My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Reece Murden. He is a big powerful young centre from Woolgoolga in the Group Two junior rugby league competition and for the 2016 season has been named as part of the U15 Group Two junior representative side after being part of the U14 side in 2015. For the U14 Group Two side in 2015, he scored a try in each of the three games that he played. He is a strike centre and can certainly find the try line and over the last couple of years has averaged also two tries a game across that span, including scoring an amazing 54 tries in a 12 game season at the U12 level in 2014, where in fact he finished second on the try scoring list nationally across all junior age competitions.

He is a big, strong, quick young centre with a fluid running style with a powerful 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 although offloading is not his first priority.

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. He does however on occasion not use his size and strength often enough and will try to beat his direct opponent on the outside every time even though he has shown the ability to run over people, but I am sure that this will come with more experience. Over the course of the season, including schoolboy and representative football, he has lined up at both left and right centre but at present he seems to be better suited and more comfortable playing right centre but he is so young there is plenty of time for him to gain experience at left centre as well.

As you would expect, due to his size and strength, he is a very good defender, for his size 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 and also when moving up into the defensive line as he can disrupt passing lanes. 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 to the 2016 season, he will play for Woolgoolga at the U16 level as there is no U15 level in the Group Two junior rugby league competition. From a position perspective, he could quite probably play in the back row just as effectively as he does in the centre’s but at present there is absolutely no reason to even think about moving him from the centre’s, if he continues to grow and gain strength whilst maintaining his speed, which would be considered plus for centre, you have a scary proposition for a defensive structure. If he does lose some speed as he matures I would suggest that he could transition to the back row quite effectively due to his size, strength and power.

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 are big, strong and powerful and just need to harness their considerable potential as they progress in the game. If he does transition to the back row in coming years, I would envisage based on his projected skill set in that position, he would project to have a similar playing style to another Penrith Panther, being young backrower Isiah Yeo.

[mdrew]

Do not think that we have any left with more about to sign with other clubs

[Sunny86]

What a big shame

[mdrew]

Ronan Kapi. He is a local young centre who played the 2015 season with the Burleigh Bears at the U15 Division One level and also represented South Coast U15’s at the QSSRL U15 school boy’s competition where he was selected on the wing, from there he gained representation in the Qld White side for the ASSRL U15 championships. At those championships, he scored a double against the ACT side in one of the pool matches. Previously he has represented the Vikings and South East Queensland in the U13 and U14 age groups. For his club football, he only played handful matches for Burleigh during the 2015 season, but scored eight tries in those matches, where he played in the centres. He has been selected in the centres for the Gold Coast White CC side in the opening rounds of the 2016 competition.

He also represented the Titans U15 development squad in their match late last year against the Balmain Tigers which the Titans won three tries to two, with Ronan Kapi, scoring the Titans third try. He was named the Titans best back in that game by Paul Sironen. In addition to rugby league, he also plays rugby union, and attends The Southport School (TSS) where he played the GPS competition at the U15A level in the centres, wearing jersey number 12 in 2015. He was also named in the Queensland Reds U15 side to play against New South Wales. I have only seen a few very brief glimpses of him playing rugby in the GPS competition and taking into account I am no rugby expert, my comments below relate exclusively to him playing rugby league. What I do know however is how keenly contested the GPS competition is, regardless of age group, thus playing rugby at the GPS level can only enhance his skills which are transferrable to rugby league in terms of the position he plays in rugby union, being that of centre.

He is a quite a quick centre with good centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. His has used this skill attribute on multiple occasions from the left side of the field. At this point in his career, there is a definite preference to playing left centre compared to him being on the right hand side of the field. When the ball is passed to him early, he straightens the attack up well, meaning he does not run himself or his support out of room. Even though he has decent speed in the centre position, he does look for his outside support when confronting the fullback and positions his supports well.

In term of speed, I would suggest that his speed would best be classified as above average for a centre and even though he does not necessarily have an extra gear once he is open space, he seems to be able to get to his top speed quite quickly.

Defensively the area that he has impressed me the most is his ability to defend close to his own try line. He seemingly has more strength that his size would indicate, and he uses this strength to move up off his own try line and hit his opposition, redirecting the momentum of the ball carrier and thus eliminating the immediate attacking threat. Regardless of where he defends in terms of where the game is situated on the field, he sets a good base and uses his leg strength to direct his energy through the core of his body into that of his opponent. I would suggest he is one of the better defensive centres for his age group in the Gold Coast club competition. I would further suggest that not many GPS U16A rugby centres have come up against an opposing defender who sets such a good base.

Moving forward to this season, he will play for Burleigh at the U16 Division One level and has been named in the Gold Coast White CC side for the upcoming season, including being named in the centres for Round’s one and Two of the CC competition. I would assume that he will also continue to play rugby for TSS, likely at the U16A level in the GPS competition and continue to play in the centres for that code as well.

From a position perspective, even though he has spent some time on the wing for a couple of representative sides, I believe that his medium/long term future lies as a talented centre with the ability to make breaks using his foot work and evasive skills, in the longer term though it would not surprise if he transitions to the back row, even though I would not expect this to be the case anytime soon. I can not necessarily articulate why I think that he may end up in the back row just a feeling based on how I think that his skills may project in the future with continued maturity and physical development. I have absolutely no rational basis at all for my feeling on why I think that he may end up in the back row so please feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

From a player comparison perspective think of a player like Tim Lafai, formerly of the Canterbury Bulldogs and now of the St George Dragons as a solid all round centre both from an attacking and defensive perspective, who has the ability to make a break out of nothing.

[mdrew]

AJ Kepaoa – He s a big powerful centre who has signed from the Spartakiade Academy in Auckland, he plays for the Ellerslie-Pakuranga club in Auckland and also plays in the first XV for his school rugby side at outside centre being Sacred Hearts College. He also received a 2015 Sport Award from his school as a result of being named in the U16 Samoan side and also made the U16 Auckland West rugby side for the Auckland age rugby championships. In 2015 he represented the Auckland Vulcans U16 side in their match against the touring CRL NSW U16 side, which his side won 16 - 12. He was in the U15 Akarana Performance squad for the 2015 NZ age championships. He has attended Titans elite academy camps over the last couple of years, including a recent camp in February early this year.

I will before I make any further comment note that I have not seen him play live. I have seen multiple full game videos of him playing both league and to a lesser extent rugby and my comments below are derived from those observations.
He is a big young man at around 184cm and 88kg and still growing and uses that size to run straight and hard, typically running over rather than around his opposition, he does however have a good in and away when he uses it, although he usually runs straight and hard looking to burst through the defensive line.

He has very good speed off the mark, which I would consider above average for a centre 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. From the footage I have seen, both of him playing rugby and league he seems to line up more on the right side of the field.

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 is definitely aggressive and 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 in though he can be an intimidating presence when he comes out of the line.

Even though he has come over to the Gold Coast as part of our High Performance Junior Development squad, he is likely to stay in NZ for a few years, continuing to play club rugby league and school rugby. Schoolboy rugby in NZ is an extremely high standard and thus the more time he spends playing in those competitions the better. Considering that for most of his recent football has been against older players, both in league and union, he has been very durable and playing against older opposition can only enhance his development curve. From a position stand point, with his size and speed he is a dynamic centre for his age group and as long as he maintains his speed as he grows and matures, there is need reason to consider that a position change from centre is even a consideration moving forward.

From a style perspective one player that comes to mind is current Titans centre Nene McDonald as a strong powerful runner of the ball who is not afraid to run straight over his opposing centre.

[mdrew]

Hopefully the people on this forum how know him VERY well are Ok with the analysis.

Konrad Edwards. He is a young back rower originally from the Manawatu area of New Zealand who moved over to the Gold Coast few years ago and in 2014 was named in the ASSRL U15 Order of Merit side at lock after starring for Queensland U15 White at the ASSRL U15 school boy championships in fact he was the only Qld White player to make the Australian Order of Merit side from that team in that particular year. During that competition, he was named player of the match against NSWCIS in one of the pool games, including scoring a try in that match, and also scored a double against the ACT side on day two of the championships.

In 2015 he played in the CC competition for GC Green, I believe it was for CC Green anyway, scoring around four tries across the season. He played his schoolboy football for Coombabah and was part of their side that lost their GIO Cup Qld quarter final to Wavell State High although they certainly were not outclassed that day. He played his club football for Runaway Bay in 2015 and was part of their grand final winning side who won 26-14 against the Nerang Roosters. Over the course of the U16 Division One season for Runaway Bay, he scored five tries and kicked one goal for a season total of 22 points, including a hat trick against the Robina Raptors. Runaway Bay team mates on the season and the Grand Final included hooker/half Taine Tuaupiki, fullback/winger Teamona Mohi and front rower Luke Mastroanni .

He was named in the preliminary Gold Coast MM squad, but has not been named in either of the final MM squads for the 2016 season, I note that he is eligible again for the MM competition in 2017 so I sure that his time will come in the MM competition. In 2014, I think that he may have even played a few games in the CC competition for the Easts Tigers at the age of 15.

He is a hard running backrower who really does look to run straight over people, towards the end of last year, 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 top end speed but he does seem to 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 solid frame and good functional strength. His low centre of gravity and power make him a difficult proposition to defend against, regardless of which line he runs in attack. The key to his future from an attacking perspective for me is to continue to develop his footwork to go along with his low centre of gravity as well as looking to maintain some of his speed as he continues to physically grow and develop.

Defensively he hits very hard 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 carriers momentum. I have noticed as his junior career has progressed that his defensive technique in the forwards had improved immensely and he sets a good stable base with his lower body, which he them used to explode into the attacker. He just needs to make sure that he does not get too aggressive. Obviously being aggressive has its positives and negatives, it is just about how close to the line you go.

For the 2016 season, he will play I assume for Runaway Bay at the U17 Division One level and also continue to play for Coombabah in the GIO Cup and Super Six school boy competitions at the open level. Coombabah should have quite a reasonable open rugby league side looking to challenge the likes of PBC and Keebra Park this year. From a position perspective, things are a little uncertain, earlier in his junior career he spent some time in the centres, including for the Gold Coast Titans development squads when they played against the Redlands junior rugby league club, but of more recent times he has spent the majority if not all of his time playing in the back row. He seems to have lost a little speed, couple this with a solid build and a low centre of gravity which would suggest that his ultimate future will lie in the back row as opposed to wider out in the centres.

From a player comparison perspective and from a physical build perspective as well as a playing style perspective, I can see aspects of the Titans own Greg Bird in his play as a solidly built tough aggressive back rower who will not shirk his responsibility to take the ball up and adds a touch of aggression to his team.

[mdrew]

Liam Cusack. He is a young fullback from Northern NSW who is currently playing fullback for Gold Coast White in the CC competition. He was also named in the Group 18 U16 representative side for 2016 after representing Group 18 at the U14 and u15 level previously and also playing for the Titans development squads previously. He has to date scored one try in the two CC games that he has played so far this season.

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.

He has the ability to sweep around the back of the ruck and also pop up in supporting in the middle of the ruck, either running himself or looking for offloads from his forwards and use his footwork against big tiring forwards. His passing game is solid and on occasion he drifts across the field looking for runners to run into holes and has the ability to “freeze” the defensive line, making to easier for his support runners. Also his hands at fullback are quite safe and dependable at fullback.

He is not the biggest player but even when defending in the front line will tackle using his shoulder which assists when defending against larger forwards operating on the edge of the ruck. Whilst not the biggest he is strong enough to effectively tackle one on one against opposing halves and with his speed he can cover a lot of ground. He is also very good at turning and chasing when the opposition puts in short kicks.

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 and uses the sideline well to redirect the opposition towards the sideline. He is also effective at forcing the attacker to make a decision with the football rather than allowing them the time and opportunity to progressively work through their options.

Moving to the current year, as noted he is currently playing in eth CC competition and then will transition to U16 club football. From a position perspective, he has also played some football and half and five eight as well as fullback, and it will be interesting to see whether he ends up position wise. A year or two ago I would have thought a position in the halves was more likely but he is doing well at fullback and may well have a solid future there.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of current St George Dragons fullback Kurt Mann as a solid player across the board.

[mdrew]

Cameron Brown. He is a talented local young half who has been performing very well through the first two rounds of the CC competitions for the unbeaten GC Green side, who so far have beaten Easts Tigers and GC White but have a tough game against South’s Logan CC this week, the South’s Logan side contains Titans linked players front rower Geordie Brand and hooker Jackson Keil. During the 2015 season he played his club rugby league with the Helensvale Hornets predominantly at the U15 Division One level, but he also played three games up at the U16 level across Divisions Two and Three. At the U15 Division One level he scored four tries over the course of the season. He also plays schoolboy football for Coombabah State High School where he played the 2015 season at the U15 level.

He is only slight of build even when up against players in his own age group, but do not take his lack of size in any way as a lack of ability or courage, he has a lot of both, which is on display each time he runs onto the field. 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 is adept at drawing an opposing defender out of the defensive line and then putting his support runner through the resulting gap. The most recent video on the official site (http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/0...junior_re.html) highlights this exact circumstance. In terms of his speed, I would suggest that an appropriate definition of his speed would be that he is quick off the mark but does not have an extra gear when he breaks into open space.

Even when playing up an age group he will back his judgement and take the game on. 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 quickly. In previous seasons when I have seen him play he sometimes took the line on himself too much, but the times that I have seen him play last season and currently through the first two rounds of the CC competition, he has become more selective about when to pass and when to run. His passing game is solid but seems to be slightly better when he is passing to the right side of the field.

He has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field. In defence, due to his size he is obviously not going to come up with the big hit but reads the play well and can hold his own when defending much bigger players. He is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side both in attack and defence.

Moving to this season, as noted he is performing well through the first two rounds of the CC competitions, playing at halfback for the Gold Coast Green CC squad. Upon completion of that competition he will transition back to eth Gold Coast U16 Division One competition for Helensvale as well as playing his schoolboy football for Coombabah at the Open level.

From a player comparison perspective thing maybe a Gary Freeman type player as someone who will give everything on the field regardless of their size and will not back down and has the organisational, leadership and game management skills that will give him an opportunity to succeed.

[mdrew]

Kyle Williams. He is a local young goal kicking half/five eight who has been excelling in the first couple of rounds of the MM competition where he plays for the Gold Coast Green MM and was specifically mentioned by Titans Elite Academy Director and MM White coach Jamie McCormack as a young player who has made the most of his opportunities over the first two rounds of the competition, including playing well in the MM local derby where he started at five eight. He plays his club rugby league for the Mudgeeraba Redbacks and has a big supporter on this forum and understandably so. He has previously been a member of the Gold Coast Academy of Sport Elite Rugby League program.

So far in the 2016 MM competition he has kicked four goals, being two conversions and two penalty goals, all coming in the 20 all draw against GC White MM. He has been named to start at five eight for the Round 3 clash against South Logan. For the 2015 season he played for the Redbacks at the U17 Division One level, who were unfortunately knocked out at the semi-final stage of the competition. Over the course of the season he scored five tries and kicked 36 goals for a competition leading 92 points.

In attack, his speed off the mark is one attribute that you will notice when you see him play, I would consider it above average. He does not seem to have an extra gear once he is through the defensive line, but has the ability to maintain his speed over a reasonable distance, thus the apparent lack of an extra gear in speed has no discernible impact on the quality of his play. Coupled with the ability to step off feet, his speed and deception with his ball handling skills means he is a difficult proposition for a defensive line.

Whilst the comments above are directed towards his individual ability to break a game open, a key attribute to how he 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. He sometimes probably just needs to slow down in terms of the pace he plays the game, on occasion, in his desire to make something happen, he can out think his own team as they sometimes are a step behind what he is thinking. From a passing perspective his passing to both sides seems similar in terms of accuracy and distance.

He is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy and to date has always been his sides primary goal kicker, including for the GC Green MM side and I would suggest that he is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level he progresses to into the future.

He is not the biggest player but even when defending in the front line will tackle using his shoulder which assists when defending against larger forwards operating on the fringes of the ruck. Whilst not the biggest he is strong and tough enough to effectively tackle one on one against opposing halves and with his solid speed and foot work he can cover a lot of ground as he tracks the ball across the field. He is certainly not going to be a liability in defence for his team and is more than willing to take on bigger forwards as for his size he is quite tough even though he gets a lot of forward traffic coming his way during matches.

Moving forward to this season, he will play out the year for Gold Coast MM Green, before heading back to the Redbacks where he will play at the U19 level, in what should be a very good side, with the likes of Titans linked, Jordan Birch, Ethan Paikea, Xavier Johannson and possibly Darius Farmer also involved. From a position perspective, he is currently playing at five eight in the MM competition but seemingly has played the majority of his club rugby league at halfback, I would suggest that from a projection stand point, he will ultimately end up at halfback as he transitions to senior rugby league. There is no doubt that he is handling five eight well at present and even though in the modern game, there is little difference in how halfbacks and five eights play I would lean towards a future at halfback.

From a player comparison perspective, someone like the Brisbane Broncos Ben Hunt seems appropriate as a half with good game management skills a very good kicking game and some underrated speed which enables him to be quite effective on the fringes of the ruck.

[Bart]

Cheers mate for taking the time to comment on a Toowoomba/ Warwick boy, we tend to be forgotten about up here

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry that was meant to go under Zac Stevens write up

[mdrew]

Kyle Williams with a try and four goals in GC Green MM's victory against Souths Logan

Kyle Williams. He is a local young goal kicking half/five eight who has been excelling in the first couple of rounds of the MM competition where he plays for the Gold Coast Green MM and was specifically mentioned by Titans Elite Academy Director and MM White coach Jamie McCormack as a young player who has made the most of his opportunities over the first two rounds of the competition, including playing well in the MM local derby where he started at five eight. He plays his club rugby league for the Mudgeeraba Redbacks and has a big supporter on this forum and understandably so. He has previously been a member of the Gold Coast Academy of Sport Elite Rugby League program.

So far in the 2016 MM competition he has kicked four goals, being two conversions and two penalty goals, all coming in the 20 all draw against GC White MM. He has been named to start at five eight for the Round 3 clash against South Logan. For the 2015 season he played for the Redbacks at the U17 Division One level, who were unfortunately knocked out at the semi-final stage of the competition. Over the course of the season he scored five tries and kicked 36 goals for a competition leading 92 points.

In attack, his speed off the mark is one attribute that you will notice when you see him play, I would consider it above average. He does not seem to have an extra gear once he is through the defensive line, but has the ability to maintain his speed over a reasonable distance, thus the apparent lack of an extra gear in speed has no discernible impact on the quality of his play. Coupled with the ability to step off feet, his speed and deception with his ball handling skills means he is a difficult proposition for a defensive line.

Whilst the comments above are directed towards his individual ability to break a game open, a key attribute to how he 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. He sometimes probably just needs to slow down in terms of the pace he plays the game, on occasion, in his desire to make something happen, he can out think his own team as they sometimes are a step behind what he is thinking. From a passing perspective his passing to both sides seems similar in terms of accuracy and distance.

He is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy and to date has always been his sides primary goal kicker, including for the GC Green MM side and I would suggest that he is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level he progresses to into the future.

He is not the biggest player but even when defending in the front line will tackle using his shoulder which assists when defending against larger forwards operating on the fringes of the ruck. Whilst not the biggest he is strong and tough enough to effectively tackle one on one against opposing halves and with his solid speed and foot work he can cover a lot of ground as he tracks the ball across the field. He is certainly not going to be a liability in defence for his team and is more than willing to take on bigger forwards as for his size he is quite tough even though he gets a lot of forward traffic coming his way during matches.

Moving forward to this season, he will play out the year for Gold Coast MM Green, before heading back to the Redbacks where he will play at the U19 level, in what should be a very good side, with the likes of Titans linked, Jordan Birch, Ethan Paikea, Xavier Johannson and possibly Darius Farmer also involved. From a position perspective, he is currently playing at five eight in the MM competition but seemingly has played the majority of his club rugby league at halfback, I would suggest that from a projection stand point, he will ultimately end up at halfback as he transitions to senior rugby league. There is no doubt that he is handling five eight well at present and even though in the modern game, there is little difference in how halfbacks and five eights play I would lean towards a future at halfback.

From a player comparison perspective, someone like the Brisbane Broncos Ben Hunt seems appropriate as a half with good game management skills a very good kicking game and some underrated speed which enables him to be quite effective on the fringes of the ruck.

[mdrew]

Baylee Gerrard. He is a local young centre from the Burleigh Bears junior rugby league club on Coast and was part of the Burleigh side that lost the U17 Division One grand final to the Nerang Roosters 18-12 starting in the centres in that match. Across the season for the Bears, he scored six tries in 11 games for a total point’s tally of 24. In 2015 he played a number of games for the Gold Coast MM White side scoring three tries in the process, alternating between centre and wing and previously made multiple U13, U14 and U15 Vikings, Kookaburra’s, South Coast and South East Queensland representative sides during his junior career so far. He started on the wing for the Burleigh Bears Colts side for Round 3 of the QCup Colts competition, scoring a double in their 30-14 win against the Sunshine Coast falcons on Saturday.

He is a powerfully built hard running centre who seems to have a preference to run over an opponent rather than beating them with speed and guile. He however does have the size, strength and power to achieve his goal. He runs straight and hard and drops his shoulder into his opposing defender making him difficult to tackle one on one. In terms of speed for a centre I would argue that it is average for a centre but it plays faster than that as a result of the strength and power that he runs with. He can beat a defender on the outside or use a step to create an overlap but his most outstanding feature from an attacking perspective is his power and hard straight running. From the games that I have seen, he usually lines up at right centre and certainly at present he seems far more comfortable lining up on that side of the field.

Defensively he is certainly a hard hitter and often looks to come out of the line in an attempt to hit the ball carrier around the same time as they are receiving the ball, consequently he seems more comfortable defending with an up and in methodology as he does not necessarily have the recovery speed if an attacker beats him for pace and gets on his outside.

Moving to the 2016 season, he started on the wing for Round Three of the Burleigh Bears QCup Colts side and scored a double on debut and may also play some matches for the Burleigh first grade side in the local competition. From a position perspective, he has played in the centres for the majority of his junior career outside of a handful of games on the wing and I cannot envisage a need for that to change as he progresses towards senior football.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of the Auckland Warriors and New Zealand test Konrad Hurrell as a current player with a similar playing style as a big strong hard running centre who is very difficult to tackle when he is running straight and hard and can dominate games for a period of time, it is just a case of consistently being able to do it on a regular basis. The key to realising his potential will be maintaining his speed as he continues to mature physically.

[mdrew]

. Tamati Patelesio. He is a giant local young front rower who is part of the Gold Coast Green CC side for this season, starting the first couple of matches off the bench. He played the 2015 season with the Mudgeeraba Redbacks where he scored two tries across the eight matches that he played at the U15 Division One level. He has also played a number of matches for the Titans junior development squads.

He runs exceptionally hard but with limited subtlety to his running style, and he will not just run upright, he will drop his should into the defender making it difficult if not impossible for him to be stopped easily or by a single defender. Due to his speed and size, when he is running on the fringes of the ruck, he as handful and also has a very good and powerful fend. He is a very good athlete, with size, strength, speed and power. I would certainly argue that he has plus speed for his size. It regularly takes defences to commit multiple resources to stop his momentum. If he is not tackled around the legs, his strength means that he will continue to make ground after contact due to his never say die attitude.

Defensively he hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up due to his size and strength and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He defends in the centre of the ruck and seems best suited in the long run defending there. He really does know how to tackle effectively, as he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards and then explodes through his core with the kinetic effects transferring through his body into his opponent.

On the field however he seems very quiet, and does not seem to have an aggressive streak in him, but with his size and power he has all of the physical attributes you would want in a rugby league player, the question is just like it is for all young players, can he harness all of his physical attributes to reach his potential.

Moving towards the 2016 season, he has been selected in the GC Green CC side coached by Nathan Antonik and will also play for the Redbacks at the U16 Division One level. Due to his size and strength he I believe will continue to play his football in the front row in the long term.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of Sydney Roosters and New Zealand test player Jarred Warea-Hargreaves and a big strong powerful front rower.

[mdrew]

Daniel Shannon. He is a local young front rower who is part of the Gold Coast White CC side for this season, starting the last two matches off the bench. He played the 2015 season with the Mudgeeraba Redbacks where he scored three tries across the ten matches that he played at the U15 Division One level and he also played seven matches up at the U16 Division Two level, where he mainly came off the bench. He also represented Murri United in the Queensland Murri tournament late last year, and was in fact selected in the Queensland U15 Murri side which toured Fiji and won all three of their matches on that tour. Another tour participant was Titans linked fullback/five eight Brent Barnes.

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 current CC and club season. 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 conceding unnecessary penalties. 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.

Moving towards the 2016 season, he has been selected in the GC White side coached by Tim McIntyre and will also play for the Redbacks at the U16 Division One level and possibly some U17 matches as well. Due to his size and strength he I believe will continue to play his football in the front row in the long term although he could likely play in the second row for the next couple of years adequately.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand International front rower Adam Blair as a solid hard working front rower.

[mdrew]

Darius Christie. He is a local young halfback from the Runaway Bay Seagulls club on the coast and for the 2016 season is playing his school boy rugby league with Keebra Park. In fact the Keebra Park season has already started with Keebra Park U13 side winning the 2016 Tonie Carroll Cup, which is a one day competition for South East Queensland schools. Keebra Park U13’s defeated Marsden High School in the final 16-4 after being locked up at 4 all for a long period of the second half. Over the course of the six games on the day, Darius Christie scored 10 tries, including four length of the field tries (source - Keebra website) and was named player of the competition.

For Runaway Bay he played the 2015 season at the U12 Division Two level, where he tore the competition apart, scoring 19 tries and kicking nine goals to top both the try scoring and points scoring tallies with 98 total points from 15 games. He started at halfback in the Grand Final with Runaway Bay defeating Jimboomba 22 – 6 with Darius Christie scoring a try and kicking a goal in the match. During the season, he scored a hat trick against the Southport Tigers and in five other matches scored doubles.

He also played a number of matches up at the U13 age group in 2015, with two matches at the U13 Division Two age group and ten matches at the U13 Division Three age group, where he added another nine tries on the season, including a hat trick against the Robina Raptors. He also came off the bench in the grand final victory by the Seagulls 36-20 in that age division. Just to add to the numbers in two pre-season games he crossed for five tries as well. In total he scored 34 tries in club football alone during the 2015 season.

In attack his plus speed off the mark is the first attribute that you will notice when you see him play live. He also has an extra gear once he is through the defensive line, and has the ability to maintain his speed over a long distance. In short with his plus speed, he can make a break himself and then has the speed to finish the break off himself, because his support players have a heck of a time trying to stay with him in open space. He can and will beat defenders in the inside or outside with a step off either foot and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies and back-ups well.

At present, one area for him 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. I am not suggesting that play making skills will eclipse speed as his primary attacking attribute, but enhanced play making skills will make his speed more effective and his speed will play faster as a result as defensive lines start to focus in his runners and thus leave more space for him to exploit with his myriad of attacking attributes.

He has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate enough and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field. I do not believe that he will have the leg strength going forward to be his side’s primary tactical kicker but will likely be his side’s primary attacking kicker when close to the try line. He will chase hard and usually is one of the first down field to defend. In terms of his short kicking game, he will back himself and put in little kicks over the top or grubber through the defensive line for himself, which causes all sorts of issues for defences due to his speed and desire to get to the ball first.

In defence he is not a big hitter but reads the play well enough and can hold his own when defending much bigger players. He will also track across field well looking when the ball is turned back inside. When confronted with forwards running directly at him on the edge of the ruck, he will get in front of them and use his shoulder in an effort to contain them until defensive help arrives. He is just not ever going to be a big hitter in defence but similarly will not be a liability and has the speed and desire to be a very good cover defender and also has the plus speed off the mark to turn and chase if the opposition puts in an attacking kick.

Moving to the 2016 season he will play for Runaway Bay in the U13 age group and will battle the likes of Caleb Gould-Waiariki for the U13 Division One halfback spot at the Seagulls but may also play some games at the U14 age group level, which would meant that he would follow a similar trajectory to the 2015 season. The 2016 U13 age group on the Gold Coast has some very talented halfbacks so it will be very interesting to see who makes the U13 Vikings representative side in that position.

From a playing position perspective, with his improving play making skills, a future staying in the halfback position is likely although if the play making skills do not develop as expected or he is battling other talented young players for a position at halfback, he could quite reasonably be able to play at fullback where his speed and elusiveness attributes would translate well.

From a player comparison perspective, think of the Bulldogs version of Ben Barba as a player who whilst known for his amazing speed off the mark, does have some other attributes to his game which can sometimes get be overlooked when people focus purely on his speed and forget his improving play making and game management skills.