco’s and New Zealand International Jordan Riki as a player who will look to run into gaps in the defensive line with speed and timing and who can defend either in the centre of the ruck or a little wider out as a foil for his half and five eight, a defensive minder if you will.

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Vaka Sikahele. The dynamic young New Zealand born hooker has signed with the Titans JTS program and headed over to Australia to be part of the Burleigh Bears 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts squad after an outstanding career in New Zealand including representative honours as well as an outstanding school boy career with St Pauls College and prior to that Wesley College.

Vaka Sikahele is 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 after signing a new two year contract with the Titans in late October 2021 that will keep Vaka Sikahele in Titans colours until the end of the 2023 season. In fact in the 2023 season Vaka Sikahele will be on a Titans NRL Development contract and will train full time with the Titans NRL Top 30 squad.

Unfortunately for Vaka Sikahele he suffered a serious achilles injury whilst training with the Titans NRL squad during their 2021 Pre-Christmas block of off-season training which will keep him out for an extended period of time in the 2022 season.

After an extended injury lay-off Vaka Sikahele was named on the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts extended bench for their Round Eight match against the Easts Tigers before starting the match on the bench and coming on in the 21st minute to operate in the dummy half role.

Vaka Sikahele did well in the 26th minute when after positioning himself as the first receiver to the left of the play the ball and after receiving the pass Vaka Sikahele ran to his left dummying to a runner who came back underneath before taking the ball deep into the defensive line before throwing a hard flat pass to the left that created space for Burleigh to score wide out on the left through Tate Roberts.

Vaka Sikahele continued off the bench in Round Nine against the Sunshine Coast Falcons with Vaka Sikahele coming onto the field in the second half to operate primarily as a running forward.

Round Ten against the Norths Devils saw Vaka Sikahele start at hooker before transitioning to a running forward role towards the end of the first half.

Vaka Sikahele made his initial dummy half run in the 30th minute when he ran to his right and was able to take ten hard fought metres to get the ball thirty five metres out from the try line. The in the 35th minute whilst he was operating as a running backrower Vaka Sikahele made a strong run to the right of the play the ball with Vaka Sikahele’s run accounting for fifteen metres from the halfway mark. Then in the 37th minute Vaka Sikahele was able to make thirteen more metres into Norths territory from the right of the play the ball.

Vaka Sikahele also had a strong match defensively against the Devils including in the 14th minute when he along with Samuel Shannon held up the giant Norths front rower No. 18 midway between the cover post and goal posts on the right side of the field after the front rower had tried to barge his way over from close range.

Then Vaka Sikahele made the second tackle of the second half with Vaka Sikahele’s strong initial contact forcing the ball loose and putting Burleigh immediately onto the attack.

Vaka Sikahele continued off the bench in Round Eleven against the Northern Pride with Vaka Sikahele operating as a running backrower in the second half in a big Burleigh 78 – 12 victory.

Vaka Sikahele performed very well as a running forward including in the 56th minute when he was able to make fourteen metres after running onto the ball to the right of the play the ball with Vaka more than 50% of Vaka Sikahele’s metres being of the post contact variety with Vaka Sikahele getting the ball to within three metres of the halfway mark.

Vaka Sikahele made another strong run in the 60th minute when after running onto the ball to the right of the play the ball, Vaka Sikahele, from own forty metres mark made eighteen metres to get the ball into Northern Pride territory.

Vaka Sikahele continued off the bench in Round Twelve against the Ipswich Jets with Vaka Sikahele scoring a smart try in the 43rd minute after coming on to operate in the dummy half role in the 32nd minute.

In the 43rd minute Vaka Sikahele moved into dummy half with the play the ball three metres out and mid-way between the goal line and corner post on the right side of the field. Vaka Sikahele darted out of dummy half to his right before straightening up and getting down low at attack the line. Vaka Sikahele was hit by two defenders still short of the line and was spun around but with his back towards the try line and going to ground, Vaka Sikahele was able to twist his left arm carrying the ball above his head and get the ball down right on the try line.

Vaka Sikahele then started at lock in Round Thirteen against the Townsville Blackhawks.

Vaka Sikahele then moved back to hooker for the Round Fourteen local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Vaka Sikahele scoring a double in a tough six point loss.

Vaka Sikahele scored the first of his two tries in the 16th minute when after receiving an off-load five metres out, Vaka Sikahele darted to his right and after initially being held up, Vaka Sikahele was able to reach out and plant the ball down with his right hand to get the ball down five metres to the left of the uprights,

Vaka Sikahele scored his second try in the 53rd minute when from ten metres out and in front of the posts Vaka Sikahele ran to his right out of dummy half and crashed through three tackles to get the ball down under the posts.

Vaka Sikahele continued at hooker in Round Fifteen against the Mackay Cutters with Vaka Sikahele making the opening tackle of the match.

Vaka Sikahele was then back at lock in Round Sixteen against the Western Clydesdales and also in Round Seventeen against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

In early May 2021 a Titans U19 side travelled to North Queensland to play an U19 Cowboys selection in a curtain raiser to a Cowboys v Broncos NRL match with Vaka Sikahele starting the match at hooker in his first match in a Titans jersey.

After being injured in a 2021 pre-season training mishap, Vaka Sikahele was named on the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts extended bench for the Round Two local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls but moved onto the bench late in the week and celebrated by scoring in his Hastings Deering’s Colts debut.

Vaka Sikahele scored one of the stranger tries that you will see from a run out of dummy half in the 54th minute. After Burleigh had kicked off after a Tweed Heads try, the ball hit the right goal post on the full bouncing back into the field. Tristian Powell was able to retrieve the ball on the bounce and get to within eleven metres of the line. Vaka Sikahele got into dummy half and ran to his left with the Tweed Heads defence in disarray to dive over between two defender’s mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Vaka Sikahele came onto the field late in the first half, with his first run out of dummy half coming just a few minutes later in the 34th minute when ran to his left, breaking the Seagulls line and making twenty metres, beating four defenders along the way to get the ball to within forty metres of the try line.

In addition to some impressive runs and distribution out of dummy half Vaka Sikahele was also good defensively including in the 44th when he along with Isaac Matalavea-Booth hit and stopped Seagulls front rower Ben Liyou just centre metres out.

Vaka Sikahele also started from the bench in Round Three against the Western Mustangs coming into the match in the dummy half role towards the end of the first half. Vaka Sikahele was in the action almost immediately running out of dummy half to his right down a blindside and took the ball ten metres to the line before passing to his right to Cole Geyer who then quickly got the ball out to his right for Ronin Rio to dive over in the right corner.

After missing Round Four due to playing for the Titans U19 side, Vaka Sikahele started Round Five against the Northern Pride from the bench.

Vaka Sikahele was on the bench once again in Round Six against the Townsville Blackhawks, coming into the match towards the end of the first half in a running forward role before spending time at dummy half in the second half. Vaka Sikahele made the most of both of the roles that he played in the match and in the 51st minute, whilst playing as a running forward made thirteen metres, the majority post contact, to get the ball to the halfway mark.

Vaka Sikahele was back in the starting side at hooker in Round Seven against the Central Queensland Capra’s before starting from the bench in Round Eight against the Redcliffe Dolphins and in Round Nine against the Mackay Cutters.

Vaka Sikahele also started at hooker in the Round Eleven local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls and scored a double with his tries coming in the 16th and 55th minutes. In the 16th minute Vaka Sikahele moved into dummy half seven metres from the line and then darted to his right before stepping back to his left to beat the Seagulls marker before crashing through two more defenders who had stationed themselves on the try line.

Vaka Sikahele scored his second try in the 59th minute when once again he darted out of dummy half to his right, on this occasion from 32 metres out. After getting around the markers Vaka Sikahele cut back to his left to the area behind the play the ball and then was easily outpace the Seagulls defence to score under the post.

Vaka Sikahele was also named to start at hooker in the previously postponed Round Ten match against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

After a Covid 19 enforced hiatus, Vaka Sikahele was named to start at hooker in Round Sixteen against the Ipswich Jets.

At the conclusion of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts season Vaka Sikahele received the Coaches Award for the 2021 Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts side.

At the 2021 Queensland Rugby League Awards Night Vaka Sikahele finished with three votes for the Hastings Deering’s Colts Player of the Season Award.

Vaka Sikahele started off the 2020 season as part of the New Zealand Warriors U18 SG Ball squad, playing four matches all off the bench before the SG Ball season was terminated due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Vaka Sikahele started from the bench in Round One against the Victorian Thunderbolts, playing thirty two minutes. In that time Vaka Sikahele ran for seventy two metres (twelve post contact), made a line break, broke four tackles and made fourteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.33%.

Vaka Sikahele also started from the bench in Round Two against the Canberra Raiders and was on the field for thirty three minutes, running for thirty metres (thirteen post contact), broke a tackle and made eleven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 84.62%.

After missing a number of rounds, Vaka Sikahele was back on the bench in Round Five against the Parramatta Eels but was on the field for just nine minutes, running for sixteen metres (three post contact) and had a 100% tackling efficiency whilst making four tackles.

In Round Six being the final round prior to the competition shut down, Vaka Sikahele started from the bench against the Illawarra Steelers, playing a total of twenty three minutes. In his twenty three minutes on the field, Vaka Sikahele ran for twelve metres (six post contact), broke a tackle and made sixteen tackles of his own at a 100% tackling efficiency.

In total in the 2020 U18 SG Ball competition for the Warriors, Vaka Sikahele played a total of ninety seven minutes, made a line break, broke six tackles, ran for 130 metres (thirty four post contact) and made forty five tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.75%.

In late 2020 Vaka Sikahele started at hooker for the Auckland U18 representative side against their Southern Zone counterparts and after that match was named as the 2020 New Zealand Schools U18 captain however Vaka Sikahele ended up starting the match against the New Zealand U18 side from the bench. When he came into the match Vaka Sikahele operated in the dummy half role.

Also late in 2020 Vaka Sikahele played for the New Zealand Warriors U18 side that played a New Zealand Rugby League Development U18 side, with Vaka Sikahele scoring early in the fourth corner under the posts as the Warriors U18 side defeated their New Zealand Rugby League counter parts 42 – 16.

In Auckland Vaka Sikahele played for the powerful Manurewa Rugby League Club.

To round out a busy 2020, Vaka Sikahele played school boy rugby league for the St Paul’s College First XIII in the SAS College school boy competition for the second year in a row. Unfortunately like the majority of competitions that competition was cut short with no finals being played.

St Pauls College however did play a round of rounds of the SAS College First XIII Premier Division school boy rugby league competition with some of their 2020 performances coming in wins against Kelston Boys High 6 – 0, Southern Cross Campus 42 – 4, Papatoetoe High School 26 – 4 and a 30 – 10 win against Manurewa High School.

To cap off an outstanding 2020, Vaka Sikahele was named the 2020 St Pauls College Sportsman of the Year.

In 2019 in the school boy rugby league SAS College competition, Vaka Sikahele was part of the Grand Final winning St Paul’s College side scoring in the Grand Final and was in fact named Player of the Match in St Pauls victory as St Pauls College defeated Southern Cross Campus 28 - 6.

Vaka Sikahele was named at hooker in the 2019 SAS College Premier First XIII Team of the Year.

In 2019 Vaka Sikahele represented the Auckland School Boys representative side against a New Zealand Warriors U18 selection, scoring a bustling thirty metre try bumping off a number of defenders on the way to the line with the Auckland School Boys winning the match 18 – 10.

2019 also saw Vaka Sikahele represented the New Zealand U18 side, starting at hooker and scoring as New Zealand defeated Tao Samoa U18’s 30 – 18.

Late in the 2019 season Vaka Sikahele was named the 2019 New Zealand Warriors Academy Excellence Award winner.

Vaka Sikahele played his club rugby league in 2019 for the Manurewa rugby league club in the U17/18 Open Auckland rugby league competition, playing in eleven matches, scoring sixty eight points from fifteen tries (136% strike rate) and four conversions.

Prior to moving to St Pauls College in 2019, Vaka Sikahele attended Wesley College and represented Wesley College at the 2018 New Zealand Secondary Schools Rugby League Tournament, including scoring a hat trick against Whangarei Boys High.

In 2018 for the Manurewa Chiefs in the Auckland Rugby League U16 Open competition, Vaka Sikahele played in twelve matches scoring four tries. In 2017 in the Auckland Rugby League U15 competition Vaka Sikahele finished the season with ten tries from fourteen matches for the Chiefs.

Also in 2018 Vaka Sikahele was part of the Tonga U16 side that won the U16 Pasifika Youth Cup Final against Samoa 28 – 10.

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

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

The impressive thing about when Vaka Sikahele runs out of dummy half is the fact that he does not run to the same side all of the time, he will make a judgement on where the defence is the weakest and respond accordingly as was evidence in Round Nine of the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition this season when he scored tries by running on both sides of the ruck.

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

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

Vaka Sikahele made his way over to the Gold Coast for the 2021 season where he started training with the Titans U20 Rookie Squad. In 2022 Vaka Sikahele played for the Burleigh Bears in the 2022 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition and Vaka Sikahele will likely start the 2023 season once again for the Bears Colts side.

There is no doubt in my mind however that Vaka Sikahele will make his Queensland Cup debut of the Bears over the course of the 2023 season.

Vaka Sikahele is also spending the 2023 season training with the Titans Rookie Squad and will also get a number of opportunities to training with the Titans NRL squad in the upcoming NRL off-season before training full-time with the Titans NRL squad during the 2023 NRL season.

Vaka Sikahele has had an impressive career at hooker in New Zealand from a club, school boy and representative perspective and there is absolutely no reason why a position change is necessary upon his signing with the Titans and his subsequent arrival in Australia. More to the point, the Titans have obviously signed Vaka Sikahele to add to their already impressive JTS dummy half stocks.

During the 2022 Hastings Deering’s Colts season for the Burleigh Bears Vaka Sikahele spent time at lock and I must admit that Vaka Sikahele made a very impressive impact there and the versatility to play both lock and hooker will stand Vaka Sikahele in good stead into the future.

At 180cm and 91kg the former fullback is a bigger type of hooker, but as noted certainly has the skill set to stay in the dummy half role.

Vaka Sikahele has indicated that he has modelled his game on Souths Sydney Rabbitohs and New South Wales State of Origin hooker Damien Cook. Whilst Vaka Sikhele does not have the pure speed of Cook and is a touch taller and more solid, like Cook he is judicious in when he runs and Vaka Sikhele is also a consistant and solid ball distributor out of dummy half with a solid repeatable passing technique to both sides of his body.

Former Manly and Tongan International hooker, Manase Fainu is probably a good player comparison from a size perspective as well as style as well. Like Fainu, Vaka Sikahele is lightning quick out of dummy half with the added knack of being able to pick the right time to run from the dummy half position.

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Cooper Wolf. In late July 2022 Cooper Wolf was named on the bench for an U18 Northern Rivers Titans Invitational Side that took on a Future Titans U17 side as a curtain-raiser to the Titans against Canberra Round Twenty NRL match at Cbus Stadium.

In late 2021 Cooper Wolf was named in the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad and is also U18 eligible in 2023.

2022 saw Cooper Wolf move to PBC State High School and start from the bench in Round One of the Langer Cup School Boy competition against Marsden State High School with Cooper Wolf coming onto the field in the 34th minute to play in the front row.

Cooper Wolf continued off the bench in Round Two against Redcliffe State High School as well as in Round Three against Coombabah State High School with Cooper Wolf coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 27th minute.

Cooper Wolf made a number of strong runs, the best of which came in the 35th minute when he charged onto the ball making fifteen hard metres to get the ball to near the halfway mark.

Cooper Wolf showed his intensity in the 36th minute when as Coombabah SHS were trying to bring the ball out of their own twenty metre area, Cooper Wolf made three tackles in a row to completely stall Coombabah SHS’s momentum.

Cooper Wolf also started from the bench in the Round Six local derby against Keebra Park SHS with Cooper Wolf scoring in the 48th minute after coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 40th minute.

In the 48th minute PBC SHS were awarded a penalty ten metres out from the try line and mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field. After Tanu Nona took the tap restart he passed to his right to Cooper Wolf who after running onto the ball hit the Keebra Park SHS defensive line still five metres out from the try line but to gain separation from the multiple defenders that had targeted him, Cooper Wolf spun 360 degrees counter clockwise and continued his charge towards the try line.

Cooper Wolf was hit by Keebra Park SHS defenders once again still two metres short of the line and after being spun around, Cooper Wolf progressed the remaining two metres to the try line backwards. The after initially being held up over the try line, Cooper Wolf was able to spin to his right to get the ball down ten metres to the left of the uprights.

Cooper Wolf continued from the bench in Round Seven against Wavell SHS with Cooper Wolf coming onto the field in the 11th minute to operate in the front row.

Cooper Wolf was then named on the PBC SHS extended bench for the 2022 Langer Cup Semi-final against Keebra Park SHS.

Cooper Wolf also started from the bench for PBC SHS in the 2022 Langer Reserve Semi-final against Keebra Park SHS with Cooper Wolf coming onto the field in the 17th minute to operate in the front row. Cooper Wolf’s best moment of the semi-final victory came in the 55th minute with a sixteen metre run from the left of the play the ball to get the ball thirty five metres out from the try line.

Round One of the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition saw Cooper Wolf start at lock for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in their Round One match against the Bilambil Jets as well as in Round Two against Northern United however the match ended up being postponed due to poor weather.

Cooper Wolf was also named at lock in Round Three against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Cooper Wolf scoring in the 16th minute when after receiving the ball to the left of the dummy half he pushed off one defender and rumbled fourteen metres to score eight metres to the left of the uprights.

After starting Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys once again at lock Cooper Wolf scored in just the second minute when Cooper Wolf charged onto the ball from a Mustangs penalty tap restart and from eleven metres out Cooper Wolf broke four tackles including one where literally right on the try line Cooper Wolf spun clockwise and crashed over under the posts.

Cooper Wolf then was named on the bench for Round Seven against the Byron Bay Devils then after Murwillumbah had a Round Eight bye, Cooper Wolf was named to start from the bench in Round Nine against the Tweed Heads Seagulls however a late change saw Cooper Wolf start the match at lock.

Copper Wolf scored in the 13th minute when he charged onto the ball to the right of the play the ball from ten metres out with Cooper Wolf cutting back towards the area behind the play the ball with Cooper Wolf barging his way over to score under the posts.

Cooper Wolf did well defensively in the 21st minute when he along with Matthew Bollard held up one of the Tweed Heads front rowers over the try line.

Cooper Wolf also started at lock in Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets as well as in Round Twelve against the Ballina Seagulls with Cooper Wolf one of the Mustangs try scorers in a twenty point victory when in the 43rd minute Cooper Wolf picked up a Ballina dropped ball ten metres out after they had attempted to run the ball off their own try line from a scrum with Cooper Wolf picking up the ball ten metres out and rumbled forward to get the ball down adjacent to the right upright with five defenders hanging off him.

Cooper Wolf then moved to left second row in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM before moving to right second row in the rescheduled Round Four match against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Cooper Wolf also started at left second row in the Week One Qualifying Final against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Cooper Wolf scoring twice with his opening try coming in the 48th minute when from twelve metres out Cooper Wolf was able to force his way over to score seven metres in from the left corner post.

Cooper Wolf scored his second try in the 57th minute when from nine metres out and once again on the left side of the Cooper Wolf charged over to score in contact with defenders and getting the ball down five metres in from the left corner post.

Cooper Wolf continued at left second row in the Premiership Minor Semi-final against the Ballina Seagulls.

In June 2021, Cooper Wolf was a member of the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side that drew 28 all with a Titans JTS U16 side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL fixture against Manly.

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

Round Three saw Cooper Wolf make his first appearance for the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad when he started from the bench against the Greater Northern Tigers.

Cooper Wolf came on for his first stint in the 20th minute of the match, operating in the front row. In his time on the field Cooper Wolf played well including a strong run from the kick up to the second half.

After missing Round Four, Cooper Wolf started from the bench in Round Five of the Laurie Daley Cup against the Newcastle Knights.

Cooper Wolf started Round One of the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition in the front row for the Murwillumbah Mustangs as they took on the Bilambil Jets and also started in Round Two against Northern United, even though he was wearing the No. 20 jersey.

After Murwillumbah had a number of byes in consecutive weeks, Cooper Wolf started from the bench in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys coming into the match around the 16th minute, taking his first hit-up shortly after when he charged onto the ball after Ryan Foran’s opening try of the match.

Cooper Woolf once again produced a strong run in the 31st minute when he took the second hit-up from the second half restart and then in the 37th minute, Cooper Wolf made sixteen metres to get to within thirty metres of the try line.

After missing Round Seven as a result of playing for the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side, Cooper Wolf started Round Eight against Marist Brothers Lismore from the bench.

After Murwillumbah’s Round Nine match against the Tweed Coast Raiders was postponed, Cooper Wolf started from the bench in Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets.

Cooper Wolf was promoted to the starting line-up in the front row in Round Twelve against Northern United and celebrated the promotion by scoring next to the right upright in the 29th minute barging over after receiving on off-load from Riley Lack.

Cooper Wolf was to maintain his starting front row position in Round Thirteen against the Ballina Seagulls however the match was a Covid 19 lockdown casualty.

The young front rower played the 2020 season for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 U16 competition, including starting the 2020 Grand Final in the front row with the Colts going down in the Grand Final 20 – 16 to South Tweed.

In the 2020 Group 18 U16 regular season Murwillumbah won five matches and lost four, along the journey scoring 154 points and conceding 112 to finish with a +42 points differential. After the completion of the 2020 Group 18 U16 season, Cooper Wolf was named the Murwillumbah U16 Most Valuable Player.

In 2019 Cooper Wolf was a stand by player for the Group 18 U15 representative side for the New South Wales Country Age Championships and in 2018 Cooper Wolf was part of the Group 18 U14 representative side for the New South Wales Country Age Championships, starting the majority of Group 18’s matches in the front row.

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

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

Defensively Cooper Wolf aims hits very hard and usually hits around the top of the ball region and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls by using wrestling techniques well. Over the last year Cooper Wolf’s speed and mobility seemed to have increased and as a consequence he was better able to mirror the opposition attackers more effectively.

Whilst Cooper Wolf played in the front row for PBC SHS in relation to school boy rugby league in 2022, Cooper Wolf played well in the second row for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in 2023 in the NRRL U18 competition, I personally believe that Cooper Wolf has the speed and mobility to operate very effectively in the second row, at the very least in the short to medium term. No doubt Cooper Wolf already has significant potential as a front rower, I believe that Aaron Singh-Goesel’s speed and mobility is currently better suited to the second row.

It will be interesting to see where Cooper Wolf plays in 2023, Cooper Wolf certainly is big, strong and skilful enough to immediately push for playing time in the 2023 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition with either Burleigh or Tweed Heads. Cooper Wolf would have two years of Colts eligibility starting in 2023.

Cooper Wolf however may choose to play for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the 2023 NRRRL First Grade competition which is almost certainly the strongest rugby league competitions in Country New South Wales and has been for a number of years.

The NRL player comparison for Cooper Wolf is for me is North Queensland Cowboy and former Queensland State of Origin player Coen Hess, both a tall powerfully built players with outstanding speed and mobility for their size.

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Ashton Harley. In late July 2022 Ashton Harley was named at hooker for an U18 Northern Rivers Titans Invitational Side that took on a Future Titans U17 side as a curtain-raiser to the Titans against Canberra Round Twenty NRL match at Cbus Stadium.

In June 2021, Ashton Harley was a member of the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side that drew 28 all with a Titans JTS U16 side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL fixture against Manly.

In early December 2021 Ashton Harley trialled for the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad including playing in the first trial at Ballina which had to finish early due to a severe storm that hit the ground in the second half.

In late December 2021 Ashton Harley was named in the final 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad.

Round One of the 2022 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition saw Ashton Harley start at hooker for the Northern Rivers Titans side against the Macquarie Wests Tigers in Sydney’s west with Ashton Harley having a solid match including a smart run out of dummy half winning a penalty when the Wests Tigers were forced to tackle him before getting back the ten metres.

Ashton Harley was also named at hooker in the Round Two local derby against the North Coast Bulldogs with Ashton Harley being involved in the opening two tackles of the match after the Northern Rivers Titans kicked off to get the match underway.

After missing Round Three Ashton Harley was back to start at hooker in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters with Ashton Harley making a strong dummy half run in the 14th minute when he made twelve metres out of his own twenty metre area after running to his right after collecting the ball from dummy half.

Ashton Harley also started at hooker in the twice delayed final round being Round Five against the Newcastle Knights in Grafton.

At the completion of the 2022 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition Ashton Harley transitioned back to club rugby league, playing once again for the Kyogle Turkeys in the U18 NRRRL competition starting at hooker and captain in Round One against the Ballina Seagulls with Ashton Harley a making a 9th minute line break after running onto the ball twenty metres out from his own line and to the left of the play the ball Ashton Harley was able to break three tackles in a thirty metre run.

Ashton Harley also started at hooker and captain in Round Two against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Ashton Harley scoring in the 38th minute when he forced his way over on the right side of the field ten metre in from the right corner.

Ashton Harley continued at captain and hooker in Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls and also started at hooker in Round Six against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

Ashton Harley continued at hooker in Round Eight against the Cudgen Hornets with Ashton Harley recording one of the better line breaks that I have seen. Ashton Harley took a Hornets kick off on the bounce in the in-goal area in the 12th minute around ten metres in from his right touchline. As Ashton Harley was running the ball back into the field of play and towards the oncoming defensive line Ashton Harley identified that the Cudgen defensive line was staggered and as a consequence Ashton Harley immediately ran towards his left twice utilising a right foot step to get on the outside of defenders before Ashton Harley charged down the right touchline, getting to the halfway mark before he was brought to ground.

Ashton Harley also started at hooker in round Twelve against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Ashton Harley scoring in the 29th minute when after receiving a good short ball from Clayton Guiney, Ashton Harley burst through a gap from twelve metres out to score ten metres to the right of the uprights.

After starting at hooker for a Titans Northern Rivers U18 squad that played a Future Titans U17 side in a Titans against Canberra NRL match at Cbus Stadium on the Saturday, Ashton Harley continued at hooker in the rescheduled Round Four match against Casino RSM with Ashton Harley scoring a try and kicking two conversions from three attempts in the match which unfortunately had to be cut short due to a serious injury suffered by one of the Casino RSM players in the second half.

Ashton Harley scored in the 20th minute when from dummy half one metre out from the line and ten metres in from the left touchline, Ashton Harley picked up the ball and immediately spun 360 degrees clockwise to force his way over to get the ball down.

Ashton Harley also recorded a try assist inside the opening minute of the match when from forty metres out and to the right of the play the ball, Ashton Harley ran the ball towards the defensive line before putting in a right foot chip which took a great bounce for Kyogle when it bounced back towards them and away from the Casino RSM fullback with the Kyogle right centre racing through to take possession of the ball on the bounce and score under the posts.

Ashton Harley also started at hooker in the rescheduled Round Five match against the Bilambil Jets with Ashton Harley scoring two tries and kicking four conversions from as many attempts to score sixteen of the Turkeys twenty four points in a tough loss.

Ashton Harley scored his first try in the 15th minute when after receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball twelve metres out, initially dummied to his left before stepping off his left foot and then off his right and then forced his way over to score twelve metres to the left of the uprights.

Ashton Harley added a second try in the 22nd minute when after once again receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball, Ashton Harley once again dummied to his left with Ashton Harley then able to charge ten metres to score seven metres to the left of the uprights.

Ashton Harley also made a line break/saved a try in the 40th minute when whilst defending on his own try line, Ashton Harley took an intercept and then ran eighty metres down the right touchline before being caught from behind.

Ashton Harley then moved to halfback in the 2022 NRRRL U18 Trophy Preliminary Final against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Ashton Harley scoring two tries and kicking four conversions as Kyogle progressed in the Final’s series.

Ashton Harley scored his first try in the 19th minute after receiving the ball twelve metres out and to the right of the play the ball after a long Turkeys line break through the centre of the field. After receiving the ball Ashton Harley ran to his right, throwing an extravagant dummy in the same direction before racing ten metres to score seven metres in from the right corner post.

Ashton added a second try in the 22nd minute when from forty five metres out and to the left of the play the ball, Ashton Harley ran at the defensive line before stepping off his left foot, then Ashton Harley used a right arm fend to beat a defender with Ashton Harley veering to his right to round the Magpies fullback to score twelve metres in from the right corner post.

Impressively Ashton Harley was named to make his NRRRL First grade debut off the bench in Round Three of the 2022 competition for the Turkeys against the Marist Rams and also came off the bench in Round Six against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

Ashton Harley made his first NRRRL First Grade start in Round Nine against the Lower Clarence Coast Magpies and celebrated his starting debut with a late second half try. Ashton Harley moved into dummy half with the play the ball around ten metres out. After picking up the ball Ashton Harley ran to his right and was able to borrow his way under three Magpies defenders to get the ball down three metres to the right of the uprights.

Ashton Harley also started at hooker in Round Ten against the Mullumbimby Giants as well as in Round Eleven against the Byron Bay Devils.

Ashton Harley was then named on the bench for the Kyogle Turkeys in the 2022 NRRRL First Grade Trophy Qualifying Final B against the Mullumbimby Giants.

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

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

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

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

At the 2021 Kyogle Turkeys Awards Night, Ashton Harley received the Turkey’s NRRRL U18 Coaches Award.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It will be interesting to see where Ashton Harley plays in 2023, Cooper Wolf certainly is smart and skilful enough to immediately push for playing time in the 2023 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition with either Burleigh or Tweed Heads. Ashton Harley would have two years of Colts eligibility starting in 2023.

Ashton Harley however may choose to play for the Kyogle Turkeys in the 2023 NRRRL First Grade competition which is almost certainly the strongest competition in Country New South Wales.

Ashton Harley, prior to this year has played primarily at lock but this year has played more at hooker and certainly has made the most of playing in the dummy half role to the extent that I anticipate that going forward Ashton Harley will more likely than not operating almost exclusively at hooker no matter what the level of competition. Interestingly Ashton Harley also played a match or two at halfback for the Kyogle Turkeys in the U18 NRRRL competition but I do not think that will be something that you will see too often moving forward.

From a player comparison perspective, due to his size and tenacity, a playing style and comparison akin to former Gold Coast Titan fan favourite Nathan Friend would be appropriate from a style, courage and determination perspective for Ashton Harley. Like Friend, Ashton Harley is an all effort type of player who is also more skilful than his is given credit for.

[mdrew]

Kwinn Wolf. In early November 2021 Kwinn Wolf commenced training the renowned Titans JTS Program and in mid-December 2021 Kwinn Wolf was one of approximately ninety members of the Titans JTS Program to took part in a joint training session with the Titans NRL squad.

In late May 2022 Kwinn Woolf represented the South Coast U15 School Boy side at the QSSRL U15 Championships starting Match One against Northern at left second row and threw the final pass for both of Joseph Tupuse’s two tries.

Kwinn Wolf also started at left second row in Match Two against Met North.

2022 also saw Kwinn Wolf once again play for PBC State High School starting at left second row in Round One of the School Boy Hancock Cup competition against Marsden State High School.

After missing a number of rounds, Kwinn Wolf was back at left second row against Keebra Park SHS with Kwinn Wolf scoring in the 3rd minute after a twelve metre burst down the left channel.

Kwinn Wolf also started at left second row against Forest Lake SHS with a Kwinn Wolf kick-off going dead in-goal in the 16th minute with Forest Lake SHS being forced into a goal line drop-out.

Kwinn Wolf also started at left second row in the 2022 Hancock Cup Semi-Final against Redcliffe SHS.

The giant young man started at left second row for PBC SHS in the 2021 School Boy Renouf Shield Grand Final scoring both of PBC’ SHS’s tries in their thrilling 8 – 4 victory over Marsden State High School.

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

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

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

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

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

After the completion of the Renouf Shield Grand Final Kwinn Wolf was named on the bench in the Courier Mail Team of the Grand Finals.

Kwinn Wolf also had a strong match earlier in the Renouf Shield competition against Redcliffe State High School with Kwinn Wolf scoring in just the 3rd minute when he charged over on the left side of the field from ten metres out after receiving a good ball from his halfback.

Another strong 2021 Renouf Shield match of Kwinn Wolf’s was against Forest Lake State High School when in the 13th minute Kwinn Wolf set up a try for his left winger when he charged onto the ball on the left side of the field, breaking two tackles before off-loading to his left to put his winger over.

Kwinn Wolf also scored against Keebra Park State High School in the 4th minute when he ran into a gap off a good ball from his left to charge over to put the ball down five metres from the left upright. Kwinn Wolf then stepped up to convert his own try with a nice right foot strike.

Kwinn Wolf also scored in Round Two against Wavell State High School, scoring in the final minute of the match after a twenty five metre run to crash over in the left corner, breaking four tackles along the way.

2021 also saw Kwinn Wolf play in the Group 18 U14 Junior Rugby League competition for the Murwillumbah Colts and at the Group 18 Awards Night Kwinn Wolf was named the 2021 Group 18 U14 Player of the Year.

Kwinn Wolf is a northern New South Wales junior who has previously represented the North Coast U12 Primary School Rugby League Representative side in 2019.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In defence Kwinn Wolf uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Kwinn Wolf is not adverse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining decent leverage and reasonable agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck, although clearly Kwinn Wolf is more effective in the centre of the ruck, as most bigger forwards are.

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

2023 will see Kwinn Wolf continue at PBC SHS moving up to the Walters Cup school boy rugby league competition.

Kwinn Wolf will also continue to play in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League competition for the Murwillumbah Colts in the U16 age group. Representative honours are also possible in 2022 including with the Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad.

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

With his height, overall size and running style I believe a player comparison with former Manly Sea Eagle and Parramatta Eel and current (or recent at least) Southport Tiger Tony Williams is more than appropriate for Kwinn Wolf although the two operate on opposite sides of the field at present.

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

Big strong young front rowers/second rowers who also have very good mobility from both a speed and lateral perspective are difficult to find regardless of age group but PBC SHS have certainly found one in Kwinn Wolf.

[mdrew]

Ryder Williams. The young halfback from the Marist Saints Rugby League Club in Auckland signed a multi-year contract with the Titans in late 2021 which will see the New Zealander contracted to the Titans until the end of the 2023 rugby league season.

In early May 2022 Ryder Williams made his first appearance in a Titans jersey when he started at five eight for the Titans JTS U16 squad that took on a Northern Rivers Titans U17 squad at Cbus Stadium as a curtain-raiser to the Titans NRL Round Fourteen against the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs with Ryder Williams scoring in the second half when after initially shaping to kick Ryder Williams before throwing a dummy to break through the line and score.

2022 also saw Ryder Williams move to Keebra Park SHS making his first ‘official’ appearance for Keebra Park State High School in Round One of the 2022 School Boy Walters Cup competition when he started at halfback against Ipswich State High School.

Ryder Williams certainly made an impressive first impression including kicking five conversions from as many attempts including a great conversion from the right touchline in the 44th minute.

In fact Ryder Williams recorded a try assist for the try he converted from the right touchline when from on the halfway mark down a short right blindside Ryder Williams put in a hard low right foot kick with his right winger racing through to collect the ball just short of the try line and dive over to score in the right corner with the Ipswich SHS cover defence trailing by a fair distance.

Ryder Williams also started Round Three of the 2022 Walters Cup School Boy Rugby League competition at halfback against Marsden SHS with Ryder Williams scoring two tries and kicking six conversions including a great effort from the left touchline in the 48th minute of a big Keebra Park SHS victory.

Ryder Williams opening try came in just the 5th minute when after receiving a great short ball from his left from his hooker who had darted out of dummy half, Ryder Williams scored from three metres out with Ryder Williams getting the ball down five metres in from the left corner. Ryder Williams then stepped up and nailed the conversion.

Ryder Williams completed his double in the 35th minute with an easy try on the right side of the field. Keebra Park SHS made a big line break down the left touchline and from the play the ball less than a metre from the try line the ball was spun wide to the right with Ryder Williams getting the ball in acres of space around fourteen metres out and jogged across the try line and was still able to bring the ball around closer to the posts to make it easier for him to convert his own try which he subsequently did from five metres to the left of the uprights.

Ryder Williams also recorded a 16th minute try assist when from five metres out Ryder William took the ball down a short left blindside and threw a hard flat pass to his left winger on the outside of his opposite number to dive over in the left corner.

Ryder Williams showcased his attacking kicking skills in the 45th minute with a bomb from twenty five metres out and from down a short right blindside with the ball coming down just in the field of play giving the Marsden SHS fullback no chance after he was forced back into the in-goal as soon as he took the kick on the full.

Ryder Williams then started at halfback in Round Four against Wavell Park State High School with Ryder Williams kicking three conversions in a strong Keebra Park SHS victory.

The first of Ryder Williams conversions came in the 9th minute from directly in front of the posts. Ryder Williams added a second conversion in the 17th minute from the left touchline with Ryder Williams third and final conversion in the match coming in the 37th minute of the match.

In addition to his three conversions, Ryder Williams also forced two line drop-outs, the first of which came in the 12th minute when Ryder Williams put up a high bomb from thirty five metres which came down a metre from the try line and just to the right of the uprights. Ryder Williams bomb was just too much for the Wavell SHS defenders with the ball being dropped backwards and then taken dead in-goal by Wavell SHS to force the goal line drop-out.

Ryder Williams forced a second line drop-out just a minute later in the 13th minute when after receiving the ball two passes to the right of the play the ball and fifteen metres out, Ryder Williams put in a right foot grubber kick into the in-goal and once again the Wavell SHS defence was forced to take the ball dead in-goal and subsequently restart the match by way of a goal line drop-out.

In addition Ryder Williams also threw the final pass for a Keebra Park SHS try in the 17th minute with a pass to his right down a short blindside from ten metres out for his right centre to score three metres in from the left corner. This try was one of three tries that Ryder Williams converted in Keebra Park SHS’s victory.

Ryder Williams continued at halfback in Round Five against Redcliffe SHS with Ryder Williams kicking one conversion in a big Keebra Park SHS victory.

Ryder Williams also scored in the 7th minute when he chased through a grubber kick from his five eight with Ryder Williams diving on the ball in the in-goal mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Ryder Williams scored a second try in the 44th minute when after receiving a right arm flick off-load from his right second rower thirty metres out from the try line Ryder Williams was able to hold off one defender with his left arm to score three metres in from the left corner post

Ryder Williams added a try assist in the 32nd minute when Ryder Williams ran the ball down a wide right blindside from ten metres out with Ryder Williams taking the ball right to the line before throwing a short ball to his right to put his right centre over to score ten metres in from the right corner post.

Ryder Williams also recorded a line break in the 9th minute when after receiving an off-load thirty five metres out from his own try line, Ryder Williams raced twenty eight metres through the centre of the field but unfortunately Ryder Williams’s inside pass was ruled forward.

Ryder Williams put in a good grubber kick in the 24th minute when from twenty metres out to the right of the uprights, Ryder Williams put in a hard grubber kick towards the left upright with the Redcliffe SHS fullback knocking the ball one a metre out from the try line with Keebra Park SHS being awarded the scrum feed.

Ryder Williams also on two occasions put in short goal line drop-outs from which Keebra Park SHS got the ball back. The first occasion occurred in the 15th minute Ryder Williams put in a short drop-out to the right which was taken on the full by Keebra Park SHS then in the 22nd another short goal line drop out to the right was knocked on by Redcliffe SHS just after the ball had gone ten metres with Keebra Park SHS being awarded the subsequent scrum feed.

Ryder Williams continued at half in Round Six against PBC SHS with Ryder Williams scoring a try and kicking four conversions in a strong Keebra Park SHS victory.

Ryder Williams scored in the 13th minute when he backed up a line break by his five eight who after he drew the PBC SHS fullback passed to his inside to Ryder Williams who ran ten metres to put the ball down under the posts.

Ryder Williams also had a strong match defensively including a great try saving tackle in the 7th minute when he brought down the PBC SHS hooker who had run the ball down a left blindside from the back of a PBC SHS scrum win ten metres out from the try line. Earlier in the 4th minute Ryder Williams smashed the PBC SHS lock, rocking him backwards just out from the Keebra Park SHS try line.

Ryder Williams continued at halfback in Round Seven against Mabel Park SHS with Ryder Williams doing well in the 21st minute when after taking on the defensive line on the right side of the field, Ryder Williams when ten metres out produced a great right arm flick off-load whilst falling to ground to his right second rower who got within a metre of the try line.

Ryder Williams also started at halfback for Keebra Park SHS in the 2022 Walters Cup School Boy Semi-final against Mabel Park SHS with Ryder Williams kicking a conversion in Keebra Park SHS’s 18 – 12 victory which put them into the Grand Final.

Ryder Williams recorded a try assist in the 8th minute from a Keebra Park SHS scrum win twenty five metres out from the try line and to the right of the uprights. After feeding the scrum Ryder Williams in a set move ran to his left two passes off the back of the scrum and after receiving the ball ran at the back peddling defensive line and as the Mabel Park SHS right winger turned his right shoulder to the inside Ryder Williams got a pass away to his left winger Toni Fomai who was able to score in the left corner.

Ryder Williams recorded a second try assist in the 38th minute after receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball Ryder Williams from ten metres out, threw a long cut out pass to his left to put the Keebra Park SHS left winger Toni Fomai over in the left corner.

In the 12th minute from the left of the play the ball and forty two metres out Ryder Williams put in a right foot kick into the corner with the Mabel Park SHS fullback barely able get back into the field of play before the Keebra Park SHS chasers got to him.

In the 8th minute Ryder Williams executed a great hit on the Mabel Park SHS five eight who had ran straight at Ryder Williams from a Mabel Park SHS scrum deep inside their own twenty metre area.

The 2022 School Boy Walters Cup Grand Final saw Ryder Williams start at halfback for Keebra Park SHS against Marsden SHS with Ryder Williams outstanding in a strong Keebra Park SHS victory.

Ryder Williams in addition to kicking four conversions from five attempts scored one try and set up another.

Ryder Williams scored in the 34th minute when he backed up a line break from his five eight with Ryder Williams receiving the ball from his left and running forty five metres to score under the posts. IT was in fact Ryder Williams that passed the ball for his five eight to make the line break from thirty five metres out from the Keebra Park SHS try line. Ryder Williams then stepped up to convert his own try.

Ryder Williams recorded his try assist in the 31st minute when after chasing through a Keebra Park SHS chip kick from inside their own territory, Ryder Williams got to the ball just before the Marsden SHS fullback and then got the ball away to his right to his support who crossed to score. Ryder Williams then stepped up to convert the try that he had set up.

The Grand Final was not just about attack for Ryder Williams as in the 38th minute Ryder Williams smashed one of the Marsden SHS front rowers (No. 10) who was taking a hit-up from a Marsden SHS penalty tap restart twelve metres out from the Keebra Park SHS try line.

Impressively Ryder Williams was named on the Keebra Park SHS extended bench for their Langer Cup Semi-final against PBC SHS and whilst Ryder Williams did not make the final seventeen his selection highlighted the faith that the Keebra Park SHS has in Ryder Williams.

Ryder Williams had a strong 2022 GCRL U16 Division One season with the Southport Tigers including a good Preliminary Final appearance including a late second half try assist with a smart cut out pass to put his left winger over to score in the corner down a short blindside from five metres out but unfortunately for Ryder Williams and his team mates, the Tigers went down 16-12 to the Helensvale Hornets.

The week prior in the Tigers 42-10 victory over Burleigh Maroon Ryder Williams had a strong match including scoring in the 22nd minute when he backed up a line break down the right touchline to get the off-load and run eighteen metres to put the ball down next to the right upright.

Ryder Williams started at halfback and captain for Tamaki Ki Te Raki (North) in Round Two of the 2022 U16 Shaun Johnson Shield against Northland after Tamaki Te Raki had a Round One bye. Whilst Ryder Williams started the match at halfback he spent the opening minutes of the second half playing in the dummy half role before transitioning back to halfback.

Against Northlands was heavily involved for Tamaki Ki Te Raki (North) as they won 88 – 0 with Ryder Williams kicking seven conversions including a great kick from the left touchline in the 41st minute. Ryder Williams could have had an additional conversion but his 13th minute effort from the right touchline hit the post.

Ryder Williams also threw the final pass to one of Tamaki Ki Te Raki North’s tries in just the 3rd minute when on the left side of the field he took the ball into the Northlands right sided defensive line and threw a good ball to his left to his winger who crashed over out wide.

Then again in the 50th Ryder William threw the final pass for a try when operating on the left Ryder William took the ball to the line and threw a good short ball to his left for his front rower to crash over.

Ryder Williams threw a third final pass for a try in the 55th minute. The move started on the halfway mark with Ryder Williams throwing a cut-out pass to his left to put his right centre away down the left touchline and then Ryder Williams backed up on the inside, getting the ball back, dummying past one defender before off-loading to his left to an unmarked team mate who ran away to score under the posts.

Ryder Williams also put in a good tactical kick from forty metres out in the 44th minute when his right foot kick stopped in the in-goal, being knocked out over the dead ball line by the Northlands fullback, forcing a goal line drop out.

Ryder Williams also started at halfback in Round Three against Tamaki Ki Te Raki (East) with Ryder Williams kicking two conversions as his side qualified for the Grand Final on the back of a 16 – 10 victory.

The 2022 U16 Shaun Johnson Cup saw Ryder Williams kick two conversions from as many attempts in a 20 – 12 loss.

In April 2022 Shaun Williams played in the 2022 New Zealand Nine’s Championships, and at the competition of the Championships was named in the New Zealand U16 Nines Merit Side after representing Marist Gold in the Championships.

In late April 2022 Ryder Williams received an honourable mention in terms of selection in the 2022 Auckland U16 side due to his unavailability.

In early June 2022 Ryder Williams was named at halfback in the New Zealand Maori Tama U17 All-Tournament Team after playing for Katahitanga in the Tournament.

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

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

In attack, Ryder Williams generally plays an understated role, focussing more on the distribution and game management aspects of his role as a half. A key attribute to how Ryder Williams plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations encountered within a game. Ryder Williams’s 2022 performances are a testament to those attributes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In 2023 Ryder Williams will line-up in the U18 Mal Meninga Cup competition either for Burleigh or Tweed Heads with Ryder Williams also being U18 eligible in 2024.

Ryder Williams will also return to Keebra Park SHS in 2023 and looks set to be the Keebra Park SHS starting School Boy Langer Cup Open A halfback.

Ryder Williams will also play for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition in 2023 and as noted Ryder Williams is also U18 eligible in 2024.

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

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

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

[Titansborn'n'bred]

Mdrew, I was very impressed by Alofiana Khan-Pereiras performance yesterday. He seems to have the attributes we’re missing in a winger. Currently the leading try scorer in Q-Cup with 25 (included triple from yesty) Apparently he came into that game with injury concerns too. Blistering pace, reads the game well, defensively sound still with plenty of growth. When he shifted inside closer to the ball he made his own opportunities. Surely he can’t be too far off NRL? Considering Marzews defensive liabilities, he could slot right in

[mdrew]

No doubt will play NRL in 2023 mate but needs to work on his defence like all young players.

[mdrew]

Caleb Te Momo. The young man started at left second row for the Burleigh Bears in Round One of the 2022 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and put is a solid performance in the Bears first up 26 – 18 loss to the Southport Tigers.

Caleb Te Momo also started at left second row in Round Two against the Nerang Roosters and once again had some good moments for the Bears in a very good forward battle that continued over the course of the entire match. Caleb Te Momo was also set to start at left second row against Mudgeeraba in Round Three however the Redbacks ended up forfeiting the match late in the week.

Caleb Te Momo then moved back to the bench for Round Four against the Helensvale Hornets and also started from the bench in Round Five against the Ormeau Shearers before starting in the front row in Round Nine against the Nerang Roosters.

Caleb Te Momo also started in the front row in Round Eleven against the Helensvale Hornets as well as in Round Twelve against the Ormeau Shearers where he made a strong charge in the 6th minute from a kick-off to get the ball twenty two metres out from his own try line.

Caleb Te Momo also started in the front row in Round Thirteen against the Currumbin Eagles with Caleb Te Momo making a strong charge from the kick-off from Bailey McConnell’s second try of the match.

Caleb Te Momo continued in the front row in Round Fifteen against the Southport Tigers with Caleb Te Momo taking the opening hit-up of the match from the Tigers kick-off.

The 2022 GCRL U18 Division One Week One Semi-final saw Caleb Te Momo start in the front row for the Burleigh Bears against the Currumbin Eagles with Caleb Te Momo crashing over to score under the posts with two defenders holding onto him after Caleb Te Momo had received a pass from his right around six metres out. Caleb Te Momo then made a great charge from the subsequent Currumbin kick-off.

Caleb Te Momo also started in the front row in the Week Two final against the Helensvale Hornets as the Bears bowed out of the competition with a hard fought loss.

2022 also saw Caleb Te Momo continued at PBC State High School starting Round One of the School Boy Langer Reserve competition in the front row against Marsden State High School.

After playing a number of matches with the PBC SHS Open Langer Cup side, Caleb Te Momo started Round Five of the Langer Reserve competition in the front row against Mabel Park SHS with Caleb Te Momo taking the opening hit-up of the match.

Caleb Momo was named to make his first 2022 Langer Cup Open A appearance in Round Three when he started from the bench against Coombabah State High School.

Caleb Te Momo came onto the field to operate in the front row in the 27th minute and made an immediate impact with a strong run from the kick-off from Blake Forder’s second try. Then in the 28th minute Caleb Te Momo made a great front on tackle on one of the Coombabah SHS front rowers with Caleb Te Momo’s low tackle cutting the front rowers legs from underneath him.

After the mid-season break, Caleb Te Momo continued in the front row in Round Four against Ipswich State High School coming off the bench in the 45th minute to operate in the front row.

Caleb Te Momo then started off the bench in Round Seven away at Wavell SHS with Caleb Te Momo coming onto the field in the 22nd minute to operate in the front row with Caleb Te Momo in the 29th minute along with Bailey McConnell made a great joint try saving tackle on a hard charging Wavell SHS No. 10, dropping the front rower just centremetres out from the try line.

Caleb Te Momo then started from the bench in PBC SHS’s Langer Cup Quarter Final against Mabel Park SHS with Caleb Te Momo coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 22nd minute.

Caleb Te Momo was then named on the PBC SHS bench for the 2022 Langer Cup Semi-final against Keebra Park SHS with Caleb Te Momo coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 24th minute.

Caleb Te Momo started from the bench in the 2022 School Boy Langer Cup Grand Final for PBC SHS against Ipswich SHS and in addition to making some strong runs with the ball Caleb Te Momo made two great tackles.

The first come in the 38th minute when along with Keano Kini, Caleb Te Momo smashed the Ipswich SHS No. 14 forty metes out with the ball coming loose as a result of the heavy contact.

Then in the 42nd minute Caleb Te Momo made a superb try saving tackle on a stepping Ipswich SHS five eight literally on the try line under the goal posts.

In late 2021 Caleb Te Momo was named in the 2022 Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad and he is also MM Cup eligible in 2023. Whilst Caleb Te Momo did not play in any of the Bears MM Cup matches in 2022 no doubt the valuable experience he gained served Caleb Te Momo well in 2022 and will put him into a good position for selection in the Burleigh 2023 MM Cup squad.

In 2021 Caleb Te Momo played for the Burleigh Bears in the U16 Cyril Connell Cup, starting Round One against the Souths Logan Magpies at lock before coming off the bench in Round Three in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Caleb Te Momo was back in the Burleigh starting side for Round Five against the Ipswich Jets with Caleb Te Momo scoring in the 12th minute of a big Bears victory.
Caleb Te Momo is a powerful runner of the ball who runs with a slight jink, usually off his left foot, in his step prior to impacting the defensive line and from when he receives the ball until Caleb Te Momo hits the defensive line he is able to build up significant momentum.
Caleb Te Momo displays outstanding speed both off the mark and over an extended distance when in the clear for a player his size. Also when Caleb Te Momo has impacted the defensive line he continues to pump his legs and gain extra metres after contact.
As noted Caleb Te Momo is a solidly built young lock or second rower with a low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle. Like his footwork Caleb Te Momo will show flashes of the ability to off load the ball and with experience this attribute will continue to develop both in terms of when he has impacted the defensive line and prior to contact.
Caleb Te Momo’s lateral movement is above average for a second rower and he is powerful enough to combat the largest of opponents looking to run through the centre of the ruck or a touch wider as well. Caleb Te Momo also has the functional strength to combat attackers on a one on one basis. His initial contact is outstanding as is his ability to quickly and effectively put any size attacker on the ground and effectively slow down the speed of the play the ball.
Another impressive aspect of Caleb Te Momo ’s play from a defensive stand point is the speed at which he gets around the field, in the games that I have seen him play, Caleb Te Momo is always in and around the ball, constantly getting low to disrupt the momentum of the attackers.
Caleb Te Momo is U18 eligible once again in 2023 and no doubt will no doubt once again be part of the Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad for the second season in a row. Caleb Te Momo will also line up once again in 2023 for Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition.

Caleb Te Momo will return to PBC SHS in 2023 where once again Caleb Te Momo will be a key member of the forward pack of PBC SHS’s outstanding 2023 School Boy Langer Cup side.

Caleb Te Momo has played the majority of the last couple of seasons either at lock or in the front row as a solidly built powerful young man, and with his speed, both off the mark and over extended distances definitely in the plus category for a forward I think that Caleb Te Momo has the attributes to be very effective in the second row (likely on the left side) for a number of years if not for the duration of his rugby league career.

From a player comparison perspective for Caleb Te Momo, think of someone along the lines of New Zealand International and Melbourne Storm’s (soon to be Redcliffe Dolphin) Kenny Bromwich as a hard working forward who is more than a solid player but will also on occasion flash some plus skills and speed.

Like Kenny Bromwich, Caleb Te Momo has very underrated late and quick footwork just prior to engaging the defensive line which enables Caleb Te Momo to push through gaps in the defensive line and making a solid amount of post contact metres regardless of the size of the opposition forward pack.

[mdrew]

Kaleb Hope. The exceptionally talented five eight or centre was one of the stand-out newcomers to the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition and took the competition by storm for the Lower Clarence Magpies.

After Lower Clarence had a Round One bye, Kaleb Hope started at five eight in Round two against the Kyogle Turkeys, scoring a try and kicking a conversion. Kaleb Hope scored in the 15th minute when after Kyogle were penalised ten metres out from the Magpies line, Kaleb Hope took a quick tap and raced through the middle of the Turkeys defence and then Kaleb Hope was able to outrun a desperate chase by the Kyogle fullback to dive over in the left corner after a ninety metre run.

Kaleb Hope also recorded a 19th minute try assist in Round Two against the Kyogle Turkeys when Kaleb Hope took the ball deep into the defensive line to the right of the play the ball and throw a good short ball in the same direction to Zachariah Williams who received the ball around ten metres out from the try line, Zachariah Williams was then too big and strong for the Turkeys defence to get the ball down ten metres in from the right corner post.

After missing a number of rounds, including some that were washed out Kaleb Hope started at five eight in Round Nine against Casino RSM, with Kaleb Hope having a big match scoring a hat trick.

Kaleb Hope scored his opening try in the 24th minute when Kaleb Hope moved into dummy half with the play the ball just to the right of the uprights and around thirteen metres out. After Kaleb Hope took possession he dummied to this right and before running himself, getting through a big hole in the defensive line to put the ball down adjacent to the right upright.

Kaleb Hope scored his second try in the 45th minute when with the play the ball right on the right touchline Kaleb Hope lined up as the first receiver but the pass from the dummy half forced Kaleb Hope to turn and run back to twenty metres from the try line to collect the ball. From there Kaleb Hope produced a wicked left foot step to beat the initial defender before showing elite speed to beat a number of other defenders and get the ball down mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Kaleb Hope completed his hat trick in the 57th minute and it was certainly worth the wait. Kaleb Hope was defending in the centre of the field and twenty metres out from his own try line when the Casino RSM halfback attempted to put a chip kick over his head but Kaleb Hope jumped high and took the kick in his outstretched right hand and as soon as his feet hit the ground Kaleb Hope raced eighty metres to score under the posts.

Kaleb Hope also threw the final pass late in the second half for replacement front rower Toby Austin to crash over mid-way between the corner post and goal posts on the left side of the field. From around ten metres from the line Kaleb Hope took the ball to the defensive line before throwing an inside ball to Toby Austin who barged his was over much to the delight of his team mates.

It was just one of those match where everything that Kaleb Hope touched turned to gold, including in the 38th minute when his kick-off could not be handled by Casino RSM with the ball bouncing dead in-goal to force a goal line drop-out.

Kaleb Hope continued at five eight in Round Ten against the Ballina Seagulls with Kaleb Hope scoring the Magpies only try of the match in the 45th minute when after the Magpies were tackled around three metres out and to the left of the uprights, Kaleb Hope moved to the left of the paly the ball.

After demanding and receiving the pass from the dummy half, Kaleb Hope dummied to his left before executing two exquisite steps off his left foot to bamboozle a number of Seagulls defenders with Kaleb Hope able to dive over mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field with barely a hand being laid upon him.

Kaleb Hope continued at five eight in Round Eleven against the Cudgen Hornets and recorded a 41st minute try assist when after receiving the ball to the right of the dummy half on the left side of the field and six metres from the try line, Kaleb Hope executed a left foot step to clear some room before throwing a great ball to is right second rower who barged over to score next to the left upright.

The match also saw Kaleb Hope kick an outstanding conversion from the left touchline in the 9th minute.

Kaleb Hope also kicked well from a tactical kicking perspective with the first of a number of good kicks coming in the 6th minute when on the fourth tackle from the left side of the field, Kaleb Hope put in a well weighted right foot kick with the Cudgen fullback trapped in-goal to force a goal line drop-out.

Kaleb Hope put in another good kick in the 53rd minute when from the centre of the field and thirty five metres out, Kaleb Hope put in a well weighted kick towards the right corner with the Hornets fullback trapped in-goal once again.

Kaleb Hope was also exceptional defensively against the Hornets including in the 40th minute when from a Cudgen scrum win just ten metres out from the try line, Kaleb Hope moved forward and smashed the Hornets fullback with the ball coming loose as a result of Kaleb Hope’s strong initial contact.

Perhaps Kaleb Hope’s best moment of the match was one where he was unable to influence the outcome. Cudgen fullback Stevie O’Connor burst away down his left touchline and looked home after an eighty metre run but Kaleb Hope came flying from the opposite side of the field and got to Stevie O’Connor near the corner, bringing him to ground but the fullback was still able to reach out to score. Even though he could not prevent the try, Kaleb Hope’s chase was truly outstanding.

Kaleb Hope also started at five eight in Round Twelve against the Kyogle Turkeys with Kaleb Hope scoring a try and kicking three conversions in a solid Magpies victory.

Kaleb Hope scored in the 41st minute when after receiving the ball from the dummy half from his left when he was ten metres out and just to the right of the goal posts, Kaleb Hope initially shaped to pass to his right before spinning 360 degrees clockwise to gain separation from one defender before stepping off his right foot, then just prior to the line Kaleb Hope ran over the top of the Kyogle fullback to get the ball down three metres to the right of the uprights.

Whilst two of Kaleb Hope’s conversions were from near the uprights, his conversion in the 26th minute was kicked from six metres in from the left touchline.

Kaleb Hope also kicked well from a tactical perspective and in the 31st minute Kaleb Hope put in a towering bomb from the centre of the field and forty metres out with the kick just too tough for the Kyogle fullback who could not take possession with Lower Clarence getting the ball back with six more tackles two metres out with the left centre scoring from the subsequent play the ball.

Earlier in the match in the 24th minute Kaleb Hope had put up a bomb from on the halfway mark in the centre of the field with the Kyogle defence letting the ball bounce with the ball bouncing into the in-goal and the fullback was unable to get the ball back into the field of play.

Kaleb Hope also threw the last pass for the Lower Clarence No. 17 to score on the left side of the field in the 17th minute. This try was one of the ones that Kaleb Hope converted.

Kaleb Hope continued at five eight in Round Thirteen against the Byron Bay Devils with Kaleb Hope kicking two conversions and scoring in the 16th minute when after receiving the ball from his right from the dummy half twelve metres out from the try line and just to the left of the uprights, Kaleb Hope stepped off his left foot to beat one defender before a second left foot step sent another defender the wrong way before Kaleb Hope then stepped off his right foot to get the ball down next to the right upright and I mean literally next to the right upright with Kaleb Hope getting the ball whilst the ball was touching the upright.

Kaleb Hope added a try assist in the 20th minute when with the play the ball ten metres out and wide out on the right, Kaleb Hope received the pass from the dummy half from his right and immediately stepped his left foot to beat a charging defender. Then after regaining his balance after a stumble, Kaleb Hope got a good ball away to his left to a charging Magpies No. 18 who forced his way over to score under the posts.

Kaleb Hope came close to scoring a second try in the 49th minute when after taking a quick penalty tap thirty metres out, Kaleb Hope stepped off his left foot twice to beat defenders before being tackled just two metres from the try line.

Kaleb Hope started the 2022 season as part of the Greater Northern Tigers U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad and played in all five of the Greater Northern Tigers matches, starting the opening four rounds at five eight before moving to right centre in Round Five against the Western Rams.

For the Greater Northern Tigers in the 2022 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition Kaleb Hope scored thirty two points from three tries and ten conversions.

Kaleb Hope scored in Rounds One, Three and Five against the North Coast Bulldogs, the Northern Rivers Titans and Western Rams respectively.

With the boot Kaleb Hope kicked four conversions against the North Coast Bulldogs in Round One, a conversion against the Central Coast Roosters in Round Two, three conversions in Round Three against the Northern Rivers Titans, a conversion in Round Four against the Newcastle Knights and Kaleb Hope converted his own try in Round Five against the Western Rams.

Kaleb Hope moved up to the Clarence Coast region after playing for the Glenn Inness Magpies in the Group 19 Rugby League competition where he spent a lot of time at fullback.

From a representative rugby league perspective, Kaleb Hope played for the Group 19 U14 junior rugby league representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships in 2019.

Kaleb Hope is a big strong super quick five eight or centre with an effortless running style with a classic centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside, something that is rare in the modern game. His has used this skill set on multiple occasions on the right side of the field. Right centre is the only position that I have seen him play for his club side.

Kaleb Hope has a very strong left hand fend which prevents opposing centres getting in on him and forcing him towards the sideline. Even though he has size, strength and power in the centre position, he does look for his outside support when confronted with the fullback, even though he is more than capable of beating fullbacks one on one if need be and certainly does on occasion when he outpaces his support players.

When the defence is sliding Kaleb Hope will cut inside and when the defence is playing an up and up style he has the plus speed and agile footwork to get on the outside of his direct opponent and beat him for speed to exploit the gap created. In terms of his speed, in all aspects it would be considered at the plus level in terms of speed off the mark, top end speed and sustainability.

Another aspect where he is also very good is his ability to run out of dummy half. Kaleb Hope’s size strength speed and power coupled with his plus footwork enables him to make a significant amount of ground out of dummy half and also give his forward a breather.

Defensively his game is built on intimidation, Kaleb Hope will come in when the opportunity presents itself and hit very hard around the chest, you can see the opposing centre looking where he was positioned as the ball was moved out to the back line also Kaleb Hope’s plus speed enables him to recover if he is beaten on the outside.

Currently Kaleb Hope is better to an up and in defensive methodology but I would argue that is more to do with how coaches want him to play rather than any concern that he cannot be effective in a sliding defensive scheme. With his speed, timing and strength, why not take advantage of his ability to intimidate his opposing centre.

Scaringly for opponents, Kaleb Hope is still U18 eligible in 2023 and should he wish so, Kaleb Hope will push for a spot in the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad as well as continuing for the Lower Clarence Magpies in the NRRRL U18 competition and possibly at higher levels as well for the Northern New South Wales based club.

For me Kaleb Hope is a strong powerful centre with plus speed and footwork and has the skills to stay at centre in the long term and more than that has the skills to potentially become a legitimate strike centre and they are a rare breed to say the least.

Kaleb Hope has played a lot of five eight in 2022 at both club and representative level and there is no doubt for me that Kaleb Hope’s future definitely lies at five eight.

The skills and experience that he is currently picking up at five eight is going to be of huge benefit going forward even if Kaleb Hope ends up in the centres in the long term. To throw another curve into the mix, Kaleb Hope’s skill set would play exceptionally well at fullback. In short the possibilities for Kaleb Hope are endless.

Regardless of the age group or level, you do not often see a player with such a combination of Kaleb Hope’s speed, size, strength and power compared to his peers, couple that with an innate understanding of how to play rugby league and you have a young player with immense potential waiting to be tapped in the coming years in Kaleb Hope.

With his outstanding skill set coupled with his size and speed combination Kaleb Hope is simply a player of immense potential and the play of Parramatta Eels five eight Dylan Brown is a more than fair and accurate comparison from a playing style perspective.

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

Many young players pop up on an annual basis with incredible potential but few are able to work hard enough or have the degree of luck with injuries necessary to harness and exploit that potential, few would argue however that Kaleb Hope will do everything possible to not just make it to the NRL but dominate once he gets there.

[mdrew]

Levi Dangerfield. In late July 2022 Levi Dangerfield was named on the bench for an U18 Northern Rivers Titans Invitational Side that took on a Future Titans U17 side as a curtain-raiser to the Titans against Canberra Round Twenty NRL match at Cbus Stadium.

The 2022 NRRRL U18 competition saw Levi Dangerfield paly for the Cudgen Hornets and after the Hornets had a Round One bye Levi Dangerfield start Round Two on the right wing against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Round Three against Casino RSM saw Levi Dangerfield move closer into the action at left centre with Levi Dangerfield making a line break in the 8th minute when after receiving the ball around thirty five metres from the line Levi Dangerfield was able to make fifteen metres down the left channel before off-loading to his left to Stevie O’Connor who was able to promote the ball further downfield.

After missing a number of rounds Levi Dangerfield started at left centre in Round Ten against the Murwillumbah Mustangs as well as in Round Eleven against the Lower Clarence Magpies.

Against the Magpies Levi Dangerfield made a line break in the 34th minute that accounted for twenty five metres down the left channel to get the ball to within three metres of the halfway mark.

Levi Dangerfield backed that run up with another strong run in the 51st minute when he broke five tackles in a sixteen metre run on the left side of the field with the final metres of the run over the halfway mark coming when Levi Dangerfield had his back towards the try line.

Levi Dangerfield then moved to the left wing in Round Thirteen against the Ballina Seagulls.

After starting from the bench for a Titans Northern Rivers U18 squad that played a Future Titans U17 side in a Titans against Canberra NRL match at Cbus Stadium on the Saturday, Levi Dangerfield started at left centre in the rescheduled Round Four match against the Bilambil Jets.

Levi Dangerfield then started on the left wing in the rescheduled Round Five match against the Byron Bay Devils.

Levi Dangerfield then started on the left wing for the Cudgen Hornets in the 2022 NRRRL Major Semi-final against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Levi Dangerfield crossing the try line in the left corner in the 7th minute bit the last pass to Levi Dangerfield was ruled to have gone forward.

Levi Dangerfield also had a line break in the 21st minute when he burst away down the left touchline from near the halfway mark and as the Seagulls cover defence came across Levi Dangerfield put in a right foot kick back inside.

The 2022 NRRRL U18 Grand Final saw Levi Dangerfield named at start on the left wing for the Cudgen Hornets against the Ballina Seagulls with Levi Dangerfield coming close to scoring in the 27th minute when he raced through to retrieve a Max Liles chip kick on the bounce with Levi Dangerfield getting to within three metres of the try line before he was brought to ground by the Ballina fullback.

Levi Danger field made a further line break in the 56th minute when after receiving a pass from his right Levi Dangerfield raced thirty five metres down the left touchline before being brought down just five metres out.

Levi Dangerfield was named on the interchange bench for the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side for their Round One match against the Wests Tigers and worked hard in the centre of the ruck in their first up loss.

Levi Dangerfield moved into the starting side in the left second row position in Round Two against local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs in Nambucca Heads. Round Three saw Levi Dangerfield move from right second row to left centre as the Northern Rivers Titans took on the Greater Northern Tigers, scoring the final try of the match in the Northern Rivers Titans 30 – 16 victory.

Levi Dangerfield scored in the dying seconds of the match when he was able to dive on the ball in the in-goal to score just prior to the final siren sounding. The towering spiral kick that was put up by Kye Cooper could not be taken on the full by the defence and Levi Dangerfield was able to dive on the ball in the in-goal to score just prior to the final siren sounding.

Levi Dangerfield showed that he enjoyed the extra space at left centre in the first half when he broke three tackles and was then able to offload in heavy traffic.

Levi Dangerfield continued at left centre in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters, a match that was played as a curtain raiser to the Titans against Warriors NRL trial in Lismore. In the final round of the 2021 U16 Andrew Johns Cup being Round Five Levi Dangerfield was named as the 18th man for the Northern Rivers Titans.

In Round Seven of the NRRRL U18 competition, Levi Dangerfield started from the bench for the Cudgen Hornets in Round Seven against the Marist Brothers Rams, playing on the right side of the field when he came on.

Levi Dangerfield also came off the bench in Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys, playing in the right second row position when he came on and also came off the bench in Round Ten against the Murwillumbah Mustangs to play on the left wing.

Also in 2021 Levi Dangerfield played for the Cudgen Hornets in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League U16 competition and post the completion of the season Levi Dangerfield was named the 2021 Cudgen Hornets U16 Group 18 Best Back.

In early October 2020 Levi Dangerfield was part of the Titans Group 18 U14/15 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans Gold Coast U14 squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players wore Titans jerseys.

In the 2020 Group 18 U15 competition Levi Dangerfield played for the combined Cudgen/Murwillumbah Mustangs side that two games and lost eight, scoring 122 points and conceding 298 to finish the season with a -176 points differential. Post the season Levi Dangerfield was named the Cudgen Hornets Group 18 U15 Best and Fairest.

In 2019 Levi Dangerfield played for the Group 18 U14 representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, playing primarily at lock.

Levi Dangerfield is a tall powerful young man who whilst using his size to his advantage by running hard and straight, he does have quite decent footwork prior to the defensive line, which he uses to cut back behind the play the ball to take advantage of defenders who are slow to get back into the defensive line.

Where Levi Dangerfield’s game has really developed over the last couple of seasons his ability to play wider of the ruck. With his size and strength wider of the ruck Levi Dangerfield attracts defenders and thus is in a position to use his ball skills to set up his outside supports early in a match.

When defences start to try to anticipate that Levi Dangerfield is going to pass then he can use his size and power to cash through the defensive lien as no defender is going to be able to handle him one on one by themselves.

In defence Levi Dangerfield uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Levi Dangerfield is not adverse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining decent leverage and reasonable agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck, although clearly he is more effective in the centre of the ruck, as most front rowers are.

Levi Dangerfield will also be eligible in play for the Cudgen Hornets in the 2023 NRRRL U18 competition. From a representative stand point Levi Dangerfield is eligible once again for the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup Squad but Levi Dangerfield is also more than capable for being a key contributor for the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad if he chooses to go that route.

Levi Dangerfield is a big strong powerful young man but has exceptional speed and mobility and is ideally suited to play on the fringes of the ruck in rugby league although there is no doubt Levi Dangerfield is also very effective through the centre of the ruck. I appreciate that Levi Dangerfield played in the centres and on the wing in the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition, but I do not believe that situation will continue.

With his size and speed Levi Dangerfield has a playing style similar to that of Canberra Raiders backrower Joseph Tapine as a player who is simply a hard player. What I mean by “hard” is that Levi Dangerfield runs very hard at the defensive line and tackles just as hard.