My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Ben Liyou. (Updated) He is a young player from the Grafton Ghosts who recently signed a two year deal with the Titans which will see him finishing his schooling in Northern New South Wales before moving up to the Gold Coast to continue his rugby league career. In October 2017 Ben Liyou was also awarded the Aquinas Sportsperson of the Year award at a gala dinner at the Southport Yacht Club.

Ben Liyou played the 2017 season at the U16.5 level for the Ghosts as well as playing three matches at the U18 level for Grafton in the Group Two U18 competition. Ben Liyou also attended a Titans Elite Academy session that was held at Lennox Heads a couple of months ago, another Grafton Ghost in centre Jake Martin was also an attendee.

Ben Liyou was also part of the East Coast Dolphins U16 side that performed well at the New South Wales Country Championships making the Championship final and as a result was selected for the U16 New South Wales Country side that played two matches in New Zealand as part of a South Island Tour. The NSW Country U16 side won both of their tour matches and in addition to Ben Liyou also had Titans youngsters Kade Hill and Jordan Tauali’i involved. Previously Ben Liyou has represented the Titans in a number of development squad matches including in 2014 when he came off the bench in a match against a Samoan side.

With his try and two goals in a Grafton Ghosts 24-4 win over Ballina Ben Liyou finished the U16.5 regular season competition as the leading point’s scorer with 62 points from ten matches. Ben Liyou scored eight tries and kicked fifteen goals. From a try scoring perspective Ben Liyou scored doubles against Casino RSM in June and also against Ballina in July. Ben Liyou also started in the second row in Grafton’s two finals matches against Clarence Coast and the Grand Final against Casino RSM.

As a 16 year old Ben Liyou also played three matches for the Grafton Ghosts U18 side in the Group Two competition, with his U18 debut coming in April against the Sawtell Panthers. His other two games were against Sawtell again in June and Coffs Harbour in July 2017.

In the U16 New South Wales Country Championships Ben Liyou scored three tries in their way to the Final where the East Coast Dolphins U16 side lost in extra time to the Western Rams. In that Grand Final Ben Liyou started in the second row. Two other Titans linked youngsters were also involved being Kade Hill who started at half and Jordan Tauali’i who started in the front row. Ben Liyou scored a double in the East Coast Dolphins 44-0 semi-final win over the Bidgee Bulls and he also scored in Round One against the Central Coast.

In 2016 Ben Liyou was the U15 Group One’s top try scorer with 18 tries from 12 matches to finish five tries clear of the next highest try scorer. Ben Liyou also started at lock for the Group One U15 representative side that had some good wins over the course of the New South Wales Country Age Championships. Ben Liyou has previous experience in a Titans jersey when he came off the bench in late 2015 in a U14 contest against Samoa.

For the Ghosts in the U15 competition, Ben Liyou started off the season with a bang scoring seven tries in the first three rounds, including a four try haul against Kyogle and a double against Minor Premiers Clarence Coast. Over the course of the season, Ben Liyou scored five other doubles which came against Ballina on three separate occasions, Lismore Marist Brothers and Kyogle. In April Ben Liyou also played one match at the U16.5 age group against Kyogle backing up after playing in the U15’s earlier in the day.

Ben Liyou is a tall lanky type of player with a solid passing game, which is understandable due to his experience at five eight, from my perspective his passing to his right hand side is a little better than to his left. Where he excels though is his running with the ball, as noted he is a tall young man who really did dominate opposing backline line defences and regularly carried opposing players with him before off-loading to his support players. His speed is quite good for his height but whether it stays that way as he fills out will determine when he transitions full time to the back row as at the moment he is dominating his age group regardless of position in the Group One junior rugby league.

In an U13 Titans development squad game against Samoa in late 2015 and considering he conceded a lot of weight to the opposition, he was very effective and making ground, mainly on the fringes of the ruck, where he used his footwork to get between defenders and make ground. The development squad game was a tough game and even with the step up in overall class of the game, Ben Liyou did well.

The only issue for his defence is that due to his height he needs to make sure he does not let his tackles slip up too high when defending against smaller opposition and in the Group One competition he had no problem at all dealing with opposition forwards running on the fringes of the ruck. In the development squad game, he obviously defended in the centre of the ruck and showed a quite decent low tackling technique and held his own even though he conceded weight to the opposing forward pack.

Moving forward to the 2018 season Ben Liyou is still eligible for the Group One U16.5 level for the Grafton Ghosts but he is likely to spend the majority of the 2018 season with the Grafton Ghosts U18 Group Two side. Ben Liyou will also be in line to represent the East Coast Dolphins at the U18 level.

From a position perspective, as noted, to date he has played a significant amount of rugby league at five eight in his junior career, but I can really see his move to the second row as a permanent one now.

From a player comparison perspective think along the lines of someone like Cronulla Sharks, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International second rower Wade Graham as a player who played a lot of their junior football at five eight before transitioning to the back row and developing into a solid ball playing forward who can pop a short pass to his supports both prior to the line and when engaged with the defensive line as well as defending effectively.

[mdrew]

Kainoa Gudgeon. The Western Australian and former Newcastle Knights junior has made an outstanding start to his quest to secure a spot in the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad when he scored a first half double, narrowly missing a hat trick for Tweed Heads when they played a trial match against their U20 Colts side recently.

In 2017 the South Perth Lions junior split time between the Newcastle Knights NYC side and their New South Wales Intrust Super Cup side, as well as playing a couple of matches in the local Newcastle competition with South Newcastle including reserve grade match in August 2017 when Kainoa Gudgeon scored a try and kicked four goals.

In the NSW Intrust Super Cup in 2017 , Kainoa Gudgeon played five matches making his debut in March and went on to score two tries and kick fourteen goals to finish the season with 36 points.

In total in the NSW Intrust Super Cup, Kainoa Gudgeon ran for 252 metres, had seven tackle breaks, two line breaks and made thirty four tackles at a tackling efficiency of 83.4%. Kainoa Gudgeon’s per game averages included running for 50.4 metres and making seven tackles.

In the 2017 NYC competition for the Knights, Kainoa Gudgeon scored seven tries and kicked forty two goals for 116 points from sixteen matches with his tries coming in seven individual matches including scoring against the Titans in Rounds Two and Nine and a try in Newcastle’s finals loss to the Bronco’s. With the boot Kainoa Gudgeon had a day out against the Titans in Round Nine when he kicked seven goals. Kainoa Gudgeon also kicked six goals against the Titans in Round Two.

In total for Newcastle in the 2017 NYC competition, Kainoa Gudgeon started on the wing in fifteen matches and in his other match which was in Round One he started in the centres, Kainoa Gudgeon played in all 80 minutes of each of the matches that he was involved in.

Kainoa Gudgeon was on the field for 1 280 minutes, ran the ball 147 times making 1 349 metres, made four line breaks, had three tries assists, off loaded the ball on eleven occasions and made 82 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 76.64. Kainoa Gudgeon’s 2017 NYC per game season averages included playing for 80 minutes, making 84.3 metres from 9.2 runs and 5.1 tackles.

On four occasions in 2017 Kainoa Gudgeon ran for in excess of 100 metres including running for 143 metres in a Round Twenty Four clash against the Melbourne Storm.

In 2016 in the NYC Kainoa Gudgeon scored twelve tries including a Round One double against the Titans and he also scored against the Titans in Round Twenty Four.

All told in his NYC career Kainoa Gudgeon played four matches against the Titans scoring at least a ty on each occasion. Kainoa Gudgeon also kicked thirteen goals against the Titans from just two games in 2017.

Prior to his move to Newcastle Kainoa Gudgeon, played for South Perth in the Western Australian Rugby League competition and in 2015 scored fifteen tries from nine games in the U18 competition. Kainoa Gudgeon made his Western Australian First Grade debut as a 17 year old in 2015, scoring on debut.

Kainoa Gudgeon is just a smooth runner of the ball and certainly has an extra gear in relation to the speed he possesses as well as plus speed off the mark and plus lateral movement as well. He also has the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the modern game.

When he gets the ball early from his inside play makers, Kainoa Gudgeon is difficult to deal with one on one, as whilst his speed has already been noted, he is also a powerful runner who has the power to also break tackles through sheer power and not just rely on his speed to beat his opponent, in short he has a myriad of moves to break through the defensive line regardless of the defensive methodology that they are incorporating.

The one thing Kainoa Gudgeon also seems to be able to do well, is to step back inside without the loss of his speed or forward momentum, opposing defenders seem to push out quickly when he has the ball expecting him to look to beat them on their outside, if they come across to far, he has a very good step back side and if the inside defenders are not quick enough to cover across he has the speed to make a clean break in those circumstances. Similarly when an opposing defender looks to come out of the line quickly to put pressure on him, his quick twitch feet means that he can step off either foot quickly to negate the attempt to cut down his time.

In defence Kainoa Gudgeon has good functional strength, but will certainly look to come out of the line to stop the attack before it has time to fully develop. He will show his opposite centre the sideline and is confident that his speed will enable him to get across to make the tackle.

The upcoming 2018 season will see Kainoa Gudgeon line up in the black and white of the Tweed Heads Seagulls where he will look to push for a spot come Round One and certainly is making it difficult for Ben Woolf to keep him out of the side.

Kainoa Gudgeon played in the centres in Western Australia but has played primarily on the wing in his time with the Knights and that is also where he played in the Seagulls in-house trial recently against Tweed’s Colts side.

From my perspective Kainoa Gudgeon is similar to Brisbane Bronco and star Keebra Park junior Marion Seve.

[mdrew]

Theo Hippi. The young tearaway has moved back to Northern New South Wales from Sydney where he played for South Sydney in the 2017 NYC competition and will line up for Tweed Heads in the 2018 Queensland Cup competition.

For the Rabbitohs in the 2017 NYC competition, Theo Hippi played in nine matches, scoring his sole try against Parramatta in Round Twelve. Of hi nine matches Theo Hippi came off the interchange bench in seven, started in the second row in Round Nine against Manly and in Round Eleven against the Melbourne Storm started in the centres.

In total in the 2017 NYC competition, Theo Hippi was on the field for 194 minutes, took 41 hit-ups for 418 metres and made 111 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 81.62%. Theo Hippi’s 2017 per game averages included running for 46.4 metres from 4.6 hit-ups and making 12.3 tackles.

His “best” performance from a running perspective came in Round Ten against the Wests Tigers when he ran for 97 metres and in Round Eight against the Brisbane Broncos Theo Hippi made twenty tackles. On the 2017 season, Theo Hippi was credited with no errors which in over three hours on the field is a very good achievement.

Prior to his move to Sydney for the NYC competition, Theo Hippi played for Northern United in the 2016 NRRRL competition, playing in twenty First Grade matches scoring six tries including a double against Kyogle and he also scored tries against Cudgen, Murwillumbah, Byron Bay and Casino RSM. Theo Hippi primarily came off the bench for Northern United but made a significant impact each time that he came onto the field. Theo Hippi made his NRRRL first grade debut as an 18 year old in 2015 when he played in ten matches for Evans Head scoring eight tries in the process.

Tear a way would be an apt description of how Theo Hippi runs the ball, he is by no means the biggest second rower running around but he really does throw himself into the defensive line with clearly no thought of self-preservation. His normal running line seems to be on a slight angle away from the ruck and as noted on occasion he will veer back towards the ruck, I would not call it a step but more of an angled change of running direction.

To his credit I have seen Theo Hippi get absolutely smashed but he always seems to get back up and get ready to do it all again and considering the heavy hits he absorbs, his ball control is quite good. Seriously for his size he just flat out charges into the defence regardless of the size of the opponent in front of him. With his stamina and determination, this approach whilst it must wear him down it also wears down his opponents.

Defensively the situation is similar, Theo Hippi flies at the opposition forwards running the ball and just tries to smash them. He on occasion flashes a solid defensive technique but can lose concentration and consequently his defensive technique is negatively impacted.

Theo Hippi will play the 2018 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup squad and may start the season on the interchange bench as a super sub type of player who will go full throttle when he comes on and regardless of the amount that he spends on the field. Theo Hippi was specifically named as a standout player in Tweed’s first trial by Ben Woolf, so he is off to a good start with his new club.

His smaller size and playing style suggests to me that Theo Hippi will stay in the second row through his senior rugby league career. At this point in time he projects as an ideal interchange forward who could come as the starting forwards tire and make an immediate impact on both sides of the ball.

From a player comparison perspective, I am going to go back a fair while to Geoff Robinson who was a smaller Canterbury Bankstown front rower who just threw himself into the defensive line, I cannot think of a current player in the NRL that would be a fair comparison, maybe the Ipswich Jets Billy McConachie would be close in terms of a similar playing style for people who watch the Queensland Cup all be it Theo Hippi has a smaller build.

[lonegull]

I have watched a bit of Theo hippo in the aboriginal knockout the last couple of years, he is a raw boned bloke and fears nothing and oozes talent, hopefully he fills out and I am sure he will catch the eye of Brennan has loads of upside and talent to burn

[mdrew]

Wally Pegler. (Revised) He is a young fullback/halfback from the Toowoomba region who played for the Western Mustangs Colts side in 2017 and has been named in the 2018 Colts squad for the fast approaching season.

In early 2017 Wally Pegler spent a day at the Titans training centre with four other young boys from the region and trained with the Titans NYC squad. Wally Pegler started at halfback for the Western Mustangs U20 side that drew with a Titans U20 selection in a 2017 trial, in fact Wally Pegler had an opportunity to win the game for the Mustangs but his 78th minute field goal attempt hit the left upright and bounced away unfortunately for the young man.

For the Western Mustangs in 2017 Wally Pegler played in both U20 competitions being the U20 State wide Challenge and the U20 Colts Challenge. In the State wide Challenge Wally Pegler started all of the Western Mustangs seven matches at half back including their semi-final loss to Redcliffe. Over the seven matches Wally Pegler scored three tries and kicked eighteen goals to finish with 48 points. Wally Pegler’s three tries came in consecutive weeks from Rounds Five to Seven and in order were against the Central Queensland Capra’s, Victoria and Ipswich. In the Round Seven match against Ipswich Wally Pegler also kicked six goals from as many attempts and in three other matches kicked three goals.

In the Colts Challenge competition, Wally Pegler played in the Western Mustangs first twelve matches before missing the final three with injury. Wally Pegler started at half back in the first four rounds and also started Rounds Ten to Thirteen at half back. In the intervening period Wally Pegler started five matches at five eight.

Through his twelve matches Wally Pegler scored three tries and kicked twenty six goals to finish the competition with 64 points. Wally Pegler’s tries came against Redcliffe in Round One, against South’s Logan in Round Five and against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Round Ten. In the Round Five match against South’s Logan Wally Pegler also kicked five goals and on three other occasions he kicked three goals in a match.

In 2016 Wally Pegler played the first half of the season in the U18 Toowoomba TRL competition where he was one of the leading point’s scorers before transitioning to the Toowoomba Clydesdales QCup Colts side for the last two months of the season. In the Toowoomba U18 competition he scored eleven tries in 18 matches including doubles against Brothers, Dalby and Highfields and also kicked ninety goals for a total of 224 points on the season.

In one match against Highfields he kicked an incredible 16 goals from 18 attempts in one match alone, he also scored two tries that afternoon. On another occasion he kicked 10 goals in a match against Goondiwindi. On August 21, Wally Pegler made his TRL A Grade debut against Highlands (it was the same day he kicked 16 goals) scoring a try and kicking two goals in that game.

Subsequent to his first grade debut, Wally Pegler transitioned to the Toowoomba Clydesdales QCup Colts side for the remainder of the 2016 season. He made his Colts debut from the bench against South’s Logan in a tight 18 – 16 loss and kicked two goals from three attempts. In Round 21 he made his starting debut on the left wing scoring his first QCup Colts try. Rounds 22 and 23 saw Wally Pegler start at half and in those matches he kicked five from six and four from four respectively to finish with a try and eleven goals for 26 points overall and a goal kicking accuracy of 85%.

In 2013 Wally Pegler represented Queensland Murri U16’s coming off the bench in the annual interstate clash. Former Titans linked winger Lui Lockington was a team mate that night started on the wing for Queensland Murri against NSW Kurri U16. He also played school boy football for Toowoomba State High School. He was also fortunate to be selected as a guest player for a Legends of League match that was held in Toowoomba a couple of years ago, he came off the bench to score three tries, playing with the likes of Steve Renouf in that exhibition match.

Wally Pegler 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. He has decent speed but not absolute blazing speed, relying instead on his positioning to compensate. 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.

Wally Pegler is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and very good accuracy regularly kicking with above 80% accuracy over the course of a season. I would suggest that he was an opportunity to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level that he progresses to into the future.

Wally Pegler is not the biggest or necessarily strongest player but will take the hit when he needs to make the tackle in the last line of defence and will focus exclusively on the ball carrier, forcing the attacking player to make the decision of what to do with the ball, rather than proving the attacker the avenue to make an easier decision.

Wally Pegler will start the 2018 season with the Western Mustangs at the U20 level in the Hastings Deerings Cup U20 competition which kicks off in March.

From a long term position perspective, based on his skill set and size, halfback seems to be his ideal position going forward and a talented game manager at that although his running game will probably always take precedence.

From a player comparison perspective thing maybe someone like Titans half Ashley Taylor as a young play maker who was has all the skills necessary for a future at half back both in terms of game management and the ability to take the line on when the opportunity presents. I would agree though that Wally Pegler has more speed off the mark than Ashley Taylor.

[mdrew]

Blake Cullen. (Updated) The big strong burly young front rower was part of the Western Mustangs 2017 U18 Mal Meninga Cup winning team starting in their Grand Final winning side in the front row when they defeated South’s Logan 40 – 30 early in 2017. Blake Cullen also started in the front row for the Western Mustangs when they played against the Parramatta Eels in the U18 national final with Parramatta winning on the day. Blake Cullen is currently on a Titans Scholarship linking him to the Titans for the next couple of seasons.

Over the course of the 2017 MM Cup season, Blake Cullen started in the front row in all eight of the Western Mustangs matches including the semi-final against the Easts Tigers and the Grand Final against Souths Logan. In those eight matches Blake Cullen scored two tries, the first coming in Round Two against the Mackay Cutters and the second in Round Six against Victoria. Blake Cullen also played one U20 Colts match in 2017 for the Western Mustangs when he came off the bench in Round Two against the Ipswich Jets.

After the MM Cup competition was completed, apart from the one match that former Pittsworth State High School student played in the Colts competition, Blake Cullen plyed his trade with Pittsworth in the Toowoomba Rugby League Competition. Blake Cullen played six matches in the U18 competition and five in the Hutchies A Grade Cup competition.

On each of the five occasions that Blake Cullen played first grade, Blake Cullen backed up after playing in the U18 match earlier in the day. It is even more impressive when you consider that Blake Cullen starts in both the U18 and A Grade matches in the front row. In the 2017 season, Blake Cullen’s sole try was in the U18 competition against Wattles.

Blake Cullen 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. There is no subtlety to his running, it is straight and hard and another positive is that he will not just run upright, Blake Cullen will drop his should into the defender making it difficult if not impossible for him to be stopped one on one. He does though have quite foot speed when/if he gets into space, probably above average for a front rower.

In defence Blake Cullen is happy to go for the big hit with his target zone around the rib cage rather than the chest area thus mitigating the risk of the tackle slipping up around the head. He is obviously suited to defending in the centre of the ruck rather that the fringes and will have some trouble with nippy runners out of dummy half. It has been suggested to me that Blake Cullen is a very hard dedicated worker in training. 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.

Blake Cullen has been named in the 2018 Western Mustangs U20 Colts for the upcoming season along with seven or eight other Titans scholarship players and should be a key member of what is shaping to be a big strong tough forward pack.

Blake Cullen has been a front rower his entire rugby league career and with his strength and toughness will surely continue in that position where ever his career in rugby league takes him.

From a player comparison point of view, I think that a fair comparison from a style of play perspective would be former New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International front rower Sam Rapira, as tough hard runner forward who does everything at 100 mph.

[mdrew]

Laz Sua. (Updated) The powerful young Gold Coast resident and Keebra Park student is only a reasonably recent signing with the Titans. In 2017 in addition to playing for Keebra Park, Laz Sua was selected in the South Coast U18 side and from there was selected in the Queensland U18 Open Schoolboy side for the ASSRL Championship including scoring a try on Day Three in a 28-18 loss to New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges.

Laz Sua and his Keebra Park Open team mates had an outstanding 2017 GIO Cup campaign with the Gold Coast based school winning the National final with Laz Sua starting the final in eth second row and playing on the left side of the field against Westfield’s Sports High School.

Laz Sua was also a member of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side for the 2017 version of that competition and played for Queensland Samoa U18 squad for the QPICC tournament that was held in October 2017.

Laz Sua played in club football in 2017 with the Ormeau Shearers across a number of competitions including the U17 Division One competition, U19’s, the Doug Lipp Cup and five first grade matches. In the U17 Division One competition, Lazeryth Sua played in five matches scoring three tries including a double against Burleigh with his other try coming against Mudgeeraba. In the U19 competition, Laz Sua has played in nine matches scoring against Runaway Bay in June and also kicking a late conversion against Mudgeeraba.

Laz Sua made his Doug Lipp Cup debut in June against Tugun and celebrated by scoring on debut. Playing first grade at any level as a 17 year is no mean feat and Laz Sua achieved that feat on Sunday June 18 2017 when he came on from the interchange bench against Currumbin. His other first grade matches came against Runaway Bay, Bilambil, Currumbin again and Southport.

During the 2016 season Laz Sua was selected as a result of his good form to represent Queensland at the U16 level. Unfortunately for Laz Sua he only got a handful of minutes on the field when he came on late and played in the dummy half role.

In relation to his club rugby league on the Gold Coast in 2016 he played six matches for the Ormeau Shearers club in the U16 Division One competition and scored three tries in limited action, including scoring against eventual premiers Burleigh on two separate occasions and also against Helensvale.

For Gold Coast White in the CC Cup competition in 2016, Lazeryth Sua played in all six of their games, splitting his time evenly between starting at hooker and at lock. He started at hooker in Rounds One, Six and Seven and started at lock in the other three games. He also crossed for two tries which came in Rounds One and Two, against Souths Logan and Gold Coast Green respectively.

In addition, after the completion of the 2016 season he was a late replacement in the Team Toa side where he came off the bench in their loss to a NSW New Zealand side. In 2016 he was also a member of the QAS squad and in 2015 made the Queensland Maroon U15 side for the ASSRL U15 championships after playing a leading role for South Coast at the U15 QSSRL championships where he played the majority of his matches in the centres.

In attack, regardless of the position he is playing, he is quick and strong and has good footwork to beat opposition defenders and then has very good speed, not necessarily speed off the mark, but definitely has good top end speed once he gets moving. In relation to his play at hooker his passing is reasonably crisp, especially to the right side, but on occasion he passes in two movements, the first being a straightening motion with a distinct second motion being the delivery of the pass, on other occasions he does pass directly from the ground in one fluid motion, like he would be doing as a rugby half.

Laz Sua does like to run from dummy half and his strength and speed does compensate if there are no gaps in the defensive line. Once tackled he immediately starts fighting to get a quick play the ball in an effort to maintain momentum.

In terms of wider positions, such as in the back row or at centre, he can and will take on defenders and look to run over them, when he stays wide, like he did for Keebra good things happen for his team.

Defensively Laz Sua is more than strong enough to defend in the middle of the ruck and quick enough to defend on the fridges. In the centre of the ruck he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards. When defending out wide, he is better in an up and in type defensive scheme rather than a sliding defensive structure. He is also extremely fit thus getting back into the defensive line is no issue for him over the course of the entire game.

Laz Sua has been named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad for this coming season and I believe is also back at Keebra Park State High School where he will be a key figure in their GIO Cup squad as they look to repeat their 2017 success.

The big question for he is where Laz Sua’s long term future lies. I can legitimately see a case for him to stay at hooker, similarly there are skills in his game which suggest a future in a wider playing position such as in the back row or even at centre.

Laz Sua has a diverse range of skills to take advantage of and with a reduction of the inter change down to eight from ten and potentially a further reduction in coming years, a player of his type will become very valuable.

Due to his versatility and varied skill set, I believe that an appropriate NRL player comparison for Laz Sua is current Newcastle Knights forward and former New South Wales State of Origin player Jamie Buhrer.

[mdrew]

Allan Lockwood. (Updated) He is a young fullback or centre who is originally from the Kempsey area, but moved to the Gold Coast to continue his career with the Titans at the start of 2016 as a part of the Titans High Performance Unit.

In early 2016 he captained the NSW Koori’s U16 side in their annual Murri v Koori U16 interstate clash, with the match finishing in a 16 all draw. For young Lockwood this was the second year in a row that he represented NSW Kurri in this annual match. From a trivia perspective, he is related to Greg Inglis, a cousin I believe.

The 2017 season saw Allan Lockwood play for Burleigh in the MM Cup competition and upon competition of that competition, the talented youngster made a successful transition to the Burleigh Colts side playing a number of matches at fullback and in the centres. Allan Lockwood also played a number of matches in Gold Coast Rugby League competition for the Bilambil Jets.

For Burleigh in the 2017 MM competition, Allan Lockwood played in five of their six matches missing only Round Three. Allan Lockwood started the first two rounds at fullback and then played in the centres in Rounds Four, Five and Six.

For the Burleigh Bears in the U20 Colts Challenge competition in 2017, Allan Lockwood played in thirteen of Burleigh’s fifteen matches scoring three tries the first of which came in Round Five against the Sunshine Coast Falcons. His other two tries came in consecutive matches in Round Nine against the Western Mustangs and Round Ten against Tweed Heads. Allan Lockwood started at fullback in his first four Colts matches and then transitioned to the centres for his remaining matches. Allan Lockwood’s first match for Burleigh in the Colts Challenge Competition was in Round Two when he started at fullback.

For Bilambil in the Gold Coast U19 competition, Allan Lockwood played in eight matches including starting in the centres in Bilambil’s 34 – 20 Grand Final victory over Tugun. In those eight matches Allan Lockwood scored five tries which all came in two consecutive matches the first when he scored a hat trick against Currumbin and in his next U19 match Allan Lockwood scored against Mudgeeraba. Allan Lockwood made his Gold Coast Rugby League A Grade debut in August against Burleigh.

Allan Lockwood played the 2016 season with the Burleigh Bears in the U17 Division One competition and started at fullback in their 18 – 12 Grand Final victory. Over the course of the season for Burleigh, Allan Lockwood played in ten matches, scoring seven tries including a double against Currumbin in Round One and a double against Grand Final opponents Runaway Bay mid-way through the season. Allan Lockwood also played for Gold Coast White in the CC Cup competition where he played both at five eight and in the centres scoring two tries in the process.

Allan Lockwood is a silky smooth runner of the ball who seems to glide across the field effortlessly and certainly has an extra gear in relation to the speed he possesses as well as plus speed off the mark. In the centre position, he has the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the modern game. When he gets the ball early from his inside play makers, he is incredibly difficult to deal with one on one, as whilst his speed has already been noted, he is also a powerful runner who has the power to also break tackles through sheer power and not just rely on his speed to beat his opponent.

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

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

From the games that I have seen of his, you can just sense the uncertainty in the defensive line when Allan Lockwood receives the ball with space to manoeuvre. Allan Lockwood must be a half/five eight’s dream in that teams will look to get up onto him quickly, potentially leaving space for them to dummy and run. Also when the team is struggling he can just make something happen out of nothing even against a set defensive line, he can just drift across the field and then explode into any gaps that he can see develop.

Defensively Allan Lockwood was quite impressive last season and you could see that his physical development of the last couple of seasons has paid dividends. He has always had a solid tackling technique but with additional muscle mass, his initial contact is a lot stronger and he really can redirect the momentum of the ball carrier. At fullback Allan Lockwood will come forward when a break is made and force the attacking player to make a quick decision as to what to do, if they try to take him on, Allan Lockwood will make them pay for it.

Allan Lockwood is a member of the 2018 Burleigh Bears Colts squad and also part of the he Titans High Performance Unit.

From a position perspective, even though he played some five eight in CC in previous seasons and fullback for Burleigh in both MM and Colts competitions, for me I believe that he has the ability to play in the centres long term and develop into a smooth moving elusive runner of the ball and quite an effective defender. Obviously any time that he spends at five eight or fullback will only enhance his ball skills and assist in creating space for his support players.

Allan Lockwood obviously also has leadership skills to be selected as the NSW U16 Koori captain. The quote below is from U16s Indigenous All Stars chairman of selectors and former Gold Coast Seagull centre Scott Mieni.

“He has always shown outstanding leadership and his ability is second to none and that is why he has also been selected to captain the side.”

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone also the lines of former, Bronco, Qld State of Origin and Australian centre Steve Renouf in the context of how Allan Lockwood plays the game, being that of an exceptionally talented attacking player and a dedicated, hardworking person all around. For the younger people on the forum, who do not remember Steve Renouf in his prime, former Titan James Roberts (but Allan Lockwood is a better defender) is also a good comparison in terms of how Allan Lockwood plays.

[mdrew]

Darius Farmer. (Revised) He is a young second rower originally from Ipswich who signed an updated two year deal with the Titans at the end of 2016 and represented Queensland at the U16 level in 2015 with Titans team mates Ben Thomas and Reihana Marsh, starting in the second row in the annual interstate match. Darius Farmer originally signed with the Titans in 2015 after being part of the Sydney Roosters Junior Summer Training squad in 2014.

Due to injury Darius Farmer missed the start of the 2017 season but played the majority of the season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Colts side but also made his NYC debut with the Titans as well as representing New Zealand U18’s with Titans team mate Jaxson Paulo.

Darius Farmer started in the second row for New Zealand in their match against the Australian School Boys in September in New Zealand playing on the left side of the field with Jaxon Paulo who played on the left wing. Even though New Zealand lost the International Darius Farmer matched up well with Australian School Boy star David Fifita who lined up on the right hand side of the field for the Australian Schoolboys.

Prior to the International match against the Australian School Boys Darius Farmer represented the New Zealand U18 Taurahere side (NZ eligible players playing in Australia) against the New Zealand Residents U18 side. Darius Farmer was one of four Titans players named in the Taurahere side with the others being Jaxson Paulo, Reihana Marsh and Moeaki Fotuaika, although only Darius Farmer and Jaxon Paulo played in the match with both then progressing to the New Zealand U18 side.

Darius Farmer made his NYC debut with the Titans in Round Twenty against Penrith, almost scoring with his first touch of the ball after coming off the interchange bench and in Round Twenty-Two Darius Farmer started at lock against the Broncos. In 2017 Darius Farmer went on to play in Rounds Twenty Five and Twenty Six against the Bulldogs and Roosters respectively, on both of those occasions starting off the interchange bench.

In total in the NYC competition Darius Farmer was on the field for 150 minutes, ran for 170 metres from twenty hit-ups and made forty four at a tackling efficiency of 72%. Darius Farmer’s 2017 NYC per game averages included playing 37.5 minutes, running for 43 metres and making eleven tackles.

Darius Farmer’s best match from a running perspective was against the Panthers on his NYC debut when he ran for 78 metres and in Round Twenty Six against the Roosters he made thirteen tackles in limited minutes.

Darius Farmer missed the MM Cup competition but after spending the 2016 off season training with the Titans NYC squad including playing a couple of NYC trials for example against the Melbourne Storm at Langland’s Park, Darius Farmer was back for the start of the U20 Colts Challenge competition and played in twelve matches for Tweed Heads in that competition starting in the second row in every match that he played except for Round Four when he started at lock. Darius Farmer scored twice in the Colts competition including scoring in just the third minute of the Round One clash against South’s Logan. His other try came in Round Five against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

During the 2016 season Darius Famer played for the Gold Coast White MM side scoring a try in Round Three against the Easts Tigers. He started all of the matches he played for Gold Coast White in the second row. In addition he also made his QCup Colts debut for the Ipswich Jets in Round 15 scoring a hat trick against Toowoomba and starting in the centres. Darius Farmer started in the centres as well for the other three games that he played for the Ipswich Jets in the Colts competition, being from Rounds 23 to 25 and in Round 24 against the Tweed Heads Seagulls scored a double.

Darius Farmer is a tall, rangy exceptional athlete and this can be seen when be he is running with the football. In his carries he rarely takes a hit up without movement, he uses foot work prior to the line to look to break through as well as cutting either cutting back in behind the play the ball or cutting out towards the smaller defenders on the fringes of the ruck.

Darius Farmer runs ‘fast’ into the defensive and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line quite often, certainly more so than you would expect for a backrower taking the ball through the centre of the ruck. One reason for this is that he is a smart footballer, he does not try to run over defenders, but he runs at the gaps between defenders and uses his running speed to break through if defenders only use their arms on the tackle.

Darius Farmer does not necessarily have a great top end speed, but he is certainly fast enough to get through to the full back prior to the arrival of the cover defence. Darius Farmer would be one of the faster back rowers running around in Queensland as can be evidenced by the fact that he handled the centre position well at the QCup Colts level.

Playing on the right hand side of the field seemingly more often, means that his right foot step and his fending using his left hand are the effective attributes, but based on his physical attributes, his skill set and his understanding of how to play the game means that I have no doubt that these attributes are transferrable to playing on the left hand side of the field.

In defence Darius Farmer regularly is the first player up to target the ball carriers, even though he is not one of the bigger forwards in his team and will make solid initial contact as well as having the ability of defending one on one. As could be seen in the U16 development squad game, when the opportunity presents he has the ability to hit very hard, by setting a good base and driving through his lower body and core into his opponent. Ultimately though he is a strong defender with a good front on technique and good lateral movement to track and defend against smaller opponents either on the fringes or centre of the ruck.

Moving towards the 2018 season, Darius Farmer will be a key figure in the Burleigh Bears U20 Colts side and it would not surprise if he got a couple of QCup matches under his belt towards the end of the 2018 season either. Darius Farmer will also be pushing for a Titans Development contract for the 2019 season.

I would expect that due to his size, speed and skill attributes that Darius Farmer will continue to play in the back row for the foreseeable future and even though he seems to play more on the right side of the field at present, there is nothing to suggest he will not transition into a player who can play on both sides of the ruck equally effectively.

I appreciate that Darius Farmer played some Queensland Cup Colts matches for the Ipswich Jets as a 17 year old previously in the centres and was very effective there but I do not envisage that this is anything permanent but Darius Farmer could probably fill in in the centres if the need arises.

From a player comparison perspective, the young Canterbury Bulldogs version of Sonny Bill Williams springs to mind as an appropriate comparison, when you see the combination of the skill set he possesses and the athletic ability, add in a touch of aggression and you have a young player of immense potential who plays the game seemingly at a different pace to most of the players around him.

Darius Farmer is really one to watch as the year’s progress and it is even better that you will see him in a Titans jersey for the foreseeable future at least. With new Titans coach Gareth Brennan emphasising local juniors, the re-signing for Darius Farmer at the end of the 2018 season is a must.

The Titans are building a core group of young forwards such as Max King, Keegan Hipgrave, Jai Arrow and Jai Whitbread. Darius Farmer may just be the next player to join that “core” group of young forwards.

[mdrew]

Chris Chambers. (Updated) The tall quick talented winger made the most of playing outside of a talented halves combination for the Western Mustangs MM Cup winning side including starting on the wing when they defeated South’s Logan 40 – 30 in the 2017 MM Cup Grand Final and also starting on the wing in the U18 National final against the Parramatta Eels. Chris Chambers was an ever present on the wing for the Western Mustangs over the course of the 2017 MM Cup season. Chris Chambers is currently a Titans Scholarship holder.

Chris Chambers had a stellar run in the 2017 MM Cup competition from a try scoring perspective scoring at least a try in every match except for the Grand Final victory over South’s Logan. Chris Chambers scored a double in Round Seven against the Easts Tigers, with his other tries coming in Round Two against the Mackay Cutters (Western Mustangs had a Round One bye), Round Three against Tweed Heads, Round Five against the Central Queensland Capra’s, Round Six against Victoria, Round Eight against the Central Crows and in the Western Mustangs semi-final victory over the Easts Tigers.

After the completion of the MM Cup competition, Chris Chambers played for Toowoomba Valleys in the U18 Toowoomba Rugby League competition scoring six tries and kicking four conversions from eight game, including a double against Southern Suburbs in his first U18 match of the season and single tries against Goondiwindi, Toowoomba Brothers South Burnett and Dalby. Chris Chambers also started in the centres in the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 Grand Final and kicked two conversions in his side’s 38 – 34 victory over the Warwick Cowboys.

Whilst in does not have a great deal of speed off the mark, Chris Chambers does have above average top end speed once he gets moving and can break tackles by using a very good fend, when he gets to the outside, this prevents defenders from getting he under his ribs and thus he can maintain his running line under defensive pressure. When engaged with the defensive line Chris Chambers also has a reasonable offload and when he breaks through the main defensive line Chris Chambers is also very effective at setting up his outside support, by drawing the fullback.

Chris Chambers also has very good hands and over the course of the MM Cup season he had to pick up a number of passes from either low down or above his head and then can use his speed off the mark to look to create something for either himself or his team mates.

Chris Chambers has a good in and away to complement his other attacking attributes and is effective when attacking close to the try line and knows which routes to run to take advantage of situations where the defensive line has not come up off the try line and thus he is able to push through the defensive line and carry defenders over to score. Chris Chambers is just a solid attacking player and before you realise he has made a number of breaks and scored multiple tries.

Defensively the area that is impressive in relation to Chris Chambers is his ability to defend against any size opponent, from small quick outside backs to big strong powerful backrowers running wide of the ruck.

Defending on the wing Chris Chambers he sets a good base and uses his leg strength to direct his strength into his opponent. Purely from a skill and physical attribute perspective he seems more suited to a sliding defensive methodology rather than an up and in style. Like with his attacking attributes he is just solid there is really no other word to describe it.

Chris Chambers will play the 2018 rugby league with the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side.

Even though Chris Chambers could comfortably handle playing in the centres and perhaps even at fullback, with his ability to conceptually understand where the touch line is and use the limited space to his advantage I would consider it probable that Chris Chambers will continue to play on the wing as he begins his transition to the senior rugby league ranks.

For me how Chris Chambers plays is similar to the playing style of former Titan, PNG International captain and now English Super League player David Mead as a talented fearless winger who whilst he can score the incredible try out wide is regularly in the centre of the ruck giving his forwards a breather with a hit up or bringing the ball back on a kick return with a fearless approach.

[Mr Bods]

mdrew-what’s the story behind the Drongoes getting Payne Haas and not his hometown good guys???

[mdrew]

Payne Haas was a Titans junior for a number of seasons mate up until about the age of 15. At the time that the NRL took over juniors had to sign new contracts (don't get me started on clubs diving in and exploiting the situation) and he ended up with the Warriors on a two year deal. Post that it came down to the Broncos and Titans and he seriously considered the Titans but the Broncos won out, just.

mdrew-what’s the story behind the Drongoes getting Payne Haas and not his hometown good guys???

[Mr Bods]

Payne Haas was a Titans junior for a number of seasons mate up until about the age of 15. At the time that the NRL took over juniors had to sign new contracts (don't get me started on clubs diving in and exploiting the situation) and he ended up with the Warriors on a two year deal. Post that it came down to the Broncos and Titans and he seriously considered the Titans but the Broncos won out, just.

Thanks mdrew, hopefully he follows the Wallace/Whitbread/Arrow/Hipgrave development pathway.
Appreciate the prompt response.

[mdrew]

Jordan Crocker. (Updated) The tough hard as nails young front rower was a solid contributor in the middle of the field for the Western Mustangs MM Cup winning side over the course of the 2017 season including starting in the front row in the Grand Final over South’s Logan 40 - 30 and also starting in the front row in the National U18 final against the Parramatta Eels.

Jordan Crocker is currently a Titans scholarship holder along with a number of young players from the 2017 Western Mustangs U18 side and started all eight of the Western Mustangs MM Cup matches in the front row and scored his solitary try in Round Eight in a big 70 – 20 win over the Central Crows.

Post conclusion of the MM Cup Competition, Jordan Crocker transitioned back to the Toowoomba Rugby League where he played in six matches at the U18 level for Southern Suburbs including scoring a try against Toowoomba Valleys in his first U18 match of the 2017 season and also a late July try which came in a match against South Burnett.

Jordan Crocker is a solidly built young front rower with a low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle. There is no subtlety to his game, he runs straight and hard, with the only concession to this being a slight step off his right foot in occasion prior to impacting the defensive line. One thing that he does do will however is continuing to pump his legs once his initial momentum is halted by the defensive line, he makes more metres than he should as a result and also forces defending teams to commit multiple defensive assets to stopping his progress.

Jordan Crocker does not have a real off load to his attacking game, but that is not his role, his role is to take the ball into the heart of the opposition’s defensive line and make as many metres as possible.

Like his attacking game, his defensive attributes and relatively simple, he moves up and hits the ball carrier as hard as he can, as often as he can, full stop. He is best suited to defending in the centre of the ruck and that is where you will almost always find him and for a solidly built young player, he moves well in terms of moving up and back in defence. Jordan Crocker’s lateral movement is reasonable for a front rower.

Jordan Crocker will play the 2018 season as part of the Western Mustangs U20 Hastings Deerings Colts squad which with the addition of a number of young New Zealand boys looks like it will have a giant pack of forwards.

From a position perspective, due to his solid build, Jordan Crocker will likely to continue to be a front rower or lock as he does not have the speed to play wider of the ruck.

From a player comparison perspective, consider someone along the lines of Cronulla Sharks, New South State of Origin and Australian International forward Paul Gallen as a solidly built forward who has become a very effective player. Jordan Crocker is a bit bigger than Gallen and certainly less of an antagonist on the field.

[mdrew]

Indiha Saotui-Huta. The New Zealand born youngster has moved around a little in his junior rugby career to date but make no mistake Indiha Saotui-Huta is a talented outside back in either rugby or rugby league.

Indiha Saotui-Huta was born and raised in New Zealand but spent from 2013 to 2015 on the Gold Coast where he played both rugby and rugby league. Indiha Saotui-Huta made an immediate impact playing for Surfers Paradise in the Gold Coast Junior Rugby competition playing in the centres and also represented the Gold Coast Cyclones representative side on a number of occasions where a team mate was Titans youngster Rhian Stowers. In 2015 when his club side played in the Brisbane club rugby competition, Indiha Saotui-Huta finished as the leading points scorer with 147 points.

Indiha Saotui-Huta returned to New Zealand for the 2016 year, playing two years for the New Plymouth Boys High First XV, playing a number of outstanding matches including scoring against Auckland’s King’s College in 2016 and in 2017 scored against St Pats Silverstream. In 2017 Indiha Saotui-Huta also started for New Plymouth Boys High in a curtain raiser for a Reds v Chiefs Super Fifteen clash in New Zealand. Indiha Saotui-Huta also had an outstanding Rugby Sevens school boy career.
From a rugby league perspective, Indiha Saotui-Huta represented the U17 Taranaki Sharks rugby league side in 2017 and from there has been identified to take part in the 2018 New Zealand U18 talent squad.

Whilst in Australia previously Indiha Saotui-Huta only played four rugby league matches, which all came in 2015 for the Mudgeeraba Redbacks in the GCJRL U15 Division One competition, from those four matches, he scored for a solitary try which came against Southport.

Indiha Saotui-Huta is a solidly built young man with a low centre of gravity who has a very good right foot step and right hand fend. For his build, he is very quick down the sidelines with a good in and away to beat defenders on the outside and will not get caught from behind if he gets into open space. Whilst his speed off the mark cannot be considered explosive he has good top end speed once he gets moving.

In addition to his speed Indiha Saotui-Huta seems to have the ability to “freeze” his direct opponent with his ability to step off both feet before accelerating around them usually on the touchline side. On the wing, with his low centre of gravity he is able to come in and take runs through the centre of the ruck, and effective runs at that. He will take off from dummy half and use his elite foot work make a lot of the “tough” yards.

Indiha Saotui-Huta is also not devoid of ball playing ability as was evidenced when he was playing sevens in 2016 and 2017.

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

A positive for Indiha Saotui-Huta is that he does not purely rely on strength and power to hit, timing is also a key attribute to ensure that he arrives at the attacker at around the same time that the ball does, this also reduces the likelihood of injury to himself or the defender getting on his outside setting up a two or one down the sideline.

Indiha Saotui-Huta is in line for 2018 U18 New Zealand recognition and will play, well I will just leave that for now.
In Australia for Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast Cyclones Indiha Saotui-Huta primarily at inside centre, but when he moved back to New Zealand Indiha Saotui-Huta played on the right wing for New Plymouth Boys High. In sevens Indiha Saotui-Huta was a middle third player.

With his ability to stand up his direct opponent and break down the side line with above average speed, I can envisage a future on the wing for the talented Indiha Saotui-Huta.

It may sound like an odd comparison based on what has been said above but for me Indiha Saotui-Huta has the build of a mini Solomon Kata but with his speed and footwork he also definitely has similar skill attributes to New Zealand Warrior and New Zealand International Gerard Beale especially in terms of how he is able to stand up his opposite number of break a way down the side line.