My take on our top juniors

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Brody Smitka. (Revised) The local young front rower recently signed a two year contract with the Titans and started in the front row in the Titans U15 Invitational side that defeated a Western Mustangs Invitational side in March at Nerang.

The Coomera Anglican College student recently was selected in the U15 Queensland White side for the U15 ASSRL National Championships after performing solidly for the South Coast U15 side for whom he started in the front row in the QSSRL U15 Championships held in Townsville in April of this year.

Even though he is still eligible for the U15 competition, Brody Smitka just like he has done in previous seasons has started the current season “up” an age group. Brody Smitka has played the opening four rounds in the GCRL U16 Division One competition starting each match at lock.

Late in 2017 Brody Smitka was part of the Titans U15 Invitational side that played their annual match against a Balmain Tigers selection in Cudgen late in the year and also was named in the Queensland U15 2018 Emerging Origin Squad and has already attended a number of camps including camp in February on the Sunshine Coast where on the last day they played a simulated match against the U16 side who were also present at the camp.

The local young front rower from the Helensvale Hornets junior rugby league on the Gold Coast was part of the U14 Gold Coast Vikings side that went through the 2017 Hill Stumer championships undefeated after victories against Stingers Red and White sides and the Ipswich Diggers.

Post those championships Brody Smitka was selected in the U14 South East Queensland Green side for the Queensland Age Championships which were played in Toowoomba and scored on Day Three in a big win over South East Queensland White.

The U14 Vikings was the third representative side that Brody Smitka has made, after he was part of the dominant U13 Vikings side in 2016 and the South Coast U12 schoolboys side in 2015 which also went through their competition undefeated, he made the South Coast U12 side from Coomera Anglican College. Also this season Brody Smitka was part of the 2017 Gold Coast Academy of Sport Rugby League Excellence Program.

Brody Smitka played the 2017 Gold Coast Junior Rugby League season with the Helensvale Hornets primarily in the U15 Division One side although he did play one match for Helensvale in the U14 Division Two competition in July where he dominated Nerang to score a double.

In the U15 Division One competition in 2017, Brody Smitka started in sixteen matches including starting in the front row in their 34 – 10 Grand Final loss to Nerang. In those sixteen matches Brody Smitka scored five tries including a great first two rounds of the season when he scored four of his five tries including a hat trick in Round two against Southport and scoring against Burleigh in the season opener. In the U15 Division One Preliminary Final also against Burleigh Brody Smitka scored his fifth try of the year.

Brody Smitka is a reasonably tall young guy but when he runs he does look to put his shoulder into the defensive line rather than just straight up which would make him susceptible to being driven back, aiding in his running style is that he actually gets back and runs onto the ball hard rather than looking only to get to top pace once he has received the ball. Brody Smitka is always on of the first forwards to take the hit up and works hard while he is on the field.

In 2016 and 2017 for Helensvale Brody Smitka seemed to play a little wider of the ruck which enables him to off load the ball more. For the Titans U15 Invitational side earlier this season Brody Smitka had some outstanding off-loads.

One in particular caught my attention, it was in the second half of the match. Brody Smitka took the hit-up to the left of the dummy half angling back behind the play the ball. He hit the defensive line at full speed pushing back the defenders on initial contact.

Instead of just looking for the quick play the ball, Brody Smitka was able to get his right arm free and offload a great ball to half and fellow Titans contracted youngster Thomas Weaver as he was heading towards the ground. A play or two later winger Kaleb Ngamanu crossed in the left corner for an outstanding Titans try which would not have been possible but for a piece of sublime skill from Brody Smitka earlier in the set of six.

Brody Smitka got another right arm off load in the second half. He was hit by three defenders but was still able to get an offload away to the back-up Titans hooker who crashed over when he ran into the gap created by Brody Smitka when he had hit the defensive line.

Defensively for a taller young player he is adept at getting low and setting a good base so that he can drive with his legs into the attacker. For his taller height he is quite disciplined in terms of not hanging an arm out when defending against a smaller quicker attacker and uses his reasonable lateral movement to look to mirror the attacker’s movement and make the tackle. Brody Smitka is not a big hitter but will drive with his legs to stop the momentum of the ball carrier effectively in the centre of the ruck.

Brody Smitka will complete the 2018 Gold Coast Rugby League season in the U16 Division One competition for Helensvale. Brody Smitka will also represent the Queensland White U15 side at the ASSRL U15 National Championships and play for Coomera Anglican College in a number of School boy rugby league competitions.

Where Brody Smitka ultimately ends up from a position perspective is an intriguing question. At present he has the height and size to play in the front row, but he shows flashes of the ability to play as a second rower I would argue mainly because he has above average speed for a front rower and whilst he has a bit of height, I am not sure whether he will be able to put on the bulk needed to play in the front row long term.

Also with the solid ball skills that Brody Smitka has I can see a compelling argue to suggest that his ultimate position will be in the second row as a big tall reasonably quick second rower or even at lock depending on how a coach wants his lock to play.

I will admit I was a touch surprised to see Brody Smitka playing lock through the opening rounds this year, but thinking about it I believe that it is an inspired move by the coach. Brody Smitka has far more to offer than just putting his head down trying to gain metres and get a quick play the ball.

At lock he has more freedom in terms of what lines he can run and has more opportunities to off-load the ball. Thinking about it, locks seems to be the perfect position for him. Well done to the coaching staff, it is a move which will reap rewards for both Brody Smitka and his team and of course the Titans as it will advance his development as a player exponentially.

I have said the same thing for the last two years in relation to Brody Smitka but I am going to say it again this year. He seems to have increased his speed and mobility compared to what it was the year before. I am not saying he has plus speed but for a big strong young forward he is quite quick, certainly off the mark and this and the intensity of his runs means that he invariably generates positive post contact metres on each of his hit-ups.

The continued development of both his skill set and physical attributes such as speed and mobility is a sure sign of a young man possessing the motivation and determination to succeed in his chosen sport.

If you look at the play of new Titan’s recruit Bryce Cartwright, (the second row or lock version that is), I think you will get an appreciation of how Brody Smitka plays his football in that he will stay in the centre of the field defensively but in attack he has the skills to operate on the edge of the ruck and has outstanding off-loading skills if the opportunities present.

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Chris Chambers. (Revised) The talented right 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 part of the Titans High Performance Unit.

Chris Chambers was back in the Western Mustangs MM Cup in 2018 playing in all six matches and scoring on three occasions he also kicked a conversion in Round One. Chris Chambers started on the right wing in each of his MM Cup matches this season.

In his six matches Chris Chambers had a 50% strike rate with his tries coming in Rounds Three, Six and Seven against Ipswich, Burleigh and Souths Logan respectively.

Chris Chambers came into the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side in their Round Ten match against the Mackay Cutters, scoring a double in his Colts debut. Post his debut, Chris Chambers has played an additional two Colts starting on the right wing in those matches as well.

Chris Chambers has also played one match in the TRL U18 competition this season which was in Round One for Toowoomba Valleys against Southern Suburbs and then as a result of his MM Cup and Colts commitments has not played again in the U18 TRL competition. In the opposing Southern Suburbs that Sunday were three fellow Titans linked players in Leslie Hartvigsen, Connor Williams, Luke Maiden and Alex Dunneman.

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.

Even taking into account what I have said in the paragraph, from a speed perspective Chris Chambers is an interesting one. It does not appear when he is space that he is moving quickly but players that I consider who have above average speed for an outside back do not gain ground on him, thus clearly Chris Chambers is a lot quicker than he looks. The proof is in the pudding so they say and this season, Chris Chambers has been able to outpace some very quick players.

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 out the 2018 rugby league with the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side and will also be Colts eligible in 2019 and 2020.

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.

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Luke Maiden. (Revised) The Toowoomba based Titans Rookie Squad member is one of about a dozen Western Mustangs players that are part of the Rookie Squad. The squad travel to the Gold Coast once a month or so and on the alternate fortnight Titans coaches head up the range to work with the Darling Downs based Rookie Squad members.

After an outstanding MM Cup campaign in 2017, Luke Maiden this season was once again playing MM Cup for the Western Mustangs and just like last year, now that that competition has come to its conclusion, he has moved immediately to the Colts squad.

In his second season in the MM Cup with the Western Mustangs Luke Maiden played in all six matches and had a 50% try scoring strike rate. Luke Maiden scored in Rounds One, Five and Seven against Victoria, Sunshine Coast and South’s Logan respectively.

His progression to the Western Mustangs Hastings Deering’s Colts side has seen Luke Maiden play in four matches to date. Luke Maiden came into the side in Round Eight against Tweed Heads when he started on the interchange bench. Luke Maiden has also started on the interchange bench in Rounds Ten Eleven and thirteen against the Mackay Cutters South’s Logan and the Easts Tigers respectively.

Luke Maiden has also played one match in the TRL U18 competition this season which was in Round One against Toowoomba Valleys where he started in the front row and scored in Southern Suburbs 26 – 8 victory.

Team mates in the Southern Suburbs side that afternoon were fellow Titans linked players Leslie Hartvigsen, Connor Williams and Alex Dunneman and in the opposition side was Chris Chambers. As a result of his MM Cup and Colts commitments has not played again in the U18 TRL competition.

In 2017 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 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.

Now that the MM Cup competition has been finalised Luke Maiden has moved to the Western Mustangs U20 Colts squad where he will finish the season and from 2019 he will still have two years of Colts eligibility.

Luke Maiden spent a fair bit of time at lock in the MM Cup competition over the last two seasons, with the likes of 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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Callum Boomer. The young Burleigh Bears Colts winger is looking to force his way into an impressive side over the course of the 2018 season and was named on an extended bench for Round Nine. Callum Boomer is also currently a member of the Titans Rookie Squad and has recently been selected in the 2018 Gold Coast Vikings U19 squad.

Callum Boomer started the 2018 season playing in the Gold Cost Rugby League First Grade competition for the Southport Tigers starting on the wing in the first two rounds against Currumbin and Tugun and kicked a conversion in each of those matches.

In Round Three after being named earlier that week on an extended bench for the Burleigh Colts side Callum Boomer played in the U19 Gold Coast Rugby League competition. He started in the centres and scored a try and kicked three goals in a 22 all draw with the Bilambil Jets.

Round Four saw Callum Boomer once again start in the centres for the Southport Tigers U19 side in their clash against Burleigh which they won 31 - 18. Callum Boomer had a day out in the win over Burleigh when he scored 19 of Southport’s 31 points. Callum Boomer scored two tries, kicked five goals and a field goal. Through his first two U19 games this season, Callum Boomer scored 29 points from three tries eight goals and the field goal.

After a couple of matches for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts side Callum Boomer was back in eth Southport U19 side for Round Seven and starting at centre kicked three goals as the Tigers fell to a 28 – 28 defeat to Mudgeeraba.

Callum Boomer made his deserved Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts debut for Burleigh in their Round Eleven match against Easts, starting in the centres and kicking seven from seven in a 42 – 4 victory for the Bears.

Callum Boomer maintained his place in the Burleigh Colts side for their match against the Mackay Cutters starting on the wing as Burleigh won 14 - 6. Callum Boomer kicked three from three and through his first two Hastings Deering’s Colts matches Callum Boomer has kicked ten from ten.

Callum Boomer was once again on the wing for the Burleigh Colts side for their Round Thirteen match away to the Ipswich Jets.

In 2017 Callum Boomer played for the Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad having a great Round One when he scored two tries, one in each half and kicked three goals in Burleigh’s tough two point loss to Redcliffe at Dolphin Oval whilst playing on the right wing. Post the MM Cup competition, Callum Boomer also played a number of matches for Burleigh in the U20 Colts Challenge side playing primarily on the right wing.

For Burleigh in the 2017 MM Cup competition Callum Boomer started in all six of Burleigh’s matches on the right wing scoring 56 points including five tries and 18 goals. In addition to his double in Round One against Redcliffe, Callum Boomer also scored double in Round Four against Souths Logan and he also scored in Round Six against Tweed Heads. Kicking wise, Callum Boomer kicked eighteen goals from twenty eight attempts for a goal kicking conversion rate of 64.28%.

For Burleigh in the 2017 U20 Colts Challenge competition, Callum Boomer played a total of nine matches scoring three tries which came in Rounds six, seven and eight against Tweed Heads, Ipswich and Redcliffe respectively. Callum Boomer started Round One on the wing against the Sunshine Coast Falcons and in total played five matches on the wing and four at fullback.

Callum Boomer also played a number of matches in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition in 2017 for Runaway Bay. He played one match in the GCRL U19 competition and what a match it was. Against Ormeau Callum Boomer scored 22 points from a try and nine conversions in a dominant Runaway Bay performance.

Callum Boomer also played two matches for Runaway Bay in the Doug Lipp Cup competition, both matches being finals matches starting both on the wing. In his debut match (final) against Beaudesert Callum Boomer kicked four conversions and a fortnight later started on the wing in the Doug Lipp Cup Grand Final and kicked a conversion in a 13 – 6 loss to Beaudesert. A team mate for runaway Bay in the Grand Final was fellow Titans Rookie Squad member Lochlyn Sheldon who started in the front row and an opponent Charlie Gee.

The former Coombabah State High School student had a successful 2016 season, including kicking a late penalty goal which propelled the Queensland GIO Cup final between his Coombabah side and Keebra Park into golden point territory, unfortunately for Callum Boomer and his team mates Keebra Park kicked a golden point field goal to progress to the 2016 National GIO Cup final.

Callum Boomer played for Runaway Bay in the 2016 U17 Division One competition on the Gold Coast in 2016, finishing as one of the leading points scorers with 110 points which came from 10 tries and 35 goals from just eleven matches. Callum Boomer scored a hat trick against Beaudesert late in the season and also a double against Currumbin. In terms of goal kicking Callum Boomer twice kicked five goals in a match, on both occasions against Currumbin and in both of those matches, Callum Boomer also scored at least one try, meaning 32 of his 110 points came in just two matches against Currumbin.

Whilst in does not have a great deal of speed off the mark, Callum Boomer does have decent 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 he also has a reasonable offload and when he breaks through the main defensive line he is also very effective at setting up his outside support, by drawing the fullback.

Callum Boomer also has a decent right foot step which led directly to his first or two tries in Round One of the 2017 MM Cup competition against Redcliffe when he received the ball near the try line and stepped immediately to beat his direct opponent and score in the corner.

Callum Boomer also has a decent 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. He is just a solid attacking player and before you realise he has made a number of breaks and scored multiple tries.

Callum Boomer is also adept at keeping his spacing on the wing and that attribute led to his second try for Burleigh on the weekend where he stayed outside his direct opponent on the blind side and thus was in a very good position to score from close range before his opposite winger could react.

Defensively the area that Callum Boomer has impressed me the most is his ability to defend against any size opponent, from small quick outside backs to big strong powerful backrowers running wide of the ruck. He seemingly has more strength that his size would indicate, and he uses this strength to move up and hit around the area where the ball is usually held, redirecting the momentum of the ball carrier and thus eliminating the attacking threat in the short term.

Purely from a skill and physical attribute perspective he seems more suited to a sliding defensive methodology rather than an up and in style, but this is more conjecture from me rather than a fact based argument. Like with his attacking attributes Callum Boomer is just solid defensively there is really no other word to describe it.

Callum Boomer is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy as positive traits. I would suggest that he is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level that he progresses to into the future.

Callum Boomer will continue to press his claims for playing time in the Burleigh Bears U20 Colts side in 2018 and if he is not in the game day seventeen for any given match he will play for Southport in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition with Runaway Bay. Callum Boomer is eligible for the U20 Colts competition in 2019 as well.

For me with his above average speed and elusiveness in the confined space near the touch line, Callum Boomer is the ideal modern day winger probably bar a little height but he is very effective none the less. I appreciate that he started four matches for Burleigh Colts at fullback in 2017 but I think that his future is more likely than not on the wing.

From a player comparison perspective think of someone along the lines of St George Dragons and New Zealand International winger Jason Nightingale as a winger with the speed and elusiveness to regularly find the try line especially in situations where it looked highly likely that he had no chance of getting the ball over the line.

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Larryon Tevita. The New Zealand born youngster moved over to the Gold Coast in January of this year and played for the Burleigh Bears MM Cup side for the 2018 season. Larryon Tevita came into the Bears MM side in Round Three being the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Burleigh’s tough 36 – 6 loss with the young man starting in the front row in his first match on Australian soil.

Larryon Tevita also started on the interchange bench in Round Four against the South’s Logan Magpies a match that Burleigh lost 34 – 20. In total in the MM Cup for Burleigh this season, Larryon Tevita played in four matches, starting in the front row on two occasions and from the bench in the other two.

Post the MM Cup competition, Larryon Tevita has started three matches from the interchange bench for Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby league U19 competition. On debut in Round Three of the U19 Gold Coast Rugby League competition, Larryon Tevita scored a double against Beaudesert and also started from the bench in Round Four in a tough 31 – 18 loss to Southport when Southport’s Titans Rookie Squad centre Callum Boomer was close to unstoppable, in Round Five also scored in Burleigh’s 26 – 22 victory over Currumbin.

In Round Eleven and Thirteen of the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Larryon Tevita was named on the extended bench for the Burleigh Bears side however did not make the final 17 for either match.

The former Kelston Boys High School student was rewarded for a solid season in late 2017 when he was named at lock in the 2017 SAS College team of the year. The majority of players named in the 2017 SAS College team of the year are now in NRL aligned U20 squads so Larryon Tevita’s inclusion certainly highlights his ability on the field against quality opposition and opposition in the main at least a year older than him.

2018 Burleigh Bears U20 Colts recruit Mikey Williams was named in the centres in the SAS College team of the year as well as the competitions leading try scorer with eight tries to his name.

In 2017 Larryon Tevita played for the Auckland based Glenora Rugby League club, playing a number of matches in the Open U17 competition and also one match in the SAS Fox Memorial Premier First Grade Competition, not bad at all for a 17 year old.

Larryon Tevita also represented Kelston Boys High at the 2017 NZ National Secondary Schools Premier Tournament starting at lock in all five of their matches which were against Southern Cross Campus twice including the Championship final, Wesley College, Rotorua Boys High School and St Thomas of Canterbury College.

From an attacking perspective Larryon Tevita is a big young man who will run straight and hard, but at this stage of his junior career he does not have a great deal of footwork to utilise prior to the line to prevent defences from focussing on him without the threat of late changes of direction. Due to his size however he can absorb a lot of punishment and continue to make ground, but he is a little susceptible to gang tackles.

Where Larryon Tevita does show flashes of ability is in relation to offloads. During games he will pop some very good passes to his supports but he will continue to work on being more selective in his offloads. Regardless he does not shirk contact and seems the more physical the contest the more he enjoys himself.

Defensively as you would anticipate from a big strong young player Larryon Tevita also had a big impact in games. He engages attacker’s front on and with the strength in his legs and core was able to regularly drive attackers backwards. Larryon Tevita 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 through his core.

After playing in four MM Cup matches for Burleigh, Larryon Tevita is playing for the Bears in the Gold Coast Rugby League U19 competition where he will likely play the remainder of the season. With the strength of the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side, Larryon Tevita may not be able to break into that squad this season, he will almost certainly start there in 2019.

A discussion in relation to an ultimate position is an interesting one in relation to Larryon Tevita, he has the size to play in the front row but the speed and foot work to operate wider out on the edges of the ruck. To that end I can envisage Larryon Tevita alternating between front row and second row for the next couple of seasons before finally settling in the front row long term.

From a player comparison perspective for Larryon Tevita, I would consider a player along the lines of current Titans forward and captain Ryan James as a big strong hard working player who looks to get a quick play the ball every time he takes a hit up and also ones that tries to dominate in defence in relation to each and every tackles that he makes.

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Pita-Will Purcell. The Victorian raised 17 year old youngster is currently playing for Burleigh in the Gold Coast U19 competition and through the opening rounds of the competition has played in a number of backline positions for the Bears.

Pita-Will Purcell has been involved in six Rounds of the GCRL U19 competition, playing a variety of positions for the Bears. In Round One he started the match against the Bilambil Jets on the interchange bench. Round two against Ormeau saw him start in the centres and he was back on the interchange bench in Round Three against Beaudesert.

Round Four saw Pita-Will Purcell start at five eight against Southport. In Round Five Pita-Will Purcell was back at five eight and kicked three from five as Burleigh defeated Currumbin 26 – 22. The day prior he actually started Burleigh’s U17 Division One match at lock.

In Round Six Pita-Will Purcell started on the bench and scored a double and kicked two goals as the Bears defeated Mudgeeraba 34 – 28. The day prior in Round Three of the U17 Division One competition Pita-Will Purcell started from the bench and kicked three goals.

Pita-Will Purcell has to date in his five matches in the U19 competition, scored 28 points which have come from two tries and ten conversions, including kicking three from three in Round Four against Southport, he also kicked three goals against Ormeau in Round Two and two in Round One against the Bilambil Jets. Both of Pita-Will Purcell’s tries came in Round Six against Mudgeeraba when he came off the interchange bench and also kicked two goals.

Round Five of the GCRL competition saw Pita-Will Purcell move to the Burleigh U17 Division One side where he started at five eight in their 22 – 20 loss to Ormeau kicking two conversion from four attempts in the match.

In Round Three of the U17 Division One competition, Pita-Will Purcell came off the bench for Burleigh and kicked three goals in their 38 – 6 win over Mudgeeraba.

In Round Four of the GCRL U17 Division One competition Pita-Will Purcell started at lock against Runaway Bay and in a 32 – 10 victory for the Bears, he continued a try and four conversions from six attempts.

To summarise, Pita-Will Purcell has played in four matches at the U17 Division level scoring a try and kicking nine goals for 22 points and six matches at the U19 level scoring two tries and kicking thirteen goals for a 34 point total.

In 2017 Pita-Will Purcell played his club rugby league for Victoria for the Casey Warriors in the U16 competition. Pita-Will Purcell played thirteen matches and finished as the competitions leading point’s scorer with 106 points. His 106 points was derived from three tries and 47 goals. Pita-Will Purcell’s tries came against the Doveton Steelers, Altona Roosters and Northern Thunder.

Understandably when he kicked 47 goals in just thirteen matches, Pita-Will Purcell had some big matches with the boot, including kicking eleven in a June 2017 match against the Altoona Roosters, seven also against Altona in August and six goals in April 2017 against Doveton.

Pita-Will Purcell also played two matches up in the Victorian Rugby League U18 competition and had a great U18 debut in July 2017 against the Altona Roosters scoring a try and kicking six goals. His other U18 match in 2017 also came in July against the Eastern Raptors.

Prior to moving to the Burleigh Bears, Pita-Will Purcell represented Victoria in a number of competitions including starting at halfback for their 2016 U15 ASSRL side. In those Championships Pita-Will Purcell was named player of the match on Day One when he scored a try and kicked eight goals against South Australia. On Day Two the former Hallam Senior Secondary College student kicked two goals against Western Australian and on Day Four he scored a try and kicked a conversion against the Northern Territory.

Pita-Will Purcell also represented VictoriaU15’s in 2016 in the New South Wales Championships (no idea why Victoria are invited to compete), in those Championships, Pita-Will Purcell once against played half playing matches against Group 11 and Illawarra.

I really like the way that Pita-Will Purcell plays in attack he will try different things and play what is in front of him rather than stick to the same tactics. In many respects he is very unpredictable when he gets the ball, he is adept at running himself and has a very good turn of speed off the mark and similarly can throw some superb passes to his support runners, but at the same time passes will go to ground because his team mates are sometimes not thinking along the same lines that he does.

To that extent currently Pita-Will Purcell is a much better runner of the ball and can step off both feet and is quite strong for his size and will shrug off larger defenders if they try to go high and wrap up the ball without committing to the tackle properly.

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

Defensively Pita-Will Purcell is actually quite aggressive in terms of finishing off tackles and certainly seems adept at getting his hands between attackers and their support players and impacting on the attacking play. His quick feet enable him to defend well especially against small light stepping attackers as he can mirror their movement and react accordingly.

From a kicking perspective, Pita-Will Purcell is a decent tactical kicker and whilst he does not have great distance is accurate and has a good short kicking game especially in relation to grubber kicks into the in goal.

From a goal kicking perspective, Pita-Will Purcell has accuracy down to a tee already and has been the primary goal kicker for basically all of the sides that he has been involved with over the last couple of seasons and has the opportunity to continue to be so now that he has progressed to senior rugby league.

Pita-Will Purcell will play out the 2018 season with the Burleigh Bears in the Gold Coast Rugby League U19 competition and will be Colts eligible through to the 2021 season. An MM Cup spot beckons in 2019 for the talented utility.

It is certainly impressive that Pita-Will Purcell has gone straight into the Burleigh U19 side considering that he is still eligible to play in the U17 age group this season.

Pita-Will Purcell as has been evidenced this season can play a variety of backline positions from centre to in the halves, but with his enthusiasm and effort I can see him playing as a halfback when he settles into a fulltime position.

Pita-Will Purcell is fast becoming a favourite of mine with his enthusiasm and all-out effort regardless of the position and role that he is asked to play. To that end a player comparison with Wests Tigers utility Josh Reynolds would not be too far away. Pita-Will Purcell however does not have the niggle that Josh Reynolds has in his game however.

[mdrew]

Solomon Torrens. (Revised) The powerfully built young forward has moved up this year from Northern New South Wales and has made an immediate impression at PBC State High School and for me was the best player on the field when PBC defeated Keebra Park 26 – 22 in the Langer Cup (Open Age Group) recently. The match was a high quality affair but Solomon Torrens was a class apart with his powerful running on the fringes of the ruck for PBC.

Solomon Torrens started that match at lock and was dominant throughout regularly making metres through the centre of the ruck as well as on the right side of the ruck. For me Solomon Torrens performance on the Wednesday night against Keebra Park was the best performance I have seen from a school boy since watching Ryan James destroying everyone when he was in his senior year also at PBC seven or eight years ago now.

The former Casino RSM youngster generated a lot of buzz around him as a result of his great season in the U16.5 Group One junior rugby league competition in2017 and it was certainly deserved. As a result Solomon Torrens was selected in the Tweed Heads Seagulls U18 MM Cup squad for the 2018 version of the competition.

For Tweed Heads in the MM Cup competition Solomon Torrens played in two matches being Rounds One and Two against Norths and Victoria respectively coming off the inter change bench on both occasions.

Now that the MM Cup competition has reached its conclusion, In addition to playing for PBC Solomon Torrens is playing for the Bilambil Jets in the Gold Coast Rugby League U17 Division One competition. Round One saw Solomon Torrens start in the front row as the Jets lost 20 – 18 to the Tweed Heads Seagulls. An opponent in that match but a team mate for PBC in the Langer Cup match against Keebra Park was giant Titans linked front rower Jordan Tauali’i .

Solomon Torrens was back in the U17 Division One competition in Round Three when he came off the interchange bench. In Round Four Solomon Torrens started from the interchange bench for Bilambil and scored in their tough 18 – 10 loss to Currumbin.

In Round Five of the Gold Coast Rugby League competition, Solomon Torrens deservedly made his GCRL First Grade debut when he started in the centres for the Bilambil Jets in their 26 – 18 loss to the Tugun Seahawks. Making your GCRL First Grade debut at just 17 is an impressive feat.

For Casino RSM in the 2017 U16.5 Group One JRL competition, Solomon Torrens averaged just under a try a match on his way to scoring nine tries from just eleven matches including a great first two rounds when he scored a hat trick in Round One against Ballina and a Round Two double against Lismore Marist Brothers.

Prior to his move to Casino RSM, Solomon Torrens played for the Kyogle Turkeys including at 2016 at the U15 level where he scored five tries across 10 ten matches, including a hat trick against Clarence Coast, and also tries against Marist Brothers on two separate occasions. Unfortunately his U15 side has had a difficult season and finished last. Solomon Torrens also played eight matches up in the U16.5 age group, scoring two tries in the process, one being in his first match in that age group against Grafton and the second against Casino RSM.

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

Solomon Torrens has very good speed off the mark but not necessarily great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability. The key to his running is his ability to drop his shoulder into the defenders at the right moment, to go along with his late foot work. These attributes make Solomon Torrens very difficult to tackle and he can rarely be stopped one on one.

Throw in a decent turn of pace off the mark and you have a player who is difficult for a defensive line to combat. Keebra Park had all sorts of trouble defending against him and he seemed to break at least one tackle every time he ran the ball that Wednesday night. He was just an absolute powerhouse over the course of the entire match.

Defensively Solomon Torrens hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribcage and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls, read that Solomon Torrens is very good at winning the wrestling battle in the ruck, he is a naturally strong young man.

Solomon Torrens defends in the centre of the ruck and seems best suited in the long run defending there and adds a degree of intimidation to any forward pack he plays for. Against Keebra Park he dominated their giant forward pack for large stretches of the match.

Solomon Torrens really does know how to tackle effectively, as he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards and then explodes through his core. Throw in a touch of aggression and you have someone who can dominate a game defensively and is able to seal off one side of the ruck on his own. He will need to continue to work on his strength and lateral movement as he progresses.

Solomon Torrens will be a key player for PBC this season in their various School boy rugby league campaigns including the Langer Cup and GIO Cup and will also be a key member of the Bilambil Jets U17 Division One side. I would also anticipate that Solomon Torrens will also get some matches in the GCRL U19 competition for the Jets as the season progresses. It is scary to think that this young man will be eligible again for the MM Cup competition in 2019.

Solomon Torrens likely could also play in the second row, but with his ability to make ground through the centre of the ruck and also establish a defensive presence in the same area, a future at lock would seem the most likely scenario from my perspective.

From a player comparison perspective for Solomon Torrens, someone that I think that he has a similar playing style to is North Queensland Cowboy and New Zealand International Jason Taumalolo as a wrecking ball of a forward who can break open and dominate a game on his own.

Solomon Torrens just oozes class and the scary thing is that I do not think that he has even come close to realising his potential and likely will not until he plays at a higher level on a more regular basis. Playing in the MM Cup this season and for PBC as well as in the GCRL First Grade competition is a great base for him to excel with the outstanding coaching and experience available to him.

Solomon Torrens start to the 2018 season however, for both the Tweed Heads MM Cup side and PBC has been nothing short of absolutely outstanding and he still has a lot of potential that is yet to translate into production but it will and when it does opponents are in a world of trouble both in terms of how he attack them and hit them defensively.

I have seen Solomon Torrens play over the last couple of seasons where he was good, but this season he has taken yet another step in his development with the promise of plenty more to come.

[mdrew]

Thomas Weaver. (Revised) The talented young half back from Cudgen in Northern New South Wales recently signed a two year contract with the Titans and in March of this year started at half back for a Titans U15 Invitational side that defeated a Western Mustangs U15 side six tries to three (no goal kicks were taken) with Thomas Weaver being one of a number of stand outs for the Titans.

In that match he formed a solid combination with five eight Jed Bignell. To be honest, it was clear in that match that Thomas Weaver was the leader of the team, he dictated the Titans tempo and controlled the play well from a game management perspective determining who got the ball, where the play was to and the ultimate aim of the particular set up six tackles.

Thomas Weaver also had a try assist in the match when he threw an outstanding flat ball to left centre JT Manufeoata who ran into a whole to score out wide in the first half. Thomas Weaver was also the Titans primary tactical kicker in the match.

In April of this year Thomas Weaver was selected in the Northern Region New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) U15 side for the New South Wales trials. Thomas Weaver was the half back in the side after being selected from St Joseph’s College Benora Point.

After those trials Thomas Weaver has been selected in the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges U15 team for the ASSRL U15 Championships where he will be up against the Queensland Maroon and White sides which both contain Titans contracted boys. Josh Gilbert who was involved in the Titans U15 Invitational side earlier in the year was also selected.

Thomas Weaver has also been selected in the Group 18 U15 side that will head to France later in the year to play in the Battlefield Challenge to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I. Fellow Titans linked players Ryan Foran and Josh Gilbert are also part of the touring party.

Thomas Weaver is also an outstanding touch player who has represented his region with distinction in multiple touch competitions and tournaments in both Queensland and New South Wales including last year’s Queensland Championships.

The Titans contracted young half backs 2017 rugby league commitments ended when he was part a the Titans U15 Invitational side that played against a Balmain Tigers side at Cudgen and even though they were defeated the young Titans players put in a great effort on the night against a primarily older Balmain Tigers side.

Thomas Weaver and his U14 Cudgen Hornets side had a great club campaign in the 2017 Group 18 junior rugby league competition going through the U14 competition undefeated with their skill and discipline on show in every match.

The outstanding young Group 18 half back was a constant threat to opposing defences in the New South Wales Country Age Championships early in 2017 where Group 18 were defeated in the U14 Final with Thomas Weaver scoring Group 18’s sole try in the final and then he converted his own try. In two of the preliminary rounds Thomas Weaver kicked two goals apiece including a local derby against Group One to finish with a points total of 14 over the course of the Championships.

Earlier in 2017 year Thomas Weaver was selected in the Northern Region Combined Catholic Colleges side at half back representing St Joseph’s College Benora Point. In 2015 Thomas Weaver was selected in the New South Wales U12 side for the Australian U12 Championships and that same year after being named Player of the Final for Cudgen in the Group 18 U12 competition was also named as the U12 Group 18 Player of the Season.

Even though Thomas Weaver has plus acceleration off the mark and above average top speed, his primary focus on a football field is to direct his side around the field, putting his side where they need to be to maintain pressure on the opposition. Holding the ball out in front of his body in both hands enables Denver Taylor to put doubt into the minds of the opposing defensive line and thus he can dummy and run if there is a gap in the defensive line or put his support runners into gaps.

Thomas Weaver’s decisive nature also means that when the ball needs to get out to his back line he will get it out there quickly to give his outside backs as much space as possible to work with prior to contact with the opposing defensive line. Getting the ball out to the back line quickly is no issue for Thomas Weaver as he has a very good long passing technique which delivers the ball quickly and accurately to the right place.

In defence, due to his size Thomas Weaver is obviously not going to come up with the big hit but reads the play well and can hold his own when defending much bigger players and against players with similar size is very aggressive when finishing off his tackles. Thomas Weaver is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side.

Thomas Weaver is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy. I would suggest that he is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level he progresses to into the future. Thomas Weaver also has a very good short attacking kicking game with a positive being that he will go right to the line before dropping the ball to his foot, add to the fact that he regularly runs with the ball out in front of his body in both hands, he gives defensive lines a lot to consider, is he going to kick, run or pass, a defensive line that anticipates incorrectly will be scrambling to recover before he makes them pay for their error in judgement.

Thomas Weaver finish the 2018 junior rugby league season with the Cudgen Hornets in the Group 18 U15 competition who will be looking to repeat their premiership success once again in 2018 as well as playing for St Joseph’s College Benora Point and representing New South Wales CCC.

From a position perspective with his speed and rapidly developing ball playing, game management and tactical kicking skills, Thomas Weaver has an opportunity to develop into a very talented young player who could play either half back or five eight equally well. The more that Thomas Weaver has the ball in his hands the better it is for his entire team

Mitchell Moses of the Parramatta Eels with his wide ranging and developing skill set is for me a very good player comparison for the talented Thomas Weaver including the way that he commands the ruck area in attack.

Like Mitchell Moses, Thomas Weaver has a wide variety of skills which he is developing and whilst they may not all develop at the same pace or a linear fashion, they surely will all be above average to plus attributes when it is all said and done.

Thomas Weaver is rapidly developing into a very talented young play maker indeed and certainly a player to keep an eye on as he progresses through the Titans junior development ranks.

[mdrew]

William Parslow. The young outside back is currently in the Rugby League Excellence Program at Wavell State High School in Brisbane’s North but that has not stopped the Titans from keepings tabs on the youngster who can play fullback, centre or wing equally effectively.

William Parslow is currently playing for Redlands in the GBJRL U16 Premier Division competition and has to date this season played in six matches against the likes of perennial powerhouse Logan Brothers and Waterford who Redlands defeated recently 32 – 8.

In those six matches William Parslow has scored three tries for a 50% strike rate including a double in Round Seven against Aspley when he scored within the first three minutes and then followed that up with an 18th minute second half try. William Parslow’s other try came in Round Two against Carina.

In 2017 William Parslow started at fullback for Met West in the QSSRL U15 Championships and in 2016 represented South East Queensland White. Previous to those two representative sides, William Parslow was been in representative sides since representing Met North at the U11 age group.

William Parslow is exceptionally quick and explosive, with exceptional speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space, teams in the Brisbane Premier Colts Competition just could not handle him when he had the ball. He also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed.

On many occasions when he makes a break, his support could not keep up and thus he used his incredible footwork and speed to beat the opposing fullback by himself. There is nothing that he cannot do running the ball and it is only now about developing his ball playing skills to make his footwork and running ability even more lethal, in attack he also played up in the line quite often.

In addition William Parslow also has the ball playing skills to set up his support runners and get them lines to run into when defenders came out of the line to negate his time with the ball in hand. He obviously was a key target for defences but William Parslow understands that he cannot do it all himself and thus became adept at drawing defenders out of the line and putting his support runners into the subsequent hole. As his play making skills continue to evolve, the attacking possibilities appear endless.

In terms of running the ball back from kicks, his timing and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of balls on the full and makes a quick decision whether to run the ball flat out back into the oncoming defenders or look to create an opportunity by running across field. Regardless he is an absolute handful to tackle with his speed and evasion skills.

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

An impressive attribute that William Parslow does have is ability to force attackers who are in open space to try to beat him down the side line. He will stay inside the attacker and force him in the required direction and then use his timing, closing speed and anticipation to make the tackle, usually forcing the attacker into touch.

William Parslow has a lot of rugby league in front of him for the remainder of the 2018 year. In addition to continuing to play for Redlands in the GBJRL U16 Premier Division competition, he will also represent Wavell State High School in multiple school boy competitions.

Over the course of his junior rugby league career to date, William Parslow has spent time at fullback, centre and wing but recently including last year’s U15 QSSRL competition, William Parslow is spending more and more time at fullback which for me with his speed and guile is the ideal position for his development as a rugby league player.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style to that of William Parslow is Penrith Panthers elusive speedster Dylan Edwards. Like Edwards William Parslow threatens the line every time that he touches the ball and is more than solid defensively.

[mdrew]

Connor Williams. (Revised) The Titans contracted youngster started off the 2018 season in the Western Mustangs MM Cup side and since then has transitioned back to the Toowoomba Rugby League competition where he is playing with Southern Suburbs in the U18’s. A team mate in the U18 Southern Suburbs side is fellow Titan Alex Dunneman.

In the MM Cup, Connor Williams was involved in all six of the Western Mustangs matches and scored his sole try of the season in Round Six and a huge second half comeback against the Burleigh Bears.

Connor Williams came off the interchange bench in Round One, started at lock in Rounds Three and Four (Western Mustangs had a round two bye) and started in the second row in his remaining matches.

Since the completion of the MM Cup, Connor Williams has played in six matches in the TRL U18 competition for Southern Suburbs and currently has a 83% strike rate. Connor Williams scored in Round Seven against Warwick and followed that up with a double in Round Eight against Pittsworth. Connor Williams scored his second double of the TRL U18 season when he scored two first half tries In Round Nine in an 84 – 12 win over Wattles.

Connor William’s first TRL U18 match this season was in Round One against Toowoomba Valleys and then as a result of his MM Cup commitments did not play again in the U18’s until Round Six. In Rounds One and Six Connor Williams started from the inter change bench but since then has started all of his matches in the second row.

In Round One team mates in the Southern Suburbs side were fellow Titans linked players Luke Maiden, Connor Williams and Alex Dunneman and in the opposition side was Chris Chambers.

The St Mary’s student was also part of the Darlings Downs U18 side that participated in the recent QSSRL Championships.

The young Toowoomba South’s lock or second rower was solid throughout the 2017 season playing at the U16 level in the Toowoomba Junior rugby league competition. The 2017 Toowoomba 15/16 Academy Squad member and Titans/Western Mustangs squad member attended a Titans sponsored camp in Lennox Heads for three days including playing a match for the Western Mustangs against the Titans. As a result of his performances over the 2017 season Connor Williams has been placed on a Titans Scholarship for the next couple of seasons.

Connor Williams started at lock in the 2017 U16 TJRL Grand Final that Souths won 32 – 20 against Highfields. Connor Williams scored his first try of the Grand Final in the 27th minute of the first half to extend South’s lead to 14 – 6. Connor Williams second try came in the 21st minute of the second half to give Souths a 30 – 12 lead.

Over the course of the 2017 for Toowoomba Souths in the U16 Toowoomba Junior Rugby League competition Connor Williams scored eleven tries from thirteen matches. In addition to his Grand Final double, Connor Williams also scored doubles against Highfields in the regular season and Valleys.

2017 also say the St Marys College Toowoomba student represent the Toowoomba U16 representative side and from there was selected in the U16 South West Mustangs side in the second row for the 2017 U16 Central Division Selection Trials.

Connor Williams is a solidly built exceptional athlete and this can be seen when be he is running with the football. In his carries Connor Williams 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.

In the 2016 U15 Toowoomba Junior Rugby League Grand Final, especially in the second half when I thought he was the best player on the field he made some great runs, including on the last play of the Grand Final when he burst onto a pass on the half way mark, he outpaced the cover defence and broke the tackle of the fullback to score a deserved try.

Like one or two others mentioned over the course of these write-ups Connor Williams runs ‘fast’ into the defensive and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line on a number of occasions. One reason for this is that Connor Williams is an intelligent 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 in the tackle.

Connor Williams has very good speed off the mark for a second rower and can then translate that into very good top end speed which he can sustain over long distances. This was highlighted in the first half of the 2016 U15 TJRL Grand Final when Connor Williams broke through the line from around 40 metres out, he was brought down short of the line but a quick play from Connor Williams set up a try to winger Taegon Inmon from a great Jordan Lipp kick.

Connor Williams would be one of the faster back rowers running around for his age group in the Western Mustangs region. Also in the Grand Final he showed his speed down the left side of the field when he made a 40 metre break before setting up his centre Reece Liston to score his second try in the left corner.

Playing on the left 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 right hand side of the field to increase his effectiveness on the field.

Defensively Connor Williams looks to wrap up the ball on initial contact, he will not constantly come up with big hits, but is certainly capable of hitting hard when the opportunity presents itself, but will rarely miss tackles and also covers across the field very well, meaning he is always in a good position to make a tackle if the ball is turned back inside and also to make cover defending tackles if breaks are made wider out.

One area that I have noticed is that Connor Williams does defend a lot in the centre of the ruck, rather than on the fringes, in no way is this a negative in the context that with his size and strength he can handle the physical contact and work load, but as he progresses in age he will probably need to adjust to defending more on the fringe of the ruck to enable him to use his exceptional athletic ability more.

Connor Williams made the best tackle of the U15 TJRL Grand Final in 2016 in the second half when he came out of the line and smashed his Highfields opponent with a perfectly timed front on tackle right on the half way mark jolting the ball lose and putting South’s back on the attack.

Connor Williams is quick enough to get to most outside backs in cover defence, in short he is one of the better back row cover defenders I have had the opportunity to see in junior football. Due to his speed and positional sense Connor Williams is usually one of the first players down field in relation to kick chase as well. These last two attributes are part athletic ability part determination. Connor Williams just does a lot of the little things well.

For the remainder of the 2018 season, Connor Williams will play his football at the U18 level in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition for Toowoomba Southern Suburbs. Towards the end of the season he may also get a taste of the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition with the Western Mustangs although they have a decent forward pack with multiple Titans Rookie Squad members such as Cody McNeice, James Robinson, Luke Maiden and Leslie Hartvigsen involved. Connor Williams is also eligible for the MM Cup again in 2019.

From a position perspective, Connor Williams seems to have the ideal build for a second rower in the modern game to go along with good pace and thus from a position projection perspective, second row seems to be Connor William’s ideal position moving forward.

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

[mdrew]

Maranatha (AJ) Raeli. The big strong former Ipswich junior rugby league and school boy rugby star has popped up on the Gold Coast in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition playing for the Ormeau Shearers and scoring his first try against Bilambil in Round Eight. AJ Raeli has played five GCRL First Grade matches to date in 2018 starting all in the second row.

AJ Raeli was a standout junior rugby league player in Ipswich for the Brothers club including leading them to an U19 Premiership and was just as good in rugby where he played for Ipswich Grammar School in the GPS School Boy Rugby competition and was also selected in the Queensland U16 Rugby side back in 2013.

AJ Raeli signed a contract with the Newcastle Knights and spent some time in their Development System but now is on the Gold Coast playing for the Ormeau Shearers making his debut in their tough Round Eight loss to the Bilambil Jets 74 - 12. Another former GPS School Boys stand out Conrad Green scored for the Jets in AJ Raeli’s Gold Coast Rugby League debut.

The 182cm 101kg 21 year old is a powerful aggressive 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.

Once he is in space, AJ Raeli actually has very good speed, I would consider it above average when analysing his speed from a rugby league forward’s perspective, to add to the difficulties for the defensive line, he runs with a high knee lift and also has a powerful fend.

Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing AJ Raeli his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively AJ Raeli 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. AJ Raeli sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

Defensively AJ Raeli hits very hard and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in. He is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carriers momentum.

Whilst his stamina is 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. AJ Raeli is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers.

AJ Raeli 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.

It is great to see AJ Raeli back on a rugby league field and once he gets up to speed will be a handful for Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade defences with his power and footwork for the remainder of the 2018 season.

2019 will be an interesting season for AJ Raeli, he certainly has the pedigree and skill to push for a spot in either the Tweed Heads Seagulls or Burleigh Bears Queensland Intrust Super Cup squads.

AJ Raeli spent a fair bit of time in his formative years in the centres in both school boy rugby and rugby league but moved to the second row when he was playing for Ipswich Brothers in the U19 competition and looks like he will continue in the back row with the Ormeau Shearers.

Due to his aggressive streak and hard running and hard tackling tendencies, AJ Raeli is uncanningly similar from a playing style perspective to the Titans own Keegan Hipgrave, both are tough hard aggressive young men for whom backing down has never entered their minds and never will. Both also have good footwork and late movement prior to impacting the defensive line.

[mdrew]

Leslie Hartvigsen. (Revised) The young talented Toowoomba based second rower had a big year for the 2017 Western Mustangs MM Cup being part of the MM Cup winning side before progressing onto the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge squad later in the season.

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.

Leslie Hartvigsen’s 2018 season has followed the same course as his 2017 one. He started the season in the MM Cup and then moved immediately to the U20 Colts side for the Western Mustangs.

In the MM Cup this season for the Western Mustangs, Leslie Hartvigsen played in all six of the Western Mustangs matches starting in the second row on each occasion. In those six mates he had a 50% strike rate with his tries coming in Rounds One, Four and Seven against Victoria, Norths and Souths Logan respectively.

Leslie Hartvigsen made his 2018 Colts debut in Round Ten against the Mackay Cutters and since that time has played in five additional matches. Leslie Hartvigsen celebrated his 2018 Colts debut by scoring in the Western Mustangs victory over the Cutters.

Leslie Hartvigsen has also played one match in the TRL U18 competition this season which was in Round One against Toowoomba Valleys and then as a result of his MM Cup and Colts commitments has not played again in the U18 TRL competition. Team mates in the Southern Suburbs side that afternoon were fellow Titans linked players Luke Maiden, Connor Williams and Alex Dunneman and in the opposition side was Chris Chambers.

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 has two years of Colts eligibility left after this season.

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 has almost always played 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 Titans Bryce Cartwright as a mobile, wide running backrower with a diverse skill set. Leslie Hartvigsen could really turn into a special player and sooner rather than later.

[mdrew]

Conrad Green. The lightning quick youngster is back on the Gold Coast after spending a couple of seasons going to school in Brisbane at Brisbane Boys College (BBC) where injuries really did curtail his promising GPS First XV School Boy Rugby career.

Conrad Green is a Mackay product who signed with the Brisbane Broncos as a 15 year old and moved down to the Gold Coast, playing with the Gold Coast Green Cyril Connell Cup squad in 2015 and in that same year was selected as part of the Queensland U16 Emerging Origin side. For the Gold Coast Green CC Cup side in 2015, Conrad Green was solid throughout and scored in Round Seven in a dominant win 6 2 – 4 win against Wynnum Manly.

This season Conrad Green is playing for the Bilambil Jets in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition and played his first match for the Jets in Round Seven in a 32 – 12 loss to the Currumbin Eagles. Conrad Green started the match on the wing and crossed for one of the Jets three tries.

Conrad Green also started in Round Eight against Ormeau on the wing and once again was on eth score board in a big Jets victory.

For BBC unfortunately Conrad Green had two injury riddled years in the BBC First XV side especially in 2017 but did perform exceptionally well towards the end of the 2016 season including a starring role against Anglican Church Grammar (Churchie) in Round Seven when he scored a double in a BBC 32 – 14 victory. Both of his tries that Saturday afternoon were as a result of his outstanding speed, footwork, balance and body control.

In attack his speed off the mark is the first attribute that you will notice when you see Conrad Green play. Conrad Green has outstanding acceleration off the mark and also has an extra gear once he is through the defensive line and has the ability and endurance to maintain his speed over a long distance. Couple his speed with a very good right foot step and you have a young player who seemingly makes breaks at will and can then finish them off himself.

Conrad Green can and will beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies. He also has very good hands for a young player and when he retrieves the ball from an opponent’s kick he simply just takes off and is difficult for the opposition to get his hands on.

Conrad Green is not the biggest or necessarily strongest player but will take the hit when needing to make the tackle in the last line of defence and has the recovery speed to compensate if he needs to turn and chase an opponent’s break.

Where Conrad Green will struggle when he is at fullback is in relation to his height and being able to combat much taller chasers from getting above him and whilst he does have a very good standing leap, addressing this issue will be more of a team methodology as he is not going to grow taller overnight.

Conrad Green will play the remainder of the 2018 season with the Bilambil Jets and even though he is eligible to play in the U19 competition I would anticipate that he will play the majority of the remaining of the Jets matches in First Grade.

With Conrad Green still being Colts eligible in 2019 it will be interesting to see if he looks for an opportunity with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Colts side next season. He certainly has the skill set to be an effective player at that level and potentially beyond.

Over the course of his junior rugby league career to date, Conrad Green has played a variety of positions including fullback, centre (inside centre in school boy rugby)and in the halves but for me, and again my opinion means absolutely nothing to anyone but me, Conrad Green’s future lies at fullback.

Conrad Green has the ability to sweep around the back of the ruck and also pop up in supporting in the middle of the ruck, either running himself or looking for offloads from his forwards and use his footwork against big tiring forwards particularly towards the end of halves.

In relation to a player that you can compare Conrad Green’s skill set and playing style to, you need to look no further than Parramatta Eels fullback or winger Bevan French, he just looks so classy and assured every time he is near the ball and constantly maintains his composure under extreme pressure.

[mdrew]

Troy Leo. The 22 year old lightning quick flyer is currently playing for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup and has made a significant contribution on the left wing, not just in terms of his try scoring ability but also as a result of his ability at just 90kg to make ground out of dummy half and his solid defensive outcomes.

Troy Leo has above a 100% strike rate in his eighteen game Queensland Cup career for Burleigh and this season in the first seven matches that he has played Troy Leo has scored at least a try in all bar one of his matches this season on his way to a strike rate of 121%. Troy Leo scored a first half hat trick in Round Thirteen last weekend against the Ipswich Jets and in Round Eight against PNG scored a double.

Troy Leo’s other tries have come in Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Round Seven against Wynnum Manly, Round Nine against Townsville, Round Eleven against the Easts Tigers and Round Twelve against the Mackay Cutters.

In total in the 2018 Queensland Cup competition Troy Leo has been on the field for 518 minutes, running for 708 metres, 158 of those post contact (22.32%) and made 24 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 86%. Troy Leo has also broken twenty five tackles and made nine line breaks.

Troy Leo’s “best” match from a ball running perspective was in Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons when he ran for 160 metres and breaking six tackles. In Round Eight against the PNG Hunters Troy Leo made seven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 100%.

Troy Leo moved over from Auckland for the 2016 season linking up with the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition scoring twenty-six tries from fifteen matches that season and after being approached by a number of Queensland Cup side chose to stay on the Gold Coast and play for Burleigh.

One of the reasons Troy Leo is so successful on a football field is his exceptional speed and elusiveness, he is the fastest player I have ever seen on a field and when you add in his elusiveness, he is a nightmare for opposing defences. In relation to his elusiveness the thing that makes it play even better is his ability to change direction with no loss of speed, this enables him to use the sideline exceptionally well with an in and away, all three of his first half tries against Ipswich in Round Thirteen last weekend are a testament to this skill.

When the opposing defender’s momentum slows just for a split second, Troy Leo is away down the sideline and will not get caught and also regularly also beats the fullback who no matter how fast they are cannot recover the ground.

Troy Leo is also adept at making ground out of dummy half. Once he has picked the ball up he simply explodes out of there and targets a gap between opposing forwards and looks to accelerate through it. If the defenders look to jersey grab or make an arm tackle, Troy Leo simply bursts through it and into the space behind the ruck.

Troy Leo is not a big player at all and the obvious question is whether he is strong enough to handle the defensive side of rugby league at the higher levels, I would argue that the answer is absolutely yes. In defence against the bigger outside backs running around, Troy Leo looks to cut down the time that they have to gain momentum thus eliminating the size differential as a defensive aspect to take into consideration.

At the opposite end of the spectrum when opposing a quick winger, Troy Leo will show them the side line and use his speed advantage to force the opponent towards the touch line, with their only real option to slow and try to come back inside towards Troy Leo and the cover defence. A tackle this season against Easts he cut down Linc Port with an outstanding tackle.

From a courage stand point Troy Leo also passes any objective measurement that can be considered when evaluating this criterion. He will stand his ground under the high ball and is one of the first players to take a run out of dummy half when the ball needs to be brought out of his side’s own end.

Troy Leo will play out the 2018 season on the left wing for the semi-final bound Burleigh Bears Queensland Cup side giving him plenty of opportunities to show case his skills to prospective NRL clubs.

Troy Leo is a winger full stop and will stay there for the remainder of his rugby league career whether that is in the Queensland Cup, the NRL or the English Super League. I am noting the Super League because with his speed he would be a revelation over there, but let’s hope that is after a few years on the end of the Titans back line.

Troy Leo has Josh Addo-Carr type speed, in fact if they had a match race, I may just put my money on the young Burleigh Flyer.

A better player comparison however would be the Wests Tigers Corey Thompson. They are about the same size and whilst Troy Leo is faster both are courageous and do not look to use their speed to run around a defensive line, but through it.

At just 22 years old, Troy Leo is far from a finished product with a lot of potential to still be unlocked. With speed at a premium in the modern game Troy Leo will get a long serious look over the next year or so by a number of NRL teams, hopefully the Titans are one.

[Bart]

Leslie Hartvigsen. (Revised) The young talented Toowoomba based second rower had a big year for the 2017 Western Mustangs MM Cup being part of the MM Cup winning side before progressing onto the Western Mustangs U20 Colts Challenge squad later in the season.

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.

Leslie Hartvigsen’s 2018 season has followed the same course as his 2017 one. He started the season in the MM Cup and then moved immediately to the U20 Colts side for the Western Mustangs.

In the MM Cup this season for the Western Mustangs, Leslie Hartvigsen played in all six of the Western Mustangs matches starting in the second row on each occasion. In those six mates he had a 50% strike rate with his tries coming in Rounds One, Four and Seven against Victoria, Norths and Souths Logan respectively.

Leslie Hartvigsen made his 2018 Colts debut in Round Ten against the Mackay Cutters and since that time has played in five additional matches. Leslie Hartvigsen celebrated his 2018 Colts debut by scoring in the Western Mustangs victory over the Cutters.

Leslie Hartvigsen has also played one match in the TRL U18 competition this season which was in Round One against Toowoomba Valleys and then as a result of his MM Cup and Colts commitments has not played again in the U18 TRL competition. Team mates in the Southern Suburbs side that afternoon were fellow Titans linked players Luke Maiden, Connor Williams and Alex Dunneman and in the opposition side was Chris Chambers.

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 has two years of Colts eligibility left after this season.

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 has almost always played 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 Titans Bryce Cartwright as a mobile, wide running backrower with a diverse skill set. Leslie Hartvigsen could really turn into a special player and sooner rather than later.

Yes mate a real good kid