My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Justin Bleakley – He is a young fullback from Lennox Heads in Northern New South Wales who in addition to rugby league, has played a bit of rugby recently, including making some representative sides, including the North Coast U15 in 2014. In union he played a lot of inside centre and was an attacking threat with the ball, including scoring a hat trick against a visiting Western Australian side. In league he has played both centre and fullback, including starting at fullback for a Titans U16 development side against Samoa recently, in that game he also spent some time on the wing in the second half.

He has been named in the MM train on squad for the 2016 season. He also attends St Johns College Woodlawn and plays for the school side in multiple New South Wales competitions, including het GIO National School Boys Cup. From St Johns College Woodlawn, he represented New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges in rugby league at the U15 level in 2014 and played his club rugby league with the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One junior rugby league competition. For Ballina, he played this year in what was essentially an U17 competition this year, scoring nine tries in as many games. He also kicked four goals for a points scoring tally of 44 points for the season. Centre Isaac Lee is another Titans linked youngster who played in that competition.

He is an agile runner of the football who relies on his decent speed and elusiveness to make it difficult for larger opponents to line him up. When lining up at fullback he always makes himself available for offloads in the centre of the ruck. One thing that impresses me is that he does not jog after the ball when it is kicked down field, he will flat out sprint to get there either on the full or as quickly as possible, thus eliminating the effectiveness of the oppositions kicking game. When he retrieves the ball he makes a decision quickly about where to look to run around a staggered defensive line or to run straight in an effort to make as much ground as possible.

To date he has not been asked to be a ball player out of the back of the ruck so it will be interesting to see how that skill develops as he plays at the higher levels, including as early as next year in the Mal Meninga Cup competition. Also his hands at fullback are usually quite safe, however in the U16 development squad game, he did drop a couple of kicks, I will note however that the conditions were quite difficult. In the first half Justin Bleakley was looking straight into driving rain when trying to catch a few high balls, so I think that he should get a pass on that day due to the poor conditions.

He is not the biggest or necessarily strongest player but will take the hit when needing to make the tackle in the last line of defence. In the U16 game against Samoa for example he certainly was not shy in terms of getting in front of some giant Samoan players running straight at him when defending at fullback or on the wing in the second half.

As noted he has been named in the MM train on squad for next season and it will be interesting to see if he starts the season in MM as there are a few talented young fullbacks in the MM squad, such as Jordan Birch and potentially Max Dowd. From a position perspective, I would think that fullback, rather than centre or wing is the likely long term position scenario, as I am not sure that he has the absolute speed needed for centre or wing, even though he does has decent speed.

From a player comparison perspective, a fullback with a similar style that comes to mind as a solid all round player who will go about the tasks set for him during a game with a minimum of fuss would be former Canterbury Bulldogs fullback Luke Patten. He will not set the world on fire and maybe he will not stand out in any one particular area but he is a little above average in each skill area that a fullback needs to succeed.

[mdrew]

I figure I would try to focus on who may be with the Titans in a few years and not worry about who will not.

Kyron Herron – He is a young front rower from the Lower Clarence Magpies in the Group One region and played this year in the U18 NRRRL competition, and is eligible for that age group again in 2016. He also played two games in the NRRRL reserve grade competition. He actually played one first grade in 2014, not bad at all for a 16 year old playing country football.

At the U18 level he scored tries tries and kicked two goals for a season haul of 20 points. He also has made a number of Group One junior representative sides in previous years and plays his school boy football for MacLean High, who are one of the strongest schools in the region, especially at the open age group.

He is a big powerfully built front rower who runs hard and straight and does not take a backward step even though for most of his junior football he has been playing against older opposition, sometimes as much as two or three years older. He also has good foot work before and at the line.

He can also off load the football both before the line and when he is being tackled, he seems to be one of those players with the innate ability to get his hands free, or more accurately his right hand free. Whilst this can lead to some mistakes, usually he is very selective about when to pass. With his offloading skills, one aspect that he should develop as he progresses is in relation to short passes to supporting forwards (I.e. the way the Canterbury forwards run in packs and deliver short passes). He is always the player standing back deep from kick ups to take the first hit up and will charge straight at the line.

He also is quite quick for a bog young bloke, both in terms of explosive speed off the mark and agile from a footwork perspective but also with speed over an extended distance. Once he gets into space, it is only going to backs who will catch him.

In defence, he can certainly hit very hard and for a big boy he has quite decent endurance thus allowing him to get back quickly into the defensive line. Where also very good, due to his good athletic skills is for a front rower is effectively tackling smaller attackers in the centre of the ruck. He does not fall for dummies and is difficult to step as he mirrors the lateral movement of the attacked to effectively wrap up the opposing player.

He is also quite a good goal kicker who gets a lot of distance with his kicking to go with good accuracy. You do not see many goal kicking front rowers but Kyron Herron is legitimately a very solid goal kicker, although it is unlikely that he will be a first choice goal kicker for a side, but it is quite rare to see a front rower kick for goal. Where he also excels is on kick offs, he gets a lot of distance and height on his kicks, gives his team time to get down the field to force the opposition to start their set of six from deep in their own territory.

He should be playing U18 football in Group One next year, and likely also gets an opportunity with the Lower Clarence Magpies first grade side in the NRRRL. The Group One 1st grade standard is reasonably decent even with the loss of the two Grafton sides, being the Ghosts and the Rebels to Group Two. From a position perspective I think that in the long term staying at front row is the likely projection and with his size, his offloading ability and his goal kicking you have a big front rower with a diverse skill set.

From a player comparison perspective think Jesse Bromwitch of the Melbourne Storm as a player with a similar skill set, being that of a multi-faceted and dedicated player who will be the first player to take a hit up and despite his size has above average to plus foot work.

[mdrew]

Laaiva Pritchard-Malaki – He is a young second rower from Brisbane and also started from the bench for our U13 development squad in their recent match against Toowoomba. He also made the Stingers U13 representative side which played in the Queensland Age Championships in June this year. His team mates in the Stingers side included other Titans development squad members such as Rixon Andrew, Brocco Uhrle and Keegan Vandenberg, like Laaiva Pritchard-Malaki these other players are in the Titans Logan development squad. He is yet another player attending the Logan based development squad from the Broncos own backyard and played his club football with Aspley in the GBJRL competition.

He attends Wavell and thus should be involved in schoolboy football at a high level in a well-coached environment. He was part of their Renouf Cup side this year, which is an U13 schoolboy competition for schools in the Brisbane area. His twin brother and older brother are also good footballers in their own right. His older brother Quinlan is also a very good rugby player, being one of the better outside backs in the GPS First XV competition as well as representing the North’s Devils at the MM level this year. Like him his twin brother Farani is also a backrower.

His style of play is that of a wide running back rower with quite good speed for the position. He quick off the mark and can maintain his top speed over a reasonable distance and also has a good fend and can step off both feet both in space and in tight situations. The side step he has is not a big step but is quick and subtle enough to keep defenders off balance. He will also continue to pump his legs once he makes initial contact with the defensive line and will fight for every yard. Once his momentum is stopped, he will fight for a quick play the ball to maintain his team’s momentum, although on occasion he will rush the play the ball, but that will all come with experience. Like a lot of dominant U13 players he does not offload too often, but that is more a product of the lack of necessity to do so, rather than an identifiable skills gap which needs to be addressed.

He is an aggressive defender whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or on the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks and targets the area around the chest after setting a solid base to project his momentum into the ball carrier. He also has decent lateral mobility and thus will not be over matched against smaller agile opponents. As noted he is an aggressive defender and looks to come off the defensive line quickly, he just on occasion needs to temper this and listen to the referee to ensure that he does not leave early and give away penalties for being inside the ten metres.

In the 2016 season, he will play his football at the U14 level in the GBJRL competition for Aspley and will be hard to keep out of Stingers representative sides once again and hopefully he is a long term member of the Titans junior development set up. For me, with his physical attributes and skill set indicates that he will settle into the back row as his long term position with no need for a positional switch.

The Titans, have a number of very talented young backrowers in our development squads at the U13 and U14 age levels, such as Keegan Vandenberg, Brendan Piakura, Kyle Fairbank, Jayde Williams and the like, and Laaiva Pritchard-Malaki is another to keep an eye out for in the coming years.

From a player comparison perspective, someone with a similar playing style that could be used for a comparison perspective would be the Brisbane Broncos backrower Alex Glenn as a strong hard running, hard tackling aggressive and effective backrower who can play for 80 minutes without the need for a break on the interchange bench.

[palmbeachpariah]

yes have watched the kid at cc training..ethan kane

[mdrew]

Tahenga Mareko - He is a local young centre/backrower who plays for the Helensvale Hornets in the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League competition. This year, for Helensvale he played a number of games, both at the U14 and U15 level. In the U14 Premier Division he scored two tries on the season. He also played a number of games at the U15 level, both in Division One and Division Two. Across those U15 Divisions he scored three tries on the season. He also started from the bench in the Titans U14 development squad match against Samoa recently, even though he was initially named in the starting side earlier in the week.

He was also part of a number of representative sides, including the U14 Vikings side and also played for South East Queensland U14’s in the Queensland age championships. For Helensvale he normally played lock, but in the representative sides, he played a lot of centre. He also was part of the Cook Islands side who participated in the QPICC competition in November, scoring a number of tries across their games. A Cook Islands team mate was Burleigh’s Will Evans.

He is a hard running centre/backrower who is impressive at running good lines on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into thus making the play makers on his team look good. Where he impresses is through is his footwork, he has good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction well allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late. In terms of his play in the centres, like when he plays in the back row he runs straight lines with footwork, usually outside the opposing centre and looks to exploit his strength advantage against opposing centres. He has decent top end speed and similarly decent speed off the mark. I would suggest his speed is average for a centre but above average for a back rower.

Defensively he hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in. He is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier. His lateral speed is good and thus he can defend well against nippy runners.

When defending in the centres, he really does look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop. He does not let the play unfold in front of him, he looks to disrupt as early as possible. With his size and defensive tendencies when defending in the centres, he is more suited to an up and in defensive methodology compared to a sliding system, where quicker opposing centres look to get on his outside and use their pace against him.

Moving forward he will play the 2016 season at the U15 level for Helensvale, and like this year will also likely play a number of games at the U16 level. He will also be in serious contention for the South Coast U15 QSSRL side. From a position projection perspective I would anticipate that in the short term he will continue to play matches at both back row and centre, but as he grows I think that ultimately he finds a permanent home in the back row due to his size and strength. He is not overly fast at present thus back row seems a likely scenario.

From a style perspective, a player that stands out with a similar style is former Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panther Sika Manu as a tough back rower with decent footwork prior to the line.

[mdrew]

Jack Hamlit - He is a local young winger who plays his club football with Southport in the Gold Coast junior rugby league competition. This season he played U14 Division One, mainly at fullback and scored 16 tries over the course of the season, averaging better than a try a game and also played one game at the U15 Division One level. Southport easily won their grand final, 42-12 with Jack Hamlit playing at fullback in that game.

He also made a number of representative sides including the U14 Vikings squad for the South East Queensland age championships, where he started from the bench and came on and played on the wing. He also started on the wing for the U14 Titans development squad in their recent game against Samoa, scoring a try in that game where he stayed out in his wing and was able to exploit an overlap that had developed inside of him.

I will preface the discussion below, on the basis that the comments mainly relate to his play on wing, I have seen him play fullback, but on the basis that I think that his long term future will be on the wing, I will focus on those observations.

Even though he does not have great top end speed he is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing wingers. One good think about his play in attack is that he stays on his wing and is regularly outside his opposite number allowing his inside players to be able to find him in attack and in the games that I have seen he stays back and does not over run the players that are inside of him. He seems to be aware of his skill set as he does not take chances with the sideline and does his utmost to ensure that he is not taken over the sideline and knows when to cut back inside rather than taking his opposite number on along the touchline. He will also come in and take his fair share of hit ups to give his forwards a rest, when the ball needs to be brought out of his end of the field even though he is not the biggest or strongest player.

In terms of defence, he is solid and seemingly understands the attributes of his opposite number to the extent that he alters his defensive positioning if he is against speedy, elusive wingers and against larger wingers. Like most young outside backs though he will continue to work on when to come out of the line to cut down the time and space of opposing centre, against staying out on his opposing winger and when to drop back to cover the side line, his time at fullback has clearly helped in these situations.

In 2016 he will play his club football with Southport at the U15 level. From a position projection perspective, even though he has played a significant amount of his club football at fullback, I think that ultimately he ends up on the wing long term. I would think that he will continue to play with Southport at fullback and representative sides such as South Coast U15 QSSRL on the wing. With his ability to be in the right position at the right time and decent straight line speed, added to his height, I just think a future on the wing is beckoning. Not as a highlight reel exciting winger, but a solid and dependable one.

From a player comparison perspective think Lachlan Maranta of the Brisbane Broncos, he may not have blazing speed etc. but he gets the job done efficiently and effectively with few errors and he always seems to be in the right position to exploit breaks down the touch line. He just comes across as a smart player who understands how his skills translate onto a rugby league field and does not try to do things that he knows that he is not capable of.

[mdrew]

Jovahn Te Aroiti - He is a local young forward who plays his club football for the Helensvale Hornets in the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League competition. In the 2015 season, he alternated between playing for his proper age group being U14’s and playing up an age group in the U15’s. At the U14 Premier level he scored one try and at the U15 level he scored two tries across Division 1 and Division 2. Helensvale is fast becoming a fertile breeding ground for the Titans, with the likes of Brent Barnes, David Butler, Jordan Champion and Tahenga Mareko amongst others hailing from the Hornets.

He also started on eh bench for the Titans U14 development squad in their recent match against Samoa. When he came on, he played in the second row. He also represented the Vikings, Kookaburra’s and South East Queensland U14’s during the 2015 season, starting in the second row for those representative sides.

He is a hard running player who never seems to just put his head down and runs straight, he always uses a step prior to contacting the defensive line, coupled with the fact that he drops his shoulder into defenders, means that he is a handful to tackle and his rarely knocked back onto his heals. He is also good at maintaining his momentum after impacting the defensive line. He seems to usually step off his left foot. He has a high work rate and I would suggest that he would normally be at or near the top of his team’s statistics in terms of the number of hit ups he makes and on occasion runs a very good inside shoulder route to supplement his other attacking attributes.

Defensively he aims hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls by using wrestling techniques well. Prior to this year, he normally defended in the centre of the ruck and on occasion struggled with smaller faster attackers. This year however with what seemed to me as increased speed and footwork he was better able to mirror the opposition attackers more effectively. He will probably not make a large amount of hits that are going to knock opposing forwards backwards, but opposing forwards are going to feel everyone and start to look out for where he is in the defensive line.

In 2016, he will play his club football at the U15 level for Helensvale and will be in contention for the South Coast QSSRL U15 representative side amongst others. It would not surprise if like this season he also played some games at a higher age group as well as he is certainly physically ready to play against older opposition. Prior to this year he played a fair bit of his football in the front row, but this year, the majority of the time he seemed to play in the second row, especially in relation to the junior representative sides. A year or two ago, I thought that his long term position would have been in the front row, but during this year, his speed and footwork seems to have increased and thus he has become more effective on the fringes of the ruck, thus I am going to reassess my opinion and would think that a future in the second row is feasible.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of St George Illawarra Dragon’s Tyson Frizell as a good comparison from a playing style perspective as a strong, aggressive second rower with a low centre of gravity and good footwork prior to the line which makes him difficult to tackle.

[mdrew]

Apiata Noema-Matenga (Noema) – He is a local young centre/second rower who played his club football with the Burleigh Bears at the U17 level this year. Burleigh in fact lost the grand final 18-12. He also played MM this year, scoring four tires and kicking three goals for a 22 point haul. In MM he started the season at centre but towards the end of the MM competition he had moved to second row, his U17 season with Burleigh followed a similar projection. He is eligible for MM again in 2016. Previously he was part of the Broncos Elite Player Development Squad and was so for a number of years.

Over the course of his junior football he has also made numerous representative sides including the Vikings, Kookaburras, South East Queensland, Queensland Maroon and South Coast at the U15 and U18 level. He attended PBC and was part of their GIO Cup side that lost the Queensland Grand Final, however they did defeat Keebra Park in the Queensland quarter finals in a high quality contest in front of a crowd of around 5,000. Other Tians linked PBC team mates in that game included, Malachi Morgan and Ethan Roberts. In the Keebra side that day were AJ Brimson and Bronston Kennech amongst others.

He is a hard running centre/backrower who really does look to run straight over people, especially when he played in the centres, towards the end of the year, in the back row, he did use more footwork prior to the line and was best running on the fringes of the ruck, rather than straight up the centre. He still has decent to above average top end speed but he does take a little bit of time to get up to his top speed. I would suggest his speed is average for a centre but above average for a back rower. He also has a very good left hand fend to add to his stocky frame and good strength. His low centre of gravity and power make him a difficult proposition to defend against, regardless of where he lines up in attack.

Defensively he hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in. He is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier. Towards the end of the year, his defensive technique in the forwards had improved immensely and he set a good stable base with his lower body, which he them used to explode into the attacker.

In the centres he did struggle with faster centres who looked to try to beat him on the outside, but now in the forwards his lateral movement is actually a strength as he does not have to deal with players who have the same speed attribute. At the centre position, he really did look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop.

Moving forward as noted he has a further year of MM eligibility and has been named in the MM White side which will be coached by Titans High Performance Manager Jamie McCormack and looks to be a very talented side. Upon completion of the MM competition he will likely transition to the Burleigh QCup Colts side, although a stint in the local U19 Coast2Coast Earthmoving competition is also a possibility. Not sure whether he will get an opportunity at the NYC in 2016 but is certainly tough enough to do so if the opportunity arises. With the NYC competition being scrapped I will intrigued to see the pathway for young players like Apiata Neoma through the QCup and then to the NRL and how each NRL club handles this progression, especially with the mooted reserve grade competition coming into effect in around 2018.

From a position projection perspective I am a little conflicted, I think that in the short term it may be possible for him to play a bit of football at centre still, but in the long term it is looking increasingly likely that a future in the second row is almost a certainty based on his size and speed attributes.

From a style perspective, a player that stands out with a similar playing style, especially in terms of attack is former Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panther Sika Manu as a tough nuggetty back rower with decent footwork prior to the line to add to sold speed for a backrower and someone who is aggressive in defence.

[lonegull]

Mdrew you raise a good point, with the releasing of the blueprint for the NRL future and the scrapping of the NYC this will change how the dynamics of a club and how they go about their junior recruitment and retention, interesting times ahead

[mdrew]

Agreed mate, it will be interesting to see how each team adjusts to the new rules around reserve grade, not singing players until later in their teens etc.

Mdrew you raise a good point, with the releasing of the blueprint for the NRL future and the scrapping of the NYC this will change how the dynamics of a club and how they go about their junior recruitment and retention, interesting times ahead

[mdrew]

Bronston Kennach – He is a young front rower who has played the 2015 season with the Nerang Roosters at the U17 level, scoring four tries across the 14 games that he played at that level. He is originally from Auckland in New Zealand where he made a number of representative sides, including the U15 Counties Manakau Stingrays side for the 2013 national Age Championships prior to moving over to attend Keebra Park at the beginning of 2014. He has been named in the Gold Coast MM White side for the upcoming 2106 season. He was also part of the Keebra Park Open GIO Cup squad, who were knocked out at the Queensland quarter final stage by PBC in front of a crowd of around 5,000.

In attack he runs hard and straight and does not take a backward step regardless of how often he is hit, he will continually get back and take another hit up, on occasion taking multiple hit ups per set of six. He does not have a great deal of foot work prior to or at the line and this is something he will likely work on during the off season and in pre-season MM training. A similar situation exists for his off-loading. A linear development in both footwork and/or offloading will increase his effectiveness exponentially.

In defence he is not an overly big hitter but definitely makes solid initial contact with the ball carrier and is very effective at targeting the area around the football in order to reduce the possibility of off loads occurring. For a front rower his lateral movement is reasonable but he will on occasion, have difficulty against smaller faster players like a majority of front rowers and needs to ensure that he keeps his arms down against them especially late in games, when fatigue becomes a factor, to reduce the possibility of giving away penalties for a high tackle. He is also quite effective when defending at marker, and does not use it as a chance to have a break and will chase hard from the position.

Projecting forward to the 2016 season and beyond, his progression indicates he will stay in the front row long term, and next year is a part of the MM White squad. There are a number of very talented front rowers or players who can play front row in MM White, such as Xavier Johannson, Luke Mastroianni, Blake Lenehan and Ethan Paikea (depending on his fitness) so he will have his work cut out to play much MM next season. If he does not play MM he will line up in the local Coast2Coast Earthmoving U19 competition which is quite a reasonable standard actually or possibly some local first grade.

From a style perspective, someone former Wests Tigers Keith Galloway may not be a bad comparison from a playing perspective. He will not wow people with barnstorming runs, one hand off loads, big hits etc., but he will work hard and do a lot of the “grunt” work in both attack and defence and be a bit of an unsung hero from a work rate perspective with team mates. He is one player who may not have the natural ability of some other players written up on this thread, but he is one who projects to make the most out of the ability that he has through sheer hard work, dedication and effort.

[mdrew]

Charlie Gee – He is a local young half/five eight from the Beaudesert Kingfishers club who played the majority of the year at the U16 level although he also played a few games up an age group at the U17 Division Two level. For the season he scored ten tries in 11 games at the U16 level and also three tries and three goals at the U17 level. He played CC this year, scoring four tries, I believe was his final try scoring figure. At both club and representative level he alternated between half and five eight. He has been named in the MM White squad for the 2016 season along with fellow Beaudesert Kingfisher backrower Ben Thomas. He also started at half for the Titans U16 Development squad in their recent game against Samoa, Jaman Rio was his scrum base partner in that game.

In attack his calling card is his organisational and passing skills more so than his running game. His speed would probably considered average for a half/five eight but he will throw a dummy and run when opposing defences are focussed on his support runners and provide him with opportunities. He also does not have quick twitch feet, thus his step is more average than say a plus side step like AJ Brimson or Brent Barnes.

He also has a good long passing game thus enabling the ball to get out to his back line quickly when they are set deep. He develops a good spiral on the ball and is able to lead his outside backs onto the ball through putting the ball out in front of them. He will also take the ball to the line and delay the pass as long as possible to his support runners when necessary.

Assisting his play is the fact that he makes the decision what to do with the ball quickly thus enabling the ball to get out wide or when the ball needs to be turned back inside. In short he looks to dictate what the defensive line needs to do to combat his sides attack rather than waiting to see how the opposition is looking to defend at a particular time in a game.

One aspect that was notable in the development squad game, was how he directed the team around the field in wet difficult conditions and he looked to manage the game to take account of those conditions. He seems like he maintains his composure on the field and does not yell or scream but obviously gets his message across to his team mates with a calm presence.

He has a solid all round kicking game but like most young general play kickers he just needs to ensure that he does not try to kick the ball too hard with a loss of accuracy resulting. Certainly his short kicking game close to the try line is good and he weights his attacking kicks quite well. He probably will not be a team’s first choice general play kicker but will be a solid alternative when required.

Defensively he has decent size for a half/five eight, and probably would be considered a bigger half for his age group, especially in terms of height anyway. This is a facet which assists in him being an effective defender for his position. Getting stronger over the off season though will make him more effective in the defensive aspects of the game especially as the forwards who will be running at him will continue to get bigger, stronger and faster.

Moving forward he will be part of the MM White squad for the 2016 season, but will face stiff competition from NZ recruit Bostyn Haraira, AJ Brimson, Max Dowd and Isreal Oti for a spot in the halves. He will play his club football at the U17 level for the Beaudesert Kingfishers in the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League competition. Whilst he has played a fair bit of football at five eight, I think that ultimately he plays half back in the long term, although I do expect that he will continue to play his club football for the Kingfishers at five eight for at least next year.

From a player comparison perspective think maybe someone like former Canberra Raiders and St George Dragons half Sam Williams, as a solid half who will play a steady game and look to exploit the skills of the players around him rather than trying to win the game himself.

[mdrew]

Malachi Morgan – He is a local young centre/second rower who played his club football with the Burleigh Bears at the U17 level and played lock in their losing grand final side. Over the course of the season he scored four tries, playing both in the centres as well as in the back row. He also played a couple of games in the MM competition and has been named in the MM White squad for the 2016 season. He also was part of the PBC GIO Cup squad and played in the centres for PBC, including the quarter final victory against Keebra Park, and represented South Coast U18’s in the QSSRL tournament. He also started at centre for the Titans U18 Invitational side against Samoa, where he partnered Tom Landers in their 40-6 victory.

In term of the comments below, I am going to confine them to observations in relation to him playing in the centres, which I believe will be his long term position. A lot of the skills are transferrable to the second row however.

He is a quick centre with a fluid running style with a classic centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. In term of his play, the in and away is his bread and butter, he has very good speed off the mark and can break to the outside quickly, couple that with long arms, which he uses to great effect with a powerful fend makes him difficult to tackle. When opposing centres are able to get hold of him, he usually is able to maintain his balance and keeps an arm free, looking to offload. He has more tools though than just an in and away, he will also use his size and strength to run straight over smaller opposing centres as well as also having the skill to step back inside of the defender if he is pushing to the outside too early. Over the course of the season, including schoolboy and representative football, he has lined up at both left and right centre and I have observed no discernible difference in his game on either side of the field.

What he is also quite adept at doing is timing his pass to his outside supports if the outside defender looks to come in and help defend him allowing an overlap to develop. In relation to his speed, he has good speed off the mark and also good top end speed, certainly what I would consider, average to above average for a centre and at least plus for a second rower.

As you would expect, due to his size and strength, he is a very good defender regardless of position. He will not necessarily hit hard, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing centre and wrapping him up ball and all. He is also quick enough to recover and chase if the opposing centre gets on the outside and his long reach is also a positive attribute in those situations. From a team defensive methodology stand point, he seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage.

Moving forward he will be part of the MM White squad for the 2016 season, but will face stiff competition for a centre spot from Apiata Noema, Ben Valeni, Daniel Brownbill and Liam Pakua. There is also a host of back row competition such as Blake Lenehan, Sam Clark, Ben Thomas, Kobe Tararo and Darius Farmer. If he does not start in MM he will play his football with Burleigh in the Coast2Coast Earthmoving U19 competition and possibly some first grade games. At the conclusion of the MM competition, I would suggest that he will be in line to be part of the Burleigh QCup Colts training squad. Burleigh Colts will be very strong again as they look to defend their title and he may have to bide his time before getting an opportunity. I think that it will be difficult for Malachi to break into the NYC side next year however, due to the talented outside backs already in the NYC squad.

Whilst he spent a fair portion of the season with Burleigh in the back row, I can really see him staying in the centres long term, most young players who alternate between centre and second row in junior rugby league usually end up in the second row long term, but Malachi Morgan, may well be the exception to that rule. He has the size, speed and defensive capabilities to make a very good centre long term. He really does show flashy is real ability, especially in terms of slicing through defensive lines. Once he develops consistency to go with his undoubted natural ability the sky is the limit.

From a player comparison perspective a young player that springs to mind as a similar player is the Penrith Panthers young centre Waka Blake, they look around the same size, about 190cm and 100kg and both flash real ability, both just need more experience to reach their potential. There is just something that I cannot put my finger on about Malachi Morgan when you watch him play, he teases you with flashes of exceptional talent and ability. This is one young player I will be intrigued to see where he goes in rugby league.

[mdrew]

Declan White - He is a local young five eight who played his club football this season with the Southport Tigers Rugby League Club in the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League competition. He played the majority of the season at the U13 Division 2 level, but also played a game or two at the U13 Division One level and also played four games up an age division at the U14 Division Two level. In the U13 Division Two competition, he averaged just under a try a game, scoring ten tries in 11 games and at the U14 Division Two level, he scored three tries in the four games he played. He also represented the U13 Viking this season and represented South Coast when they finished third in the U12 Queensland Primary Schools championships in 2014. He started from the bench for the Titans U13 development squad in their recent game against Toowoomba and played at five eight when he came on.

He is only reasonably slight of build but do not take his lack of size in any way as a lack of ability or courage, he has a fair amount of both, which is on display each time in each game he plays. With the ball he is a very good distributor and will take the ball to the line in an effort to set up his supports. He will also back his judgement and take the game on especially in relation to his passing game.

As noted above, his calling card moving forward is clearly going to be his passing game, and this is what will set up the other parts of his game such as taking the line on and also differentiate him from other young play makers. From what I have seen he is not overly quick off the mark but still will be able to make some line breaks when teams focus on him passing and ignore him in terms of running the football. In the U13 development squad game, he threw some beautifully timed passes to his support players, mainly to the left hand side of the body. One in particular that I recall was a perfectly weighted over the top pass to front rower Caleb Esera to put him into a big gap. His long passing game is as good as I have seen at the U13 level in my time watching junior football.

In defence, due to his size he is obviously not going to come up with big hits but he reads the play well and is tenacious when defending against much bigger players who look to target him in the defensive line. He will hold on and look to slow the attacker down until defensive help arrives. In the development squad game, he was targeted quite a lot by the Toowoomba forwards especially in the second half but he hold his own defensively.

Moving forward he will play the 2016 year at the U14 level for the Southport Tigers and will likely in the mix to play representative football as well for the Vikings at the U14 level at the 2016 Queensland Age Championships as well as more time with our Gold Coast based U14 development squad. From a long term position perspective, I think that even though he has played a fair bit of five eight, his long term position will more than likely be at half. He is not the biggest player but has a very good passing game which will only continue to improve as he gets older and gains experience.

From a player comparison perspective think maybe someone like the Brisbane Bronco’s Ben Hunt, especially in terms of his passing game. He just seems to have a knack of knowing when to pass, what type of pass to throw and also be able to weight the pass very well.

[mdrew]

Doryaan Hape-Apiata – He is a giant young front rower who has been named in the Titans NYC training squad for the 2016 season. He played for MM White in the 2015 MM competition, upon completion of the MM competition, he progressed to play in the Gold Coast Powergard Cup first grade competition with Nerang. In the seven games he played in that competition he scored three tries for the season after not crossing in the MM competition.

He is originally from the Hawkes Bay area of New Zealand and came over to Australia at the start of 2014 to take up a rugby league scholarship at Coombabah High with a couple of other young New Zealand boys. I believe that he represented the U15 Mid Central Vipers in the New Zealand junior age championships whilst playing in New Zealand. The first time I saw him play was at Redlands for the Titans U17 development squad against the Redlands U18 Nev Blair side in February 2014, he was impressive that day and was a key reason for the Titans big win 40-0, and has continued to impress each time that I have seen him play since.

As noted he is a big and I mean big strong front rower who is a powerful runner of the football, who knows only one way and that is straight ahead and can offload once he has impacted the defensive line or has crashed through it, in addition he is quite effective when his team is attacking close to the try line. He can either take the ball himself, and when he gets low he is very difficult to stop or he can run as a decoy and attract defenders away from the real axis of attack.

One of the skills that stands out in games is his ability to offload the ball once he has impacted the defensive line. He has the unique ability to get his right arm free to off-load the ball regardless of how many defenders are hanging off him. When I talk about off-loading I am not talking about just flicking the ball out the back in hope, I am talking about being able to pop the ball up to speedier players lurking near the ruck.

For a big front rower he does actually have quite decent speed and footwork, certainly well above average for a player of his size. He does however wear down but with an off season with the NYC squad should help immensely with this. This good footwork enables him to step prior to the line, creating little half breaks which enhances the ability to off-load the football. In the first one or two MM games this year, he did struggle a little with the pace of the game but later in the season as he became more accustomed to it his performance improved as a direct consequence.

In defence he is happy to go for the big hit often, on occasion however as he starts to tire he can leave an arm out and get penalised for a high tackle, a focus on stamina will assist in eliminating this. He is obviously suited to defending in the centre of the ruck rather that the fringes and will understandably have some trouble with nippy runners out of dummy half. His calling card though is the strength and power to effectively engage the opposing forward early in their run and use his natural strength to win the forward battle in the centre of the ruck. He can defensively handle any one on one battle that presents itself. At times in games he really does prevent opposing gaining any ground at all through the centre of the ruck. It is now a matter of extending the duration of his ruck dominance.

As noted above, he has been named in the Tians NYC training squad, but will likely find it hard to break into the NYC immediately with the likes of Morgan Boyle, Kurt Bernard, Jay Hunkin, Simione Fatafehi and Thomas Tiatia in the squad. I would think that he will start off the season in QCup Colts for either Tweed or Burleigh as he gains experience at the U20 level. From a position perspective there is no doubt he has and will be a front rower for his entire career.

From a player comparison perspective think of the Canterbury Bulldogs Sam Kasiano as a big strong front rower who has more speed and mobility than it would appear, but also off-loading skills to complement. He is a big strong young front rower who may take a bit of time to develop and if he can keep working on his stamina and mobility there are certainly tools to work with. If everything goes right the Titans may very well have a real diamond in the rough on their hands.