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  1. #616
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    William Woolley. (Updated) He is a young second rower originally from the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One Junior rugby league competition. The 2017 season saw William Woolley on the Gold Coast playing for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the MM Cup and U20 Colts Challenge competitions and mid-season was for one match named in the Titans NYC extended 21 man squad but did not make his NYC debut.

    William Woolley played the first four rounds of the MM Cup competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls starting all four matches in the second row and scoring a double in Round Two against Victoria. William Woolley broke into the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts Challenge side in Round Two when he started from the inter change bench against Easts and also came off the bench in Rounds Three and Four.

    After missing Round Five William Woolley came back into the starting line-up in the second row in the local derby against Burleigh and also started in the second row in Rounds Eight to Ten. Round Seven saw William Woolley start at lock. William Woolley was also involved in the Seagulls finals campaign starting in the second row in Week One of the Finals and from the interchange bench in Week Three against the North’s Devils.

    In the final two regular season rounds against the Western Mustangs and South Logan William Woolley scored on both occasions and in his thirteen Colts matches in 2017, William Woolley started in the second row on eight occasions and from the interchange bench in his other matches.

    William Woolley played the 2016 season at the U18 level in the NRRRL competition, playing seventeen matches across the season, including the Grand Final which Ballina won defeating Cudgen 28 – 20 with Williams Woolley starting in the second row in that match. Williams Woolley scored a double against the Lower Clarence Magpies with his five other tries coming in separate matches including scoring three times in four weeks in June and July.

    William Woolley attended St Johns College Woodlawn and from that school made the 2014 U15 New South Wales Combined Catholic College (CCC) squad for the U15 ASSRL competition. In 2016 William Woolley was named in the starting second row for the U18 East Coast Dolphins squad for their NSW Country Cup campaign where they played the likes of the Northern Tigers, Central Coast and Newcastle Rebels.

    From an attacking perspective, William Woolley has a wide running mindset for a backrower with a very good turn of speed once he breaks through the line, he is speed would certainly play at the above average level in game situations for a backrower. Like all good running backrowers though, he takes his share of runs in the middle of the ruck but he is impressive at running good lines on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into although he is not averse to running straight over people either when the need arises.

    From the games that I have seem play, granted that I have not seen a massive amount of his games, William Woolley normally runs to the right side of the field, and will run wider out and look to come back on the inside shoulder of the opposition defence on the edge of the ruck. His determination is one aspect that enables him to be in the right place at the right time.

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

    The 2018 season will see William Woolley as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts squad where he will be in the mix for a second row spot and will be eligible again for the U20 competition in 2019.

    From a position perspective, William Woolley seemingly has played the majority of his football in the second row and whilst he may be able to fill in at front row for short stints, he seems better suited to the second row over the long term.

    From a player comparison perspective, someone along the lines of Boyd Cordner of the Roosters would be appropriate from a style perspective as a powerful well-rounded back rower who plays the game hard with toughness and at a pace above a lot of the players around him.

  2. #617
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    Isaac Lee. (Updated) He is a tall rangy centre/second rower originally from Lismore Marist Brothers in the Northern River Regional Rugby League and has been with the Titans for a number of years now.

    Over the course of the 2017 rugby league season, Isaac Lee was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad and transitioned to the Tweed Heads U20 Colts Challenge side. From a trivia perspective he is the son of former Cronulla Sharks front rower Danny Lee, all be it he is a completely different body shape to his front row father.

    For the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side Isaac Lee started in the centres in all six matches and scored against Victoria in Round Two, against the Western Mustangs in Round Three and in Round Six scored against local rivals the Burleigh Bears.

    Upon completion of the MM Cup competition, Isaac Lee transitioned immediately to Tweed Heads U20 Colts Challenge side and had a great Round One scoring a hat trick inside 20 minutes in the first half against Souths Logan in Round One. Isaac Lee also started in the centres in Round Two before he missed Rounds Three to Six with injury before coming back into the side in Round Seven starting in the centres.

    In addition to his hat trick in Round One, Isaac Lee scored a double in Round Ten against the Burleigh Bears and also scored in Rounds Thirteen to Sixteen against Easts, Redcliffe, the Western Mustangs and South Logan respectively.

    Isaac Lee was also involved in all three of the Seagulls 2017 finals matches starting on the interchange in Week One of the finals against Redcliffe and on the wing in Weeks two and Three of the finals against Easts and Norths. In those two finals matches Isaac lee scored a double against Norths and also scored Easts in Week Two. In total in the Colts competition in 2018 for Tweed Heads Isaac Lee scored twelve tries to average a try a match.

    Isaac Lee started five matches in the centres, four in the second row, two on the wing and one from the interchange bench highlighting his versatility. Isaac Lee had previously spent some time at fullback in the NRRRL competition in previous seasons.
    In the NRRRL competition in 2016, Isaac Lee played for the Lismore Marist Brothers Rugby League club at both the U18 and Novaskill NRRRL First Grade level. In the U18 competition where Isaac Lee alternated between centre and fullback, he scored ten tries from twelve matches including doubles against the Murwillumbah Colts and the Ballina Seagulls.

    Isaac Lee made his First Grade debut on June 5 2016 against Cudgen and played in four other matches scoring a try against the Tweed Coast Raiders in his third match in the top grade. In the First Grade competition Isaac Lee alternated between fullback, wing and centre in his five matches.

    Isaac Lee also represented NSW Combined Catholic Colleges Northern U18’s in 2016 and played for St Johns College Woodlawn in numerous Schoolboy competitions throughout New South Wales. In addition to starting at centre in the late 2015 U16 development squad game against Samoa, he also played in the U15 development squad game against the Balmain Tigers late in 2014, where he was named best back by Balmain Tigers coaching and development staff in their loss.

    Over the course of the last couple of years you can see the difference, additional size has made, not in relation to the style of play but to Isaac Lee’s effectiveness as a hard running centre. He has always been a straight running centre, who is not afraid to run over rather than around his opponent, but with increased size and strength his effectiveness has increased exponentially. He regularly gets half way through the line and with his length is very effective in getting his hands free to off load, including offloading with one hand and has a decent fend to complement his offloading abilities.

    Normally though due to his length and speed he regularly attracts multiple defenders leaving opportunities for him to set up his outside support. Due to his length, he is effective both in attacking high attacking kicks as well as defusing them. He is better with high kicks rather than kicks along the ground.

    Defensively his increased strength has meant that he is even more effective in the defensive aspects of the game, and can handle one on one situation’s against wide running opposition backrowers as well as smaller faster opposition backline players with his combination of strength and speed. He seems to rarely over commit in defence allowing the play to develop in front of him before committing to any particular defensive strategy.

    The above paragraph would suggest that Isaac Lee is more suited to a sliding defensive methodology, but he is also able to defend using an up and in style of defensive strategy just as effectively. This ability to alternative between the two key defensive methodologies, depending on, the state of the game and where the game is situated on the field is an invaluable attribute for a potential NRL player to have.

    Isaac Lee will play the 2018 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the U20 Hastings Deerings Colts competition and will also be eligible for that competition again in 2019.

    I think that ultimately Isaac Lee will end up as a player who can alternate between centre and wing and one that will be very good under the high ball and someone who will cause all sorts of headaches for opposing defenders at either position, but it is certainly not set in stone that he cannot stay in the centres permanently as his development both physically and as a player this year has been great to see and bodes well for his future development as he has been able to maintain his speed as he has developed his strength.

    I am aware that Isaac Lee spent some time at fullback over the course of the 2016 season including in the NRRRL First Grade competition but for me I think that he is better suited to the three quarter line in the short to medium term at least.

    From a style perspective think of someone like the Roosters and New Zealand Test Player Shaun Kenny Dowell as a player who can give a team a real attacking edge through multiple avenues and also be versatile enough to move between the two wide back line positions of centre and wing and be equally effective in both positions.

  3. #618
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    Billy Mozer. (Updated) He is a local young Titans linked backrower from the Runaway Bay Seagulls club on the Gold Coast, who had a very successful 2016 season, both in terms of club, schoolboy and representative football. Billy Mozer’s younger brother Blake is also a talented young rugby league player who is a hooker and part of the Titans U14 Development squad. Billy Mozer has as much potential as any young player I have seen.

    Unfortunately Billy Mozer’s 2017 campaign was curtailed by injury early but he did play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side and had been selected in the South Coast Open Rugby League side from Keebra Park but missed the QSSRL Championships due to injury suffered in the MM Cup competition.

    Billy Mozer only appeared in one MM Cup match this season before injury struck and that was in Round One in a 28 – 16 win over the Ipswich Jets. Fortunately Billy Mozer is eligible for the MM Cup again in 2018 and has been selected in the Tweed Heads Seagulls Squad for the competition which kicks off next month.

    For Runaway Bay in 2016 at the U16 Division One level, Billy Mozer averaged a try a game in the seven matches that he played including scoring five tries in two matches against Southport, with a double in May and a hat trick coming in June. His other tries came against Ormeau and Mudgeeraba. His solitary conversion came against Southport. Billy Mozer as also selected in the South West squad for the QSSRL U18 State Championships playing all four of their matches in the second row. The matches were against Peninsula, Darling Downs, Met West and a Presidents XIII.

    In the Cyril Connell Cup competition in 2016, Billy Mozer started all of Gold Coast White’s matches in the second row, scoring three tries along the way, all of which came in the first three rounds, with a double in Round Three against the East Tigers where he crossed for a try in each half as well as a try in Round One in a draw against eventual CC state finalists the South’s Logan Magpies.

    In previous seasons he has made multiple representative sides at the U13, U14 and U15 levels, including the Viking, Kookaburra’s and South East Queensland as well as South East Queensland and in 2016 made the U15 Queensland Maroons side for the Australian U15 Schools competition that the Marron side won.

    Billy Mozer also played on the wing for the Titans U14 development side in 2014 against Samoa and scored one of the best tries I have ever seen when he scored in the corner at the car park end of Pizzey Park, when it looked for all money that he would be knocked over the sideline. He dived from what seemed like five metres out from the line under extreme pressure from the defence and got the ball down in the corner with the rest of his body in the air over the touch line. Earlier in 2014 for the Titans U14 Development Squad in a match against Redlands Billy Mozer scored a length of the field try down the right hand touch line, displaying his speed.

    Billy Mozer is a wide hard running backrower who runs a good line on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into thus making the play makers on his team look good. Where he really excels though is his footwork, obviously playing in the backline in prior seasons has assisted greatly and he has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late.

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

    As you would expect, due to his size and strength, Billy Mozer is a very good defender regardless of position. He will not necessarily hit hard, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing attacker and wrapping him up ball and all. He is also quick enough to recover and chase if the opposing players gets on the outside. 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. Also regardless of where he defends he has a degree of aggressiveness in relation to how he defends.

    Another area where he has a plus attribute is in relation to his leaderships skills. He is a strong confident personality and that translates to a leader on and off the field. In the warm ups prior to a game and at training (I have only seen some Keebra Park training sessions not club training sessions) you can see that the other players gravitate towards him. This is a trait that you cannot teach, you either have it or you don’t. Even if he is not the nominated captain on the field he is a leader regardless of which team he is lining up for and acts accordingly both on and off the field.

    Moving to the 2018 season, Billy Mozer will line up in the Tweed Heads Seagulls Mal Meninga Cup squad and at the conclusion of the MM competition he will transition back to playing for Runaway Bay at the U19 GCRL competition if he does not immediately move to the U20 Colts competition.

    From a position perspective, even though Billy Mozer spent a fair portion of his junior rugby league career in the centres or on the wing his transition to the second row over the last couple of years has certainly suited him and as such it seems clear that is where his future lies although I am sure that he could still fill in in the centres if needed.

    From a player comparison perspective, one player that springs to mind is Warriors and New Zealand captain and backrower Simon Mannering, as a wide running backrower who started off in the centres but over time transitioned into a talented backrower with leadership skills to help his team through the tough stretches of games and the grind of training over the course of a long season especially when you take into account a lot of these boys have club, representative and school games and training sessions to deal with.

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    James Robinson. The big strong tough young Western Mustangs second rower joined the Titans High Performance Unit late last year and had his first session with the Unit in October 2017.

    In 2017 James Robinson was co-captain of the Western Mustangs MM Cup side that defeated Souths Logan in the Grand Final in a high scoring affair 40 - 30. After the completion of the MM Cup competition, James Robinson graduated to the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge side after spending some time in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition with Gatton.

    James Robinson played in all except one of the 2017 Western Mustangs MM Cup matches missing only Round Six. In all of the Western Mustangs matches that he played in James Robinson started in the second row including both MM Cup finals and the National U18 Final against the Parramatta Eels. In his 2017 MM Cup matches James Robinson scored two tries including scoring a key try in the MM Cup Grand Final that the Western Mustangs won 40 – 30. James Robinsons other try came in Round Five against the Central Queensland Capras.

    James Robinson played in eight 2017 U20 Colts Challenge matches, starting seven in the second row and coming off the interchange bench in the other being Round Twelve. James Robinson broke into the Western Mustangs Colts side in Round Four against the Easts Tigers and also played Round Five. James Robinson came back into the U20 squad in Round Twelve and played the remainder of the season there scoring against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in Round Fourteen.

    As previously noted James Robinson has also played a number of matches in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition for Gatton including four in the U18 competition and two Hutchies A Grade Cup matches. In his four matches at the U18 level James Robinson scored three tries including a double in his first U18 match of the season against Goondiwindi and he also scored the following week against Wattles.

    James Robinson made his 2017 Hutchies A Grade debut in May 2017 against Wattles backing up from the U18 fixture and also played against Southern Suburbs in early August. 2017 is the second season that James Robinson has played in the Toowoomba Rugby League Hutchies A Grade Cup competition after he played ten matches A Grades matches as a 17 year old in 2016 scoring two tries which came against the Warwick Cowboys and Toowoomba Valleys.

    The giant of a young man will only come back for the 2018 rugby league season with added size and strength to go along with his elite athleticism with another off season under his belt. James Robinson showed a wide range of skills during the 2017 season from power running in the centre of the ruck, through the ability to break tackles on the fringes to high level off loading skills either before the defensive line or once he has engaged it.

    James Robinson is able to make a lot of ground by getting low to engage the defenders with his shoulder rather than allowing them to get in and under his ribs and also a substantial leg drive means that he dries defenders backwards even after they had engaged him with significant force.

    From the games that I have seem play James Robinson normally runs to the right side of the field, and will run wider out and look to come back on the inside shoulder of the opposition defence on the edge of the ruck, looking for situations where the opposition inside defenders are slow to come across. James Robinson’s determination is one aspect that enables him to be in the right place at the right time.

    Defensively as you would anticipate from a big strong young player James Robinson also had a big impact in games. James Robinson engages attacker’s front on and with the strength in his legs and core was able to regularly drive attackers backwards. James Robinson drives hard with his legs and always uses his shoulder and core body strength to drive into his opponent. He sets a strong lower base by setting his legs and generating force by driving through the tackle with his lower body, gaining leverage and momentum.

    James Robinson will play the 2018 rugby league season with the Western Mustangs in the U20 Colts competition and will be eligible for that competition again in 2019. I would anticipate that 2018 will see James Robinson became a key member of the Western Mustangs Colts squad along with the likes of fellow Titans High Performance Unit members Luke Maiden, Jordan Crocker and Blake Cullen amongst others.

    James Robinson has primarily played in the second row in his rugby league career and with his size and burst of speed prior to impacting the defensive line I would envisage that he will remain in the second row for the duration of his rugby league career.

    James Robinson is a big strong powerful young player who has a front on running style and an extra burst of acceleration just prior to his impact with the defensive line and for those reasons I can see aspects of former Balmain Tigers, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian second rower Paul Sironen in the play of James Robinson.

    It is players such as James Robinson that makes the Titans affiliation with the Western Mustangs such an exciting development.

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    Leslie Hartvigsen. (Updated) The young Toowoomba based second rower had a big year for the Western Mustangs MM Cup being part of the MM Cup winning side before progressing onto the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge squad. Along with a couple of other Western Mustangs MM Cup players Leslie Hartvigsen has joined the Titans on a scholarship with the Titans being one very very lucky club.

    In the MM Cup competition for the Titans aligned Western Mustangs in 2017, Leslie Hartvigsen played in four of the Mustangs regular season MM Cup matches as well as their 29 – 22 semi-final win over Easts and their MM Cup Grand Final win over South’s Logan 40 – 30 and also the U18 National Championship final against the Parramatta Eels which the Western Mustangs lost but not outclassed.

    Leslie Hartvigsen started all of his 2017 MM Cup matches from the inter change bench except for Rounds Six and Eight when he started in the second row. Leslie Hartvigsen was able to score two tries in the MM season coming against the Central Queensland Capra’s in Round Five (his first MM Cup match) and against the Central Crows in Round Eight.

    Leslie Hartvigsen has also played in three of the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge matches this season, making his debut in Round Thirteen against the Ipswich Jets. Leslie Hartvigsen came off the inter change bench in Rounds Fifteen against Tweed Heads and Round Sixteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

    After the Western Mustangs MM Cup success Leslie Hartvigsen went back in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition representing Southern Suburbs and played in the U18, reserve grade and first grade competitions. Leslie Hartvigsen’s 2017 Toowoomba Rugby League season finished when his Southern Suburbs U18 side were beaten 30 – 26 in their elimination final by the Warwick Cowboys.

    Over the course of the TRL U18 competition in 2017, Leslie Hartvigsen played in nine matches and scored against Pittsworth and Goondiwindi. Leslie Hartvigsen made his reserve grade debut on 25 June 2017 against Wattles and proceeded to play in two more reserve grade fixtures which were against Warwick and Toowoomba Brothers. Leslie Hartvigsen also played two Hutchies A Grade matches making his debut against Toowoomba Brothers on a Sunday afternoon where he had already played in the U18 and reserve grade matches.

    The Harristown State High School student and Toowoomba South junior represented the Toowoomba Clydesdales in the CC Cup during the 2016 season and then transitioned back to the TJRL U16 TJRL competition, where he scored two tries and also kicked two conversions from eleven games on the season, with the tries coming against Pittsworth in his first club match of the season and also against Brothers late in the year. In 2015 Leslie Hartvigsen was also named as the most outstanding junior rugby league player for Harristown at their annual sports awards night.

    In 2016 Leslie Hartvigsen was also selected in the South West Mustangs U16 side and from there was selected in the U16 Central Crows side for the Queensland Age Championships. In the CC Cup competition, Leslie Hartvigsen started every match in the second row for the Toowoomba Clydesdales, including their quarter final win over Gold Coast Green. Over the season he scored three tries in total including scoring in the first minute of the first CC match of the season against the Central Crows and he also scored a double against Gold Coast Green in the above mentioned quarter final.

    Leslie Hartvigsen’s style of play is that of a wide running back rower with above average speed for the position. He is quite quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, he has an extra gear again which is a plus attribute for such a strong powerful back rower, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

    When he runs on the fringes of the ruck and Leslie Hartvigsen uses his foot work to beat defenders with a variety of moves, including a decent step off both feet and a very good in and away as well as simply running over people. Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a strong young player who can cause issues for any defensive line. Leslie Hartvigsen seems to line up on the right side of the field more so than the left, but I have no doubt moving forward that he will be able to play on either side of the field.

    Leslie Hartvigsen is an aggressive defender whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or on the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks when he is able to set his base. His speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half.

    Leslie Hartvigsen does however tend to drift inside and defend in the centre of the ruck as games progress rather than hold his spacing on the edges of the ruck, but heck that seems to be more to do with enjoying the physical aspects of rugby league and wanting to be in the thick of the action all of the time.

    The scary thing is that Leslie Hartvigsen is eligible once again for the MM Cup competition in 2018 and upon completion of the MM competition he will surely push for an immediate jump to the U20 Colts side if not he play for Toowoomba South’s in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition likely across the U18 and First grade competitions once again.

    In terms of the ultimate position that Leslie Hartvigsen plays, I believe that with his combination of hard running on the fringes of the ruck and his aggressive defensive style will ensure that he continues to play where he always has in his junior rugby league career to date, that being in the second row.

    From a style perspective, the one that stands out for me is boom Titans new signing Bryce Cartwright as a mobile, wide running backrower with some toughness to his game.

    As noted Leslie Hartvigsen is already on a Titans scholarship and is a great addition to the Titans junior development pool.

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    Luke Maiden. (Updated) After being part of the Western Mustangs MM Cup winning side early in 2017, Luke Maiden graduated to the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side where he started a number of matches in the front row after starting the MM Cup Grand Final at lock and being a key contributor to the 40 – 30 grand final victory over the South’s Logan Magpies and similarly in the U18 National final against Parramatta.

    Luke Maiden along with around eight other Western Mustangs players are currently on Titans scholarships for the next two seasons, which will cover his time in the U20 Colts competition.

    The former St Mary’s Toowoomba High School student started all eight of the Western Mustangs MM Cup matches at lock, scoring in Round Two against the Mackay Cutters and also in Round Eight against the Central Crows. Luke Maiden broke into the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge side in Round Five when he came off the bench against South’s Logan and also started on the bench in Rounds Six and Eight.

    Luke Maiden’s first start at the U20 Colts Challenge level was in Round Nine when he started in the front row against the Burleigh Bears. In total in the U20 Colts competition in 2017 for the Western Mustangs, Luke Maiden played in nine matches, starting four from the interchange bench and five in the front row.

    Luke Maiden also played a number of matches in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition over the course of the 2017 season for Southern Suburbs in the U18 and First Grade competitions. In the U18 TRL competition Luke Maiden played in two matches scoring in the first of those against Highfields and Districts and made his Hutchies A grade debut Toowoomba Valleys in July 2017.

    Luke Maiden is a very solidly built young front rower with a powerful running style and low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle as he is also adept at dropping his shoulder into defenders as he impacts the defensive line. 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.

    In a one on one battle with an opponent if they look to hit him around the chest area they will struggle to contain Luke Maiden due to his size and the strength in his legs, a defensive line will always need to commit at least two defensive resources to effectively stop him.

    One thing that Luke Maiden does well 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. He does not have a real off load to his attacking game, but that is not his role, Luke Maiden’s 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 methodology is simple and effective in its execution and effectiveness. 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. Luke Maiden’s lateral movement is actually more than reasonable for a front rower as for that matter is his overall straight line speed.

    Luke Maiden has been selected in the 2018 Western Mustangs U20 Colts squad even though he is still eligible for the MM Cup competition.

    Luke Maiden spent a fair bit of time at lock in the MM Cup competition, with Blake Cullen and Jordan Crocker in the front row but currently in rugby league the lock plays as a third front rower so regardless of whether he is wearing jersey 8, 10 or 13, Luke Maiden will be lining up in the centre of the ruck on a rugby league field in both attack and defence.

    Coming up with an NRL player with similar playing attributes to those of Luke Maiden was not that difficult, he has similar physical and playing attributes to those of Manly forward Jake Trbojevic, like Trbojevic, Luke Maiden will work hard all day both in attack and defence and will also bring an intense effort every time that he walks onto the field.

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    Alofiana (Lofi) Khan-Periera. The young Burleigh Bears winger and current Keebra Park student had a great 2017 season culminating in starting on the wing for Keebra Park in their National GIO Cup Finals success and representing Queensland Murri U16’s in their annual clash against New South Wales Kurri with Titans linked Jesse Brasslin was a team mate.

    In the interstate clash held in Newcastle Lofi Khan-Periera scored a double as Queensland Murri went down 16 – 14 in a tight clash. 2017 also saw Lofi Khan-Periera as part of the 2017 U16 Queensland Academy of Sport squad and he also won the Keebra Park 2017 Year 11 Sport Specialisation student of the year award.

    Lofi Khan-Periera is a contracted Titans player and finished on top of the try scoring list in the U16 Division One competition in 2017, finishing with eight tries from twelve matches. Unfortunately for Lofi Khan-Periera he missed the U16 Division One Grand Final with injury as Burleigh were defeated 34 – 4. Lofi Khan-Periera had a great start to the U16 Division One season scoring all eight of his tries through the first five rounds including four tries in a match against Ormeau and a Round One double against Helensvale.

    A the commencement of the 2017 season Lofi Khan-Periera represented the Gold Coast Vikings in the U16 South East Queensland pre-season competition and from there made the South East Queensland White U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships. In those Championships, Lofi Khan-Periera had an outstanding campaign, scoring a double on Day Two against Centre and a try on Day Three against South East Queensland Green. Lofi Khan-Periera also scored in each of SEQ Whites finals, including against Northern in a semi-final and against SEQ Green in the final which White won 42 – 30.

    As a result of his play over the last couple of season Lofi Khan-Periera was identified by both the Titans and the Broncos but has signed a deal with the Titans after being in both NRL team’s development squads. Lofi Khan-Pereira has also represented Samoa including being named Samoa U14 player of the tournament in 2015 at the QPICC championships.

    Lofi Khan-Periera was also named in the Queensland Murri Probables side after the 2016 Queensland Murri championships. Fellow Titans contracted player Jesse Braslin has made the Queensland Murri U15/16 side. His younger brother TuuVallo-Afoa Khan-Pereira is also an exceptionally talented young rugby league player.

    There is no point trying to come up with a fancy way of describing his style of game, he is a talented powerful runner who will get back deep and run straight and hard and crashes through his opposing defender. Throw in very good speed for a young man and you have a real handful for a defensive line. With his size and strength he carries defenders with him and continues to pump his legs to gain more ground. He is also a smart player from a position perspective and does stay out on the wing and usually stays back to make sure that he does not overrun the pass.

    When returning kicks Lofi Khan-Periera winds up and just runs straight and hard straight into the defensive line with speed and power. Someone like Lofi Khan-Pereira must be a godsend for the forwards on his team when he is able to take some of the pressure of making yards is taken off them.

    Defensively it is a similar story, Lofi Khan-Periera uses his size and speed to negate attacking plays by coming in on opposing centres looking to cut off plays before they have time to develop. Clearly when this type of methodology is employed you need to ensure that your timing of when to come in is appropriate, this is something that all players regardless of the standard whether that is NYC, QCup or NRL need to constantly consider to ensure an overlap is not created on the outside, it is all about judgement.

    Lofi Khan-Periera will play the 2018 MM Cup season with the Burleigh Bears Squad and in relation to club rugby league with the Burleigh Bears at the U17 Division One level as well as being a key member of Keebra Park Open side as they look to defend their 2017 Queensland and National GIO Cup successes.

    Whilst I have no doubt that Lofi Khan-Periera could also play in the centres, but his straight line speed and power does project well on the wing and that is where I think that he ultimately ends up even if he does spend some time in the centres over the course of the next couple of seasons. I note that Lofi Khan-Periera also played a number of matches last season at fullback for Burleigh in the U16 Division One competition.

    Sosaia Feki of the Cronulla Sharks is a good playing comparison for Lofi Khan-Pereira in terms of a hard straight running winger who is difficult to tackle every time he touches the ball and from both a technical and positional perspective very good defensively as well.

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    Rhian Stowers. (Updated) The young former Ormeau Shearers utility is both a talented rugby and league player (as well as touch), making representative sides in both codes during the 2016 and 2017 seasons but thankfully has elected be join the Titans High Performance Unit and after playing well for Burleigh in the MM Cup competition transitioned to the Burleigh Colts side over the course of the 2017 season.

    For Burleigh in the 2017 MM Cup competition, Rhian Stowers came into the side in Round Three against the Central Queensland Capra’s and scored on debut. Subsequent to that Rhian Stowers started the three remaining matches for Burleigh at fullback and scored further tries against the Northern Pride in Round Five and against the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Round Six. Rhian Stowers also started Round One of the FOGS Colts Challenge at fullback before injury struck.

    In the U20 Colts Challenge competition for Burleigh, Rhian Stowers played in five matches starting Rounds One and Six at fullback and Rounds Ten, Fourteen and Sixteen on the wing. Rhian Stowers also played a number of matches for Ormeau in the GCJRL U17 Division One competition including starting at fullback and scoring a try in their 34 – 20 Grand Final loss to Helensvale.

    In the U17 Division One competition, Rhian Stowers in total played in six matches in addition to the Grand Final and in total scored 30 points from six tries and three goals. In addition to the Grand Final try, Rhian Stowers also scored in Ormeau’s other finals appearance against Bilambil and scored a double against Runaway bay early in the season. In the same match that he scored a double in Rhian Stowers also kicked his three goals for 14 points in that match alone.

    In relation to school boy rugby Rhian Stowers made the Queensland II schools side for the 2017 Australian Schools Championships after playing well for the Qld Independent Schools side in the Queensland Schools trials at Ballymore from Helensvale State High School. Queensland II made the final but were beaten in the Australian Schools finals but Rhian Stowers made one of the plays of the Championships on Day three when running at full pace backing up a break Rhian Stowers used his foot to flick a ball up into his hands without missing a beat and then passing to a support who scored in the right corner, an amazing piece of play.

    In rugby, he was a member of the U16 Gold Coast Cyclones side that played in the Queensland age championships in 2016, unfortunately the Gold Coast side lost their final 8-7. Subsequently Rhian Stowers was named in the Queensland Country U16 side who played a City side in the main curtain raiser to a Reds match at Lang Park, Country were successful 20-14, a team mate, both for the Gold Coast Cyclones and Queensland Country was former Titans development squad centre Dennis Waight who is now at BGS where he started in the GPS rugby First XV in 2017 and will likely do so again in 2018. For both Gold Coast and Country in rugby, Rhian Stowers played half. In previous years when representing Gold Coast in rugby he played in the five eight or fly half position.

    Rhian Stowers also played five matches for the Gold Coast White Cyril Connell Cup side in 2016, scoring a try which came against Gold Coast Green in Round Five. Over the course of the five matches he played in the CC Cup competition, he played a number of positions, including five eight in Round Two against Gold Coast Green, wing in Rounds three and five and fullback in rounds six and seven.

    Over the course of the 2016 season for Ormeau, Rhian Stowers finished as the competitions leading point’s scorer with 82 points from five tries and 31 goals. He scored two doubles which came against Mudgeeraba and Southport. In that match against Southport, he also kicked seven goals for a personal point’s haul of 22 in that match, the previous week he also kicked seven goals against the Helensvale Hornets.

    Rhian Stowers is a silky smooth player, who looks like he glides across the field picking and choosing his time to get involved and wants to have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line. He is very quick off the mark and when the ball is being brought out of his teams half he is always around the forwards looking for off loads. He also can play the way a lot of the current fullbacks play when they receive the football, “out the back” from the half/five eight which is no surprise due to him spending a lot of time playing five eight. In those circumstances, he seems to currently runs more than he passes, but he is usually one of the better players in all of the teams that he has played on to date, thus I have no doubt that his passing and decision making skills will improve in these situations as he continues to play with ‘better’ players.

    Rhian Stowers seems to also have a very good positional sense in terms of taking a high percentage of opposing teams general play kicks on the full, thus regularly giving his team good initial field position to start their set of six. Similarly his positional sense when close to his own goal line means he defuses a lot of attacking grubber kicks as well. He will also take the responsibility to run the ball back himself rather than hand it up to his winger.

    Rhian Stowers has a prodigious kick on him and seemingly also has good accuracy, in the footage seen to date, he kicked a couple of 40/20’s and they appeared effortless. His kicking game suggest he will be a real 40/20 threat when he comes over to Australia. Also his prodigious boot generates significant height on his bombs, and I mean they are huge bombs and again are seemingly quite accurate. He is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy and has an opportunity to be his team’s primary tactical and goal kicking option moving forward.

    In relation to his defence, one thing that stands out to me is that Rhian Stowers will not take a dummy from attackers running at him and he will stay with the ball carrier on all occasions. He seems to stand very shallow at fullback in defence, but with his speed he is able to compensate, also his fullback positioning is dependent on his teams coaching staff and thus I am absolutely not being critical when his positioning is almost certainly a coaching methodology issue. He is also a good talker from full back, you can hear him talking to his team mates about their positioning in defence.

    Rhian Stowers will play the 2018 rugby league season in the Queensland Colts competition with the Burleigh Bears even though he is still MM eligible as well training with the Titans High Performance Unit. It would not surprise at all either for Rhian Stowers to get a late season opportunity in the Queensland Cup such is his skill level and toughness. In fact Rhian Stowers started at fullback in the MM trial against the Easts Tigers last Saturday afternoon, a match that Burleigh won 28 – 0.

    Playing both rugby league and rugby union has been clearly advantageous, playing in the halves in rugby is accelerating his development in both the ball playing and kicking aspects of league and his defensive duties in league are enabling him to combat the lose forwards that target him in rugby. For me based on his skill set, I think that from a league perspective at least his future is in the fullback position.

    From a player comparison perspective, think along the lines of former Cowboys fullback Matt Bowen as a fullback with exceptional pace and footwork who is also courageous when it comes to his defensive duties.

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    Ben Thomas. (Updated) He is a local Titans contracted youngster from the Beaudesert Kingfishers who plays in the second row although he has spent some time in the centres in 2017. Ben Thomas started off the 2017 season representing the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the MM Cup competition before moving to the Tweed Heads U20 Colts Challenge side and also making his NYC debut for the Titans in Round Fifteen against South Sydney.

    In addition to the match against South Sydney in Round Fifteen, Ben Thomas also played in Round Sixteen against the Wests Tigers on both occasions coming off the interchange bench. Ben Thomas only played 26 minutes in Round Fifteen and 24 in Round Sixteen but the experience was I am sure invaluable. Against South Sydney Ben Thomas ran for 47 metres on seven hit-ups and also made twelve tackles without missing any. Against the Wests Tigers, Ben Thomas took two hit-ups for fourteen metres and also made eight tackles.

    For Tweed Heads in the MM Cup competition Ben Thomas only played in one match but he certainly made the most of it with a second half hat trick in Round Seven against the North’s Devils when he started from the interchange bench.

    Ben Thomas started the first five rounds of the U20 Colts Challenge competition in the second row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls but missed a fair bit of the season with injury but he was able to make it back for the Round Fifteen clash against the Western Mustangs.

    In the first five rounds Ben Thomas had a big impact scoring four tries including a double in Round Three against Redcliffe and tries in Round Two against Easts and in Round Five against Wynnum Manly. Ben Thomas also scored in all three of Tweed’s final’s matches in 2017 when he scored against Redcliffe, Easts and Norths. In total in 2017 Ben Thomas played in ten U20 Colts matches starting all in the second row, scoring eight tries in the process.

    In 2016 Ben Thomas was part of the Gold Coast White MM side who progressed all the way to the semi-finals before being beaten 13 – 10 by North’s. Ben Thomas scored four tries in the MM Cup competition for Gold Coast White in 2016, scoring doubles in Round Five against Gold Coast Green with both tries coming in the second half and Round Seven against the Easts Tigers. Of the eight matches that he played in the MM competition, Ben Thomas started six from the interchange bench including the two semi-finals. Ben Thomas’s first start was in Round Six against South’s Logan, he also started the Round Seven class against the Easts Tigers before playing the two semi-finals off the bench.

    Upon completion of the MM competition in 2016, Ben Thomas transitioned back to the U17 Division One competition with the Beaudesert Kingfishers, where a team mate was fellow Gold Coast White player and fellow Tians contract local junior Charlie Gee. For the Kingfishers Ben Thomas played in eight matches and scored against Currumbin.

    In 2015, Ben Thomas a stellar year in CC competition finishing with a team leading eight tries across the games and winning the Queensland Cyril Connell Cup player of the year award. As a result of his good form in the CC competition, he was selected on the bench for the Queensland U16 side who went on to defeat NSW in Sydney in a State of Origin curtain raiser. Titan’s team mates that night were winger (now backrower) Reihana Marsh and second rower Darius Farmer. He also started at lock for the U16 Titans development squad in their 2015 against Samoa, where with Darius Farmer he was the Titans best for me in conditions best suited for forwards. He was also named best forward when our U15 development squad played the Wests Tigers late in 2014.

    Ben Thomas is a hard running backrower who is impressive at running good lines on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into thus making the play makers on his team look good. Where he really excels though is his footwork, he has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late.

    Even when he is taking a hit up in the centre of the ruck, his feet are always moving and he is constantly making slight corrections to his running direction and he is also able to maintain his speed regardless of the multiple directional changes. He seems just to run at a faster pace than other forwards on the field. These attributes lead to a lot of line breaks and he has the speed to convert them into tries himself. As a result of his foot work he does seem to get hit high reasonably often as defenders are not able to react quickly enough to the change in the directional aspects of his running.

    These critical attributes mean that he is difficult to target and runs at a very fast pace into the defensive line but the fluidity of his directional changes means he is a difficult target to get hold of for defenders. In the Samoan game you could see how his running angles changed as the game progressed from a duration perspective as well as momentum perspective. As opposing forwards tire his directional changes go from cutting to the fringes of the ruck to cutting back behind the play the ball as gaps appear as forwards becoming increasingly slower to get back into the defensive line due to fatigue.

    Ben Thomas’s defensive technique revolves around timing and execution. Ben Thomas’s head placement is always correctly positioned and he always drives with his shoulder and never just jersey grabs. Ben Thomas also tackles with both shoulders effectively as well. The impressive thing for me also is that Ben Thomas never seems to bounce off the ball when he makes a front on tackle meaning his target area and the ability to hit the area on a regular basis is exceptional.

    Another defensive aspect that I have noted is that Ben Thomas does not just make one tackle at a time, he makes a series of tackles one after another all as clinical and effective as the one before. His lateral speed is quite good due to his quick twitch feet and thus he is effective at defending against smaller dynamic runners out of dummy half as well as half backs and five eights running of the fringes looking to isolate forwards.

    For the 2018 season, Ben Thomas will be part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts squad and should become a key contributor of that impressive looking side. I cannot see any positional change on the horizon and see no reason why he will not stay in the back row where he has played all of his junior football bar some brief stints in the centres.

    Ben Thomas has the look of a very talented late bloomer with a playing style similar to that of St George Dragons second rower Tyson Fizzell as a powerful and devastating runner on the fringes of the ruck.

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    Reihana (Rei Rei) Marsh. (Updated) He is another young former South’s Logan player who joined the Titans NYC side for the 2017 season. Reihana Marsh joined fellow South’s Logan MM Cup players Moeaki Fotuaika and Jack Sparey in the Titans NYC squad for 2017.

    It is players like Reihana Marsh and Moeaki Fotuaika amongst others which should give hope to Titans supporters that the future could well be very bright indeed.

    In total of the Titans in the 2017 NYC competition, Reihana Marsh was on the field in a Titans jersey for 664 minutes, running with the ball on 138 occasions and making and impressive 1 185 metres, off-loading the ball on twenty two occasions, made three line breaks and made 299 tackles all why averaging less than an error per game. Reihana Marsh has only contributed one try which came in Round Six against the Canberra Raiders but his influence has been much greater than that.

    For the Titans in the 2017 NYC season, Reihana Marsh played in thirteen matches coming off the bench in eight of those matches and starting in the backrow on the other five occasions. Reihana Marsh’s per match 2017 season averages included being on the field for 51 minutes, taking eleven hit-ups a match for 91 metres gained, two offloads and twenty three tackles at a solid tackling efficiency of a touch above 88%.

    On four occasions Reihana Marsh ran for more than 100 metres including running for 125 metres in Round Six against the Raiders on fifteen hit-ups. In Round Twelve Reihana Marsh was also credited with seven of-loads.

    Defensively Reihana Marsh on nine occasions made more than 20 tackles in a match including 38 tackles in just 61 minutes against the Broncos in Round Twelve and 31 tackles against the Raiders in Round Six.

    The 2017 season also saw Reihana Marsh named at lock for the Queensland U18 side where he really stood out both in terms of his strong running in the centre of the ruck as well as some brutal defensive work. Reihana Marsh started on the wing for the Queensland U16 side in 2015 where team mates included Titans contracted Ben Thomas and Darius Farmer and in the same year made the Queensland Academy of Sport U16 squad.

    In 2016 Reihana Marsh represented South Coast in the QSSRL U18 State Schoolboy championships and played all four matches against Met North, Wide Bay, Met East and Northern on the wing. As a result of his play in those championships, he was selected on the wing for the Queensland U18 side for the ASSRL U18 National Championships where he came up against fellow 2017 Titans NYC recruit Curtis Dansey-Smaller. Also in the 2016 season Reihana Marsh played all of South’s Logan’s MM matches, stating the six matches in the centres with fellow 2017 Titans NYC player Jake Sparey, crossing for a try in Round Seven against Gold Coast Green.

    Reihana Marsh also played for the powerful Logan Brothers Club at the U17 Division One level in the GBJRL competition in 2016 and has played for Logan Brothers his entire junior career winning multiple premierships including the 2015 U16 Premier Division premiership at Bishop Park with the brilliantly coached and managed junior club. I was on the sideline for that Grand Final and Reihana Marsh was a stand out in the centres for Logan Brothers that afternoon.

    Capping off his 2016 season was captaining the Coombabah State High School Open Rugby League side that came within the width of the post of defeating Keebra Park in the Queensland GIO Cup Final. Unfortunately Coombabah lost in golden point, but along the way had some great wins against the likes of PBC and Kirwan State High School.

    Fellow Titans contracted players in the Coombabah side included David Butler, Logan Cootes, Blake Campbell and Taine Tuaupiki amongst others. All the more amazing was that Reihana Marsh took a cracked sternum into the final and played through it in an amazing sign of courage and determination from the captain. For Coombabah Reihana Marsh played at lock whereas he played either centre or wing for the others sides that he played for in 2016.

    In 2014 Reihana Marsh also represented Queensland Maroon at the ASSRL U15 national Championships and scored a try on Day Three in a 10 – 6 victory over New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges. Reihana Marsh has also recently been named in the 2017 U18 Queensland Academy of Sport squad.

    Reihana Marsh was previously a Titans junior development squad member when he was 13 years old and played a number of development squad matches against Redlands sides before signing with the North Queensland Cowboys for two years, before coming back to the Titans for the 2017 season and beyond.

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

    Running this type of line was a reason for one of his tries against Kirwan State High School in the GIO Cup Queensland semi-final when he took the ball one off the ruck from around 15 metres out from the try line, he was able to engage the defender in a one on one situation and hold them off his body and carry the defender across the try line to score just to the right of the posts.

    Reihana Marsh also has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late. His speed could probably be considered a touch above average for a centre but when he played in the back row for Coombabah you would have to consider it well above average for a backrower.

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

    Reihana Marsh’s good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker centres and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork, he is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

    Another area where he has a plus attribute is in relation to his leaderships skills. Reihana Marsh is a strong confident personality and that translates to a leader on and off the field. In the warm ups prior to a game and at training (I have only seen some Coombabah’s training sessions not club training sessions) you can see that the other players gravitate towards him.

    This is a trait that you cannot teach, you either have it or you don’t. Even if Reihana Marsh is not the nominated captain on the field he is a leader regardless of which team he is lining up for and acts accordingly. I am a huge fan of the leadership skills of fellow former Coombabah and Titans NRL player Luke Mastroanni so for Reihana Marsh to be selected as captain in front of him is a huge vote of confidence.

    Reihana Marsh has the type of leadership presence that could quite easily translate into an NRL club captain or representative captain one day. If the phrase “Born Leader” is correct, Reihana Marsh is as close to making that statement as true as I have ever seen in my time watching rugby league.

    It is hard to see Reihana Marsh not making it to the NRL at some point in the future (potentially near future) he is just too talented and motivated not to, but first things first, Reihana Marsh will play the 2018 season with the Burleigh Bears U20 Colts side and will also be U20 eligible in 2019. For the 2019 season I am sure that Reihana Marsh will be pressing for a Titans Development Contract.

    Reihana Marsh started off his 2018 rugby league campaign last weekend starting in the second row for the Burleigh Bears A Grade side in their trial match against the Easts Tigers at Mudgeeraba and even though they lost the very young Burleigh side gave a good account of themselves against an experienced Tigers side. Reihana Marsh will start Burleigh’s second 2018 trial against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Colts where he will start in the second row.

    From a position perspective, even though he played exceptionally well at lock for the Titans NYC side and for Coombabah State High School I believe that his best position into the future will be as a dominant representative level second rower.

    I would argue that the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian Test back rower Matt Gillett is a very good comparison with the way that Reihana Marsh plays. Reihana Marsh is a hard running hard tackling young man with great leadership skills and a tough hard aggressive edge to every aspect of his game.

    Along with Ryan James when he was playing SG Ball for the Titans a few years ago, Reihana Marsh is one of the best junior players that I personally has seen running around and that goes all the way back to when he was playing in the centres for the Titans U13 development squad in 2012 at Redlands playing against older bigger opposition.

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    Jed Bignell. The young five eight is a recent Titans signing and had a solid match for a Titans U15 Invitational side at Nerang yesterday when they defeated a Western Mustangs selection six tries to three, with Jed Bignell scoring a first quarter try under the posts as a result of a good right foot step or two.

    For the Titans on Sunday, Jed Bignell lined up on the right side of the field and played the first and last quarters of the victory on a very hot day. As strange as it to say, Jed Bignell did not necessarily stand out on Sunday for the Titans but it was clear from the touches that he had, including his first quarter try he is a talented player, he just oozes class.

    Jed Bignell hails from Miles in outback Queensland and has had a storied junior representative rugby league career dating all the way back to 2015 when he was selected as part of the Queensland U12 side for the National Championships. Jed Bignell has represented the Central Crows at the U13 and U14 level the last two seasons being selected at five eight and in 2017 was named U14 Player of the Carnival at the Outback Challenge.

    Jed Bignell is a super quick player with an effortless running style who seems to glide over field with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace or a step on the inside or outside. When the ball is passed to him early, Jed Bignell straightens the attack up well, meaning he does not run himself or his support out of room on the outside.

    Jed Bignell is a smart player and will take what the defence gives him, when the defence is sliding he will cut inside and when the defence is playing an up and up style he has the speed and footwork to get on the outside of his direct opponent. He also has very good hands and can use his speed off the mark to look to create something for either himself or his outside supports at five eight.

    Jed Bignell is quite an elusive runner of the ball and some good foot work in confined space. He will take on the line regularly and has a very good step off both feet but his left foot step seems to be the preferred step based on the games that I have seen at least. Jed Bignell is always around the ball and thus is always available to back up a break by a forward or when they get their hands free.

    Defensively Jed Bignell does not necessarily stand out, which is a good thing to the extent that he is an effective defender and does not jumper grab but does use his shoulder when committing to the tackle.

    Purely from a skill and physical attribute perspective he seems more suited to a sliding defensive methodology rather than an up and in style. His lateral movement also enables him to be an effective defender when defending at five eight against opposing halves who try to exploit the edges of the ruck with footwork.

    Jed Bignell will play the season at the U15 level and should make a number of representative sides this year including the Central Crows amongst others.

    Jed Bignell has primarily played five eight over the course of the last couple of seasons, although he has also spent time in the centres. With his speed off the mark, immaculate step and above average passing game especially to the right side of the field, I would be very interested to see how Jed Bignell would go at fullback, a position I am unsure whether he has played before.

    From a player comparison perspective, a player along the lines of Penrith Panther Matt Moylan is an appropriate comparison as a skilful player who has all of the skills and temperament to be able to turn a game on its head with scintillating football and make difficult tasks look easy. He just seems to have all the time in the world to make a decision when he has the ball in his hands.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mdrew View Post
    Jed Bignell. The young five eight is a recent Titans signing and had a solid match for a Titans U15 Invitational side at Nerang yesterday when they defeated a Western Mustangs selection six tries to three, with Jed Bignell scoring a first quarter try under the posts as a result of a good right foot step or two.

    For the Titans on Sunday, Jed Bignell lined up on the right side of the field and played the first and last quarters of the victory on a very hot day. As strange as it to say, Jed Bignell did not necessarily stand out on Sunday for the Titans but it was clear from the touches that he had, including his first quarter try he is a talented player, he just oozes class.

    Jed Bignell hails from Miles in outback Queensland and has had a storied junior representative rugby league career dating all the way back to 2015 when he was selected as part of the Queensland U12 side for the National Championships. Jed Bignell has represented the Central Crows at the U13 and U14 level the last two seasons being selected at five eight and in 2017 was named U14 Player of the Carnival at the Outback Challenge.

    Jed Bignell is a super quick player with an effortless running style who seems to glide over field with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace or a step on the inside or outside. When the ball is passed to him early, Jed Bignell straightens the attack up well, meaning he does not run himself or his support out of room on the outside.

    Jed Bignell is a smart player and will take what the defence gives him, when the defence is sliding he will cut inside and when the defence is playing an up and up style he has the speed and footwork to get on the outside of his direct opponent. He also has very good hands and can use his speed off the mark to look to create something for either himself or his outside supports at five eight.

    Jed Bignell is quite an elusive runner of the ball and some good foot work in confined space. He will take on the line regularly and has a very good step off both feet but his left foot step seems to be the preferred step based on the games that I have seen at least. Jed Bignell is always around the ball and thus is always available to back up a break by a forward or when they get their hands free.

    Defensively Jed Bignell does not necessarily stand out, which is a good thing to the extent that he is an effective defender and does not jumper grab but does use his shoulder when committing to the tackle.

    Purely from a skill and physical attribute perspective he seems more suited to a sliding defensive methodology rather than an up and in style. His lateral movement also enables him to be an effective defender when defending at five eight against opposing halves who try to exploit the edges of the ruck with footwork.

    Jed Bignell will play the season at the U15 level and should make a number of representative sides this year including the Central Crows amongst others.

    Jed Bignell has primarily played five eight over the course of the last couple of seasons, although he has also spent time in the centres. With his speed off the mark, immaculate step and above average passing game especially to the right side of the field, I would be very interested to see how Jed Bignell would go at fullback, a position I am unsure whether he has played before.

    From a player comparison perspective, a player along the lines of Penrith Panther Matt Moylan is an appropriate comparison as a skilful player who has all of the skills and temperament to be able to turn a game on its head with scintillating football and make difficult tasks look easy. He just seems to have all the time in the world to make a decision when he has the ball in his hands.
    Saw this kid play for the first time on Sunday and that is a very accurate player comparison. Thanks mdrew.

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    Josh Bevan. The former Titans Junior Development Squad member and PBC student is contracted to the Sydney Roosters but is currently plying his trade with the Bilambil Jets and started in the front row for the U16 Northern Rivers Andrew Johns Cup side in their Round One clash against the U16 Newcastle Knights Development squad on Saturday. Late last year Josh Bevan was selected in the New South Wales U16 Emerging Origin Squad, highlighting the high regard that he is held in across junior rugby league circles.

    As noted Josh Bevan started in the No. 10 jersey for Northern Rivers on Saturday in the U16 Andrew Jones Cup competition where he led from the front in both attack and defence as Northern Rivers defeated Newcastle 22 – 12.

    The 178cm, 96kg wrecking ball and former Titans Development Squad member had an outstanding 2017 rugby league campaign ending in his selection in the U15 ASSRL Merit side after a standout performance in the front row for the U15 Queensland Maroon side. Josh Bevan made the Queensland Maroon side after starring for South Coast in the QSSRL U15 Championships.

    Josh Bevan is a hard ball runner who is adept at using late and quick footwork just prior to contact line which he hits with power and force in absolutely every hit up that he makes dropping his shoulder into the first defender that is looking to make the initial contact. His ability to get low to engage the defenders with his shoulder rather than allowing them to get in and under his ribs and also a substantial leg drive means that he drives defenders backwards even after they had engaged him with significant force rather than allowing them to impact on his momentum.

    A skill that I saw from Josh Bevan on Saturday that I had not seen too often in previous seasons was Josh Bevan looking to off load prior to the line. On a couple of occasions especially in the first half Josh Bevan looked as if he was going to take the hit-up, but just prior to the defensive line he popped a couple of good short balls to fellow forwards looking to move the giant Newcastle forward pack around.

    Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Josh Bevan his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Josh Bevan has a tough edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier when defending in the forwards. Josh Bevan sets a very good base defensively as well and uses it to maintain his balance when setting up for a tackle.

    Defensively Josh Bevan 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 carrier’s momentum.

    Defensively the most impressive aspect of Josh Bevan’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. For the Queensland U15 White and Bilambil Jets in 2017 Josh Bevan continually made up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions and still back up looking to take a hit up the next set of six tackles.

    Whilst his stamina is very impressive, so is his initial contact, he uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier. Josh Bevan is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role he is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward he has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.

    Josh Bevan’s good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork, he is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

    I note that Josh Bevan is not representing the Sydney Roosters in the Harrold Matthews Cup competition this season (certainly not in the opening rounds anyway) and if the Titans are serious about “buying back the farm” so to speak signing Josh Bevan once his contract is up with the Roosters would be a good start.

    With his ability and perigee however he will be in demand, including by the Broncos who also had him in their Junior Development system prior to his signing with the Roosters. Of course I am sure that the Roosters will also not let him go without a fight.

    Josh Bevan will play the 2018 season in the Group 18 U16 competition and it also for PBC in their various school boy competitions including the GIO Cup and Super Six competitions. Even at just 16 years old, Josh Bevan will be hard to keep out of the PBC Open School Boy side.

    Josh Bevan has played a fair bit in the front row over the last couple of seasons but I would still prefer for him to be able to operate a touch wider of the ruck, at least for the short term at least. To that end I would like to see Josh Bevan in the No. 13 jersey for any side that he is playing for.

    From a player comparison, a perfect comparison for me is new Titans signee and Queensland Emerging Origin player Jai Arrow. Like Arrow, Josh Bevan is a strong tough hard tackling forward with underrated ball running skills.

  14. #629
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    Hey mdrew, how binding are those agreements if the Titans put an offer to a Roosters contracted junior for example? What does it really mean?
    Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.

  15. #630
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    Not a great deal mate, not at all

    Quote Originally Posted by Titanic View Post
    Hey mdrew, how binding are those agreements if the Titans put an offer to a Roosters contracted junior for example? What does it really mean?


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