My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Cruz Dangerfield. In late September 2023 Cruz Dangerfield was named in the 2024 Northern Rivers Titans U17 Development Academy squad.

In late 2022 Cruz Dangerfield was named in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad after a stellar 2022 campaign with Cruz Dangerfield involved in the Northern Rivers Titans opening 2023 trial against the North Coast Bulldogs in Coffs Harbour.

Crus Dangerfield then was part of the Northern Rivers Titans second trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls U16 CC Cup side at Burleigh Juniors as part of the Titans Annual Super Saturday series of matches.

Round One of the 2023 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Crus Dangerfield named on the bench for the Northern Rivers Titans against the Newcastle Knights with Cruz Dangerfield coming onto the field in the 22nd minute with Cruz Dangerfield making a strong run on the 50th minute from the left of the play the ball with Cruz Dangerfield taking possession just ten metres out from his own try line with Cruz Dangerfield then able to get a right arm off-load away near the twenty metre mark.

Cruz Dangerfield was then named to start at right second row in Round Two against the Central Coast Roosters with Cruz Dangerfield making a strong thirty metre run down the right channel to twenty metres out mid-way through the second half.

Cruz Dangerfield was also named at right second row for Round Three against the South Coast Dragons with Cruz Dangerfield taking the opening hit-up of the match after the Dragons had kicked-off to get the match underway with Cruz Dangerfield taking the ball on the right touchline and subsequently getting the ball over the twenty metre mark.

Cruz Dangerfield also started at right second row in Round Four against the Northern Tigers with Cruz Dangerfield recording a line break in the 29th minute when Kaleb Smith put Cruz Dangerfield through a gap down the right channel just inside Northern Rivers territory with Cruz Dangerfield making sixteen metres.

Cruz Dangerfield also started at right second row in Round Five against the North Coast Bulldogs with Cruz Dangerfield taking the opening hit-up of the match from the North Coast kick-off and after that, as usual Cruz Dangerfield proved to be a real handful for the Bulldogs both in an attacking sense as well as defensively.

2023 saw Cruz Dangerfield move to PBC SHS, playing for their School Boy Walters Cup competition with Cruz Dangerfield starting Round Two against Caloundra SHS at left second row with Cruz Dangerfield recording a try assist in just the 3rd minute of the match when after receiving the ball down a short left blindside forty metres from the try line, Cruz Dangerfield broke one tackle and then after charging downfield Cruz Dangerfield drew the Caloundra SHS fullback and off-loaded to his left to put his winger over to score.

Then in the 27th minute Cruz Dangerfield ran the ball down the left channel from the halfway mark seventeen metres downfield.

Cruz Dangerfield continued at left second row in Round Three against Mabel Park SHS with Cruz Dangerfield making a line break in the 25th minute when from thirty metres out from his own try line Cruz Dangerfield beat his opposing defender on the outside getting the ball five metres into Mabel Park SHS territory.

Earlier in the 12th minute Cruz Dangerfield charged onto the ball two passes to the left of the play the ball and got the ball to within eight metres of the halfway mark after commencing his run twenty five metres out from his own try line.

Then in the 46th minute Cruz Dangerfield made a fifteen metre run down the left channel to within twelve metres of the try line.

Cruz Dangerfield also started at left second row in Round Four against Redcliffe SHS with Cruz Dangerfield carrying the ball down the left channel from twenty four metres from the try line to five metres out.

Cruz Dangerfield continued at left second in Round Five against Steetton State College with Cruz Dangerfield scoring in the 21st minute with an outstanding solo effort. After receiving the ball two passes to the left of the dummy half on the halfway mark, Cruz Dangerfield stepped off his left foot after running five metres to beat one defender with Cruz Dangerfield then stepping off his left foot when twenty metres out to beat the Stretton State College fullback. Cruz Dangerfield as caught from behind when eight metres from the try line but after spinning clockwise, Cruz Dangerfield was able to break free of the tackle and dive over to score adjacent to the left upright.

Cruz Dangerfield was also involved in a PBC SHS try in the 28th minute when whilst three metres from the try line Cruz Dangerfield was able to get his right arm free above his head and get a pass away to his left with PBC SHS scoring in the left corner a pass later.

Cruz Dangerfield also started at left second row in the Round Six Gold Coast School Boy derby against Keebra Park SHS with Cruz Dangerfield carrying the ball from twenty one metres out from the try line to three metres out down the left channel.

Cruz Dangerfield continued at left second row in Round Seven against Wavell SHS with Cruz Dangerfield making the fourth hit-up of the match making fourteen metres down the left channel to carry the ball into Wavell SHS territory.

Cruz Dangerfield also started at left second row in the Semi-final against Marsden SHS with Cruz Dangerfield carrying the ball from eight metres out from his own try line to twenty metres out down the left channel in the 9th minute.

Cruz Dangerfield also started at left second row in the 2023 School Boy Rugby League Walters Cup Grand Final against Wavell SHS with Cruz Dangerfield running onto the ball to the left of the dummy half in the 14th minute from twenty four metres from the try lien and after stepping inside off his left foot Cruz Dangerfield was able to get within two metres of the try line, six metres to the left of the goal posts.

Then in the 32nd minute with the scores close Cruz Dangerfield produced a smart try saving piece of play. With Wavell SHS attacking the try line the five eight made a half break and passed to two unmarked players when three metres from the try line Cruz Dangerfield was able to reach out with his right arm and after initially knocking the ball up in the air was able to regain possession and stay in the field of play.

Round Two of the 2023 NRRRL U18 competition saw Cruz Dangerfield named on the bench for the Cudgen Hornets in their local derby against the Bilambil Jets even though Cruz Dangerfield was still U16 eligible in 2023.

Cruz Dangerfield also started from the bench in Round Four against the Byron Bay Devils with Cruz Dangerfield coming off the bench to operate in the middle of the field in the 14th minute.

Cruz made his first NRRRL U18 start when he started in the front row in Round Five against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Cruz Dangerfield stopping one of his opposing front rowers in his tracks with a heavy front on hit in the 24th minute less than a metre from the try line and directly in front of the goal posts.

2023 also saw Cruz Dangerfield continue to play for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 U16 competition with Cruz Dangerfield starting in the second row in the Grand Final againt Byron Bay Lennox Head.

2022 saw Cruz Dangerfield play for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 U15 competition including starting at right second row in the Grand Final against Byron Bay/Lennox Head. At the 2022 Awards Presentation, Cruz Dangerfield was named the 2022 Murwillumbah Colts Group 18 U15 Best and Fairest and Cruz Dangerfield was also awarded the trophy for scoring the most tries in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League Competition for the Murwillumbah Colts Junior Rugby League Club across all age groups.

Cruz Dangerfield also played school boy rugby in 2022 playing at No. 8 for Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School playing in both First XV matches and Sevens carnivals including the Gold Coast Schools Sevens Carnival in late 2022 where Cruz Dangerfield was one of the stand-out players of the carnival.

Cruz Dangerfield is big, strong, powerful with above average speed and that makes him very very difficult to defend against in a one on one situation wide of the ruck. Cruz Dangerfield, when he runs onto the ball off the dummy half through the centre of the ruck, Cruz Dangerfield just flat out runs hard and has some subtle footwork that he uses prior to contact with the defensive line.

Cruz Dangerfield also has significant upper body strength which he uses to drop his shoulder into defenders and unless defenders look to use their shoulders, Cruz Dangerfield will just surge through the attempted tackle and continue on his way uninterrupted. In short Cruz Dangerfield is a handful for opposing defences and makes a significant amount of his metres gained post contact, I would estimate that figure being close to 50%.

In defence Cruz Dangerfield uses his size and strength to make very very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. Cruz Dangerfield is not averse 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.

2024 will see Cruz Dangerfield continue to attend PBC SHS with Cruz Dangerfield looking to progress to the PBC SHS School Boy Rugby League Open A Langer Cup squad. 2024 will also see Cruz Dangerfield line up for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the NRRRL U18 competition.

Cruz Dangerfield is a big, strong, fast and powerful runner of the ball and with his above average to plus speed for a big man, Cruz Dangerfield certainly matches the profile of a representative level rugby league second rower, although it is not out of the question that Cruz Dangerfield lines up as a front rower with above average speed and mobility for the position.

With his speed and power in both attack and defence and his leadership attributes Cruz Dangerfield’s style of play is uniquely similar to that of Brisbane Bronco’s captain, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International forward Patrick Carrigan. Both Carrigan and Cruz Dangerfield are outstanding players in their own right but by leading through their actions rather than words necessarily and both Carrigan and Cruz Dangerfield also make their team mates better as well.

[mdrew]

Kwinn Wolf. In late September 2023 Kwinn Wolf was named in the 2024 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad with Kwinn Wolf also U18 eligible in 2025.

In October 2022 Kwinn Wolf was named in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad with Kwinn Wolf involved in the Northern Rivers Titans opening 2023 trial against the Northern Coast Bulldogs in Coffs Harbour with Kwinn Wolf scoring a strong second half try.

Kwinn Wolf then started in the front row in the Northern Rivers Titans second trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls U16 CC Cup side at Burleigh Juniors as part of the Titans Annual Super Saturday.

Round One of the 2023 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Kwinn Wolf named on the bench for the Northern Rivers Titans against the Newcastle Knights with Kwinn Wolf coming off the bench to operate in the front row in the 15th minute.

Kwinn Wolf was then named to start in the front row in Round Two against the Central Coast Roosters as well as in Round Three against the South Coast Dragons with Kwinn Wolf making the fourth hit-up of the match.

Kwinn Wolf continued in the front row in Round Four against the Northern Tigers.

Kwinn Wolf also started in the front row in Round Five against the North Coast Bulldogs with Kwinn Wolf scoring a strong try in the 54th minute as a result of a powerful twenty metre run which saw Kwinn Wolf break three tackles as he charged onto the ball to the left of the play the ball to crash over eight metres to the left of the uprights.

Kwinn Wolf had taken the fourth hit-up of the match from the North Coast kick-off and along with Banjora Porch, Kwinn Wolf smashing the Bulldogs No. 10 twenty metres from the try line with the ball lost as a result of the heavy defensive contact in the 8th minute.

At the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans Awards presentation Kwinn Wolf received the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup Coaches Award.

Kwinn Wolf started from the bench in Round One of the 2023 School Boy Walter Cup competition for PBC SHS against Marsden SHS with Kwinn Wolf scoring in the 27th minute as a result of a strong eight metre charge with Kwinn Wolf crashing over to score four metres to the left of the uprights.

Kwinn Wolf then started in the front row in Round Two against Caloundra SHS with Kwinn Wolf making a line break from just the second hit-up of the match when after charging onto the ball to the left of the play the ball twenty five metres out from his own try line Kwinn Wolf burst between a number of defenders to get the ball to the halfway mark.

The 54th minute from two metres inside his own territory Kwinn Wolf ran onto the ball to the left of the play the ball with Kwinn Wolf carrying the ball sixteen metres inside Caloundra SHS territory. Then in the 55th minute from a PBC SHS penalty tap restart Kwiin Wolf charged from twenty two metres out with Kwinn Wolf only stopped literally on the left upright.

Kwinn Wolf continued in the front row in Round Three against Mabel Park SHS with Kwinn Wolf taking the second hit-up of the match to get the ball out to the twenty six metre mark. Kwinn Wolf also did well in the 6th minute when along with Marley McLaren, Kwinn Wolf grabbed hold of the Mabel Park SHS fullback ten metres from the try line and forced him back all of the way into the in-goal to force Mabel Park SHS into a goal line drop-out to restart the match.

Kwinn Wolf also started in the front row in Round Four against Redcliffe SHS with Kwin Wolf making a strong run in the 5th minute when after running an underneath route to get the ball from thirty five metres out to twenty metres from the try line.

Kwinn Wolf continued in the front row in Round Five against Steetton State College with Kwinn Wolf making a good run in the 42nd minute from the right of the play the ball with Kwinn Wolf carrying the ball from ten metres inside his own territory to eight metres inside Stretton State College territory.

Kwinn Wolf also started in the front row in the Round Six Gold Coast School Boy derby against Keebra Park SHS and Wavell SHS in Round Seven with Kwinn Wolf taking a hit-up from a PBC SHS penalty restart on the halfway mark to make thirteen metres.

Kwinn Wolf also started in the front row in the Semi-final against Marsden SHS with Kwinn Wolf scoring the opening try of the match in just the 2nd minute when from two metres out Kwinn Wolf cut underneath his hooker who had run to his right with Kwinn Wolf crashing over to score mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Also in the 36th minute from the left of the play the ball Kwinn Wolf carried the ball from thirty five metres from the try line to twenty metres out, breaking a tackle along the way. Then a tackle later Kwinn Wolf got to within four metres of the try line after starting his run twelve metres out.

Kwinn Wolf also started in the front row in the 2023 School Boy Rugby League Walters Cup Grand Final against Wavell SHS with Kwinn Wolf scoring a crucial try in the 41st minute when after the PBC SHS dummy half had run to his right with the play the ball twelve metres out, Kwinn Wolf ran a straight hard line and after receiving the inside pass Kwinn Wolf crashed over to score under the posts.

Kwinn Wolf commenced a strong match by taking the third hit-up of the match to get the ball thirty two metres away from his own try line.

Even though he was still U16 eligible Kwinn Wolf came off the bench in Round Two of the 2032 NRRRL U18 competition for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the 47th minute against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Kwinn Wolf making his first run of ten metres almost immediately.

Kwinn Wolf continued from the bench in Round Three against the Cudgen Hornets with Kwinn Wolf coming onto the field in the 50th minute. Kwinn Wolf also came off the bench in Round Four against the Tweed Heads Seagulls .

Kwinn Wolf then was named to make his first NRRRL U18 start when he was named in the front row in Round Six against the Lower Clarence Magpies however a later change saw Kwinn Wolf start the match from the bench with Kwinn Wolf coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 22nd minute with Kwinn Wolf almost immediately making a strong kick-off return to get the ball to the twenty two metre mark.

The 36th minute saw Kwinn Wolf make a line break when after running onto the ball to the left of the play the ball thirty metres out from his own try line Kwinn Wolf burst between two defenders and charged downfield before being tackled fourteen metres inside Magpies territory.

2023 also saw Kwinn Wolf continue to play for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 U16 competition with Kwinn Wolf starting in the front row in the Grand Final againt Byron Bay Lennox Head.

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.

In 2022 Kwinn Wolf also played for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the Group 18 U15 competition including starting at left second row in the Grand Final against the Bilambil Jets.

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 averse 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.

2024 will see Kwinn Wolf continue to attend PBC SHS with Kwinn Wolf looking to progress to the PBC SHS School Boy Rugby League Open A Langer Cup squad. 2024 will also see Kwinn Wolf line up for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the NRRRL U18 competition.

After playing in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side Kwinn Wolf will move up to U18 Laurie Daley Cup Northern Rivers Titans side in 2024.

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 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.

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Jakequan Roberts-Walsh. In late September 2023 Jakequan Roberts-Walsh was named in the 2024 Northern Rivers Titans U17 Development Academy squad.

In October 2022 Jakequan Roberts-Walsh was named in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad after a strong 2022 campaign in the Northern New South Wales Group One U15 Junior Rugby League competition with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh part of the Northern Rivers Titans squad that played the Tweed Heads Seagulls CC Cup squad in a trial at Burleigh Juniors as part of the Titans Annual Super Saturday series of matches with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh spending time on the left wing.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh was named to start on the right wing in Round Two against the Central Coast Roosters with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring in the 19th minute when after good work on his inside Jakequan Roberts-Walsh darted ten metres to five over to score two metres in from the right corner post.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also made a line break in the 40th minute when whilst defending thirty five metres out from his own try line, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh swooped on a Central Coast dropped ball and got to near the halfway mark before he was brought down.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also made a strong tackle in the 32nd minute when whilst defending on his own try line one of the Central Coast Roosters halves threw a long cut-out pass towards Jakequan Roberts-Walsh’s wing with the Roosters right winger forced to jump high to take possession, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh hit him whilst he was still in mid-air and drove him hard into the ground near the sideline.

After missing Round Three against the South Coast Dragons Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started on the right wing in Round Four against the Northern Tigers with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh making a great try saving tackle along with Kaleb Smith on the Tigers left centre just six metres in from the Titans right corner post to hold up the hard charging centre in the 17th minute.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started on the right wing in Round Five against the North Coast Bulldogs with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring a double with the first of his tries coming in the 3rd minute with a twelve metre burst to score in the right corner after good work on his inside from Koopah Walters from a scrum set play.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh completed his double in the 16th minute with a ninety two metre effort when after picking up a dropped Bulldogs ball Jakequan Roberts-Walsh picked up the ball eight metres out from his own try line and raced down the right touch line with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh celebrating by raising his left arm well be diving over to score five metres in from the right corner post.

Earlier Jakequan Roberts-Walsh had taken the second hit-up of the match from the North Coast kick-off with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh getting the ball over the twenty metre mark.

Even though he was still U16 eligible Jakequan Roberts-Walsh started at fullback in Round Two of the 2023 NRRRL U18 competition for Northern United against the Mullumbimby Giants with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh electric when running the ball with three line breaks.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made his first line break in the 29th minute when after receiving an off-load seven metres short of the halfway mark, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh burst away down the touchline but when he was twenty two metres from the try line Jakequan Roberts-Walsh’s pass to his inside went astray.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made his second line break in the 33rd minute when after once again being available to take an off-load, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh received the ball eighteen metres out from his own try line and then cut the Giants defence apart and get the ball ten metres inside Mullumbimby territory.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made a third line break in the 51st minute when after taking possession two passes to the left of the play the ball on the halfway mark Jakequan Roberts-Walsh ran to his left before straightening up his run on the forty metre mark and beating two tackles before being tackled by the Giants halfback seventeen metres out from the try line.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also made a good defensive effort in the 40th minute when he was involved in holding up a Giants player next to the left upright.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started at fullback in Round Three against the Kyogle Turkeys with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh making a line break and recording a try assist inside the opening minute of the match when after taking the Turkeys clearing kick after the opening set of six tackles on the full around twenty metres out from his own try line and in the centre of the field, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh immediately ran to his left beating the first defender with pace before Jakequan Roberts-Walsh beat a second with a right arm fend. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh then straightened up and shrugged off another attempted tackle from behind and after almost tripping up twice Jakequan Roberts-Walsh got to the twenty metre mark and then twisted clockwise when confronted by the Turkeys fullback and got a pass to his right for his left second rower to score untouched under the posts.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made multiple line breaks against Kyogle with another coming in the 11th minute when to the left of the play the ball and ten metres from the halfway mark Jakequan Roberts-Walsh burst between two defenders but as he looked to step the fullback when thirty metres from the try line Jakequan Roberts-Walsh slipped at the fullback’s feet.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made another line break in the 17th minute when after Kyogle lost the ball from a penalty tap restart, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh picked up the ball near his left touchline fifteen metres out from his own try line and immediately exploded down the left touchline before being tackled on the halfway mark.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh rounded out an outstanding match with a fourth line break in the 54th minute when after receiving the ball in space five metres inside Kyogle territory Jakequan Roberts-Walsh raced to withing eighteen metres of the try line.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started at fullback in Round Four against the Casino Cougars with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh recording a try assist in the 11th minute when after the Northern United five eight had a kick charged down five metres inside his own territory, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh picked up the ball around ten metres inside his own territory and after exploding downfield to his right Jakequan Roberts-Walsh, whilst running to his left put in a tight foot chip off the outside of his right foot back towards the centre of the field with the ball sitting up perfectly for his five eight to run onto the ball and race away to score under the posts.

In just the 3rd minute Jakequan Roberts-Walsh picked up a dropped ball fifteen metres inside his own territory and darted away from a standing start with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh carrying the ball eight metres inside Casino territory.

The 8th minute saw Jakequan Roberts-Walsh chase through a chip kick to the left of the play the ball with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh taking the chip on the full near the left touchline and getting within ten metres of the left corner post.

Then in the 17th minute Jakequan Roberts-Walsh took a Casino kick on the full near the centre of the field and three metres out from his own try line with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh running to his left to get the ball twenty two metres away from his try line.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started at fullback in Round Five against the Ballina Seagulls with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring in the 55th minute when after chasing through a chip towards the left wing, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh did exceptionally well to steal the ball one on one from the Ballina left winger, whist at full pace to then race away to score in the left corner.

Earlier in the 49th minute Jakequan Roberts-Walsh had close to scoring when from close to the try line Jakequan Roberts-Walsh had run out of dummy half to his right only to be held up three metres in from the left corner post.

Round Six against the Bilambil Jets saw Jakequan Roberts-Walsh start at fullback with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring in the 13th minute when after receiving the ball when Northern United spun the ball to the left, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh received the ball twenty five metres out with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh putting the ball under his left arm and charging at the try line with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh running straight over the top of the Jets right winger before stepping inside off his left foot to get past the Bilambil fullback and put the ball down five metres in from the left corner post.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh came close to scoring a second try in the 45th minute when he chased through a chip on the left side of the field but the Bilambil fullback just got to the ball before Jakequan Roberts-Walsh, but Jakequan Roberts-Walsh then had a presence of mind to be involved in tackling the fullback in-goal.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh continued at fullback in Round Eight against the Byron Bay Devils with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh making a try saving tackle in the 27th minute on the Byron Bay hooker less than a metre from the try line and just to the left of the uprights after the Devils player had darted out of dummy half from ten metres out.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also executed a smart piece of play in the 33rd minute to prevent a Devils 40/20 with Jakequan knocking the ball back in the field of play when it was over the right touchline eighteen metres from the Northern United try line.

Then in the 59th minute Jakequan Roberts-Walsh ran out of dummy half to his right from twenty eight metres out from his own try line with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh able to get the ball to the halfway mark.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started at fullback in Round Nine against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring in the 51st minute from two passes to the left of the play the ball and twenty two metres out and after receiving the ball in space, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh utilises his speed to race to his left to dive over to score seven metres in from the left corner post.

Earlier in the match in the 7th minute after fielding a kick to the right of the uprights and eight metres out from his own try line, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh ran to his left and after getting on the outside of the Raiders right winger Jakequan Roberts-Walsh charged down the left touchline getting to within two metres of the halfway mark with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh then being awarded a penalty for being held down too long by the Tweed Coast defender.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh continued at fullback in Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring in the 10th minute when after backing up a Northern United line break through the centre of the field, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh received the ball from his right and did well to take the pass cleanly as it was passed just behind him with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh then running ten metres to score five metres in from the left corner post.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also recorded a try assist in the 36th minute when after running the ball from two passes to the right of the play the ball on the halfway mark, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh was able to get between two defenders before getting a right arm off-load away to his right to put his supporting team mate over to score in the right corner.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made the first of his three line breaks in the 13th minute when after receiving an off-load from his right five metres inside his own territory Jakequan Roberts-Walsh, after getting on the outside of the Hornets right winger, raced down the left touchline and as he approached the Hornets fullback Jakequan Roberts-Walsh put in a right foot chip over the top from twenty metres out but the ball just beat the chasing Jakequan Roberts-Walsh over the dead ball line, but it was close, very close.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made a second line break in the 30th minute when after Cudgen put in a long kick from deep inside their own territory from a scrum win, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh was racing shoulder to shoulder with the Cudgen fullback and instead of trying to pick the ball up, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh kicked the ball towards his own try line and after outpacing his opponent Jakequan Roberts-Walsh collected the ball in his own in-goal area behind the post and ran to his right down the right touchline getting the ball five metres inside Cudgen territory as a result of an inspired and instinctual piece of play.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh recorded a third line break in the 57th minute when from two passes to the left of the play the ball thirty five metres out from his own try line Jakequan Roberts-Walsh ran to his left and ran down the left touchline and as he approached the fullback Jakequan Roberts-Walsh chipped over the top but unfortunately was not able to collect the ball cleanly on the bounce just three metres out from the try line.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also made a good run in the 34th minute when from two passes to the left of a Northern United scrum win and twenty metres from the try line, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh broke three tackles with his run coming to an end seven metres out and five metres to the left of the uprights.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also did well in the 29th minute to chase through a Northern United attacking chip kick to collar and dragged the Hornets played back into the in-goal and force a Hornets goal line drop-out.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started at fullback in Round Eleven against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh continued at fullback in Round Sixteen against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh picking up a Seagulls kick three metres out near the left touchline with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh running the ball towards the centre of the field and broke two metres to get the ball twelve metres away from his own try line.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh made an additional solid kick return in the 15th minute when after tracking back to take a Tweed Heads kick ten metres out from his try line and after Jakequan Roberts-Walsh danced in the centre of the field, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh ran to his left and after getting on the outside of the Seagulls defensive line, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh put in a right foot grubber kick thirty metres out from the try line but the kick was blocked by a Seagulls defender.

Then in the 37th minute from the left of a Northern United scrum win Jakequan Roberts-Walsh received the ball ten metres out from his own try line and after running at a back peddling defensive line, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh put in a right foot grubber kick in for himself when twenty metres out, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh kicked the ball off the ground once again but then was held back by a Tweed Heads defender and was subsequently awarded a penalty on the halfway mark.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also started at fullback in the Week One Elimination Final against the Byron Bay Devils with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring in the 30th minute when from a set play from a Northern United scrum win ten metres inside their own territory, the Northern United halfback ran to the left of the scrum and put a chip over the defensive line with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh raced through to retrieve the ball on the bounce forty metres out with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh racing away to put the ball down under the posts.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also made a line break in the 24th minute when after receiving the ball from the back of a Northern United scrum win in the centre of the field and ten metres out from his own try line, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh ran to his left and after getting on the outside of the Devils right winger, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh charged down the left touchline before cutting back inside around thirty metres out.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh did well defensively in the 22nd minute when after the Byron Bay left winger made a line break down the touchline, he tried to step Jakequan Roberts-Walsh but a low left shoulder one on one tackle in open space cut the winger down just twelve metres out from the try line.

In 2022 Jakequan Roberts-Walsh played for Lismore Marist in the Group One U15 competition with the young half scoring fifteen tries and kicking seven goals in finish with an individual points haul of seventy four points.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scored a staggering five tries in Round Eight against the South Grafton Rebels. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also scored doubles in Round One against the Ballina Seagulls, Round Eleven against the Clarence Coast Magpies, Round Fourteen against the South Grafton Rebels and in Week One of the Finals against the Grafton Ghosts. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also scored in Round Five against the Kyogle Turkeys and Round Twelve against Clarence Coast.

From a goal kicking perspective Jakequan Roberts-Walsh kicked three conversions in Round One against Ballina and kicked two conversions in Round Fourteen against South Grafton.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh finished the 2022 Group One U15 season as the competition’s equal 3rd leading try scorer with fifteen tries and also finished as the competition’s equal 5th leading points scorer with seventy four points from those fifteen tries as well as seven conversions.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also played for Marist in the 2021 Group One U14 competition with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh once again playing at halfback with Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scoring ten tries and kicked one conversion (Round Thirteen against South Grafton) in the Covid 19 impacted season.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh scored doubles in Rounds Three, Five and Eight against Casino RSM, Kyogle and Clarence Coast respectively. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also scored in Round Two against Ballina, Round Ten against Casino RSM, Round Twelve against Kyogle and Round Thirteen against South Grafton.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh finished the 2021 Group One U14 season as the competition’s equal 8th leading try scorer with ten tries and also finished as the competition’s equal 13th leading points scorer with forty two points.

In attack Jakequan Roberts-Walsh has plus to plus plus speed off the mark, it really is quite exceptional but Jakequan Roberts-Walsh does not necessarily have an extra gear in open space, but Jakequan Roberts-Walsh is able to sustain his top speed over considerable distance which ensures that Jakequan Roberts-Walsh will score a solid amount of long range solo tries.

In confined space, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh has very good footwork, including a good step off both feet. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh can beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies.

At present, one area for Jakequan Roberts-Walsh to continue to develop is his play making skills, including putting his runners, whether they are backrowers or centres into holes. With experience however there is nothing to suggest that these type of play making skills will not develop over time. As games progress Jakequan Roberts-Walsh is very good at identifying tired forwards in the defensive line, and Jakequan Roberts-Walsh will target them accordingly.

I think that he has found the perfect place with the Burleigh Queensland Cup side, their solid forward pack has enabled Jakequan Roberts-Walsh to operate behind a forward pack that consistently has the opposition moving backwards. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh also does not mind at all putting in short attacking kicks for himself regardless of where he is on the field or the game situation.

In defence, for his size Jakequan Roberts-Walsh is a strong and (very) aggressive defender who reads the play well and can hold his own when defending much bigger players. When confronted with forwards running directly at him on the edge of the ruck, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh will get in front of them and use his shoulder to drive into them with absolutely no fear at all.

Due to his speed off the mark Jakequan Roberts-Walsh is also a very good cover defender as he tracks the ball across the field and is also very good at tracking back to defend against short attacking kicks put in behind his team’s defensive line.

In 2023 Jakequan Roberts-Walsh will play for Northern United in the NRRRL U18 competition for the second season in a row.

Jakequan Roberts-Walsh has played the last couple of seasons at halfback but did stand out at fullback for Northern United in the NRRRL U18 competiion and there is no reason for Jakequan Roberts-Walsh to move to any other position due to the way that Jakequan Roberts-Walsh is able to direct his side around the field as well as taking the defensive line on himself when the opportunity presents.

For me Jakequan Roberts-Walsh has a similar playing style to that of Titan and Burleigh Bear Shallin Fuller. Like Fuller, Jakequan Roberts-Walsh has the speed off the mark to be able to exploit gaps and also has a bit of unpredictability about him which keeps defensive lines honest especially when he runs with the ball in two hands.

With continued development of his play making and passing skills Jakequan Roberts-Walsh has intriguing potential for the coming seasons. Jakequan Roberts-Walsh is a solid goal kicker as well and a developing tactical kicker who has the potential to be his side’s first choice kicker in both disciplines in future seasons.

[mdrew]

Daniel Rakena. The Keebra Park State High School five eight started from the bench for a Titans U16 side on late September 2022 against a Sydney Roosters U16 side at Pizzey Park, impressively Daniel Rakena was still U15 eligible at the time as the Titans ran riot on the way to a comprehensive and very impressive 32 – 8 victory at Pizzey Park.

In late September 2022 Daniel Rakena was named in the 2023 Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup representative squad after an outstanding 2022 season at both club and school boy level with in the main Daniel Rakena playing against opposing players who were a year older than him.

Daniel Rakena started at five eight for the Bears in the final two quarters in their opening trial against the Souths Logan Magpies at Burleigh Juniors as part of the Titans Annual Super Saturday. Daniel Rakena also played in the Bears second trial CC Cup against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Daniel Rakena operating at five eight on the left side of the field against the Bears local rivals.

Daniel Rakena was named to start on the bench in Round One of the 2023 U16 Cyril Connell Cup competition for the Bears against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls with Daniel Rakena coming on at halftime at five eight to operate on the right side of the field.

Daniel Rakena added a new dimension to the Bears attack including a 56th minute try assist when after receiving the ball twenty metres out and to the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena took the ball to the defensive line before throwing a long cut out pass to his left to put his winger over to score to get Burleigh back into the match.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the 39th minute when to the left of the play the ball and forty five metres out from his own try line Daniel Rakena took the ball deep into the Wynnum Manly defensive line before throwing a hard flat cut-out pass to his left to put centre Isaac Cullen in a gap.

Daniel Rakena almost did it again in the 49th minute with a smart cut-out pass to his left on the halfway mark with Isaac Cullen once again the recipient but just as he was accelerating Isaac Cullen was caught from behind by the back of his jersey.

Daniel Rakena showcased his kicking skills in the 50th minute when from just outside his forty metre area Daniel Rakena drove a right foot kick into touch sixteen metres out from the Wynnum Manly try line.

Daniel Rakena’s performance saw him named on the bench in the 2023 CC Cup Round One Team of the Round.

Daniel Rakena moved into the Bears starting side at five eight for Round Two against the Souths Logan Magpies with Daniel Rakena recording an important try assist in the 43rd minute when after receiving the ball to his right and on the left side of the field Daniel Rakena ran the ball to his left and after putting doubt into the Magpies defensive line as to whether he would run the ball or pass Daniel Rakena threw a good short ball to his left to a charging Luke Jones who ran through a gap to score untouched eight metres in from the left corner post.

Daniel Rakena showcased his strong kicking game in the 7th minute when from forty metres out from own try line Daniel Rakena put in a hard low right foot kick into the in-goal in the in-goal with the Magpies fullback barely able to get the ball out of his in-goal area.

Daniel Rakena put in a further good kick in the 51st minute when from the right of the play the ball and thirty five metres out from his own try line Daniel Rakena went for a 40/20 kick towards the right touchline with the kick putting the Magpies winger under pressure with the winger taking the ball into touch twenty one metres out from the try line with the Bears scoring from the subsequent set of six tackles.

Daniel Rakena made a good low tackle in the 22nd minute on a charging Magpies No. 15 just twelve metres out from his own try line just in front of the left upright. Daniel Rakena smart defensive play in the 23rd minute when after the Magpies put in a kick towards the left corner Daniel Rakena smartly waited until the ball was batted back to the Magpies right centre Daniel Rakena grabbed him just as he took possession with Daniel Rakena taking him into touch just out from the try line to effect a change over.

Daniel Rakena also started at five eight in Round Three against the Brisbane Tigers with Daniel Rakena scoring in the 57th minute. Daniel Rakena received the ball to the left of the play the ball and in the centre of the field around twelve metres out and immediately ran the ball to his left and after throwing a dummy to his left Daniel Rakena stepped off his left foot and raced ten metres to dive over to score twelve metres in from the left corner post. Daniel Rakena then was able to convert his own try.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the 8th minute when from thirty five metres out Daniel Rakena threw a hard flat pass to his left that put Luke Jones on the outside of his immediate defender with the second rower then able to race twenty metres downfield.

In addition to converting his own try Daniel Rakena, from almost the identical spot on the field converted Jax Damro’s earlier 39th minute try.

Daniel Rakena continued at five eight in Round Four against the Norths Devils with Daniel Rakena kicking six conversions from as many attempts in a big Bears victory.

Daniel Rakena kicked the first of his six conversions in the 4th minute from five metres to the left of the uprights then the next three of Daniel Rakena’s conversions coming from directing in front of the goal posts in the 9th, 24th and 29th minutes. Daniel Rakena kicked a fifth conversion in the 44th minute to convert Ruben Dixon’s try from three metres to the right of the uprights before once again converting from in front of the posts in the 55th minute for his sixth conversion.

Daniel Rakena also forced a Norths goal line drop-out in the 48th minute when from six metres out and to the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena put a short right foot grubber kick into the in-goal with the Norths fullback unable to get back into the field of play.

As a result of his performance Daniel Rakena was named at five eight in the 2023 Courier Mail CC Cup Round Four Team of the Week.

Daniel Rakena continued at five eight in Round Six against the Redcliffe Dolphins with Daniel Rakena kicking two conversions from three attempts with the first of Daniel Rakena’s conversions coming in the 10th minute when Daniel Rakena converted Zac Murphy’s try from ten metres in from the right corner post. Daniel Rakena kicked his second conversion in the 50th minute to convert David Bryenton’s try from ten metres in from the left corner post.

Daniel Rakena had a strong defensive moment in the 39th minute when along with Luke Jones, Daniel Rakena picked up the Dolphins fullback ten metres out from his own try line and drove him back to within a metre of the try line before the referee called held.

Daniel Rakena continued at five eight in Round Seven in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Daniel Rakena kicking the Bears opening two conversions of their big 40 – 4 victory including a 19th minute conversion from the left touchline.

Daniel Rakena put up a good high bomb in the 56th minute when from the centre of the field and thirty metres out Daniel Rakena directed the bomb towards the left corner with the ball knocked on by the Tweed Heads right winger for the Bears to immediately go back onto the attack.

Daniel Rakena finished the 2023 CC Cup season recording three try assists and three line break assists.

In early March 2023 Daniel Rakena was named in the South Coast Maroon School Boy Rugby League Open Representative side for the 2023 QSSRL Championships with Daniel Rakena starting at halfback on Day One against Met North with Daniel Rakena recording a try assist in the 28th minute when from the centre of the field and eighteen metres out from the try line Daniel Rakena put up a high right foot bomb towards the left corner with the Met North fullback dropping the ball in-goal for South Coast Maroon to score.

Daniel Rakena also forced a goal line drop-out in the 27th minute when from the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena put in a right foot grubber kick from ten metres out with the Met North fullback subsequently trapped in-goal. Daniel Rakena set up a try from the set of six from the subsequent goal line drop-out.

Daniel Rakena also started at halfback on Day Two against Met West with Daniel Rakena recording a critical try assist in the 52nd minute when from the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena threw a hard flat cut-out pass to his left to put his left centre into a gap and subsequently over to score.

Daniel Rakena also started at halfback in the Day Four third against fourth play-off against Sunshine Coast.

Round One of the 2023 Langer Reserve School Boy competition saw Daniel Rakena named at halfback for Keebra Park SHS agaisnt Ipswich SHS as well as in in Round Two against Marsden SHS, Round Three against Redcliffe SHS, Round Four against Caloundra SHS and Round Five against Wavell SHS.

Daniel Rakena continued at halfback in the Round Six local derby against PBC SHS.

In late August 2023 Daniel Rakena was named in the South Queensland Māori U18 Representative side with Daniel Rakena subsequently selected in the Queensland Samoa U16 representative side for the 2023 QPICC Carnival.

Even though he was still U16 eligible in 2023 Daniel Rakena played a number of matches for the Southport Tigers GCRL U18 Division One side with his initial appearance coming in Round Seven when Daniel Rakena started at halfback against the Helensvale Hornets with Daniel Rakena kicking six conversions in a big Southport victory.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a try assist in the 9th minute when from the centre of the field and twenty metres out, Daniel Rakena put up a high right foot bomb towards the left corner with the Tigers left centre jumping high to take Daniel Rakena’s bomb two metres out and score in the right corner.

Daniel Rakena’s kicking game was on song in the 42nd minute when from the centre of the field and thirty metres from the try line Daniel Rakena put up a high bomb towards the left side of the field with the ball dropped by the Hornets left winger with Southport getting the scrum feed ten metres out from the try line.

The 51st minute saw Daniel Rakena get a result from a short goal line drop-out to his left with Southport regaining the ball around fifteen metres from their own try line.

Daniel Rakena also started at halfback in Round Eight against the Coomera Cutters with Daniel Rakena scoring a try and kicking five conversions from as many attempts including a 57th minute conversion in the 57th minute from three metres in from the left corner post. Daniel Rakena also kicked a 51st minute conversion from ten metres in from the right corner post.

Daniel Rakena scored in the 53rd minute when after running to his left and thirty five metres from the try line and bringing a support runner underneath the Southport player broke away and crossed the try line wide out on the left side of the field but instead of putting the ball down he passed the ball when in the in-goal to Daniel Rakena who then ran to his right to put the ball down under the posts. Daniel Rakena then converted his own try.

Daniel Rakena recorded a try assist in the 11th minute when from the left of a Tigers scrum win and ten metres from the try line, Daniel Rakena ran the ball to his left and after shaping to pass to an inside route runner Daniel Rakena passed the ball “out the back” to his fullback in space with the fullback then using his speed to score ten metres in from the left corner post.

Daniel Rakena recorded a second try assist in the 37th minute when from thirty five metres from the try line Daniel Rakena received the ball down a short left blindside with Daniel Rakena then putting in a right foot chip over the defensive line into space with the ball then to ’ed through by Southport to score ten metres from the left upright.

Daniel Rakena recorded his third try assist in the 57th minute when after ball playing to the left of the play the ball twenty metres from the try line, Daniel Rakena threw a pass “out the back” once again to his fullback who was able to score three metres in from the left corner post.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the 48th minute when after taking possession of the ball down a short left blindside thirty metres out from his own try line, Daniel Rakena ran the ball to within ten metres of the halfway mark with Daniel Rakena throwing a cut-out pass to his left winger who made a line break down the left touchline only to be tackled within ten metres of the try line.

Daniel Rakena made a good run in the 16th minute from the left of the play the ball and thirty metres from his own try line Daniel Rakena engaged the defensive line and when still ten metres inside his own half Daniel Rakena was being held by three defenders with two defenders then dropping off Daniel Rakena the third tried to steal the ball, but instead Daniel Rakena broke free of the third defender and proceeded to get the ball to three metres inside Coomera territory.

Daniel Rakena showcased his strong kicking game in the 3rd minute when from the left of the play the ball and forty metres out, Daniel Rakena put up a high bomb towards the left corner with the ball dropped by the Cutters right winger with the Tigers getting a scrum feed sixteen metres out from the try line.

Daniel Rakena continued at halfback in Round Twelve against the Helensvale Hornets with Daniel Rakena kicking two conversions with the first coming in the 19th minute from ten metres to the right of the uprights. Daniel Rakena then kicked his second conversion in the 27th minute from ten metres in from the right touchline.

Daniel Rakena came close to scoring in the 12th minute only to be held up over the try line ten metres to the left of the uprights after a ten metres run that incorporated two left foot steps by Daniel Rakena.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the 27th minute when from the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena held up the ball perfectly before passing to his left to put his left second rower away downfield.

The 2023 GCRL U18 Division One Major Semi-final saw Daniel Rakena start at halfback against the Currumbin Eagles with Daniel Rakana finishing the Tigers victory with an individual points haul of sixteen points from a try and six conversions.

Daniel Rakena kicked his initial conversion from in front of the posts in the 13th minute to convert Austin Marsters try. Daniel Rakana added a second try in the 31st minute when he converted his own try from six metres to the left of the goal posts. Then in the 40th minute from next to the left uprights Daniel Rakena kicked his third conversion with his fourth coming in the 50th minute from in front of the posts. Daniel Rakana added another conversion from twelve metres to the left of the goal posts in the 58th minute before Daniel Rakena kicked his sixth and final conversion from ten metres in from the right touchline after the final siren.

Daniel Rakena scored in the 31st minute when after receiving the ball two passes to the left of a Southport scrum win twenty metres from the try line, Daniel Rakana ran to his left and after dummying to an inside runner and then to his left Daniel Rakena stepped off his left foot and sliced between two defenders to put the ball down six metres to the left of the goal posts. Daniel Rakena then stepped up to convert his own try.

Daniel Rakena also recorded two try assists, the first arriving in the 27th minute when Daniel Rakena, to the left of the dummy half, took the ball deep into the defensive line and held the ball until the last possible second before throwing a deft pass to his left when four metres from the try line to the Tigers fullback who had a straight run to score i

Daniel Rakena added his second try assist in the 40th minute when from two passes to the left of a Tigers scrum win (sound familiar), Daniel Rakena ran to his left when sixteen metres out dummied to an inside runner before taking the ball to the defensive line and throwing a well weighted short pass to his left to Elijah Tagiilima who burst through a gap to put the ball down next to the left goal posts. Daniel Rakena then converted the try.

Daniel Rakena was also involved in creating an opportunity for the Tigers in the 37th minute with a smart hard, flat cut-out pass to his left to Elijah Tagiilima who subsequently put the Southport left winger away down the touchline from three metres inside Currumbin territory but the pass inside to the fullback downfield was ruled to have gone forward.

Daniel Rakena showcased his kicking game in the 19th minute with a high, spiralling bomb towards the left corner from the centre of the field and thirty four metres out with the Eagles right winger losing the ball into touch when he tried to take the ball on the full to give Southport six more tackles deep on the attack.

Daniel Rakena then started at five eight in the Week Two Qualifying Final against the Burleigh Bears and in the 2nd minute Daniel Rakena came close to scoring after running the ball himself from sixteen metres out and to the left of the play the ball only to be brought to ground less than a metre from the try line adjacent to the right goal post.

The 2023 GCRL U18 Division One Preliminary Final saw Daniel Rakena start at halfback and operate on the left side of the field against the Currumbin Eagles with Daniel Rakena recording a try assist as well as kicking a conversion in the 55th minute from four metres to the left of the goal posts.

Daniel Rakena recorded his try assist in the 55th minute when after receiving the ball to the left of the paly the ball Daniel Rakena initially moved to his left before stepping off his left foot and getting a short ball away to his right for his front rower to crash over to score four metres to the left of the goal posts.

Daniel Rakena almost scored himself in the 26th minute after an eight metre run from the left of the play the ball with Daniel Rakena getting over the try line after initially juggling the ball eight metres in from the left corner post.

In the 6th minute after receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball and forty three metres from the try line Daniel Rakena put in a hard, low right foot kick into the left corner with the Currumbin fullback barely able to get the ball back into the field of play before the Southport chasers trapped him in the left corner.

Danial Rakena’s 36th minute kick-off was allowed to bounce near the try line between two Eagles players and then bounced over the dead ball line to force a Currumbin goal line drop-out.

Round One of the 2022 Walters Cup School Boy Competition saw Daniel Rakena start at five eight for Keebra Park SHS against Ipswich SHS with Daniel Rakena recording a try assist in the 24th minute when after receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball, Daniel Rakena stepped off his right foot to beat two defenders before off-loading to his inside in traffic to fullback Joshua Donovan-Skinner who crashed over under the posts.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the 10th minute when from fifty five metres out and to the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena threw a cut-out pass to his left down a wide left blindside to put his winger away down the touchline.

Round Three against Marsden SHS saw Daniel Rakena continue at five eight against Marsden SHS with Daniel Rakena recording a try assist in the 38th minute when from the right of the play the ball Daniel Rakena threw an overhead cut-out pass to his right to put halves partner Ryder Williams into space and to subsequently score.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the 13th minute when to the left of the play the ball and thirty five metres out from his own try line Daniel Rakena threw a hard flat cut-out pass to his left to put his left centre Joseph Tupuse outside the defensive line and on a thirty metre run downfield.

In Round Four against Wavell SHS Daniel Rakena continued at five eight and recorded a try assist in the 31st minute with a cut-out pass to his right to put his right centre over wide out to score.

Daniel Rakena recorded a try assist and line break assist in Round Six against PBC SHS. Daniel Rakena recorded his try assist in the 13th minute when after Daniel Rakena made a line break through the centre of the field, Daniel Rakena drew the PBC SHS fullback and passed to his right to halfback Ryder Williams who raced away to score under the posts.

Daniel Rakena recorded his line break assist in the 23rd minute when he threw a long cut-out pass to his left to put Daniel Rakena’s favourite target left centre Joseph Tupuse away down the left touchline.

Daniel Rakena continued at five eight in Round Seven against Mabel Park SHS with Daniel Rakena recording a try assist in the 34th minute when from twenty five metres out and to the right of the play the ball Daniel Rakena put Joshua Donovan-Skinner into a gap to cross wide out before Joshua Donovan-Skinner was able to bring the ball around closer to the posts. Daniel Rakena then stepped up to convert the try that he had set up for Joshua Donovan-Skinner.

Daniel Rakena started at five eight in the 2022 School Boy Walters Cup Grand Final against Marsden SHS with Daniel Rakena recording two try assists as well as being heavily involved in another in a dominating Keebra Park SHS Walters Cup Grand Final victory.

Daniel Rakena recorded the first of his two try assists in the 19th minute when after taking the ball down a left blindside, Daniel Rakena took the ball deep into the defensive lien and when eight metres out threw a great cut out pass to his left to put left centre Joseph Tupuse over to score in the corner.

Daniel Rakena added a second try assist in the 34th minute when after breaking through the Marsden SHS defensive line thirty metres out, Daniel Rakena drew the Marsden SHS fullback and pass to his right to send Ryder Williams away to score under the posts.

Daniel Rakena was also included in Keebra Park SHS’s 31st minute try when from thirty five metres out from the try line Daniel Rakena put in a chip kick into the space behind the defensive line with Ryder Williams taking the kick on the bounce and then getting the ball away for Keebra Park SHS to score.

Daniel Rakena then started at five eight in the inaugural Queensland Year Ten School Boy Championship match against Kirwan SHS with Daniel Rakena putting on a clinic in a 28 – 4 Keebra Park SHS victory with Daniel Rakena scoring a try, recording two try assists as well as a line break assist.

Daniel Rakena scored in the 38th minute when he backed up a break by one of his front rowers to receive the off-load around thirty five metres out with Daniel Rakena racing away to score under the posts.

Daniel Rakena recorded the first of his two try assists in the 7th minute when from twenty metres out and to the left of the play the ball Daniel Rakena threw a pre-planned inside pass to Joshua Donovan-Skinner to score under the posts.

Daniel Rakena recorded his second try assist of the match in the 24th minute when Daniel Rakena took the ball down a short left blindside ten metres out with Daniel Rakena stepping off his left foot to straighten up the attack before throwing a good short ball to his left to second rower Tyrell Laben to crash over to score.

Daniel Rakena was also involved in a Keebra Park SHS try in the 17th minute when from twenty three metres out and to the left of the goal posts Daniel Rakena packed into a Keebra Park SHS scrum and after picking up the ball at the base of the scrum Daniel Rakena passed the ball to his right with Daniel Rakena then doing an old fashioned run around with the fullback with Daniel Rakena then continuing running to his right before getting the ball away to his right to Ryder Williams who has able to cut inside to score.

Daniel Rakena also recorded a line break assist in the opening minute if the Championship Final when he ran the ball down a short left blindside thirty five metres out from his own try line to put his left winger away down the left touchline with Daniel Rakena then staying alive to receive a pass back inside from his winger near the halfway mark.

Daniel Rakena also did well in the 11th minute when he chased through a Ryder Williams grubber kick with Daniel Rakena tackling the Kirwan SHS fullback in-goal to force a goal line drop-out.

Daniel Rakena showcased his tactical kicking skills in the 9th minute with a long raking right foot kick from fifty five metres out with the ball finding touch three metres from the right corner to pin Kirwan SHS back on their own try line.

2022 also saw Daniel Rakena play for the Southport Tigers in the GCRL U16 Division One competition including starting at five eight in the Preliminary Final against Helensvale with Daniel Rakena setting up one of the Tigers tries and being heavily involved in another in a tough 16 – 12 Tigers loss.

Daniel Rakena recorded his try assist in the 3rd minute when a long cut-out pass to his left from ten metres out to put his left winger over in the corner and then in the 21st minute Daniel Rakena threw a long cut out pass to his left centre in space with the centre consequently putting his winger over in the left corner.

2022 also saw Daniel Rakena named in the Queensland Māori U16 Tuakana side for the 2022 QPICC Cultural Carnival.

Daniel Rakena also played Oztag in 2022 and was named in the Southern Storm U17 Oztag Representative side for the 2022 Junior National Oztag Championships held in Coffs Harbour after Daniel Rakena played for the Coomera Chiefs U16 side at the 2022 Queensland Junior State Oztag Cup.

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

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

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

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

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

Daniel Rakena is also a solid goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him taking goal kicks to have an opinion as to whether Daniel Rakena can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward or a solid back-up option.

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

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

Daniel Rakena will play the 2024 season for the Southport Tigers in the GCRL U18 Division One competition after playing a number of matches in that competition as a 16 year old for the Tigers in 2023 and with the age group change of the Cyril Connell Cup in 2024 to U17’s Daniel Rakena will likely line up for the Burleigh Bears in that competition once again in 2024.

Daniel Rakena will also continue to attend Keebra Park SHS once again in 2024 as Daniel Rakena pushes for playing time in the School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup Open A competition after playing in the Langer Reserve competition in 2023.

Daniel Rakena is a talented attack orientated player and with his outstanding kicking game and elite passing skills and as such Daniel Rakena certainly has the opportunity to continue to play at five eight in the coming years.

It would be interesting to see Daniel Rakena operate as a ball playing lock forward where Daniel Rakena would be an ideal link between his team’s forwards and back and would allow his team to set up to attack to either side of the field with play makers on both. Also with his size Daniel Rakena would not be out of place running with the ball through the centre of the field either.

Daniel Rakena has spent a lot of time in the halves in rugby league but is certainly a lot bigger than your traditional half or five eight and that is why ultimately think that Daniel Rakena will end up as a ball playing second rower or lock once Daniel Rakena progresses to the senior rugby league ranks above the U18 age group.

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

Both Schuster and Daniel Rakena are big and strong enough to handle the rigours of playing in the forwards but both also have the ball skills to regularly unlock defences with subtlety and sleight of hand that will no doubt catch defenders off guard if they are not concentrating appropriately on their defensive duties.

[mdrew]

Hai Hiawe King. In late September 2023 Hai Hiawe King was named in the 2024 Burleigh Bears U19 Mal Meninga Cup squad with Hai Hiawe King also MM Cup eligible in 2025.

Round One of the 2023 School Boy Langer Cup competition saw Hai Hiawe King named on the bench for PBC SHS against Marsden SHS with Hai Hiawe King coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 20th minute with Hai Hiawe King making a strong run in the 57th minute with a fourteen metres effort to get the ball eight metres inside Marsden SHS territory.

Hai Hiawe King also made a try saving tackle in the 35th minute when he held up the Marsden SHS hooker over the try line after he had tried to burrow over from dummy half from close range.

Hai Hiawe King was also named on the bench for Round Two against Caloundra SHS with Hai Hiawe King playing in the front row when he came onto the field in the 21st minute and in the 25th minute Hai Hiawe King made a fourteen metre run to the halfway mark from the left of the play the ball.

Hai Hiawe King made a good defensive effort in the 27th minute when after the Caloundra SHS left winger had taken a PBC SHS chip on the full he threatened to run eighty metres to score but Hai Hiawe King ran to his right to making an outstanding cover defending tackle. Then in the 29th minute Hai Hiawe King was on hand to stop the Caloundra SHS hooker from burrowing his way over from dummy half in front of the posts.

Hai Hiawe King continued from the bench in Round Three against Mabel Park SHS with Hai Hiawe King coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 21st minute.

Hai Hiawe King also started from the bench in Round Four against Redcliffe SHS with Hai Hiawe King coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 14th minute of the match.

Hai Hiawe King continued from the bench in Round Five against Ipswich SHS with Hai Hiawe King coming onto the field late in the first half to operate in the front row.

Hai Hiawe King was also named on the bench in the Round Six Gold Coast derby against Keebra Park SHS however a late change saw Hai Hiawe King start the match in the front row with Hai Hiawe King running onto the ball to the left of the play the ball in the 5th minute making twelve metres to get the ball within ten metres of the try line.

Hai Hiawe King followed up with a run of fifteen metres to within ten metres of the halfway mark from the left of the dummy half. Hai Hiawe King then made twelve metres from a PBC SHS penalty restart to get within thirteen metres of the try line and a tackle later Hai Hiawe King made another run from the left of the play the ball from seven metres out to get within centremetres of the try line mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

The 48th minute saw Hai Hiawe King take a hit-up from the left of the play the ball from thirty nine metres out from his own try line to get to the halfway mark.

In the 4th minute Hai Hiawe King made heavy defensive contact on the Keebra Park SHS lock front on to rock him back forty metres out and in the centre of the field.

Hai Hiawe King then moved to the bench in Round Seven against Wavell SHS with Hai Hiawe King coming off the bench to operate in the front row in the 14th minute with Hai Hiawe King taking a hit-up almost immediately to make twelve metres to get the ball over the halfway mark.

Hai Hiawe King started the 2023 season off as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 MM Cup squad.

After Tweed Heads had a Round One bye Hai Hiawe King was named on the bench in Round Two of the 2023 U18 Mal Meninga Cup against the Brisbane Tigers however Hai Hiawe King was a late scratching from the Seagulls side.

Hai Hiawe King made his MM Cup debut off the bench in Round Four of the 2023 season for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls with Hai Hiawe King coming off the bench to operate in the centre of the field in the 21st minute of the match.

Hai Hiawe King worked exceptionally hard in the 25th minute when after Wynnum Manly made a line break down their left side the Wynnum Manly left centre drew the Tweed Heads fullback and got the pass inside to his five eight just ten metres out but just as the five eight started to run towards the posts Hai Hiawe King came from the clouds to hit him from behind and force a knock-on.

Hai Hiawe King made a strong run in the 36th minute from the first hit-up of the second half with Hai Hiawe King getting the ball to close to the twenty metre mark. Then in the 43rd minute after a Wynnum Manly knock-on Hai Hiawe King ran back to take possession forty five metres out with his back towards his own try line, Hai Hiawe King turned around and carried two defenders all of the way to twenty two metres out from the try line.

Hai Hiawe King also started from the bench in Round Five against the Souths Logan Magpies with Hai Hiawe King coming onto the field to play in the front row in the 12th minute of the match.

The first of Hai Hiawe King’s strong runs in the match came in the 19th minute twenty two metres out from his own try line and to the left of the play the ball with Hai Hiawe King able to make thirteen metres against a set Magpies defensive line.

Then in the 24th minute Hai Hiawe King, from two passes to the left of the play the ball from a Seagulls penalty tap restart and twenty eight metres out from his own try line Hai Hiawe King promoted the ball to within seven metres of the try line with approximately 50% of his metres being post contact.

Hai Hiawe King added another strong run in the 26th minute from forty metres out from the try line and to the right of the play the ball with Hai Hiawe King cutting back in behind the play the ball and breaking two tackles as he got the ball to twenty two metres out.

Then in the 33rd minute from forty metres out and to the right of the play the ball and five metres short of the halfway mark Hai Hiawe King was able to get the ball ten metres inside Magpies territory through sheer perseverance and effort.

In the 61st minute Hai Hiawe King charged onto the ball two passes to the left of the play the ball with Hai Hiawe King receiving the pass twenty eight metres out and ran over the top of the Magpies left centre before being tackled ten metres out.

Hai Hiawe King also started from the bench in Round Six against the Norths Devils with Hai Hiawe King coming onto the field late in the first half.

Round One of the 2023 GCRL U18 Division One competition saw Hai Hiawe King start from the bench for the Currumbin Eagles against the Helensvale Hornets with Hai Hiawe King coming off the bench to operate in the front row in the 7th minute.

Hai Hiawe King then moved into the Eagles starting side in the front row in Round Two against the Coomera Cutters with Hai Hiawe King making a strong kick-off return in the 7th minute to get the ball to the twenty metre mark. Hai Hiawe King then made another strong kick-off return in the 12th minute, on that occasion getting the ball over the twenty metre mark.

Hai Hiawe King also started in the front row in Round Five against the Southport Tigers.

Hai Hiawe King then started from the bench in Round Eleven against the Helensvale Hornets with Hai Hiawe King coming off the bench to play in the front row in the 18th minute.

Hai Hiawe King almost scored in the 27th minute when after taking possession from an off-load sixteen metres from the try line, Hai Hiawe King broke two tackles as he charged at the try line only to be stopped less than a metre out in front of the posts.

Earlier in the 19th minute made a big tackle on one of the Helensvile wingers two metres out and directly in front of the posts forcing a knock on to give Currumbin the scrum feed.

Hai Hiawe King also started from the bench in Round Twelve against the Coomera Cutters and after coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 22nd minute Hai Hiawe King immediately made a line break from a kick-off return with Hai Hiawe King bursting through a number of tackles as he charged into Coomera territory before being brought to ground in front of the posts and twenty nine metres from the try line at the opposite end of the field when where Hai Hiawe King’s run commenced.

In the 29th minute from the left of the play the ball Hai Hiawe King ran onto the ball from forty metres out from the try line and carried the ball within twenty three metres. Then to start the second half Hai Hiawe King made a strong kick-off return to get the ball out to the twenty four metre mark.

Hai Hiawe King rounded out a strong match in the 57th minute with a good effort to the right of the play the ball that saw Hai Haiwe King run the ball from thirty five metres out from the try line to sixteen metres out with Hai Hiawe King then able to get an off-load away to his right to Jaylen Taewa.

The 2023 Gold Coast Rugby League Division One Grand Final saw Hai Hiawe King start from the bench in the Eagles Grand Final victory against the Burleigh Bears and after coming onto the field to play in the front row in the 6th minute Hai Hiawe King made a strong kick-off return that saw Hai Hiawe King get the ball out to the twenty metre mark.

In early April 2023 Hai Hiawe King was named in the Queensland Rugby League U17 Positional Skills Day squad.

The young Titans partnered PBC SHS front rower was one of PBC SHS's best in the 2022 Walters Cup competition, including being named on the bench in the Courier Mail’s 2022 School Boy Walters Cup Team of the Year after starting all of his Walters Cup matches in the front row for PBC SHS in 2022. Hai Hiawe King was also named one of the most improved 2022 School Boy Rugby League players regardless of competition by the Courier Mail.

For a big strong young man, Hai Hiawe King also has above average (to plus) speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Hai Hiawe King is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence, certainly an impressive feat for a front rower.

Hai Hiawe King is not just a strong runner of the ball he as noted above has excellent footwork prior to impacting the defensively line and also some very good short passing skills both before the line and when Hai Hiawe King is in contact with (usually multiple) opposition defenders.

On a lot of his runs Hai Hiawe King rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

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

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

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

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

2024 will see Hai Hiawe King continue at PBC SHS with Hai Hiawe King no doubt set to continue with the PBC SHS School Boy Rugby league Langer Cup squad. After playing in the MM Cup in 2024 Hai Hiawe King wil line up for the Currumbin Eagles GCRL U18 Division One side for the second season in a row.

Hai Hiawe King does not just have outstanding size, strength and power, he also possess exceptional speed for a big young man. With that attribute combination, Hai Hiawe King has the ideal, physical and skill attributes as well as the correct mentality to be a representative level NRL front rower in coming years.

With his strength and never say die attitude Hai Hiawe King reminds me of Brisbane Bronco’s and former Parramatta Eels, Manly Sea Eagles, Canterbruy Bulldogs and New Zealand International front rower Martin Taupau plays both are big and strong and know how to use those attributes to their advantage on a rugby league field.

Hai Hiawe King was up there with the most intriguing players that I saw play in 2022 regardless of the competition and I am very keen to see how Hai Hiawe King’s game progresses over the coming years.

[mdrew]

Reico Ratana. In late July 2023 Reico Ratana started from the bench for a Titans U19 side that travelled to Townsville to play a Cowboys U19 side in an NRL curtain-raiser with Reico Ratana coming on to operate at left second row in the 18th minute.

Reico Ratana came close to scoring in the 64th minute but after a strong run from six metres out and to the right of the play the ball Reico Ratana was held up over try line under the posts.

The 18th minute saw Reico Ratana execute a big tackle along with Cooper Bai on the giant Cowboys front rower No. 8 right on the try line next to the left upright to save what appeared to be a certain North Queensland try.

Reico Ratana made a further big front on tackle in the 58th minute with a hit on the North Queensland halfback two metres out from the try line and just to the right of the goal posts with Reico Ratana’s heavy initial contact forcing Cowboys knock on. Then on the second tackle from the change over Reico Ratana ran the ball to the right of the play the ball from thirteen metres out from his own try line to twenty five metres out.

In early September 2023 Reico Ratana was named on the bench in the Courier Mail’s PBC SHS Rugby League Team of the 2020’s to date.

Round One of the 2023 Hastings Deering’s Colts season saw Reico Ratana named at right second row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Townsville Blackhawks with Reico Ratana recording a line break assist in the 5th minute with a pass to his left when thirty metres out from his own try line with Jaylan De Groot the recipient of the pass to then set up Malakhi Donovan to score the opening try of the match.
Reico Ratana also made a strong run in the 45th minute making fourteen metres from a Seagulls penalty tap restart.
Reico Ratana continued at right second row in Round Three against the Toowoomba Clydesdales with Reico Ratana taking the Toowoomba kick-off on the full and get the ball thirty one metres away from his try line.
Reico Ratana continued at right second row in Round Four against the Souths Logan Magpies with Reico Ratana running for 131 metres, recording a try assist and a line break assist, broke three tackles and made twenty tackles of his own.
Perhaps Reico Ratana’s best run of the match came in the 52nd minute when from the left of the play the ball and eight metres inside his own territory Reico Ratana and able to propel the ball to ten metres inside Magpies territory.
After missing a number of matches Reico Ratana was back at right second row for Round Eight against the Central Queensland Capra’s with Reico Ratana making a line break in just the 2nd minute of the match when from thirty five metres out Reico Ratana burst through a gap off a Max Liles pass from his left with Reico Ratana tackled less than a metre short of the try line and three metres to the right of the uprights.
Reico Ratan produced another strong run in the 60th minute from a charge from forty metres away from his own try lien and to the right of the play the ball with Reico Ratana carrying the ball ten metres inside Capra’s territory.
Reico Ratana then produced a smart play in the 25th minute to chase through a Max Liles grubber kick to tackle the Central Queensland fullback in-goal to force a goal line drop-out.
Reico Ratana then started from the bench in Round Eleven against the Norths Devils with Reico Ratana coming onto the field to operate at right second row in the 30th minute with Reico Ratana making a strong run in the left of the play the ball in the 48th minute from five metres inside Norths territory to thirty two metres from the try line.

Reico Ratana then moved back into the Seagulls starting line-up at right second row in Round Twelve against the Brisbane Tigers with Reico Ratana scoring in the 6th minute when from two passes to the right of the play the ball Reico Ratana charged onto the ball from twelve metres out and straight into a big gap to dive over to score untouched eight metres in from the right corner post.

Reico Ratana took the second hit-up of the match, getting the ball to the twenty metre mark with Reico Ratana also taking the fourth hit-up of the match to make an additional eight metres. Reico Ratana also made a good run in the 21st minute from the right of the play the ball to get from thirty one metres out from the try line to twenty metres out.

Reico Ratana continued at right second row in Round Thirteen against the Redcliffe Dolphins and in the 9th minute from the right of the play the ball and forty metres from his own try line Reico Ratana bumped off one defender near the halfway mark after initially juggling the ball to get the ball four metres into Redcliffe territory. Then two tackles later Reico Ratana backed up to take another hit-up making thirteen more metres to get the ball within thirteen metres of the Dolphins try line.

The 21st minute then saw Reico Ratana run onto the ball to the right of the play the ball and make a great run from twenty five metres out from his own try line and get the ball to within four metres of the halfway mark. Reico Ratana proceeded to carry the ball strongly once again in the 30th minute when from the right of the dummy half Reico Ratana ran an underneath route off his halfback and run the ball from thirty five metres from the try line to twenty two metres out.

Reico Ratana produced a smart piece of play in the 46th minute to predict a Redcliffe grubber kick into the in-goal from close range, but Reico Ratan was able to quickly move to his left to retrieve the ball in the in-goal area behind the posts to prevent a Redcliffe try.

Reico Ratana also started at right second row in Round Fourteen against the Northern Pride with Reico Ratana scoring in the 46th minute off an Oskar Bryant pass from his left with Reico Ratana receiving the ball four metres out and getting over the try line ten metres in from the right corner post.

Reico Ratana also recorded a try assist in the 10th minute when from the right of the play the ball, Reico Ratana continued to run the ball in the same direction and after drawing a Northern Pride defender out of the defensive line Reico Ratana off-loaded the ball to his right to give Jaylen Dr Groot an easy ten metre run to score ten metres in from the right corner post.

Earlier in the 4th minute Reico Ratana made a line break when he ran onto a catch and pass from his inside from Max Liles twenty four metres only to be brought down by the Northern Pride fullback two metres out after stepping inside off his left foot to beat the Northern Pride fullback. The Seagulls however were able to then score off Reico Ratana’s quick play the ball.

Reico Ratana made another line break in the 32nd minute from a Tweed Heads penalty restart with Reico Ratana bursting straight through the centre of the Northern Pride defensive line from ten metres inside his own territory before being tackled twenty metres from the try line.

The 22nd minute saw Reico Ratana run the ball down the right channel from forty two metres to thirty metres out from the try line. Then in the 27th minute from two passes to the right of the dummy half, Reico Ratana carried the ball from his forty metre mark to the halfway before getting an off-load away to his right to Elliott Speed.

Impressively Reico Ratana finished the match with 186 running metres and eight tackle breaks.

Reico Ratana continued at right second row in the Round Fifteen local derby against the Burleigh Bears with Reico Ratana scoring in the 40th minute when after receiving the ball twelve metres out after cutting back underneath Max Liles to the right of the play the ball, Reico Ratana ran over the top of the Burleigh fullback to score ten metres to the right of the uprights.

Reico Ratana’s initial strong run of the match came inside the opening minute when after running an underneath route from the right of the dummy half, Reico Ratana ran the ball from nine metres inside his own territory to nine metres into Burleigh territory.

Then in the 2nd minute Reico Ratana did well to take a short Burleigh goal line drop-out on the full facing his own try line. In the 72nd minute from the right of the play the ball Reico Ratana received the ball thirteen metres out and after continuing to run to his right, Reico Ratana was able to get to within a metre of the try line and nine metres in from the right corner post.

Reico Ratana continued at right second row in Round Sixteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons with Reico Ratana making a line break when after charging onto the ball to the right of the dummy half on the halfway mark, Reico Ratana stepped inside off his right foot after running six metres and after getting to within twenty metres of the try line Reico Ratana off-loaded to his left to Elliott Speed who then passed to Max Liles to score next to the right upright.

Reico Ratan took the third hit-up of the match to get the ball out to the thirty nine metre mark, Then in the 11th minute from the right of the play the ball Reico Ratana carried the ball from thirty five metres from his own try line to the halfway mark.

Reico Ratana also started at right second row in Week One of the Finals against the Burleigh Bears.

Reico Ratana continued at right second row in the Preliminary Final against the Townsville Blackhawks with Reico Ratana running onto the ball down the right channel in the 41st minute to promote the ball from forty metres out from the try line to twenty four metres out with Reico Ratana then being awarded a penalty for a strip of the ball with more than one defender in the tackle.

Also in the 47th minute from two passes to the left of the play the ball, Reico Ratana was able to carry the ball from thirty nine metres out from his own try line to two metres into Townsville territory. Then in the 64th minute from the left of the play the ball Reico Ratana ran the ball out from his own twenty four metre mark to the thirty seven metre mark.

2023 saw Reico Ratana part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad with Reico Ratana starting at right second row for the Seagulls in their late February trail against the Burleigh Bears at the Burleigh Juniors ground.

Reico Ratana made a strong run in the 7th minute down the right channel with Reico Ratana able to make twelve metres before he was brought to ground five metres short of the halfway mark.
The local forward from the Nerang Roosters junior rugby league club was part of the Titans U16 side that defeated the Newcastle Knights U16 Harold Matthews side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020, 18 - 14 in wet and slippery conditions coming off the bench in what I believe was his second match in Titans colours.
In early November 2021 Reico Ratana was named in the 2022 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad and was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 Mal Meninga Cup squad that played their opening 2022 trial against the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad at Pizzey Park.
Round One of the 2022 MM Cup competition saw Reico Ratana named at lock for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Souths Logan Magpies with Reico Ratana taking the Seagulls second hit-up of the match.

Reico Ratana was also named at lock for Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins and after the Seagulls had a Round Three bye, Reico Ratana started at lock in Round Four against the Easts Tigers and along with Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa and Jackson Le Pou made the opening tackle of the match after Tweed Heads had kicked-off to get the match underway.

Reico Ratana recorded a 23rd minute line break assist when after he received the ball on the right side of the field Reico Ratana subtly moved to his right and popped a great short ball to a hard charging Eli Tuli who came desperately close to scoring under the posts but in the end was held up by three defenders.

Reico Ratana continued at lock in Round Five against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls with Reico Ratana scoring a strong try in the 67th minute to get the Seagulls within six points of Wynnum Manly.

Reico Ratana ran a great line down the right in the 67th minute, with the only concession being a slight step off his right foot to beat one defender and then from twelve metres out no one was going to stop Reico Ratana from scoring eight metres to the right of the uprights.

Reico Ratana did well defensively in the 42nd minute when along with Will Saunders and Will Taylor he was on hand to hold put the Wynnum Manly lock who under tried to burst over under the posts.

Reico Ratana continued at lock in Round Six against the Norths Devils with Reico Ratana scoring the opening try of the match in just the 6th minute when from around five metres out Reico Ratana charged onto a pass to the left of the dummy half to crash over next to the right upright.

As a result of his outstanding performance Reico Ratana was named on the bench in the MM Cup Round Six Courier Mail Team of the Week in Round Six.

Reico Ratana was then named at lock in the Round Seven local derby against the Burleigh Bears and had an outstanding defensive match including in the 14th minute when he along with Reico Ratana hit one of the Burleigh forwards front on in a crunching tackle just ten metres out from the try line with the heavy initial contact forcing the ball loose.

In March 2022 Reico Ratana was selected in the South Coast School Boy Rugby League U18 Representative side after successfully negotiating the trials.

Round One of the 2022 Langer Cup School Boy competition saw Reico Ratana start in the front row for PBC State High School against Marsden State High School with Reico Ratana recording a 24th minute line break assist when from just inside his own territory had cut across field to his left before popping a short ball to Jac Finnigan who flew onto the ball and then stepped off his right foot to beat one defender before being brought down after making twenty five metres.

Reico Ratana was then named in the front row for Round Two against Redcliffe State High School before moving to lock in Round Four against Ipswich State High School with Reico Ratana making the third hit-up of the match.

Then in the 4th minute along with Josh Lynn, Reico Ratana executed a great tackle in the centre of the field in the giant Ipswich No. 18, forcing him back a number of metres. Reico Ratana continued his strong defensive match in the 34th minute with initial contact forcing the ball lose from one of the Ipswich SHS forwards twenty metres from his own try line.

Reico Ratana continued at lock in Round Five against Mabel Park SHS as was as in in the Round Six local derby against Keebra Park SHS as well as in Round Seven against Wavell SHS with Reico Ratana making the opening tackle of the match.

Reico Ratana then made a strong impression from his first hit-up of the match when in just the second minute Reico Ratana made a strong thirteen metre charge to the halfway mark before getting a right arm off-load away to Tanu Nona who was able to promote the ball a further ten metres as a result.

Reico Ratana continued at lock in PBC SHS’s Langer Cup Quarter Final against Mabel Park SHS with Reico Ratana making a great run in the 38th minute when he charged thirty metres through the centre of the field to get the ball twelve metres out from the try line.

Reico Ratana made a further strong run in the 43rd minute when after running onto the ball to the left of the play the ball Reico Ratana made twenty metres before being brought to ground ten metres out and in front of the posts.

In the 24th minute, Reico Ratana along with Tanu Nona and Keano Kini did well to hold up the Mabel Park SHS No. 10 over the try line on the left side of the field.

Reico Ratana also took the first and third hit-ups of the match.

Reico Ratana was then named at lock for PBC SHS in the 2022 Langer Cup Semi-final against Keebra Park SHS with Reico Ratana making a strong fifteen metre run in the 17th minute after cutting back underneath Zane Harrison.

Reico Ratana started at lock in the 2022 School Boy Langer Cup Grand Final against Ipswich SHS and worked his guts out in both attack and defence as usual.

At the end of year PBC SHS Sports Awards night, Reico Ratana was named the reciepant of the Reds Year Twelve Award.

In September 2022 Reico Ratana was named in the Queensland Maori U18 Tamatoa representative squad.
In November 2020 Reico Ratana was named in the powerful 2021 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad.
Reico Ratana started from the bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side in their first 2021 trial in early February which was against the Easts Tigers at Langland’s Park as Tweed Heads commenced their season with an impressive 28 – 12 first up victory against a full strength Tigers side.

In the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup sides second trial against Burleigh, Reico Ratana started the second half at right second row and scoring an impressive try in the dying seconds of the Seagulls big win.

After working solidly in both attack and defence for the duration of the second half, Reico Ratana was rewarded with a well-deserved try in the dying seconds when he ran a good outside shoulder route from around thirty metres out to go straight through the Burleigh line. When he was confronted by the Bears fullback, Reico Ratana threw a dummy to his right, that the fullback fell for and Reico Ratana was able to run the remainder of the way to the line and score next to the right upright.

Reico Ratana had some other good moments in the match, one being when he chased through a long Seagulls kick to the left corner, Reico Ratana charged downfield and along with Reef Sommerville and Elijah Lui got to the Burleigh fullback and dragged him back into the in-goal area, forcing Burleigh to drop the ball out from their own line.

In Round One of the 2021 MM Cup competition, Reico Ratana was named 18th man against the Ipswich Jets and was named on the Seagulls extended bench for Round Two against the Souths Logan Magpies before moving into the game day seventeen late in the match, starting from the bench.

Reico Ratana had some strong runs in the match, the first being from the kick-off to Jaylan De Groot’s try in the 47th minute when he was able to bring the ball out to the twenty metre mark. Reico Ratana made another strong run in the 52nd minute when he took a hit-up to the right of the play the ball, immediately cutting back to his left towards the undefended area behind the play the ball to make to make twelve valuable metres and then took another hit-up two tackles later.

Defensively Reico Ratana also had some good moments including a strong front on tackle in the 48th minute Souths Logan No. 16 and then a couple of tackles later in the same Souths Logan set, Reico Ratana crunched the five eight in a heavy tackle.

Reico Ratana showed his desperation in defence in the 52nd minute when he along with Jack Cullen both chased hard and made a last ditch tackle on the Souths Logan fullback who had burst through the centre of the field off an offload.

Round Three saw Reico Ratana initially named on the Seagulls extended bench for the derby against the Burleigh Bears however Reico Ratana ended up starting the match from the bench.

Reico Ratana was also named on the Seagulls extended bench for their Round Four match against the Ipswich Jets and for Round Five against the Souths Logan Magpies.

Reico Ratana came into the bench for the Seagulls for the final regular season round of the 2021 MM Cup competition in the local derby against the Burleigh Bears coming into the match late in the first half.

2021 also saw Reico Ratana line up once again for PBC State High School in the South East Queensland School Boy Langer Cup competition starting Round One from the bench against Ipswich State High School.

Reico Ratana came onto the field to play in the front row towards the end of the first half with his first hit-upcoming in the 26th minute when he took the hit-up from the kick off after Ryan Foran’s try. Reico Ratana made another strong run from another kick-off, on that occasion in the 58th minute after Jett Forbes had scored his second try of the match.

Reico Ratana also started from the bench in Round Two against St Mary’s Toowoomba, coming onto the field in the 21st minute and throughout his time on the field made good ground running the ball against the giant St Mary’s forward pack.

Reico Ratana also started from the bench in Round Three against Coombabah State High School as well as in the Round Four blockbuster against Marsden State High School and the much anticipated Round Five local derby against Keebra Park State High School. Reico Ratana also started from the bench in Round Six away to Mabel Park State High School.

After the competition was suspended for a number of weeks due to a Covid 19 lock down, Reico Ratana was named on the bench for PBC State High School in their semi-final against Keebra Park State High School.

Reico Ratana came into the match towards the end of the first half and made an almost immediate impact in the 25th minute with a great run that included a cut back off his left foot to get within two metres of the line before he was brought down.

In the 2021 Langer Cup Grand Final against Marsden State High School, Reico Ratana was named to start from the bench for PBC.

Reico Ratana was then named to start from the bench for PBC in the Queensland Open School Boys Final (Phil Hall Cup) against St Brendan’s College Yeppoon coming on and making significant ground through the centre of the ruck on multiple occasions.

2021 also saw Reico Ratana play in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition in the Nerang Roosters including starting the 2021 Grand Final against the Helensvale Hornets from the bench and almost scoring in the 35th minute but Reico Ratana was held up ten metres in from the left corner post after a great hole run off a Josh Lynn pass from ten metres out.

Some of Reico Ratana’s best moments in the Grand Final came when he was returning kick-offs with his best kick-off return coming in the 47th minute after a Kyen Murphy try with Reico Ratana taking possession of the ball on his own try line and broke through the Helensvale defensive line by beating two tackles to get the ball out to the thirty metre mark.

The powerful solidly built front rower or second rower was also part of the Titans U15 side that defeated the Balmain Tigers 34 – 16 at Piggabeen in early October 2019 after being in camp for the couple of days preceding to the annual match in Northern New South Wales.

In February 2020 Reico Ratana was named in the Gold Coast Vikings U16 Training Squad for the 2020 South East Queensland pre-season challenge but unfortunately the competition had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

Also in 2020 Reico Ratana was part of the PBC in their Walters Cup side starting PBC’s opening three matches of the South East Queensland school boy rugby league competition at right second row and scoring in Rounds Two and Three against Wavell SHS and St Mary's Toowoomba.

Against Wavell State High School in Round Two Reico Ratana received the ball down a short blind side and charged through four Wavell defenders to score wide on the right side of the field.

Reico Ratana's try in Round Three against St Mary’s College Toowoomba highlighted some good footwork from the young man, Reico Ratana was operating on the right and received the ball after the ball was spun that way by PBC. Immediately upon receiving the ball Reico Ratana stepped off his right foot to get into space and then charged seven metres through the gap that his step created to score mid-way between the corner post and goal post on the right side of the field.

Reico Ratana shifted to the left second row position in Round Four against Forest Lake State High School and was simply too big and strong for Forest Lake to handle including a big run down the left touch line in the opening minutes and a one armed off load to his right for a try assist also early in the match after he broke through the initial defensive line.

Reico Ratana continued his run of starts at right second row in Round Five against Marsden State High School and in the 2020 Walters Cup semi-final against Wavell State High School.

In the 2020 Walters Cup Grand Final Reico Ratana captained the PBC side and started at right second row and was one of PBC’s best as they went down to a Titans contracted William Semu inspired Marsden SHS side.

Reico Ratana played the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League season with Nerang in the U16 Division One competition and in their One v Two play-off match against Runaway Bay was named the Roosters best forward in their 36 – 4 victory.

The PBC student played for the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U15 Division One competition in 2019 playing in eleven regular season matches and scoring in late July against Runaway Bay for his sole try of the season but his impact on the competition and his Runaway Bay side was worth far more than just that one try.

In Week Two of the GCRL U15 Division One Finals Reico Ratana started in the front row for Nerang as they went down 20 – 0 to Runaway Bay. Reico Ratana also started in the front row for Nerang in their 22 – 18 Preliminary Final victory over Helensvale to progress to the Grand Final.

In the 2019 GCRL U15 Division One Grand Final Reico Ratana once again started in the front row as Nerang avenged their Week Two finals defeat by Runaway Bay to win a physical and fiery Grand Final 36 – 24.

2019 also saw Reico Ratana play for PBC in various Queensland based school boy competitions including producing a Player of the Match performance in the Year Nine Hancock Cup Grand Final win 24 – 18 against Coombabah State High School in Brisbane.

Reico Ratana started PBC’s fight back after they fell behind 18 – 6 early in the second half when he scored a barn storming try. Reico Ratana took the ball to the right of the play the ball from the dummy half around ten metres out from the line and cut back against the grain to score near where the ball was played skittling multiple Coombabah defenders along the way.

After the season Reico Ratana was awarded the Year Nine PBC Future Reds Award at the PBC Sports Award Night held in November 2019.

In 2019 Reico Ratana was also part of the all-conquering U15 South Coast that went through the QSSRL U15 school boy Championships undefeated.

Late in the 2019 season Reico Ratana was named in the Queensland Maori U16 QPICC side and was impressively named in the front row in the 2019 Nga Hau e Wha Māori Tournament U16 Boys Merit Team.

In 2018 for the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U14 competition Reico Ratana played in fourteen matches, including finals, scoring three tries which all came against Coomera in three separate matches.

In late 2018 Reico Ratana was part of the Queensland Maori U14 side that competed in the QPICC carnival and was in fact named as Queensland Maori U14’s Most Valuable Player at the cultural carnival.

Reico Ratana has been a Gold Coast representative regular in recent seasons. In addition to representing South Coast U15’s this season, Reico Ratana represented the Gold Coast Vikings U14 side in 2018 playing three matches and scoring on Day One against the Ipswich Diggers. Reico Ratana also played three matches for the Gold Coast Viking sU13’s in 2017 starting those matches in the centres in fact.

The young Nerang Roosters lock has had a great start to the 2017 junior rugby league season, successfully trialling for a spot in the 25 player 2017 Gold Coast Vikings U13 squad after playing the 2016 GCJRL season at the U12 Division One level once again for Nerang.

Reico Ratana played ten matches in the U12 Division One competition in 2016, scoring three tries and kicking a single goal which came against Jimboomba in June. Reico Ratana scored his tries against Burleigh, Currumbin and Southport with all three tries coming in the second half of the season.

Reico Ratana very late in the season played one match in the U13 Division Three competition which was against Burleigh Heads 3 which was on the weekend after his U12 commitments for 2016 were completed.

Reico Ratana is a big powerful solidly built young man who whilst using his size to his advantage by running hard and straight, 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.

An area where Reico Ratana has really improved over the last two season is in relation to his off-loads in previous seasons he did not off load too much but this season he really has been able to get his arms free and get away some telling off-loads. Reico Ratana continually put his hand up all day to take the ball up and has a very quick play the ball so that his team can maintain momentum

One area that Reico Ratana is continuing to develop based on his size, skills and footwork is the ability to off load before the line, an example of what I am meaning is how the Canterbury Bulldogs forward pack uses those small offloads prior to the line. Reico Ratana has shown glimpses of having the skills to utilise the same skills if the opportunities arise, developing this skill with only enhance his effectiveness.

In defence Reico Ratana uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. He is not averse 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.

Reico Ratana’s raw natural strength and power means that he is also dominant when looking to slow the play the ball down from a wrestling perspective and for that matter looking to beat the wrestling tactics of the opposition when trying to get to his feet for a quick play the ball.

Reico Ratana was set to continue to play the 2024 season in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition but with the demise of the competition Reico Ratana will likely like up in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition.

Reico Ratana has played primarily in the front row or lock for Nerang and PBC SHS in recent season and with his power and late quick footwork, I think that Reico Ratana is best suited to either of those positions moving forward.

From a player comparison perspective I would consider a less bulky version of former Penrith Panther, Parramatta Eel, Canterbury Bulldog and New Zealand International Frank Pritchard as someone with a similar style to Reico Ratana, being that of a damaging running back rower with underappreciated offloading skills and a tough hard defensive mentality.

I think that Reico Ratana is going to be one of those players whose work ethic and determination are going to carrying him a long way in his rugby league career, maybe just maybe all of the way to the NRL. Maybe not as a star player but as a more than solid NRL level player and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

[mdrew]

Banjora Porch. In late September 2023 Banjora Porch was named in the 2024 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad.

In October 2022 Banjora Porch was named in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad with Banjora Porch starting in the front row in the Northern Rivers Titans opening 2023 trial against the Northern Coast Bulldogs in Coffs Harbour with Banjora Porch scoring a strong second half try.

Round One of the 2023 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition saw Banjora Porch named in the front row for the Northern Rivers Titans against the Newcastle Knights with Banjora Porch taking the third hit-up of the match.

Banjora Porch was also named to start in the front row in Round Two against the Central Coast Roosters with Banjora Porch’s best run coming in the 53rd minute when he made thirteen metres out of his own twenty metre area after running onto the ball to the left of the play the ball.

Banjora Porch was also named in the front row in Round Three against the South Coast Dragons with Banjora Porch taking the third hit-up of the match.

Banjora Porch continued in the front row in Round Four against the Northern Tigers as well as in Round Five against the North Coast Bulldogs with Banjora Porch along with Kwinn Wolf smashing the Bulldogs No. 10 twenty metres from the try line with the ball lost as a result of the heavy defensive contact in the 8th minute.

In the 12th minute Banjora Porch made a strong fourteen metre run from the right of the play the ball with Banjora Porch breaking two tackles as he got within two metres of the try line.

Round One of the 2023 NRRRL U18 season saw Banjora Porch start from the bench for the Byron Bay Devils against the Murwillumbah Mustangs with Banjora Porch scoring a try in the 45th minute when after moving into the dummy half role with the play the ball two metres out from the try line, Banjora Porch ran to his right out of dummy half to crash over to get the ball down four metres to the right of the uprights.

Banjora Porch highlighted his strength in defence in the 16th minute with a strong tackle on the Mustangs hooker in the centre of the field and twenty five metres from the try line.

Even though he was still U16 eligible in 2023 Banjora Porch was named to make his NRRRL U18 debut in Round Four for the Byron Bay Devils when Banjora Porch started from the bench against the Cudgen Hornets.

Banjora Porch also came off the bench in Round Five against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Banjora Porch coming onto the field to operate in the front row in eh 13th minute and just two minutes later in the 15th minute from a Devils penalty tap restart Banjora Porch charged onto the ball on the halfway mark and burst through three attempted tackles as Banjora Porch carried the ball thirteen metres downfield.

Then from the kick-off to restart the match after halftime Banjora Porch returned the ball to thirty five metres away from his try line.

Banjora Proch also came off the bench in Round Eleven against the Casino Cougars and after coming onto the field in the second half to play in the front row banjora Porch made a good kick-off return in the 35th minute to get the ball to the twenty four metre mark.

Banjora Porch also started from the bench in Round Twelve against the Ballina Seagulls and after coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 13th minute Banjora Porch made a good kick-off return in the 20th minute to get the ball to the twenty metre mark.

Banjora made another good kick-off return in the 53rd minute to get the ball out to the twenty six metre mark. Earlier in the 40th minute Banjora Porch took a hit-up from a Byron Bay penalty restart and broke two tackles as Banjora Porch was able to get the ball from forty three metres from the try line to twenty three metres out.

Banjora Porch from the bench in Round Fourteen against the Tweed Heads Seagulls and after coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 21st minute, Banjora Porch ran onto the ball to the left of the play the ball on the halfway mark and was able to carry the ball twenty metres downfield.

Banjora Porch continued from the bench in Round Sixteen against the Ballina Seagulls and after coming onto the field to operate in the front row in the 19th minute Banjora Porch ran onto the ball to the right of the dummy half in the 26th minute to get the ball from his own thirty seven metre mark to four metres into Seagulls territory. Then in the 40th minute from the right of the play the ball Banjora Porch carried the ball to forty two metres from his own try line after commencing his run twenty eight metres out.

Banjora Porch then started in the front row in the Week One Elimination Final against Northern United and in the 4th minute after running an underneath route to the right of the play the ball Banjora Porch ran the ball from thirty five metres from the try line to eight metres out.

In the 9th minute from a Byron Bay penalty restart Banjora Porch made eleven metres to get the ball to nineteen metres from the try line. Then in the 46th minute from the right of the play the ball Banjora Porch ran the ball through the centre of the field to get the ball from fourteen metre from his own try line to thirty to metres out and in the 50th minute from two passes to the right of the dummy half carried the ball from ten metres inside his own territory to twelve metres inside Northern United territory.

Banjora Porch then started from the bench in the Week Two Elimination Final against the Bilambil Jets and after coming onto the field to play in the front row in the 21st minute, Banjora Porch made a strong run to the right of the play the ball in the 28th minute to get the ball to within twenty metres of the try line in the centre of the field from thirty one metres out with Banjora Porch then executing a quick play the ball.

In the 51st minute after picking up a lost Bilambil ball eight metres out from his own try line Banjora Porch was able to return the ball to the twenty metre mark. Then a tackle later Banjora Porch took another run making ten metres to get the ball thirty eight metres out from his own try line.

Defensively Banjora Porch stopped his opposing No. 10 in his tracks with a heavy front on tackle around the chest area to stop him two metres out from the try line before Banjora Porch forced him back four metres.

2023 also saw Banjora Porch continue to play for Byron Bay Lennox Head in the Group 18 U16 competition with Banjor Porch starting in the front row and named Player of the Match in the Grand Final againt the Murwillumbah Colts.

Banjora Porch also played rugby in 2023 and after representing North Coast at the U16 New South Wales School Boy Combined High School trials, Banjora Porch was selected in the NSW CHS School Boy U16 Representative Team.

The big strong young front rower who was the Player of the match after starting and starring in the front row in the Group 18 U15 Grand Final victory for Byron Bay/Lennox Head over the Murwillumbah Colts, played for a Titans U15 NRRRL Invitational selection in a match against a Titans JTS U14 squad in September 2022.

2022 also saw Banjora Porch play rugby with Banjora Porch being named in the Far North Coast Rugby U15 Seven’s Representative side.

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

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

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

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

In 2023 Banjora Porch has moved up to the Group 18 U16 competition with Byron Bay/Lennox Head as well as playing a number of matches for the Devils in the NRRRL U18 competition.

In 2024 Banjora Porch will start the season as a member of the U18 Northern Rivers Titans Laurie Daley Cup squad with Banjora Porch also transitioning to the Byron Bay Devils U18 NRRRL side fulltime. Banjora Porch will also likely continue to play rugby in 2024.

Let’s make this easy, Banjora Porch is a front rower, full stop. That is where Banjora Porch currently plays, always has played and that is where Banjora Porch will always play.

Banjora Porch is big and strong with a great motor and to that extended Banjora Porch’s playing style is not dis-similar to the Titans own NRL front rower Jaimen Jolliffe, with a better off-load.

[mdrew]

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui. The younger brother of Titans NRL captain and Queensland State of Origin and Australian International star Tino Fa’asuamaleaui joined the Titans in 2021 and like his older brother came up through the Melbourne Storm and Sunshine Coast Falcons junior development systems.

In great news for Titans fans, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui extended his contract with the Titans for a term that includes the 2024 and 2025 seasons in the Titans NRL Top 30 squad joining older brother Tino in the Titans NRL squad.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui undertook the 2022/23 NRL pre-season with the Titans on a Titans NRL Development Contract with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui leading the way in the opening sessions from a strength and overall fitness perspective. Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui will be on an NRL Development contract over the course of the 2023 season before joining the Tians Top 30 NRL squad in 2024 and 2025.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was named to make his NRL debut for the Titans off the bench in Round Three at Cbus Stadium against the Melbourne Storm alongside older brother Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.

Playing twenty six minutes in his NRL debut Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for sixty six metres (nineteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.22 seconds and had a perfect 100% tackling efficiency whilst making thirteen tackles.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued off the bench in Round Four away to the North Queensland Cowboys and whilst playing forty eight minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for seventy eight metres (twenty two post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.82 seconds and made thirty tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.75.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named on the bench in Round Six against the St George Dragons and in his twenty two minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for fifty eight metres (eighteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.83 seconds and made thirteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.86%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued off the bench in Round Seven against the Brisbane Bronco’s and whilst playing twenty eight minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty eight metres (thirteen psot contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.93 seconds and made eighteen metres at a 90% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also came off the bench in Round Eleven against the Newcastle Knights and in his thirty minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty nine metres (fourteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.47 seconsd and made twenty one tackles at a tackling efficiency of 95.45%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named to come off the becn in Round Fourteen against the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs however a late change saw Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui make his first career NRL start when he started in the front row.

The match also saw Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui score his first NRL try when he crashed over next to the right upright off a Tannah Boyd pass in the 6th minute.

Playing twenty nine minutes, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for fifty two metres (seven post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.47 seconds and made twenty one tackles at a tackling efficiency of 91.3%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named on the bench for Round Fifteen against the Wests Tigers at Cbus Stadium with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui playing thirty two minutes off the bench in the front row and in that time, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for thirty six metres (eight post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.21 seconds and made seventeen tackle at an 89.47% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also started from the bench in Round Seventeen against the Brisbane Bronco’s and whilst playing twenty eight minutes in the front row Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for fifty three metres (twenty one post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.65 seconds and made twenty tackles at a tackling efficiency of 95.24%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was then named in the front row for Round Nineteen against the Redcliffe Dolphins however a late change saw Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui start the match and in his eighteen minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty seven metres (seventeen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.63 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 90.48%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui than started from the bench in Round Twenty one against the Sydney Roosters and in his nine minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for sixty one metres (twenty eight post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 2.9 seconds and made six tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also started from the bench in Round Twenty Two against the North Queensland Cowboys andwhislt playing thirty minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for sixty nine metres (thirty six post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.85 seconds and made fourteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named on the bench for Round Twenty Three at home to the New Zealand Warriors and in his sixteen minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for fifty three metres (nineteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.27 seconds and made twelve tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also came off the bench in Round Twenty Seven against the Canerbury Bulldogs and whilst playing twenty six minutes, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui recorded a 37th minue line break assist with a great ball to his right to AJ Brimson, ran for fifty metres (fifiteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.71 second and made thirteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

In total in the 2023 NRL competition Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui played in thirteen matches, scoring a try and breaking one tackle and off-loading on one occasion. Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also ran for 725 metres at an average of fifty five metres per game and made 217 tackles at a tackling effiency of 94.4%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was named on the bench for the Titans NRL side in their opening 2023 trial against the Brisbane Bronco’s on the Sunshine Coast with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui coming onto the field mid-way through the opening half.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui recorded a smart line break assist in the 45th minute when after running onto the ball to the eight of the dummy half around forty metres away from the try line, when he had taken the ball to the Bronco’s defensive line, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui popped a great short ball to hie right to a flying Keano Kini who burst away and was only caught when he was within three metres of the try line.

Playing in the front row in his time on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 101 metres (thirty two post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 4.2 seconds and made twenty four tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.31%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named on the bench for the Titans second 2023 NRL trial against the Redcliffe Dolphins with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui playing in the front row in the second half with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui running for eighteen metres (five post contact), playing the ball at an average speed of 2.62 seconds and making twelve tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

2023 saw Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui return to the Burleigh Bears with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui starting Round One of the 2023 Queensland Cup competition in the front row against the Norths Devils.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui took the opening hit-up of the match with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui getting the ball to the twenty metre mark with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then being awarded a penalty for being held down in the tackle. Then from the resultant kick for touch and the penalty tap restart Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui got the ball two metres inside Devils territory.

In his forty eight minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 153 metres a team leading seventy six of which were post contact, broke two tackles, produced an off-load, played the ball at an average speed of 4.06 seconds and made twenty nine tackles at an exceptional tackling efficiency of 96.67%.

At the completion of Round One of the 2023 Queensland Cup compeititon Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui led the compeititon in post contact metres.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui’s strong performance saw him named on the bench in the Queensland Rugby League Queensland Cup Round One Team of the Week.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui returned to the Bears Queensland Cup side in Round Eight against the Central Queensland Capra’s, starting the match in the front row and scoring in the 12th minute when after following through a Burleigh grubber kick that hit the left upright Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui slid onto the ball to score adjacent to the left upright.

Playing fifty two minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 135 metres (sixty four post contact), broke five tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.49 seconds and made twenty four tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.31%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued in the front row in Round Ten against the Toowoomba Clydesdales with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui making a strong charge in the 7th minute from the right of the play the ball with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui carrying the ball from twenty eight metres out from the try line to two metres out and ten metres to the left of the uprights with 60% of the metres that Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui made being post contact with the defensive line.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also made a strong run in the 24th minute from the left of the play the ball from thirty two metres from his own try line to within four metres of the halfway mark.

Playing forty three minutes in the front row Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 107 metres (forty five post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.59 seconds and made twenty one tackles at an impressive tackling efficiency of 95.45%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started in the front row once again in Round Eleven against the Ipswich Jets with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui taking the second hit-up of the match to promote the ball to the twenty six metre mark. Then on the fifth tackle of the first set of the match Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui chased through a Burleigh attacking bomb and after retrieving the ball got a left arm flock off-load away to keep the attacking movement going less than ten metres from the try line.

Playing forty two minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 154 metres (sixty four post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.13 seconds and made thirteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also started in the front row in Round Sixteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui running an underneath line in the 17th minute to carry the ball from two metres inside Falcons territory to within thirty two metres of the try line with 60% of the metres that Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui gained being post contact.

Then in the 42nd minute from twelve metres inside his own territory Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran onto the ball to the right of the play the ball getting two inside Sunshine Coast territory before multiple defenders had to be committed to bring Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui to ground.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then made another strong run in the 54th minute from twenty six metres out from his own try line to within five metres of the halfway after taking possession of the ball to the left of the dummy half.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued his strong match in the 76th minute when from two passes to the left of the play the ball and forty metres from the try line Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui made ten metres before getting away a great left arm off-load to his right.

Two plays later Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui did well to take a misdirected pass from the dummy half on the bounce twelve metres out with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then running to his left and getting to less than a metre from the try line ten metres in from the left corner post.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui did well defensively in the 37th minute to make a good tackle along with Vaka Sikahele on one of the Sunshine Coast interchange forwards (No. 16) just three metres out from the try line and to the left of the uprights. Then after lining up at marker Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui moved to his left to throw the Falcons dummy half to the ground forcing a Falcons knock-on.

Playing seventy one minutes in the front row Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 112 metres (fifty six post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 2.81 seconds and made a team leading forty two tackles at an impressive tackling efficiency of 95.45%.

After a number of weeks in the NRL with the Titans Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started from the bench in Round Twenty One against the Mackay Cutters with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui coming onto the field in the 20th minute to play in the front row and in the 18th minute from the left of the play the ball Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran the ball four metres inside his own territory to ten metres into Cutters territory.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran onto the ball to the left of the play the ball once again in the 45th minute to get the ball from six metres inside Mackay territory to thirty two metres from the try line. Then in the 61st minute from the right of the dummy half Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was able to make a yardage carry from his own twenty metre mark to thirty two metres out.

Playing thirty seven minutes off the bench Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for fifty two metres (twenty four post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.02 seconds and made fifteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.24%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then started in the front row in Week One of the Finals against the Central Queensland Capra’s with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui making the opening hit-up of the match from the kick-off to get the ball out to the twenty seven metre mark. Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui followed up with another strong kick-off return in the 8th minute to get the ball out to the twenty one metre mark.

In his second stint on the field in the 61st minute Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran onto the ball to the right of the dummy half to get the ball from the halfway mark to thirty two metres from the try line. Then in the 67th minute from the left of the play the ball Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui carried the ball from thirty three metres from the try line to twenty metres out.

Playing forty six minutes in the front row Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 116 metres (fifty two post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.6 seconds and made twenty one tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was back in the front row for the Preliminary Final against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui making the opening hit-up of the match out to the sixteen metre mark with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then receiving a penalty for a strip in the tackle. Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then took the hit-up from the subsequent penalty restart to carry the ball to the halfway mark.

In the 2nd minute from two passes to the right of the play the ball Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui rumbled fifteen metres downfield from his own twenty two metre mark with 65% of Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui’s metres being post contact. Also in the 2nd minute after receiving an off-load in the centre of the field and twenty four metres out from the try line, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui got a good off-load away to his left to Keano Kini who darted and stepped his way to ten metres from the try line.

In the 20th minute from the right of the play the ball Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui promoted the ball from thirty three metres out from his own try line to within three metres of the halfway mark. Then in the 27th minute from the right of the play the ball Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was able to promote the ball from ten metres inside his own territory to ten metres into Wynnum Manly territory.

Whilst playing forty eight minutes in the front row Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 202 metres, a team leading eighty four metres of which were post contact, broke four tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.05 seconds and made seventeen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui’s performance saw him named on then bench in the Queensland Rugby League 2023 Week Three Final’s Queensland Cup Team of the Week.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started in the front row in the 2023 Queensland Cup Grand Final against the Brisbane Tigers with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui running onto the ball in relation to a Burleigh penalty restart to get the ball from twenty metres out through the centre of the field to eight metres out.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then in the 10th minute from two passes to the left of the dummy half got to within eight metres of the try line before getting a left arm off-load away to his right whilst going to ground with two defenders on him.

Playing forty eight minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for seventy eight metres (twenty nine post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.53 seconds and made twenty five tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

In total in the 2023 Queensland Cup competition Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui played in eight matches, scored a try, broke fourteen tackles, made 182 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 95.8%, made 468.4 post contact metres and ran for 1 035 metres at an average of 129 metres per match.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started from the bench in the Bears late February Queensland Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui operating in the front row when he was on the field.

In early December 2022 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui took part in a joint training session betweed the Titans JTS contracted players and the Titans NRL squad that has become a great annual initiative.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui undertook 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 then in 2023 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui will be on a full-time Titans NRL Development contract. Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also works full time for the Titans in a trainee development role.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started the Titans first 2022 NRL trial against the Brisbane Bronco’s at Cbus Stadium from the bench. In his time on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty six metres (sixteen post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.03 seconds and made nine tackles at a 90% tackling efficiency.

Also in late 2021 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was part of the Titans NRL squad that undertook a joint training session with ninety members of the Titans JTS Program.

In late 2021 it was confirmed that Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui would play the 2022 season with the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad for the second season in a row.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was named to start from the bench for the Burleigh Bears in Round One of the 2022 competition against the Wynnum Manly Seagull however when the Titans players who did not play in Round Two of the NRL dropped back, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui dropped out of the game day seventeen.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named on the Bears interchange bench for Round Two against the Townsville Blackhawks, coming into the match mid-way through the opening half for his opening moments in the Queensland Cup.

To say that Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui had an outstanding Queensland Cup debut would be a major understatement. Playing twenty nine minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for an exceptional ninety three metres, forty five of which were post contact, broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 4.13 seconds and made sixteen tackles, missing only one to record a debut tackling efficiency of 94.12%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also came off the bench in Round Three against the Redcliffe Dolphins playing thirty minutes. In that time Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for seventy seven metres (twenty nine post contact), broke four tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.68 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 90.48%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was then named to continue coming off the bench in the Round Four local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls however he was a late scratching from the match.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was then named on the bench for Round Five against the PNG Hunters but like in Round Four he was a late scratching from the match.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was once again named on the bench for Burleigh in Round Seven against the Souths Logan Magpies. In an impressive twenty six minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for sixty eight metres (twenty four post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 2.93 seconds and made twenty tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui made his first Queensland Cup start in Round Eight against the Mackay Cutters when he started in the front row. In his forty seven minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 109 metres (forty eight post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.77 seconds and made thirty tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.75%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui came off the bench once again in Round Ten against the Easts Tigers in the 35th minute to play in the front row with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui’s first run coming almost immediately when after taking the ball thirty eight metres out he was able to promote the ball to within ten metres of the try line.

Playing twenty eight minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for ninety six metres (forty four post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.69 seconds and made twelve tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui once again started from the bench in Round Eleven against the Sunshine Coast Falcons playing twenty eight minutes in the front row. In those minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty eight metres (twenty six post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.34 seconds and made twenty three tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued from the bench in Round Twelve against the Norths Devils, playing twenty five minutes in the centre of the field. In those minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for sixty seven metres (nineteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.03 seconds and made fifteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.75%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui made his career first Queensland Cup start in Round Thirteen against the Northern Pride when he started in the front row. Playing thirty three minutes, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty seven metres (twenty post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.35 seconds and made twenty two tackles at a tackling efficiency of 95.65%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also started in the front row in Round Fourteen against the Ipswich Jets and Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui along with front row partner Tristian Powell making the opening tackle of the match. Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then along with Taine Tuaupiki held up the Redcliffe lock over the try line in the 3rd minute.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui, playing thirty seven minutes in the front row, ran for ninety four metres (thirty eight post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 4.11 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was also named in the front row in Round Fifteen against the Townsville Blackhawks with Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui involved in the opening tackle of the match after Burleigh had kicked off to get the match underway.

Running with the ball, one of Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui’s best runs came in the 2nd minute when he made sixteen metres to thirty metres away from his own try line after running onto the ball to the left of the play the ball.

In his thirty minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for thirty six metres (twenty one post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 2.79 seconds and made fourteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.33%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued in the front row in Round Sixteen against the Norths Devils and in his fifty one metres on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for 133 metres, played the ball at an average speed of 2.61 seconds and made twenty four tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.31%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui continued from the bench in Round Twenty against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was named on the bench for the Burleigh Bears in their Queensland Cup Week One Final against the Norths Devils and in his twenty seven minutes on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for thirty six metres (nineteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.34 seconds and made fourteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also came off the bench in Week Two of the Finals against the Central Queensland Capra’s and whilst playing thirty two minutes ran for eighty eight metres (twenty eight post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.57 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also started from the bench in the 2022 Queensland Cup Preliminary Final against the Redcliffe Dolphins and whilst playing thirty minutes in the front row Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty two metres (sixteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.37 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 86.36%.

In total in the 2022 Queensland Cup competition Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui played in fourteen matches, broke eleven tackles, ran for 1 040 metres at an average of seventy four metres per match with 429.4 of those metres post contact and made 264 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 94.6%.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was named on the bench for the Burleigh Bears in late February 2022 in their first Queensland Cup trial against the Easts Tigers also starting from the bench for the Burleigh One side in their early March trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui also spent part of the 2020/21 off-season training with the Titans NRL squad alongside older brother Tino.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui’s first action in 2021 came when he started from the bench for Burleigh in their Queensland Cup trial against the Easts Tigers.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui then started in the front row for Burleigh Second’s side in their final 2021 Queensland Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

In Mid-March 2021 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was part of the Burleigh Bears Nine’s squad that won the Gold Coast Nine’s Annual Competition with a 22 – 20 Final victory.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui to start from the bench for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers however he was a late scratching from the final Seventeen.

In Round Two Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui was named on Burleigh’s extended bench for the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls however came onto the bench late in the week, coming on in the 25th minute of the first half.

The 26th minute saw Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui make his first tackle of the match when he hit Seagulls fullback Brenton Daley-Holten and drove him two metres backwards, then from marker Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui did the same thing to Jaylan To’O post the play the ball.

Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui took his first hit-up in the 30th minute making ten metres to get the ball thirty five metres away from his own try line. Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui made a further strong run on the 32nd minute from the kick-off after Cole Geyer’s try, throwing self-preservation out the window to get the ball twenty two metres out from his own line.

After missing a number of weeks, Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui started Round Five against the Northern Pride at left centre. Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui then started from the bench in Round Six against the Townsville Blackhawks and almost scored with his first touch of the ball when he charged at the line from just two minutes out but just as he was about to put the ball down under the posts, it was knocked from his grasp.

Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui started from the bench in Round Seven against the Central Capra’s and recorded a 58th minute try assist when forty five metres from the line he threw an offload from above his head to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who raced down the right touchline beating one Capra’s cover defender with a strong left arm fend to score in the right corner.

Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui continued off the bench in Round Eight against the Redcliffe Dolphins and was one of the Bears try scorers in their last minute loss and also came off the bench in Round Nine against the Mackay Cutters and in the Round Eleven local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui was also named on the bench for the previously postponed Round Ten clash against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls however he ended up starting the match in the front row and finished the match as Burleigh’s top tackler with thirty five tackles.

After a Covid 19 enforced hiatus, Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui was named to start from the bench in Round Sixteen against the Ipswich Jets with Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui scoring in the 45th minute when he was able to charge over from six metres out with Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui getting the ball down next to the right upright.

Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui made a line break in the 74th minute when he charged twenty metres down the left channel to get within ten metres of the try line. Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui was able to get to his feet quickly with Burleigh scoring from the play the ball.

Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui was also named to start from the bench in the rescheduled Round Thirteen match against the Sunshine Coast Falcons as well as in Round Fourteen against the Northern Pride.

As the Northern Pride however Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui moved into the starting side on the day of the match and made the most of his starting opportunity by scoring in the 4th minute when he chased through an attacking kick from Cameron Brown to just get to the ball under the posts before it went dead in goal.

In his second stint on the field Iszac Fa’asuamaieaui continued his strong efforts including a strong seventeen metre charge off a Burleigh tap restart from a penalty.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started the 2020 season as part of the Victorian Thunderbolts U20 Jersey Flegg squad coming off the bench in Round One against the Manly Sea Eagles before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

In 2019 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui was part of the Victorian Thunderbolts U18 SG Ball train on squad but was not part of any of their game day squads in that season.

In 2017 Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui started in the front row for the Sunshine Coast Gold U16 side at the Sunshine Coast representative trials and from there was named on the bench for the Sunshine Coast Falcons U16 representative side.

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

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

On a lot of his runs Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

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

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

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

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

Just like his older brother Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui is a big strong young man with the size and power to play in the centre third of a rugby league field, but also like his brother also is very mobile for his size thus he can also play on the fringes of the ruck at a high level. I envisage however that ultimately Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui will settle in the front row as he matures physically.

Whilst Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui will play for the Titans in the NRL in 2024.

Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui has the size and power of his older brother and in many respects has a similar playing style to Tino as well. It may take Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui a bit longer to reach the heights of his older brother but all the physical and skill pieces are in place for the Titans to have signed a very talented young player with the possible benefit for the Titans NRL squad potentially being only a year or two away from coming to fruition.

I am not suggesting that Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui will wind up being as successful as quickly as Tino but regardless Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui has some more than intriguing potential and the physical attributes to make an impact at the NRL level in coming seasons with the Titans potentially alongside his older brother.

Imagine a Titans NRL forward pack with both Iszac and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in it, the mind boggles especially when you throw in the names of Moeaki Fotuaika and David Fifita as well.

[mdrew]

Tashahn Cora. Tashahn Cora made his NRRRL First Grade debut off the bench for the Evans Head Bombers in Round Nine of the 2023 NRRRL First Grade competition against Lismore Marist Brothers with his debut going perfectly by scoring a double.

Tashahn Cora scored his career first NRRRL First Grade try in the 37th minute when after a Bombers bomb was put up towards his wing and subsequently lost forward his Marist Tashahn Cora picked up the ball on the bounce and race ten metres to dive over to score four metres in from the left corner post.

Tashahn Cora completed his debut double in the 61st minute when after receiving a cut-out pass from his inside that Tashahn Cora had to jump to take, he had a four metre run to dive over to score in the left corner.

Tashahn Cora then moved into the Evans Head starting side at fullback in Round Ten against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Tashahn Cora once again scoring a double.

Tashahn Cora scored the first of his two tries in the 54th minute when after receiving a cut-out pass on the right side of the field when twenty metres out, Tashahn Cora dummied to his outside and after initially being tripped up by his opposing fullback, Tashahn Cora was able to get back to his feet after being hit by the Marist fullback to score two metres in from the right corner post.

Tashahn Cora completed his double in the 67th minute when after receiving the ball forty five metres out, Tashahn Cora stepped off his right foot then left to beat the Marist left winger and then when still twenty metres out Tashahn Cora raced down the right touchline and then dived from three metres out to get the ball down with an outstretched right arm in the right corner as he was being hit by a cover defender.

Early in the match in the 8th minute Tashahn Cora and Micah Leaupepe Perkins were able to grab hold of the Lower Clarence fullback and drag him back into the in-goal to force a Magpies goal line drop-out.

Round Eleven against Northern United saw Tashahn Cora start on the right wing with Tashahn Cora making a line break in the 14th minute with a burst down the right touchline from ten metres inside his own territory to eight metres inside Northern United territory with Tashahn Cora then being hit high and subsequently awarded a penalty.

Tashahn Cora then started from the bench in Round Twelve against the Mullumbimby Giants.

Tashahn Cora then moved to five eight for Round Fourteen against the Byron Bay Devils and in the 77th minute after an Evans head kick had gone backwards Tashahn Cora took possession of the ball on the full facing his own try line twenty two metres out and after turning and running to the right, Tashahn Cora put a left foot grubber kick into the in-goal from sixteen metres out towards the left corner with the ball subsequently taken over the dead ball line by the Byron Bay fullback to force a goal line drop-out.

Round Fifteen against the Ballina Seagulls saw Tashahn Cora start at halfback and in the 18th minute to knock a Ballina Seagulls grubber kick over the dead ball line with Ballina chasers right on top of him, it looked as if the Seagulls player whould get to the ball first biut Tashahn Cora’s speed enabled him to prevent a try.

Round Seven of the NRRRL Reserve Grade competition saw Tashahn Cora start from the bench against the Cudgen Hornets.

Tasharn Cora then started at halfback in Round Twelve against the Mullumbimby Giants with Tasharn Cora scoring a try and kicking an 18th minute conversion from five metres to the right of the goal posts.

Tasharn Cora scored in the 23rd minute through a long range effort from seven metres inside his own territory with Tasharn Cora dummying to his left to get on the inside of his direct opponent and race away down the left channel to comfortably scoring under the posts.

Earlier in the match in the 4th minute Tasharn Cora was able to return a kick-off out to the twenty four metre mark.

Tashahn Cora then came off the bench in Round Sixteen against Northern United

After playing for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition, Tashahn Cora returned to the Seagulls for the 2023 NRRRL U18 season with Tashahn Cora making his first appearance for the 2023 season in Round Four when Tashahn Cora started at halfback against the Murwillumbah Mustangs with Tashahn Cora recording three try assists.

The first of Tashahn Cora’s try assists came in the 30th minute when from the left of the play the ball and eighteen metres out, Tashahn Cora put a left foot chip over the top of the defensive line with Micah Leaupepe Perkins racing through to take the ball on the bounce and score mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Tashahn Cora recorded a second try assist in the 33rd mintue when from ten metres inside his own territory Tashahn Cora put in a left foot chip for himself with Tashahn Cora retrieving the ball and after drawing the fullback got the ball away to his left to Micah Leaupepe Perkins who raced twenry metres to score in the left corner.

Tashahn Cora then recorded his third try assist in the 53rd mintue and once again the try assist was as a resultof a Tashahn Cora left foot chip. From ten metres inside his own territory Tashahan Cora put in a left foot chip from the left of the play the ball with Micah Leaupepe Perkins getting to the ball in front of the Mustangs fullback and charge away to score under the posts.

Tashahn Cora continued at halfback in Round Five against the Byron Bay Devils with Tashahn Cora scoring in just the 2nd minute of the match when with the paly the ball a metre for the try line and in front of the posts, Tashahn Cora received the ball off the dummy half to his left with Tashahn Cora stepping off his left foot twice to dive over to score under the posts.

Tashahn Cora also recorded a try assist in the 4th minute when after backing up one of his front rowers and getting an off-load eight metres inside his own territory, Tashahn Cora ran to the fullback and after drawing him Tashahan Cora passed to his left to Micah Leaupepe Perkins who raced thirty metres to score.

Tashahn Cora then recorded a second try assist in the 42nd minute when from ten metres inside his own territory Tashahn Cora put in a left foot chip with Tashahn Cora getting to the ball first but when the ball did not sit up for him, Tashahn Cora kicked the ball forward again with the Seagulls replacement No. 16 then getting an ideal bounce to score.

Tashahn Cora started at halfback once again in Round Six against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Tashahn Cora scoring once again in the 55th minute when after Micah Leaupepe Perkins made a line break from forty metres out and on the left side of the field Micah Leaupepe Perkins ran to within twenty metres of the try line and after drawing the fullback passed to his inside to a trailing Tashahn Cora who then scored under the posts.

The 23rd minute saw Tashahn Cora force a goal line drop-out from the left of the play the ball Tashahn Cora put in a left foot chip from twelve metres out and after the Raiders rgith winger took the ball on the full just inside the field of play, Tashahn Cora grabbed hold of him and forced him back into the in-goal to force a goal line drop-out.

Tashahn Cora also did well in the 36th minute when from twenty metres out from the try line and to the left of the play the ball Tashahn Ocra put up a left foot bomb towards the left corner and afger the ball was dropped by the Raiders left winger five metres out from his try line, Tashahn Cora was the first to react and race through the take possession of the ball on the bounce with Tashahn Cora getting the ball to within a metre of the try line six metres in from the left touchline and after a quick play the ball from Tashahn Cora the Seagulls hooker dived over to score from dummy half with the Tweed Coast defence still in disarray.

Tashahn Cora also started at halfback in Round Six against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Tashahn Cora scoring a double in a big Seagulls victory.

Tashahn Cora scored his first try in the 44th minute when from a short Seagulls goal line drop-out with the Seagulls reteirved the ball and raced downfield with the right winger drawing the fullback and passing to his left to Tashhan Cora who had a thirty metre run to put the ball down under the posts.

Tashahn Cora added a second try in the 57th minute when after receiving an off-load eighteen metres out Tashahn Cora exploded from a standing start down the left touchline to score in the left corner.

Tashahn Cora also started at halfback in Round Ten against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Tashahn Cora scoring in just the 2nd minute of the match when after backing up the ball carrier Tashahn Cora got the off-load to score twelve metres to the left of the uprights.

Tashahn Cora also recorded a try assist in the 8th minute when after receiving the ball two passes to the left of the play the ball “out the back” eighteen metres from the try line, Tashahn Cora continued to run to his left and when ten metres from the try line threw a cut-out pass to his left for his left centre to step his way over to score.

Tashahn Cora almost set up another Seagulls try four minutes earlier in the 4th minute when from forty metres from the try line Tashahn Cora put a left foot kick over the defensive line with the ball taking a horror bounce for the Magpies fullback to bounce into the arms of the Seagulls left winger who was tripped up from behind just five metres from the try line.

Tashahn Cora also recorded a line break assist in the 27th minute when to the left of the play the ball thirty metres out, Tashahn Cora held the ball up beautifully to put Joshua Donovan-Skinner into a gap.

The 49th minute then saw Tashahn Cora put in a short along the ground kick-off straight down the centre of the field with Tashahn Cora regathering the ball by diving on the ball thirty metres out from the try line.

Tashahn Cora also started at halfback in Round Eleven against Northern United with Tashahn Cora scoring two tries and kicking two conversions in a tough win. Tashahn Cora kicked his first conversion in the 18th minute from twelve metres to the right of the uprights and kicked his second conversion two minutes later in the 20th minute from directly in front.

Tashahn Cora scored his opening try in the 11th minute when after taking possession of the ball to the left of the play the ball twelve metres out from the try line, Tashahn Cora stepped off his left foot twice in quick succession before darting over to score eight metres to the left of the uprights.

Tashahn Cora completed his double in the 53rd minute when after receiving to the left of a Seagulls penalty tap restart eleven metres out and ten metres in from the left touchline, Tashahn Cora continued to run the ball to his left and after getting on the outside of the Northern United right winger, Tashahn Cora dived over to score in the left corner.

Tashahn Cora recorded a try assist in the 30th minute when from twenty metres out Tashahn Cora put up a high left foot bomb towards the left corner with the ball being scrooped up by the Seagulls to score in the corner after it was dropped by the Northern United right centre.

Tashahn Cora also recorded a line break assist after just twenty seconds, yes twenty seconds. After running the ball down a short left blindside deep inside his own territory, Tashahn Cora threw a cut-out ball to his left to put his winger away down the left touchline.

Tashahn Cora ran the ball well himself in the 29th minute making thirteen metres to within seven metres of the halfway mark after running the ball to the left of a Seagulls scrum win.

Tashahn Cora then was named on the bench in Round Sixteen against Northern United with Tashahn Cora coming onto the field to operate at halfback mid-way through the first half and in the 30th minute from the right of a Seagulls scrum win in the centre of the field twenty three metres out from the try line, Tahshan Cora stepped off his right foot and surge to within a metres of the try line and three metres to the left of the goal posts.

Then in the 58th minute when whilst running the ball to the right of the play the ball Tashahn Cora dummied to an inside runner and then when Tashahn Cora when ten metres inside his own territory put in a left foot chip kick for yourself regathering the ball ten metres inside Northern United territory before being brought to ground thirty six metres out and in the centre of the field.

The Week Two NRRRL U18 Qualifying Final saw Tashahn Cora continue from the bench against the Murwillumbah Mustangs and after coming onto the field mid-way through the first half to play in the halves, Tashahn Cora recorded a try assist in the 30th minute when from the right of the dummy half twelve metres out from the try line, Tashahn Cora initially dummied to his right before throwing an inside ball for his support runner to score under the posts.

Tashahn Cora also started from the bench in the Preliminary Final against the Murwillumbah Mustangs and after coming onto the field to operate in the halves in the 18th minute Tashahn Cora recorded a try assist in the 51st minute when after running the ball deep into the defensive line to the right of the dummy half Tashahn Cora closed to within eight metres of the try line before throwing an inside pass to his fullback who scored five metres to the right of the goal posts.

Tashahn Cora had earlier come close to setting up a Tweed Heads try in the 46th minute when from the right of the play the ball Tashahn Cora ran to within sixteen metres of the try line and then at the last possible moment put in a left foot chip kick towards the right corner with the Seagulls winger retrieving the ball only to be forced into touch just short of the try line.

In 2022 Tashahn Cora started from the bench for a Norther Rivers U17 Invitational side that took on a Future Titans U16 side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL match against the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs.

In the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition Tashahn Cora played for the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Tashahn Cora spending time at both fullback and in the centres with Tashahn Cora scoring twelve tries.

Tashahn Cora scored a hat trick in Round Seven against the Lower Clarence Magpies and in the Preliminary Final against the Ballina Seagulls. Tashahn Cora also scored doubles against the Murwillumbah Mustangs in Round Four and the Bilambil Jets in Round Twelve. Tashahn Cora also scored in Roudn Nine against the Murwillumbah Mustangs and in the Qualifying final against also against Murwillumbah.

It is hard to put in words just how talented Tashahn Cora is in terms of running the ball, he has outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end speed which must be considered plus regardless of position. Tashahn Cora with his speed is able to exploit even small gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible acceleration as well as outstanding body control.

It is that speed trait which opens up his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Tashahn Cora when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that they open up holes wider out in the defensive line that Tashahn Cora can exploit.

Tashahn Cora has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Tashahn Cora can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that Tashahn Cora is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust.

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

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

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

Tashahn Cora has a very good low tackling technique which is simple and repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on Tashahn Cora’s side of the field. In short just like his attacking play Tashahn Cora is an outstanding defender.

In 2024 Tashahn Cora has a number of options with his U18 eligibility coming to an end, Tashahn Cora could stay in the NRRRL competition, no doubt continuing in the Evans Head Bombers NRRRL First Grade squad after making his debut in 2023.

Tashahn Cora may well also head north a few kilometres and line up in the Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition with the demise of the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition where no doubt a lot of the sides in the competition would benefit greatly for having Tashahn Cora at their club especially with his ability to paly multiple positions.

Tashahn Cora can and has played multiple positions including every position in the backline but with his speed and elusiveness I am of the opinion that Tashahn Cora’s best position both now and into the future is at fullback.

Titans own Jayden Campbell is a great NRL player comparison for Tashahn Cora, both Campbell and Tashahn Cora are electric ball runners who are just exciting to watch and attack the game with an air of confidence about them and both are also fearless with and without the ball.

[mdrew]

Gabriel Salele’a. In late September 2023 Gabriel Salele’a was named in the 2024 Burleigh Bears U17 Cyril Connell Cup squad.

In late September 2022 Gabriel Salele’a was named in the 2023 Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup representative squad.

Gabriel Salele’a was named to start at lock in Round One of the 2023 U16 Cyril Connell Cup competition for the Bears against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls with Gabriel Salele’a doing well in the 29th minute when a strong run and then smart off-load on the halfway mark.

Gabriel Salele’a had a number of good moments defensively against Wynnum Manly including in the 31st minute with a strong driving tackle on his opposite number just inside Wynnum Manly territory. Then in the 44th minute with the Seagulls on the attack Gabriel Salele’a raced out of the Bears defensive line and hit the Seagulls halfback around twenty metres out and in the centre of the field with the desperate pass by the halfback going forward.

Round One of the 2023 Walters Cup School Boy competition saw Gabriel Salele’a named at lock for Keebra Park SHS against Ipswich SHS. Gabriel Salele’a also started at lock in Round Two against Marsden SHS.

Gabriel Salele’a also started at lock in Round Three against Redcliffe SHS with Gabriel Salele’a recording a try assist against Redcliffe SHS in the 52nd minute when after making a line break from the left of the play the ball when Gabriel Salele’a sliced between two defenders and after drawing the fullback Gabriel Salele’a got an off-load away to his left to put Gazniah To’omaga over to score under the posts.

Gabriel Salele’a also made a good run in the 57th minute making eighteen metres down the left channel to twelve metres inside Redcliffe SHS territory with Gabriel Salele’a then awarded a penalty for being held down too long in the tackle.

Earlier in the 33rd minute Gabriel Salele’a effected a one on one strip six metres out from the try line to get the ball back for Keebra Park SHS.

Gabriel Salele’a also started at lock in Round Four against Caloundra SHS with Gabriel Salele’a scoring a try and kicking two conversions with the first kicked in the 19th minute when Gabriel Salele’a converted his own try in front of the posts. Gabriel Salele’a then kicked his second conversion in the 41st minute from mid-way between the goal posts and the corner post on the left side of the field with a great left foot strike of the ball.

Gabriel Salele’a scored a great solo try in the 40th minute when after receiving the ball five metres inside his own territory and to the right of the play the ball, Gabriel Salele’a burst through a small gap between two Caloundra SHS defenders with Gabriel Salele’a then grabbed from behind by the fullback by the jersey but after getting out of that tackle, Gabriel Salele’a put the ball down under the posts and then Gabriel Salele’a stepped up to convert his own try. Gabriel Salele’a then did well from the subsequent Caloundra SHS kick-off to take a short kick-off on the full on the left side of the field.

Gabriel Salele’a did well defensively in the 19th minute with a try saving heavy tackle a metre from the try line and ten metres in from the right touchline with a push and shove ensuing after the Caloundra SHS player lost the ball in the tackle.

Gabriel Saleele’a continued at lock in Round Five against Wavell SHS with Gabriel Saleele’a running onto the ball to the left of the play the ball in the 23rd minute to get the ball to within fourteen of the try line after starting his run thirty metres out.

From a Keebra Park SHS penalty tap restart in the 28th minute Gabriel Saleele’a ran the ball through the centre of the field from ten metres out from his own try line to twenty three metres out and then two tackles later Gabriel Saleele’a made a further twelve metres to seven metres inside Wavell SHS territory.

Gabriel Saleele’a also started at lock in the Round Six Gold Coast School Boy derby against PBC SHS with Gabriel Saleele’a recording a line break assist in the 1st minute of the match when to the right of the play the ball Gabriel Saleele’a executed a run around before popping a short ball to his right to Jai Billish who broke through the PBC SHS defensive line from thirty metres out from the try line.

Gabriel Saleele’a continued at lock in Round Seven against Mabel Park SHS with Gabriel Saleele’a scoring in the 10th minute when Gabriel Saleele’a did well to charge down a Mabel Park SHS clearing kick forty metres out with Gabriel Saleele’a then able to collect the bouncing ball around thirty three metres out and outpace the Mabel Park SHS cover defence to score under the posts.

The 19th minute saw Gabriel Saleele’a take a hit-up from the right of the play the ball from eighteen metres out and through sheer force of will Gabriel Saleele’a was able to get the ball to within two metres of the try line just to the left of the goal posts.

Gabriel Saleela’a continued at lock in the Semi-final against Wavell SHS with Gabriel Saleela’a running onto the ball to the left of the dummy half in the 33rd minute to get the ball from thirty seven metres from the try line to twenty two metres away.

2023 also saw Gabriel Saleele’a selected in the Queensland Samoa U16 representative side for the 2023 QPICC Cultural Carnival.

Gabriel Salele’a arrives on the Gold Coast from Western Australia and in 2022 Gabriel Salele’a represented Western Australia in the U15 ASSRL School Boy Championships including starting at fullback in the Pool B Championship Final against Victorian School Boys.

Gabriel Salele’a had a strong overall 2022 U15 ASSRL School Boy Championship campaign including being named the Western Australian U15 Players Player of the Championships. Gabriel Salele’a was also named Player of the Match for Western Australia in Round Three against Northern Territory and recorded an impressive try assist in Round One against Victoria as wel as making numerous line breaks in the match.

2022 also saw Gabriel Salele’a play for the South Perth Lions in the Western Australian U15 competition, primarily playing at five eight and had a big match against the Rockingham Sharks with Gabriel Salele’a scoring three times early in the season.

Gabriel Salele’a started the 2022 Western Australian U15 Grand Final at five eight for the South Perth Lions as they took on the Rockingham Sharks.

Gabriel Salele’a also played rugby in Western Australia, including an outstanding 2022 season with Neddie’s in the U15 Western Australian Rugby competition. Gabriel Salele’a scored a double in Round Nine against Cottsleigh and also scored a double and kicked a conversion in Round Eleven against Palmyra. Gabriel Salele’a also scored in Round Fourteen against Lions after starting the match at outside centre (No. 13).

Whilst Gabriel Salele’a started the majority of his matches from the bench, Gabriel Salele’a did start at outside centre in Round Fourteen against Lions as noted above.

I really like the way that Gabriel Salele’a plays in attack, he will try different things and play what is in front of him rather than stick to the same tactics over and over again. In many respects Gabriel Salele’a is very unpredictable when he gets the ball, he is adept at running himself when presented with an appropriate opportunity and has a very good turn of speed off the mark and similarly can throw some superb passes to his support runners if they find themselves running into a gap.

Currently Gabriel Salele’a is probably a touch better runner of the ball then ball player and can step off both feet and is quite strong for his size and will shrug off larger defenders if they try to go high and try to wrap up the ball without committing to the tackle properly or with an incorrect tackling technique.

Gabriel Salele’a is able to drift across field and then just takes off through any gaps in a staggered defensive line. When he looks to take advantage of an overlap on the blind side and is adept at drawing in outside defenders to give his winger a clear path to the line by creating a two on one situation.

Gabriel Salele’a has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Gabriel Salele’a can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust.

Gabriel Salele’a also runs with the ball out in front of his body in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what he is going to do before the play is executed or develops in front of them.

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

Gabriel Salele’a has a very good low tackling technique which is simple and repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on his side of the field.

Defensively Gabriel Salele’a 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 player gets on his outside.

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

Gabriel Salele’a will play the 2024 season with the Burleigh Bears in the U17 Cyril Connell Cup competition. Gabriel Salele’a will also play in the 2023 GCRL U18 Division One competition as well as play school boy rugby league in 2024 for Keebra Park SHS with Gabriel Salele’a looking to break into the Keebra Park SHS School Boy Rugby league Open A Langer Cup side.

Gabriel Salele’a, in rugby league has played both at fullback and five eight and with his outstanding passing game and superb side stepping ability in confined space I really am struggling to determine whether fullback or five eight is going to be Gabriel Salele’a’s best position going forward. I think that with his strong defensive game as well, probably five eight might just edge fullback as Gabriel Salele’a’s best position although that is by no means certain.

For me with his ability to slip through gaps in the defensive line especially close to the line and a solid repeatable defensive technique, Gabriel Salele’a has a playing style similar to that of Canterbury Bulldog, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International five eight and reasonably regular centre Matt Burton as an outstanding player who finds his way to the try line on a regular basis.

[mdrew]

Austin Marsters. In late September 2023 Austin Marsters was named in the 2024 Burleigh Bears U19 Mal Meninga Cup squad.

Austin Marsters is a 2022 Auckland U16 Rugby League Representative lock forward who played his club rugby league in New Zealand with the outstanding and exceptionally well regarded Marist Saints Rugby League in Auckland and in 2023 Austin Marsters has moved over to Australia and is part of the 2023 Burleigh Bears U18 MM Cup squad.

Austin Marsters first game for the Bears was in their opening 2023 MM Cup trial against the Souths Logan Magpies at Burleigh Juniors as part of the Titans Annual Super Saturday series of matches.

Austin Marsters started from the bench in the Bears third and final trial against the Brisbane Tigers with Austin Marsters coming onto the field to operate in the dummy half role in the 20th minute.

Austin Marsters was named to start from the bench in Round One of the 2023 U18 Mal Meninga Cup competition for the Bears against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls with Austin Marsters coming onto the field to operate at dummy half in the 27th minute.

Austin Marsters scored a strong solo try out of dummy half in the 41st minute when from thirteen metres from the try line Austin Marsters ran to his right out of dummy half down a right blindside. After being engaged by one defender Austin Marsters was spun around and when facing his own try line Austin Marsters kept backing up and even with four defenders on him, Austin Marsters was able to spin to his left (left going backwards) and get the ball down three metres in from the right corner post.

In the second half of the match Austin Marsters had some outstanding defensive moments including in the 38th minute when along with Zyroam Tauruwa-Herlihy and Bailey McConnell, Austin Marsters made a strong try saving tackle right on the try line on the Wynnum Manly right second rower (No. 12) to stop him from scoring mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

Then in the 66th minute the same three players once again produced a further try saving tackle on the Wynnum Manly halfback also right on the try line and on the right side of the field after the Seagulls halfback had tried to step his way through the Bears defensive line.

Austin Marsters was back to his feet immediately and then from the marker position moved to his right and smashed the Wynnum Manly No. 11 to execute yet another try saving tackle.

Austin Marsters also started from the bench in Round Two against the Souths Logan Magpies with Austin Marsters coming onto the field to operate as a running back rower in the 24th minute.

Austin Marsters scored in the 46th minute when after the Magpies left winger lost a Bailey McConnell kick backwards into the in-goal Austin Marsters raced through to ground the ball ten metres in from the right corner post.

The match also saw Austin Marsters kick a conversion from his only attempt in the 68th minute when he converted Bailey McConnell’s second try of the match from ten metres to the left of the goal posts.

Austin Marsters continued off the bench in Round Three against the Brisbane Tigers but literally found himself in the match inside the opening minute as a result of a Bears HIA from the opening kick-off.

Austin Marsters was involved in Isaiah F@galilo’s 16th minute try when after Isaiah F@galilo played the ball ten metres out and in front of the posts Austin Marsters ran the ball out of dummy half to his right before getting the ball back to Isaiah F@galilo who then put in a grubber kick into the goal to score next to the right upright.

Austin Marsters did exceptionally well from a defensive perspective in the 31st minute when he raced to his right to make a great try saving low legs tackle on the Tigers left winger who seemed set to score in the corner.

Austin Marsters then moved to five eight for Round Four against the Norths Devils.

Austin Marsters then came off the bench in Round Six against the Redcliffe Dolphins with Austin Marsters coming onto the field in the second half to operate in the dummy half role.

Austin Marsters came close to scoring in the 49th minute when from three metres out from the try line Austin Marsters ran to his right out of dummy half only to be held up over the try line adjacent to the right upright.

Austin Marsters also started from the bench in the Round Seven local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Austin Marsters coming on to operate in the dummy half role in the 18th minute.

Austin Marsters finished the 2023 MM Cup season making ninety two tackles.

In early March 2023 Austin Marsters was named in the South Coast Maroon School Boy Rugby League Open Representative side for the 2023 QSSRL Championships with Austin Marsters starting from the bench on Day One against Met North with Austin Marsters coming onto the field in the 12th minute.

Austin Marsters also started from the bench on Day Two against Met West with Austin Marsters operating at lock after coming onto the field in the 17th minute. Austin Marsters also started from the bench on Day Three against Capricornia with Austin Marsters coming onto the field in the 19th minute.

Austin Marsters also started from the bench in the Day Four third against fourth play-off against Sunshine Coast and after coming onto the field in the 14th minute Austin Marsters did well in the 31st minute when after engaging the defensive line from a run to the left of the play the ball Austin Marsters was able to get an off-load out the back. Then from the subsequent play the ball Austin Marsters carried the ball to within three metres of the try line.

Late 2022 also saw Austin Marsters enrol at the Titans Partnered Keebra Park SHS with Austin Marsters immediately becoming part of the Keebra Park SHS School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup squad. Austin Marsters will also attend Keebra Park SHS in 2024.

Round One of the 2023 School Boy Langer Cup competition saw Austin Marsters named on the bench for Keebra Park SHS against Ipswich SHS with Austin Marsters coming onto the field to operate in the dummy half role late in the first half.

Austin Marsters was also named on the bench for Round Two against Marsden SHS with the match played at Cbus Stadium as a curtain-raiser to the Titans Round Fifteen NRL match against the Wests Tigers with Austin Marsters coming off the bench to operate in the middle of the field in the first half.

Austin Marsters was also named on the bench in Round Three against Redcliffe SHS and after coming onto the field in the 22nd minute Austin Marsters scored in the 37th minute when after receiving the ball to the left of the play the ball twelve metres from the try line Austin Marsters ran at the defensive line and after it initially looked as if Austin Marsters would pass the ball to his left, Austin Marsters ran himself instead to break through to tackles before running over the top of the Redcliffe SHS fullback on the try line to score ten metres to the left of the uprights.

Austin Marsters also started from the bench in Round Four against Caloundra SHS with Austin Marsters initially operating at lock when he came onto the field before spending time in the dummy half role as the second half progressed.

Austin Marsters was also named on the bench for Round Five against Wavell SHS with Austin Marsters recording a try assist in the 35th minute when from the right of the play the ball, Austin Marsters ran the ball to within six metres of the try line before throwing a bullet pass to his right to put his right centre over to score eight metres in from the right corner post.

Austin Marsters also started from the bench in the Round Six Gold Coast derby against PBC SHS with Austin Marsters coming onto the field in the 25th minute.

Austin Marsters continued from the bench in Round Seven against Mabel Park SHS with Austin Marsters initially operating in the dummy half role after coming off the bench in the 24th minute.

Austin Marsters did well defensively in the 36th minute when along with Zyroam Taurawa-Herlihy, Austin Marsters got low and stopped the Mabel Park SHS hooker from burrowing his way from close range for dummy half six metres to the right of the uprights.

After Keebra Park SHS finished fiftth on the 2023 School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup table after the completion of the regular season, Austin Marsters started from the bench for Keebra Park SHS in their Quarter Final clash against PBC SHS with Austin Marsters coming onto the field to operate in the centre of the field in the second half.

Round Three of the 2023 Langer Reserve School Boy Rugby League competition saw Austin Marsters named in the front row for Keebra Park SHS against Redcliffe SHS.

2023 also saw Austin Marsters play for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition including starting from the bench in Round Eight against the Coomera Cutters with Austin Marsters making a strong run from the left of the play the ball in the 34th minute with Austin Marsters carrying the ball to the halfway mark after commencing his run thirteen metres inside his own territory.

Austin Marsters then started from the bench in Round Twelve against the Helensvale Hornets.

The 2023 GCRL U18 Division One Major Semi-final saw Austin Marsters start at lock against the Currumbin Eagles with Austin Marsters scoring in the 13th minute when after taking possession of the ball to the left of the dummy half in the centre of the field and twenty metres out, Austin Marsters ran the ball to ten metres out and after throwing an exaggerated dummy to his left Austin Marsters stepped off his left foot to beat a defender with Austin Marsters carrying another defender over the try line to score under the posts.

Earlier in the 5th minute from the left of the play the ball Austin Marsters was able to get the ball from thirty two metres out from his own try line to within five metres of the halfway mark. Then in the 27th minute from the left of the play the ball Austin Marsters carried the ball to within thirteen metres of the halfway mark from thirty two metres out with Austin Marsters breaking a tackle and with around 65% of Austin Marsters metres being post contact.

From the left of the dummy half in the 37th minute and from the halfway mark Austin Marsters was able to get the ball to the thirty two metre mark with at least 75% of the metres gained being post contact. Austin Marsters then made a strong run to the left of the dummy half to get the ball from the forty three metre mark to twenty nine metres from the try line in the 44th minute.

Austin Marsters rounded out a strong Final with a run from the left of the play the ball from ten metres inside his own territory to five metres into Currumbin territory.

Austin Marsters started at lock in the Week Two Qualifying Final against the Burleigh Bears with Austin Marsters scoring in the 34th minute when after taking possession of the ball to the left of the play the ball in front of the goal posts and twenty metres out from the try line, Austin Marsters ran straight and when he was ten metres out Austin Marsters threw an extravagant dummy to his left before easily brushing past three defenders to score under the posts.

Austin Marsters made an immediate impact on the match inside the opening minute with a run from the left of the play the ball that saw Austin Marsters carry the ball from forty metres out from the try line to twenty nine metres out. Then in the 14th minute after picking up a dropped Tigers pass that went backwards Austin Marsters was able to get the ball to within four metres of the try line mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field after picking the ball up eighteen metres out.

Austin Marsters ran onto the ball to the right of the play the ball in the 15th minute and came within less than a metre from scoring after a twelve metre run through the centre of the field, then in the 22nd minute right from the right of the dummy half Austin Marsters came close to scoring once again from sixteen metres out only to be stopped centremetres out four metres to the left of the uprights.

Austin Marsters also played in the 2022 U16 Shaun Johnson Shield including starting at lock in the Grand Final and Austin Marsters was also formerly a contracted player in the New Zealand Warriors Junior Development system and in early 2023 Austin Marsters trialled with the Cronulla Sharks Development Squads.

In late 2022 Austin Marsters represented the Akarana Falcons U16 representative side at the 2022 New Zealand U16 National Youth Championships, including starting in the Championship Final against Counties Manukau.

Austin Marsters style of play is that of a strong running back rower with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of Austin Marster’s speed would be well above average to plus, and I am talking the speed of an outside back not a backrower in relation to Austin Marsters.

Austin Marsters is exceptionally quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, he has an extra gear again, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Austin Marsters runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball during a game. I have not seen a great deal of him off loading the football to date, but the ball skills that he possess would suggest this particular will develop into a plus skill over time, although at this stage of his career it is not a necessity. Austin Marsters attention to detail would also strongly suggest that he will continue to develop his off-loading and ball skills across the board.

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

Austin Marsters speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half. I have noted that he is aggressive, but not to the extent that he will give away penalties, he just wants to win everyone on one contest. Austin Marsters is also a very good cover defender as a result of his speed and tenacity.

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

2024 will see Austin Marsters line up for the Burleigh Bears U198 MM Cup squad for the second year in a row with Austin Marsters also MM Cup eligible in 2025 with the age group change.

2024 will also see Austin Marsters line up in the School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup Open A competition once again for Keebra Park and in the GCRL U18 Division One competition for the Southport Tigers.

Whilst Austin Marsters played at lock for both the Marist Saints and in his representative side that played in the U16 New Zealand Shaun Johnson Cup, with his speed and power I certainly think that Austin Marsters can also play either in the centres or in the second row even though ultimately, I believe that Austin Marsters settles at lock down the track.

From an NRL player comparison perspective, with his touch above average speed, developing ball skills and quick late footwork at the line that Austin Marsters has displayed over recent seasons in both club and representative matches in New Zealand, I think that an appropriate player comparison is Sydney Roosters and England International lock Victor Radley with the potential to be a lot more on top of that as well. You could also throw in Cameron Murray of the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs when you are looking for an NRL player to compare Austin Marsters to.

Like Victor Radley and Cameron Murray, Austin Marsters plays rugby league with almost reckless abandon is certainly as an all effort type of player with deceptive speed and a big motor to complement his other attributes, including a high skill level.

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Tyreece Bowman. Round Two of the 2023 NRRRL U18 season saw Tyrese Bowman start on the bench for the Bilambil Jets in their local derby against the Cudgen Hornets with Tyrese Bowman playing on the left wing in the second half. Tyrese Bowman also came off the bench in Round Three against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Tyrese Bowman then started at fullback in Round Five against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Tyrese Bowman making a good run in the 19th minute when from the left of a Jets scrum win ten metres from the halfway mark, Tyrese Bowman continued to run to his left after receiving the ball and after stepping off his right foot to get on the outside of the Magpies right winger Tyrese Bowman made a line break down the left touchline and when he was within fifteen metres of the try line Tyrese Bowman slide to the ground to prevent being taken into touch with Tyrese Bowman then getting to his feet and running back towards the centre of the field to get within ten metres of the try line before he was ultimately tackled.

Tyrese Bowman then moved to the left wing in Round Six against Northern United.

Tyrese Bowman was back at fullback for Round Seven against the Mullumbimby Giants with Tyrese Bowman scoring a ninety five metre intercept try in the 38th minute when wide out on the left side of the field Tyrese Bowman raced off his own try line to take the intercept seven metres in from his right touchline and racing away to put the ball down three metres to the right of the uprights.

Earlier in the 19th minute Tyrese Bowman made a good kick-off return from his own twenty metre mark with Tyrese Bowman running to his left after taking possession with Tyrese Bowman getting the ball to within ten metres of the halfway mark.

Tyrese Bowman continued at fullback in Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys with Tyrese Bowman scoring in the 40th minute when after receiving the ball on the right side of the field ten metres out Tyrese Bowman stepped off his left foot immediately to wrong foot one defender with Tyrese Bowman then stepping off his left foot twice more and then was able to cross the try line and put the ball down under the posts.

Tyrese Bowman also recorded a line break in the 10th minute when after coming forward to take a Turkeys chip on the bounce twenty metres from his own try line, Tyrese Bowman evaded two chasers then stepped to his right and ran down the left touchline before being tackles five metres inside Kyogle territory.

Tyrese Bowman then did well in the 43rd minute to get his right foot to a Kyogle grubber kick to prevent a try with the Jets then able to take possession.

Tyrese Bowman also started at fullback in Round Nine against the Casino Cougars with Tyrese Bowman scoring in the 9th minute when after the Jets spun the ball to their right, the ball was almost intercepted by Casino but the ball ended up being knocked forward to Tyrese Bowman twenty seven metres from the try line with Tyrese Bowman then beating one defender with a right foot step with a left foot step beating a second to score ten metres in from the right corner post.

Tyrese Bowman then started at fullback in Round Ten agaisnt the Ballina Seagulls with Tyrese Bowman scoring in the 34th minute when he chased through a Harry Chadbrun grubber kick into the in-goal with Tyrese Bowman retrieving the ball in the in-goal and bring the ball around to score under the posts.

Tyrese Bowman moved to right centre in Round Twelve against the Murwillumbah Mustangs with Tyrese Bowman recording a line break in the 20th minute when after receiving an off-load from his left on the halfway mark Tyrese Bowman charged down field before being brought down by the Murwillumbah fullback twenty metres out from the try line.

Tyrese Bowman was on the move again in Round Fourteen against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Tyrese Bowman starting on the left wing and scoring in the 16th minute after flashing down the left touchline from thirty five metres out and after crossing the try line in the left corner Tyrese Bowman was able to bring the ball all of the way around to put it down under the posts.

Tyrese Bowman also made a line break in the 18th minute off a good ball from his inside from Creedence Donovan with Tyrese Bowman running eighteen metres down the left touchline to five metres from the halfway mark.

Tyrese Bowman moved back to fullback for the Round Fifteen local derby against the Cudgen Hornets with Tyrese Bowman involved in an old fashioned mouse trap play in the 39th minute and after picking up the ball at dummy half, Tyrese Bowman made ten metres to get the ball over the thirty metre mark.

Tyrese Bowman also made a good one on one fullback’s tackle in open space in the 16th minute on the Cudgen halfback who had made a long line break through the centre of the field only to be tackled by Tyrese Bowman thirty five metres from the try line.

Tyrese Bowman continued at fullback in Round Sixteen against the Murwillumbah Mustangs with Tyrese Bowman involved in an old fashioned mouse trap play in the 51st minute and after picking up the ball, Tyrese Bowman ran out of dummy half to his right from inside his own territory and passed to his right with Bilambil making a line break down the right touchline a pass later.

Tyrese Bowman also recorded a try assist in the 11th minute when from the right of the play the ball forty metres out from his own try line, Creedence Donovan ran at the Mustangs defensive line and at the last moment, passed inside on a set play to Tyrese Bowman who broke through the defensive line and then when forty metres out from the try line Tyrese Bowman drew the Murwillumbah fullback and passed the ball back to his left to Creedence Donovan who raced away to score under the posts.

Tyrese Bowman started at right centre in the Week One Elimination Final against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Tyrese Bowman making a line break in the 43rd off a James Mellor pass with Tyrese Bowman making twenty metres down the right touchline from ten metres inside his own territory.

Tyrese Bowman also recorded a line break assist in the 47th minute to put Harry Chadburn away down the right touchline from thirty eight metres away from the Jets try line.

Tyrese Bowman then moved to fullback in the Week Two Elimination Final against the Byron Bay Devils with Tyrese Bowman making a line break in the 6th minute when from five metres inside his own territory, Tyrese Bowman ran out of dummy half to his left and after getting on the outside of the Byron Bay right winger, Tyrese Bowman ran down the left touchline before being tackled twenty eight metres from the try line with Tyrese Bowman doing very well to keep his feet in the field of play.

Earlier in the 4th minute Tyrese Bowman ran out of dummy half to his left before cutting back to his left with Tyrese Bowman able to promote the ball from twenty metres out from his own try line to thirty three metres out.

Tyrese Bowman also started at fullback in the Preliminary Final against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Tyrese Bowman making a line break in the 47th minute when after picking up a dropped Tweed Heads ball sixteen metres out from the try line and was able to get the ball to within five metres of the halfway mark before being dragged down from behind.

Tyrese Bowman also made a try saving tackle in the 46th minute when after the Tweed Heads right winger retrieved a short chip kick and looked as if he was going to dive over from close range but Tyrese Bowman raced to his left and was able to bundle the winger over the touchline near the Bilambil left corner post.

The 2023 NRRRL U18 Grand Final saw Tyrese Bowman start at fullback for the Bilambil Jets in their 28 – 10 Grand Final victory against the Murwillumbah Mustang and in just the 3rd minute of the match Tyrese Bowman ran to his right to collect a Murwillumbah grubber kick into the in-goal three metres from the dead ball line. After taking possession of the ball Tyrese Bowman continued to run to his right and did very well to get the ball back into the field of play by a metre or so with Tyrese Bowman also doing well to get to the ground before he was dragged over the right touchline.

In 2022 Tyreece Bowman played for the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL U18 competition and started Round One of the competition at five eight against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

Tyrese Bowman also started at five eight in Round Three against Northern United before moving to fullback for Round Six against Casino RSM with Tyrese Bowman making a great line break in the 23rd minute that resulted in a try for his hooker. Tyrese Bowman was thirty five metres out from his own try line when he was on hand to receive an off-load and immediately ran towards centre field from towards the left touchline. Tyrese Bowman straightened up and burst through the Casino line before drawing the fullback and putting his hooker away on a forty metres run to the try line.

Tyrese Bowman then started at fullback in Round Seven against the Cudgen Hornets as well as in Round Eight against the Lower Clarence Magpies.

Starting at fullback in Round Nine against the Byron Bay Devils, Tyrese Bowman had a huge match, scoring a double as well as recording two try assists.

Tyrese Bowman’s opening try came in the 19th minute when as all good fullbacks do, Tyrese Bowman was hovering around just behind the ruck and thus he was perfectly positioned to take an off-load in the centre of the field and around twenty metres out. After receiving the ball Tyrese Bowman exploded off the mark and was just too quick for the defence with Tyrese Bowman scoring under the posts.

Tyrese Bowman completed his double just two minutes later in the 21st minute when from just on halfway Tyrese Bowman ran onto a great left arm around the corner off-load from Will Taylor with Tyrese Bowman subsequently racing away to score.

The first of Tyrese Bowman’s try assists came in the 52nd minute when after Tyrese Bowman chimed into the Jets backline on the left side of the field he threw a cut-out pass to his left when ten metres out from the line with the winger able to score comfortably in the corner.

Tyrese Bowman added a second try assist in the 55th minute when once again he threw a good pass to put his winger away but on this occasion Tyrese Bowman received the ball after the Jets had spun the ball to the right with Tyrese Bowman getting the ball away to his right around forty five metres away from the try line.

Tyrese Bowman continued at fullback in Round Eleven of the NRRRL U18 competition against the Ballina Seagulls with Tyrese Bowman scoring a smart try in the 55th minute. The ball was thrown to the right by the Jets with Tyrese Bowman taking possession of the ball on the bounce around fifteen metres out and just to the right of the goal posts with Tyrese Bowman almost immediately dummying to his right before stepping off his right foot to make one Seagulls defender miss, with Tyrese Bowman then got past another defender and bring the ball around to dive over to score under the goal posts.

Tyrese Bowman also started at fullback in Round Twelve against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Tyrese Bowman then continued at fullback in Round Thirteen against the Tweed Heads Seagulls for the second round in a row with Tyrese Bowman continuing his rich vein of form by scoring in the 21st minute when Tyrese Bowman backed out a line break through the centre of the field by Jets hooker Hasley McDonald from inside his own twenty metre area with Tyrese Bowman looking up on McDonald’s right to receive the ball thirty three metres out and after Tyrese Bowman was able to beat one defender as soon as he received the ball Tyrese Bowman ran away to score mid-way between the goal post and corner post on the right side of the field.

Tyrese Bowman also did well in the 58th minute when with Bilambil on the attack forty metres out from the try line running the ball to the left, Seagull Harry Chadburn took an intercept but Tyrese Bowman smartly got across to make a try saving tackle two metres inside his own territory.

Tyrese Bowman also started at fullback in the rescheduled Round Four match against the Cudgen Hornets.

Tyrese Bowman also started at fullback in the rescheduled Round Five match against the Kyogle Turkeys with Tyrese Bowman scoring in the 7th minute when he received a great off-load ten metres out and in front of the posts from Dominic Bowman with Tyrese Bowman putting the ball down under the posts untouched.

Tyrese Bowman also made a line break in the 39th minute when Tyrese Bowman received the ball to the left of a Jets scrum win ten metres out from their own line with Tyrese Bowman dummying to his left to get between two defenders and get to thirty five metres out from his own line.

Tyrese Bowman also started at fullback in the Week One Qualifying Final against the Ballina Seagulls with Tyrese Bowman making a line break in the 6th minute when a stutter step from around thirty five metres out from his own line saw Tyrese Bowman make a thirty five metre run down the left touchline.

In early October 2020 Tyreece Bowman 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 Tyrese Bowman played for the Bilambil Jets who went through the regular season winning all ten of their matches, scoring 242 points and conceding 72 to finish the season with a +242 points differential.

In 2019 Tyreece Bowman played for the Group 18 U14 representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, playing primarily at fullback.

The Bilambil Jets youngster was part of the Titans U14 squad that played a Western Mustangs selection in February 2019 at Mudgeeraba and also in 2019 was part of the Group 18 U14 representative side being named at fullback for the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships late in the year.

In the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships Tyreece Bowman started both of Group 18’s U14 matches at fullback with both of those matches played on Day One of the Championships being against Central Coast and Group Four.

In 2019 Tyreece Bowman played for the Bilambil Jets in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League U14 competition.

In 2018 Tyrese Bowman was part of the Banora Point High School U13 rugby league side that made the North Coast Finals of the U13 Country Cup School Boy Rugby League compeition. In the Finals Banora Point defeated St John’s College Woodlawn 12 – 4, McLean High School 20 – 8 and won as a result of a forfeit against Tweed Rivers High School. Banora Point High School’s only defeat was an 8 – 0 loss to Mt St Patricks College.

Tyrese Bowman also represented Banora Point High School in Athletes including being part of their 4 x 100 metre U13 relay at the 2018 North Coast Combined High Schools Track and Field Championships finishing fourth in a time of 54.50 seconds.

Also at those Championships Tyrese Bowman finished fifth in the U13 100 metres sprint in a time of 13.23 seconds.

For a rangy type of player Tyreece Bowman is very quick off the mark and when the ball is being brought out of his teams half he is always around the forwards looking for off loads but as evidenced by one of his tries he also can play the way a lot of the current fullbacks play when they receive the football “out the back” from the half or five eight.

In those circumstances, currently Tyreece Bowman runs more than he passes, but he is playing at the U14 level and I have no doubt that his passing skills will improve as he maturing and gets more experience in older age groups and possible representative games.

Tyreece Bowman presents as a silky smooth player, who looks like he glides across the field picking and choosing his time to get involved and wants to have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.

In terms of his defence, one thing that stood out to me is when the opposition makes a break Tyreece Bowman moves forward looking to cut down the time of the attacking player, which is quite impressive for such a young player. Due to his height, he is good also at defending the high ball.

Tyreece Bowman has a number of playing options in 2024, Tyrese Bowman could continue in the NRRRL competition with the Bilambil Jets with Tyrese Bowman looking to break into the Jets NRRRL First Grade squad or Tyrese Bowman could also line up in the GCRL U20 competition.

Tyreece Bowman is a talented player whether he is playing at fullback or in the centres but with his size and speed combination potentially his best position will ultimately be at fullback but that is definitely not set in stone.

I initially thought Tyreece Bowman would be a very good centre, and I am sure with his natural ability he would/will be, but with the skills he possesses and the way the modern game of rugby league is played, fullback seems to be Tyrese Bowman’s best position into the future but as noted above that is not a given by any means.

Tyrece Bowman obviously has a long way to go, but I am looking forward to seeing him play over the coming years and seeing how Tyreece Bowman progresses as he possesses all of the skills and physical attributes to be a very good rugby league player both now and down the track.

From an NRL player comparison perspective Tyrese Bowman has a number of similarities to former Titans winger Corey Thompson. Tyrese Bowman like Thompson is quick off the mark and has the same innate and uncoachable ability to make the first defender miss in the congestion in the middle of the ruck or wider out in the backline as Thompson.

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Elijah Tagiilima. In late July 2023 Elijah Tagiilima started on the right wing for a Titans U19 side that travelled to Townsville to play a Cowboys U19 side in an NRL curtain-raiser with Elijah Tagiilima scoring in the 65th minute to lock the scores up at 18 all as a result of a spectacular and acrobatic dive to get the ball down in the right corner with the ball extended in his right arm after receiving a pass from his inside from Brock Lennox and race eight metres before his spectacular dive to score in the corner.

Elijah Tagiilima also made a line break in the 47th minute when after taking a long North Queensland clearing kick on the full five metres out from his own try line, Elijah Tagiilima returned the kick to his right and after getting on the outside of his opposing winger, Elijah Tagiilima charged down the right touchline to get to the twenty four metre mark.

In the 4th minute Elijah Tagiilima ran to his right out of dummy half to get the ball from twenty seven metres away from his own try line to within eleven metres of the halfway mark.

Elijah Tagiilima did well defensively in the 13th minute when along with Brock Lennox, Elijah Tagiilima was able to force the ball loose from, the grasp of the North Queensland left centre over the try line to prevent a Cowboys try five metres in from the right corner post.

Elijah Tagiilima also did well in the 23rd minute when he came forward to take a dipping North Queensland goal line drop-out on the full just above the ground with Elijah Tagiilima then able to return the ball to within twenty five metres of the try line.

Elijah Tagiilima continued his strong match in the 27th minute with a carry from just six metres out from his own try line and to the right of the play the ball an after a strong run that saw Elijah Tagiilima continuing to force his way forward after contact with the defensive line and get the ball out to the twenty metre mark.

The 53rd minute saw Elijah Tagiilima take possession of the ball two passes to eth left of a Titans scrum win from forty metres out, with Elijah Tagiilima breaking two tackles as he promoted the ball to three metres into North Queensland territory.

The 53rd minute saw Elijah Tagiilima along with Sam Stephenson make a try saving tackle to stop the North Queensland left centre (No. 3) right on the try line and four metres in from the right corner post.

In 2023 Elijah Tagiilima lined up for Mabel Park SHS in the School Boy Rugby league Langer Cup competition starting all of Mabel Park SHS’s matches (except for Round Five) on the right wing.

Elijah Tagiilima had the honour of captaining the Mabel Park SHS Langer Cup School Boy side in their Round Seven clash against Keebra Park SHS with Elijah Tagiilima making a good run to the left of the play the ball in the 5th minute to get the ball from twenty eight metres out from his own try line to within six metres of the halfway mark with 60% of the metres that Elijah Tagiilima gained being post contact with the Keebra Park SHS defensive line.

Elijah Tagiilima made additional good metres in the 21st minute when from a metre out from his own try line and to the left of the play the ball Elijah Tagiilima got the ball to twelve metres out and then a tackle later Elijah Tagiilima ran onto the ball once again to the left of the play the ball to get the ball from his own twenty three metres mark to the forty metre mark.

Then in the 28th minute from the left of the play the ball Elijah Tagiilima carried the ball from four metres out from his own try line to seventeen metres out, running over the top of one defender along the way.

After Mabel Park SHS finished second on the 2023 School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup table after the completion of the regular season, Elijah Tagiilima started on the right wing and captain for Mabel Park SHS in their Quarter Final clash against Wavell SHS with Elijah Tagiilima making a line break in the 7th minute when from twenty metres out from his own try line burst through the centre of the Wavell SHS defensive line after running onto the ball to the right of the dummy half with Elijah Tagiilima able to get the ball to twenty five metres out from the try line at the opposite end of the field.

At the conclusion of the Langer Cup Elijah Tagiilima was named as an unlucky omission from the 2023 Courier Mail School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup Team of the Year.

Elijah Tagiilima played one match in the 2023 Mal Meninga Cup competition for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls being Round Five against the Brisbane Tigers with Elijah Tagiilima scoring one of the easiest tries that he will ever score in the 16th minute when Elijah Tagiilima received an off-load from his right and took two comfortable steps forward to put the ball down in the left corner with the ball in his right hand.

In 2023 Elijah Tagiilima played for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition with Elijah Tagiilima splitting time between fullback and left centre for the Tigers in that competition.

The 2023 GCRL U18 Division One Week One Major Semi-final saw Elijah Tagiilima start at left centre against the Currumbin Eagles with Elijah Tagiilima scoring in the 40th minute when from two passes to the left of a Tigers scrum win Daniel Rakena ran to his left when sixteen metres out dummied to an inside runner before taking the ball to the defensive line and throwing a well weighted short pass to his left to Elijah Tagiilima who burst through a gap to put the ball down next to the left goal posts.

Elijah Tagiilima also made three line breaks with the first coming in the 19th minute when from the left of the play the ball Elijah Tagiilima dummied to his left when twenty metres out from his own try line to burst through a gap and run the ball to within four metres of the halfway mark.

Elijah Tagiilima recorded his second line break in the 29th minute when after backing up a Southport line break from a Currumbin kick-off, Elijah Tagiilima received the ball forty metres from his own try line and charged to within twenty metres of the try line bit unfortunately for Elijah Tagiilima the ball was knocked from his grasp from behind.

Elijah Tagiilima’s third line break arrived in the 57th minute and was down the left touchline with Elijah Tagiilima bursting away from three metres inside Currumbin territory with Elijah Tagiilima getting an off-load back inside to his fullback when twenty metres out from the try line.

Then in the 37th minute Elijah Tagiilima recorded a line break assist when after receiving a cut-out pass from his inside from Daniel Rakena, Elijah Tagiilima got a short, sharp pass away to his left for his left winger to race away down the left touchline but unfortunately the wingers pass inside to the Southport fullback was ruled forward.

Defensively in the 5th minute Elijah Tagiilima smashed the Eagles right winger after he had fielded a kick with Elijah Tagiilima’s heavy contact forcing him back five metres to just fifteen metres out from the try line.

Elijah Tagiilima started at left centre in the Week Two Qualifying Final against the Burleigh Bears with Elijah Tagiilima surging onto the ball in the 3rd minute from the left of the play the ball and was able to promote the ball from twenty two metres out from his own try line to thirty six metres out. Elijah Tagiilima followed up with another good run down the left channel in the 30th minute to get the ball from ten metres inside his own territory to ten metres into Burleigh territory.

The 2023 GCRL U18 Division One Preliminary Final saw Elijah Tagiilima start at left centre against the Currumbin Eagles with Elijah Tagiilima running onto the ball to the left of the dummy half in the 6th minute to carry the ball from twenty metres out from his own try line out to the thirty metre mark.

In the 2023 GCRL U18 Division One regular season Elijah Tagiilima scored in Round Two against the Helensvale Hornets in the 19th minute when from the right of the play the ball twenty four metres out from the try line Elijah Tagiilima drew the Hornets left winger and got the ball away to his right to put his winger down the right touchline and after continuing to back up on the inside Elijah Tagiilima received the ball back from his winger eight metres out with Elijah Tagiilima then able to bring the ball around to put the ball down mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Elijah Tagiilima also scored in the 49th minute of Round Five against the Currumbin Eagles when in the 49th minute Elijah Tagiilima ran onto a short off-load from his left and had a ten metre run to dive over to score nine metres in from the right corner post.

Elijah Tagiilima also scored in Round Seven against the Helensvale Hornets when in the 9th minute Elijah Tagiilima out jumped his Hornets opponent to take a Daniel Rakena kick towards the left wing on the full four metres out from the try line with Elijah Tagiilima then able to get the ball down three metres in from the left corner post.

Elijah Tagiilima also could have scored in Round Eight against the Coomera Cutters when after Elijah Tagiilima broke a tackle and charged over the try line from thirty three metres out on the left side of the field, Elijah Tagiilima was set to put the ball down but instead passed the ball whilst in the in-goal area to allow Daniel Rakena to score under the posts.

The one thing Elijah Tagiilima also seems to be able to do well, is to step back inside without the loss of his speed or forward momentum, opposing defenders seem to push out quickly when Elijah Tagiilima has the ball expecting him to look to beat them on their outside, if they come across to far, Elijah Tagiilima has a very good step back side and if the inside defenders are not quick enough to cover across he has the speed to make a clean break in those circumstances.

Similarly when an opposing defender looks to come out of the line quickly to put pressure on him, Elijah Tagiilima’s quick twitch feet means that he can step off either foot quickly to negate the attempt to cut down his time. In short Elijah Tagiilima is a very talented attacking player who looks to beat his opponent with speed and guile rather than purely by brute strength.

Defensively in the fullback position Elijah Tagiilima understandably he does not a huge amounts of tackles but the ones he makes are the ones that need to be made. If an attacker runs directly at him, Elijah Tagiilima will come forward to cut down the time the attacker has to make a decision and he will hit very hard.

An impressive attribute that Elijah Tagiilima does have he is ability to force attackers in the clear to try to beat him down the side line. Elijah Tagiilima will stay inside the attacker and force him in the needed direction and then use his timing and anticipation to make the tackle, usually forcing the attacker into touch.

In 2024 Elijah Tagiilima will still be MM Cup eligible with the age change to U19’s and it will be interesting to see which club is lucky to have Elijah Tagiilima in their squad, it could be either of the Tweed Heads Seagulls or Wynnum Manly Seagulls, either would be very lucky to have Elijah Tagiilima in their squad.

From a club rugby league perspective in 2024 Elijah Tagiilima will likely line up for the Southport Tigers in the GCRL U20 competition with Elijah Tagiilima also pushing for playing time in the GCRL First Grade competition with the Tigers in 2024.

With his solid build, low centre of gravity and hard running style Elijah Tagiilima seems destined to play on the wing for the duration of his rugby league career although continuing to operate at either fullback or in the centres in the short term is only going assist in Elijah Tagiilima’s continued development.

Elijah Tagiilima has put on some size over the last season or two, with a current NRL player comparison is for me, Penrith Panthers right winger, Brian To’O. Both are Elijah Tagiilima and To’o solidly built players with a low centre of gravity and powerful runners who are difficult to handle especially when they run out of dummy half.

[mdrew]

Cameron Bevan. Cameron Bevan was named to make his School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup debut off the bench for PBC SHS in their Round Seven home match against Wavell SHS with Cameron Bevan coming onto the field to operate as a running backrower late in the first half.

Cameron Bevan was then named on the bench for in the Langer Cup Semi-Final against Marsden SHS.

Cameron Bevan was then named on the bench in the 2023 School Boy Rugby League Langer Cup Grand Final against Ipswich SHS with Cameron Bevan coming onto the field to operate at lock in the 45th minute.

Cameron Bevan also started from the bench for PBC SHS against St Patrick’s College in Mackay in the Phil Hall Cup to determine the best Queensland School Boy Rugby League side of 2023 with Cameron Bevan coming onto the field to operate at right second row in the 40th minute of PBC SHS’s 28 – 0 victory.

Cameron Bevan continued from the bench in the 2023 NRL School Boy Rugby League Grand Final against Westfields Sports High with Cameron Bevan coming onto the field in the 41st minute.

In late September 2022 Cameron Bevan was named in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup train on squad.

Round One of the 2023 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition saw Cameron Bevan named as the 18th player for the Northern Rivers Titans against the Newcastle Knights.

Cameron Bevan was then named on the Northern Rivers Titans interchange bench for Round Two against the Central Coast Roosters coming onto the field in the 27th minute to operate in the dummy half role.

Cameron Bevan was also named on the bench for Round Three against the South Coast Dragons.

Cameron Bevan then moved into the Northern Rivers Titans starting line-up at hooker in Round Four against the Northern Tigers as well as in Round Five against the North Coast Bulldogs with Cameron Bevan along with Brady Turner making the opening tackle of the match from the Northern Rivers Titans kick-off.

Cameron Bevan played his club rugby league in 2023 with the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL competition and made his NRRRL First Grade debut off the bench for the Jets in Round Three against the Evans Head Bombers with Cameron Bevan coming onto the field in the 60th minute and in the 76th minute Cameron Bevan made a good run in the 76th minute when after receiving an off-load from his left thirty metres from the try line, Cameron Bevan broke one tackles as he made eighteen metres to get within twelve metres of the try line.

Cameron Bevan also started from the bench in Round Four before moving into the Jets starting side in Round Five against Lower Clarence.

Cameron Bevan then started from the bench in Round Six against Northern United.

Round Ten of the NRRRL U18 competition against the Ballina Seagulls saw Cameron Bevan start at right second row for the Bilambil Jets with Cameron Bevan scoring in the 22nd minute when after moving into dummy half with the play the ball twenty metres out and in the centre of the field and ran to his left out of dummy half with Cameron Bevan then stepping off his left foot to run towards his right with Cameron Bevan then stepping off his right foot to comfortably beat two defenders to score under the posts.

The 39th minute saw Cameron Bevan ran to his left out of dummy half from thirty metres out from his own try line and was able to get the ball within three metres of the halfway mark.

Cameron Bevan then started at lock in Round Twelve against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

Cameron Bevan started from the bench in the Week One Elimination Final against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Cameron Bevan coming onto the field late in the first half to play in the dummy half role.

Cameron Bevan had an outstanding season for the Bilambil Jets in the 2022 NRRRL U18 competition and for me Cameron Bevan was the best hooker in the entire competition.

Cameron Bevan was named at hooker for the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup side for their Round One match against the Wests Tigers. Even though the Northern Rivers Titans went down in the match, Cameron Bevan was an impressive performer for the Northern Rivers Titans, leading his forwards onto the ball well from dummy half and also defending exceptionally well in the centre of the ruck against a huge Wests Tigers forward pack.

Cameron Bevan also started at hooker in Round Two against local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs in Nambucca Heads and in Round Three against the Greater Northern Tigers producing some moments of class in the 30 – 16 victory including a second half try.

Early in the first half Cameron Bevan forced the Tigers to restart by way of a goal line drop when he grubber kicked out of dummy half into the in-goal.

Early in the second half Cameron Bevan was unlucky not to score when he darted out of dummy half to his left from close range but unfortunately he was held up. Cameron Bevan made up for that in the 48th minute when he darted out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball to score next to the left upright.

Cameron Bevan was 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 front rower Brady Turner.

Cameron Bevan continued at hooker in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters where once again he provided good service out of dummy half.

Cameron Bevan also started at hooker in Round Five against the Newcastle Knights. Against Newcastle Cameron Bevan showed his intelligence in the 23rd minute. Cameron Bevan was at dummy half less than a metre out from the Newcastle line with nowhere to go, Cameron Bevan deliberately grubber kicked the ball out of dummy half hard into the Knights defenders who were crouched low, forcing a penalty for offside and winning the ball back for the Northern Rivers Titans.

2021 also saw Cameron Bevan play for PBC in the Walters Cup competition, including starting the Grand Final against Keebra Park State High School from the bench. Cameron Bevan come off the bench midway through the first half to operate in the second row and was strong in both attack and especially defence including a great front on driving tackle in the 37th minute which forced the Keebra Park SHS right centre back a number of metres.

Cameron Bevan had made a similarly strong driving tackle in the 31st minute which also forced the Keebra Park SHS attacked back a number of metres.

In early October 2020 the young backrower 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 Cameron Bevan played for the Bilambil Jets and was named 2020 Group 18 U15 Player of the Year and well as playing in the Jets 14 – 6 Grand Final victory over Byron Bay/Lennox Head.

In the 2020 Group 18 U15 regular season the Bilambil Jets went through winning all ten of their matches, scoring 242 points and conceding 72 to finish the season with a +242 points differential.

For his age group Cameron Bevan is a tall athlete and this can be seen when he is running with the ball. In his hit ups Cameron Bevan carries the ball with pace and is very good at running on the fringes of the ruck.

Cameron Bevan uses foot work prior to the line to look to break through as well as cutting either cutting back in behind the play the ball or cutting out towards the smaller defenders on the fringes of the ruck.

One trait that stands out every time that you see him play is that Cameron Bevan runs with speed into the defensive line and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line on a number of occasions. Cameron Bevan does not try to run over defenders, but he runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only use their arms in the tackle.

In relation to the defensive aspects of his game Cameron Bevan is an exceptional cover defender. With his above average to plus speed for his position he is able to track the ball across the field and be in a position to make the cover defending tackle if breaks are made.

From a front on tackling perspective Cameron Bevan has a solid repeatable technique which he can use against attackers of any size. The keys to his technique are his timing and anticipation as well as correct head placement. So many defenders in either rugby or rugby league have no idea about head placement but Cameron Bevan is not one of them.

Another impressive aspect from a defensive stand point for Cameron Bevan is the fact that he came make multiple tackles one after another and then still be in position to track the ball across the field, Cameron Bevan has exceptional stamina from an aerobic capacity stand point including the ability to consistently sprint short distances time and again in a short time span whilst maintaining his positioning on the field.

Cameron Bevan will likely start the 2024 season as part of the Bilambil Jets NRRRL First Grade squad after making his NRRRL First Grade debut for the Jets over the course of the 2023 season.

With his size, speed, stamina and strength combination Cameron Bevan is the ideal modern day rugby league hooker playing well there in 2023 for the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side as well as for the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL U18 and First Grade competitions in 2024.

Watching Cameron Bevan reminds me of the play of a larger version of former Titans hooker Mitch Rein as a hooker who is a solid known quantity who distributes runs and kicks reasonably well out of dummy half as well as being strong defensively.

[mdrew]

Ayden Byrnes. The young nippy, feisty, competitive and combative half back or more regularly hooker was a member of the 2020 Titans U14 Elite Junior Academy squad that trained on a regular basis at the Titans main training facility at Parkwood.

In late September 2023 Ayden Byrnes was named in the 2024 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad for the second season in a row.

In late September 2022 Ayden Byrnes was named in the 2023 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup train on squad with Ayden Byrnes part of the Northern Rivers Titans squad that played the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad in a trial at Burleigh Juniors as part of the Titans Annual Super Saturday series of matches.

Round One of the 2023 U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition saw Ayden Byrnes named at hooker for the Northern Rivers Titans against the Newcastle Knights with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 20th minute when after passing to his right out of dummy half to Zane Harrison when twenty metres out from the try line, Ayden Byrnes stayed in the game and chased through a subsequent Zane Harrison short kick back to the left with Adyen Byrnes diving on the ball in the in-goal to score nine metres to the right of the uprights.

The first of a number of dummy half runs from Ayden Byrnes came in just the 3rd minute from in the centre of the field and thirty eight metres out from the Knights try line, Ayden Byrnes ran to his right and got to twenty two metres out after using two Newcastle defenders as a shield to make yardage.

Ayden Byrnes made another smart run out of dummy half in the 18th minute when after running to his right when he was in the centre of the field, Ayden Byrnes was able to make fifteen critical metres.

In his second stint of the match at dummy half Ayden Byrnes was at it again in the 53rd minute with a run out of dummy half to his left from forty metres out from his own try line with Ayden Byrnes able to get the ball two metres over the try line with Ayden Byrnes then getting a six again call for the Northern Rivers Titans.

Then in the 67th minute Ayden Byrnes ran to his right out of dummy half to make ten metres getting the ball within twelve metres of the try line.

Ayden Byrnes was also named at hooker for Round Two against the Central Coast Roosters with Ayden Byrnes making a good run out of dummy half to his right in the 7th minute when from forty metres out Ayden Byrnes used a Roosters forward getting back onside as a shield with Ayden Byrnes then breaking three tackles whilst making twelve metres.

Ayden Byrnes made another good run out of dummy half in the 14th minute when from three metres inside his own territory Ayden Byrnes ran to his right and promoted the ball thirteen metres inside Central Coast territory with the speed and timing of Ayden Byrnes run catching numerous defenders off-side with a penalty to the Northern Rivers Titans subsequently being awarded.

Ayden Byrnes was also named at hooker for Round Three against the South Coast Dragons.

Ayden Byrnes moved to the bench for Round Four against the Northern Tigers and after coming onto the field Ayden Byrnes scored a great solo try in the 43rd minute from thirty five metres out Ayden Byrnes ran the ball down a short left blindside and just prior to the defensive line Ayden Byrnes put in a smart right foot chip kick for himself with Ayden Byrnes darting through to retrieve the ball with Ayden Byrnes then getting rid of the Northern Tigers fullback to score four metres to the left of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes also started from the bench in Round Five against the North Coast Bulldogs with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 48th minute five metres to the right of the uprights with Ayden Byrnes initially running to his right out of dummy half from ten metres out and in the centre of the field.

Ayden Byrnes also recorded a try assist in the 60th minute when with the play the ball eight metres out, Ayden Byrnes ran to his left before stepping off his right foot and getting a smart off-load away to his right to Brady Turner who crashed over to score.

Earlier in the 40th minute Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half through the centre of the field making twenty three metres to get within eight metres of the try line.

The 2023 NRRRL U18 season saw Ayden Byrnes line up for the Murwillumbah Mustangs with Ayden Byrnes named at hooker in Round One against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Ayden Byrnes recording a try assist in the 25th minute when from the dummy half position with the play the ball four metres from the try line, Ayden Byrnes threw a bullet pass to his left to put Brady Turner over to score under the posts.

Ayden Byrnes did well in the 31st minute when with Byron Bay on the attack, Ayden Byrnes was able to take an intercept as a Devils forward had gotten halfway through the defensive line and tried to get an off-load away twenty metres from the try line.

Ayden Byrnes made his initial dart out of dummy half inside the opening minute when he ran to his right from twenty metres out with Ayden Byrnes getting to within wight metres of the try line.

Ayden Byrnes effected a great low tackle in the 19th minute on the giant Byron Bay replacement front rower No. 15 in the centre of the field and twenty metres out from the try line.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker in Round Two against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Ayden Byrnes recording a try assist in the 32nd minute when from two metres out from the try line Ayden Byrnes threw a hard flat pass to his right to put his lock forward over to score five metres to the left of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes made a good run out of dummy half in the 35th minute when he ran to his left out of dummy half from five metres inside his own territory with Ayden Byrnes getting the ball twelve metres into Tweed Coast territory.

In the 26th minute along with Brady Turner, Ayden Byrnes held up the Raiders No. 14 over the try line after he had tried to barge over from close range and ten metres in from the left corner post.

Ayden Byrnes continued at hooker in Round three against the Cudgen Hornets with Ayden Byrnes scoring a double in a big Mustangs victory.

Ayden Byrnes scored his opening try in the 21st minute with a four metre effort out of dummy half to his right to get the ball down four metres to the left of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes competed his double in the 50th minute when after packing into a scrum with a Mustangs feed eighteen metres out and to the left of the uprights, Ayden Byrnes ran to his left after picking up the ball from the back of the scrum and was too quick for the defence to score six metres in from the left corner post.

Ayden Byrnes also scored as well in the 36th minute when after running out of dummy half to his left when ten metres out Ayden Byrnes was able to get over the try line whilst still on his feet four metres to the right of the uprights. Then in the 48th minute Ayden Byrnes came close to scoring once again after a short run down a short right blindside but Ayden Byrnes was ruled to have put his foot into touch before grounding the ball in the right corner.

The 10th minute saw Ayden Byrnes make his initial good run out of dummy half in the 10th minute when from five metres out from his own try line, Ayden Byrnes ran to his left and away making fifteen metres Ayden Byrnes was able to get an off-load away to his right.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker in Round Four against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Ayden Byrnes making a smart run out of dummy half in the 25th minute when from six metres inside his own territory Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half with Ayden Byrnes getting well into Seagulls territory and being awarded a penalty after the speed of Ayden Byrnes run catching multiple defenders off-side.

Ayden Byrnes also made a strong one on one tackle in the 28th minute on the Tweed Heads lock five metres out from the try line and in front of the left upright.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker in Round Six against the Lower Clarence Magpies with Ayden Byrnes scoring a double in a big Mustangs 44 – 12 victory.

Ayden Byrnes scored his first try in the 6th minute when after moving into dummy half with the play the ball three metres from the try line and two metres to the right of the uprights, Ayden Byrnes initially stepped to his left before darting back to the opposite side of the play the ball to burst over between two defenders to get the ball down five metres to the right of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes completed his double in the 59th minute when after packing in at the back of a Murwillumbah scrum feed in the centre of the field and twenty metres from the try line, Ayden Byrnes, after picking up the ball from the back of the scrum ran to his left and stepped off his left foot to beat one defender with Ayden Byrnes then darting away to score under the posts.

Ayden Byrnes had made a line break just prior to scoring his second try, when in the 56th minute Ayden Byrnes packed into the back of a Mustangs scrum feed just ten metres out from his own try line and just to the left of the goal posts. After picking up the ball from the back of the scrum Ayden Byrnes ran to his left and then literally just kept running with Ayden Byrnes eventually being dragged down from behind just twenty metres from the try line after a seventy metre line break.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker and scored once again in Round Seven against Northern United with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 29th minute when from four metres from the try line Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half to burst between two defenders stuck on the try line to get the ball down seven metres to the left of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes came close to scoring a second try in the 44th minute when after packing in at the back of a Mustangs scrum feed in the centre of the field and ten metres from the try line, Ayden Byrnes ran to his left and after stepping off his left foot to beat one defender Ayden Byrnes was grabbed by the back of the jersey and spun counter clockwise and after breaking away got over the try line only to be held up five metres to the left of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes also recorded a try assist in the 46th minute when with the play the ball a metre from the try line and to the right of the uprights, Ayden Byrnes threw a hard flat pass to his left to put his lock forward over to score under the posts.

Ayden Byrnes also gained six more tackles for Murwillumbah in the 49th minute when with the play the ball a metre from the try lien and three metres to the left of the uprights, Ayden Byrnes stepped to his right and put in a right foot grubber kick and after that grubber kick was blocked just short of the try line, Ayden Byrnes was able to dive on the ball to get six more tackles for the Mustangs.

Ayden Byrnes also executed a one on one strip in the 25th minute in the centre of the field and thirty five metres from the try line to put the Mustangs in the attack.

Ayden Byrnes continued at hooker in Round Eight against the Mullumbimby Giants with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 9th minute when from nineteen metres out from the try line Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half and after running at the defensive line with the ball out on front of his body to both hands to sow confusion Ayden Byrnes stepped off his right foot and then was able to get the ball down in his left arm ten metres in from the right corner post.

Ayden Byrnes also recorded a try assist in the 14th minute when with the play the ball three metres out from the try line Ayden Byrnes threw a cut-out pass to his left for his left winger to easily score in the corner.

Earlier in the match in the 5th minute from five metres inside his own territory Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half to get the ball ten metres inside Mullumbimby territory. Then in the 21st minute from eight metres inside his own territory Ayden Byrnes ran the ball to his left out of dummy half before cutting back to his right to carry the ball ten metres inside Giants territory.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker in Round Nine against the Kyogle Turkeys with Ayden Byrnes recording a try assist in the 48th minute when with the play the ball less than a metre from the try line and just to the right of the uprights, Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half and passed back inside to his charging front rower who crashed over to score under the posts.

Ayden Byrnes also forced a Turkeys goal line drop-out in the 13th minute after running to his left out of dummy half from thirty metres out Ayden Byrnes put a right foot chip kick into the in-goal with Ayden Byrnes then the first defender downfield to tackle the Kyogle fullback in-goal and force the goal line drop-out.

Ayden Byrnes made his initial smart run out of dummy half in the 4th minute when Ayden Byrnes ran to his right from ten metres inside his own territory to nine metres into Kyogle Territory.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker Round Ten against the Casino Cougars with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 29th minute when with the play the ball three metres out Ayden Byrnes ran to his right out of dummy half after initially dummying to his left with Adyen Byrnes stepping off his right foot just prior to the try line. When Ayden Byrnes was hit by a defender he was spun around with his back to the try line but Ayden Byrnes was able to twist his body to his left to get the ball down seven metres to the left of the uprights.

Ayden Byrnes also made a line break in the 39th minute with a run out of dummy half to his right from thirty five metres the try line but after bursting through the centre of the Casino defensive line Ayden Byrnes was brought down in a good one on one tackle by the fullback eight metres out.

Ayden Byrnes continued at hooker in Round Eleven against the Ballina Seagulls with Ayden Byrnes making the first of his smart dummy half runs in the 13th minute when after running to his right out of dummy half from twenty five metres out from his own try line, Ayden Byrnes cut back behind the ball the ball to get out to the forty metre mark.

In the 27th minute Ayden Byrnes ran out of dummy half to his right with Ayden Byrnes using a left foot step to get the ball from the halfway mark to thirty five metres from the try line. Then in the 39th minute Ayden Byrnes ran to his left out of dummy half from two metres inside his territory to get the ball to within thirty one metres of the try line.

Ayden Byrnes ran out of dummy half to his left out of dummy half once again in the 45th minute and broke at tackle to get the ball from four metres inside Cougars territory to thirty two metres from the try line.

Ayden Byrnes made a strong driving tackle in the 4th minute on the Cougars No. 10 driving him back three metres just inside his own territory.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker in Round Twelve against the Bilambil Jets with Ayden Byrnes running to his right out of dummy half in the 17th minute from thirty metres out from the try line and broke three tackles as Ayden Byrnes carried the ball to within twelve metres of the try line.

Ayden Byrnes had done well two minutes earlier in the 15th minute to take a short Bilambil goal line drop-out on the full with Ayden Byrnes also being awarded a penalty for being tackled whilst still in the air.

Ayden Byrnes also made a strong tackle in the 19th minute on the Jets replacement front rower No. 18 with Ayden Byrnes driving him five metres backwards to the Jets thirty metre mark.

Ayden Byrnes continued at hooker in Round Fourteen against the Cudgen Hornets with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 46th minute when Ayden Byrnes, from twelve metres out, ran to his right out of dummy half before cutting back to his left and breaking a tackle to score two metres to the left of the goal posts.

Ayden Byrnes also recorded a try assist in the 39th minute when after dummying to his left from dummy half, Ayden Byrnes ran in the same direction and after running straight through the centre of the defensive line from forty five metre out Ayden Byrnes drew the Cudgen fullback and got a pass away to his right to his lock who scored under the posts.

Ayden Byrnes also started at hooker in Round Fifteen against the Tweed Coast Raiders with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 25th minute when from dummy half thirteen metres out, Ayden Byrnes initially ran to his left looking to pass the ball in the same direction, however when no one was available Ayden Byrnes cut back to his right before stepping off his left foot to beat one defender. Ayden Byrnes then when five metres from the try line dummied to his right and simultaneously stepped off his right foot and was able to dive between two Tweed Coast defenders to score under the posts.

Ayden Byrnes also made a good defensive hit in the 46th minute when he drove his right shoulder into the Raiders lock and drove him backwards forty metres from the try line.

Ayden Byrnes continued at hooker in Round Sixteen against the Bilambil Jets with Ayden Byrnes running out of dummy half to his left from twenty five metres out from his own try line in the 9th minute with the speed of Ayden Byrnes run out of dummy half catching the Bilambil defensive line off-side.

Then in the 15th minute after running out of dummy half to his right before cutting back to his left Ayden Byrnes got the ball from thirty eight metres out from his own try line to the halfway mark. Ayden Byrnes also ran out of dummy half to his left in the 36th minute to run the ball from thirty eight metres out to within six metres of the try line before off-loading to his left to Bo Peisley.

Ayden Byrnes also ran out of dummy half in the 50th minute when after running to his left Ayden Byrnes was able to carry the ball from thirty metres out from his own try line to within four metres of the halfway mark with Ayden Byrnes executing a quick play the ball to keep Murwillumbah on the front foot.

Ayden Byrnes made a good tackle in the 8th minute with a big front on hit on the Bilambil left second rower No. 11 to dump him onto his back to the right of the goal posts and seven metres from the try line to take all of the momentum out of the Jets attack. Ayden Byrnes made another good front-on tackle in the 24th minute in the Murwillumbah front rower No. 8 twenty two metres out from the Bilambil try line.

The conclusion of the 2023 NRRRL U18 regular season saw Ayden Byrnes finish as the competitions third leading try scorer with ten tries.

The Week Two NRRRL U18 Qualifying Final saw Ayden Byrnes continue at hooker against the Tweed Heads Seagulls the Ayden Byrnes appearing to score in the 32nd minute when after running out of dummy half to his right from six metres out int appeared for all money that Ayden Byrnes had gotten the ball down six metres to the right of the goal posts but bizarrely the referee rule that Ayden Byrnes had grounded the ball short of the try line.

Ayden Byrnes also recorded a try assist of sorts in the 39th minute when from the right of the play the ball and eight metres from the try line Ayden Byrnes threw a high, cut-out pass trying to get the ball to his right winger but after the ball was touched by the Tweed Heads left centre the ball fell into the hands of the Mustangs left centre who was able to bring the ball around to score five metres to the right of the goal posts.

Ayden Byrnes also made a line break in the 38th minute with Ayden Byrnes running out of dummy half to his right from forty metres out from the try line with Adyen Byrnes then targeting the area behind the markers with Ayden Byrnes splitting the centre of the Tweed Heads defensive line as he got the ball to within twenty two metres of the try line.

Ayden Byrnes showed his intelligence in the 8th minute when after identifying that the Seagulls marker was not square, Ayden Byrnes ran out of dummy half to his right and right at the off-side marker to be awarded the penalty for the Mustangs eight metres out from the try line and directly in front of the goal posts.

Ayden Byrnes also did exceptionally well in the 57th minute when with Murwillumbah leading 18 – 16 the Tweed Heads put in an attacking chip kick for himself but Ayden Byrnes had anticipated the chip kick and got back to take the kick on the full whilst running back towards his own try line twenty metres out with the Seagulls halfback in close proximity.

The 2023 NRRRL U18 Grand Final saw Ayden Byrnes start at hooker for the Murwillumbah Mustang against the Bilambil Jets with Ayden Byrnes scoring in the 11th minute when with the play the ball eight metres out and just to the left of the goal posts, Ayden Byrnes ran out of dummy half to his left before cutting back to his right. After forcing his way out of the grasp of a Jets player who had grabbed the back of his jersey, Ayden Byrnes dummied to his right before dragging four Bilambil players over the try line with him to get the ball down adjacent to the right goal post.

Ayden Byrnes also ran out of dummy half to his right in the 15th minute with Ayden Byrnes able to get the ball from his own thirty three metre mark to within two metres of the halfway mark. Ayden Byrnes also ran out of dummy half in the 30th minute to run the ball from his own thirty seven metre mark to the forty seven metre mark after running to his right.

Then in the 44th minute once again Ayden Byrnes ran out of dummy half to his right to run the ball through the centre of the field to get the ball to within ten metres of the try line after commencing his run twenty metres out. Ayden Byrnes also smartly ran out of dummy half in the 53rd minute when after identifying that the Jets marker was not square, Ayden Byrnes ran straight at him to the left with Murwillumbah awarded a penalty eight metres from the try line.

2022 also saw Ayden Byrnes continue to attend PBC SHS, playing in the Walters Cup School Boy competition and at the end of year PBC SHS Sports Awards night, Ayden Byrnes was named the recipient of the Reds Year Ten Award.

Ayden Byrnes played exceptionally well in the Walters Cup for PBC SHS including a strong semi-final performance for PBC SHS against fellow Titans partnered school Marsden SHS with it looking like Riley Loughland had scored late in the match to lock the scores up at 16 all only after a great break out of dummy half by Ayden Byrnes only for the final pass from Ayden Byrnes to Riley Loughland to be ruled to have travelled forward by the touch judge.

Also at the completion of the 2022 School Boy Walters Cup competition for PBC SHS Ayden Byrnes was named on the bench in the 2022 Courier Mail Walters Cup School Boy Rugby League Team of the Season.

In October 2021 Ayden Byrnes was named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad with Ayden Byrnes part of the Tweed Heads Seagull Cyril Connell Cup squad that played their opening 2022 trial against the Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park.

After missing the opening rounds of the 2022 Cyril Connell Cup competition Ayden Byrnes was named at hooker for Round Four against the Easts Tigers and had a great CC Cup debut including scoring the Seagulls opening try in the 27th minute. Ayden Byrnes moved into dummy half around six metres from the line and just to the left of the goal posts. Upon picking up the ball Ayden Byrnes skipped out to his right, throwing a big dummy to his right before darting towards the line and diving over to score seven metres to the left of the uprights.

Such was the quality of Ayden Byrne’s performance that he was named on the bench in the Courier Mail’s U16 Cyril Connell Cup Round Four Team of the Week.

Ayden Byrnes continued at hooker in Round Five against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and more than held his own defensively including a great low grassing tackle on his opposite number in the 6th minute as the Wynnum Manly hooker was trying to dart over from five metres out.

Ayden Byrne made a second desperate try saving tackle in the 22nd minute when he flew to his left to cut down the Wynnum Manly right second rower who had broken the Seagulls line and looked certain to score but for Ayden Byrne’s outstanding low tackle.

Ayden Byrnes also took the opportunity to run the ball out of dummy half when the opportunity presented itself with his best run coming in the 23rd minute when he ran out of dummy half to his right from ten metres out from his own try line to get the ball to twenty one metres out.

In 2021 Ayden Byrnes was part of the PBC State High School Hancock Cup school boy side including starting the Grand Final against Marsden State High School. Ayden Byrnes made a number of strong runs out of dummy half in the Grand Final, probably the best of which came in the 25th minute when after running out of dummy half to his left made twenty metres through the centre of the ruck to get the ball into Keebra Park SHS territory.

At the PBC Sports awards night Ayden Byrnes was awarded the 2021 PBC Year Nine Rugby League Player of the Season Award.

From an attacking stand point, Ayden Byrnes 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 to plus for a hooker but plays faster as Ayden Byrnes has become adept at running at the right time and focusses heavily when the markers are out of position, thus Ayden Byrnes either makes ground putting his team on the front foot or draws a penalty, in both scenario’s Ayden Byrnes generates momentum for his side through the skill and intelligence he has in spades.

The impressive thing about when Ayden Byrnes 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.

From a defensive perspective Ayden Byrnes 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. Ayden Byrnes 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.

Ayden Byrnes 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, Ayden Byrnes has the lateral movement and anticipation to also defend against smaller quicker halves looking to exploit a perceived speed advantage.

Ayden Byrnes also has an intensity about his play which cannot be coached and is on display each and every time that Ayden Byrnes walks onto the field.

Ayden Byrnes will start the 2024 season as part of the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad for the second season in a row. Ayden Byrnes will then line up for either the Murwillumbah Mustangs or the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the U18 NRRRL competition. 2024 may well also see Ayden Byrnes make his NRRRL First Grade debut even though he will still be U18 eligible.

Ayden Byrnes will also return to PBC SHS with Ayden Byrnes looking to break into the PBC SHS Langer Cup Open A School Boy side sooner rather than later.

With his ability to size up an opportunity in terms of whether to run or pass in an instant as well as his competitive nature, Ayden Byrnes is a hooking prospect of immense potential, and one who will certainly not crack under pressure, instead thriving on it.

North Queensland Cowboys NRL hooker Brandon Robson is a good player comparison for Ayden Byrnes. Both Robson and Ayden Byrnes just have that innate ability to know when to run the ball out of dummy half and whilst that is their best trait, both also are very good distributions out of dummy half and both are also very strong defenders in the centre of the field. For me however Ayden Byrnes has a lot more speed out of dummy half than the afore mentioned Brandon Robson, a heck of a lot more speed.