My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Tahne Robinson. (Revised) The young Tweed Coast Raiders half has already donned a Titans jersey in a number of Titans junior development matches a couple of years ago and since moving to the Tweed Coast Raiders NRRRL side at the start of the current season has made every post a winner.

For the Raiders in the NRRRL First grade competition, to date Tahne Robinson has played in ten matches scoring nine tries for a 90% strike rate and kicking twenty six goals to have scored 88 points through the first half of the competition.

Tahne Robinson had big matches in Round Four against Lismore Marist Brothers when he scored a double and kicked four goals and in Round Five against Mullumbimby when he also scored a double but in that match kicked five goals. Round Nine in a Raiders 60 – 0 win over Evans Head also saw Tahne Robinson score a double and kick two goals in the big win.

Round Ten saw Tahne Robinson play in the U18 fixture against Lower Clarence and then back up in the NRRRL First Grade match kicking eight goals from ten attempts in a Tweed Coast Raiders 56 – 28 victory over Lower Clarence.

Tahne Robinson’s other tries in 2018 have come against Northern United, Murwillumbah and his 2017 club Casino RSM. In the Round Eight top of the table clash against Cudgen, Thane Robinson kicked three goals from three attempts to lead the raiders to a two point win. In relation to the match against Cudgen Tahne Robinson was backing up the day after playing in the New South Wales Country U23 Championship Final.

Over the course of this season Tahne Robinson has been playing for the Norther Rivers U23 representative side in the New South Wales Country U23 Championships starting at half back in all three of their matches, including the Championship Final recently in a 26 – 22 wing over Monaro. A match that saw Tahne Robinson kick three goals.

In 2017 Tahne Robinson was a stand out for Casino RSM in the NRRRL First Grade competition even though he was still eligible for U18’s. Unfortunately for Tahne Robinson and his Casino RSM team mates they were defeated 32-20 in their NRRRL semi-final by his new team the Tweed Coast Raiders. Tahne Robinson towards the end of last year was named the NRRRL Rookie of the season.

The former St Mary’s College Casino student was also selected in the MCC 18 years Presidents Rugby League team in 2017. Tahne Robinson over his junior career has made numerous Group One Junior Representative sides as well.

Tahne Robinson only played in one U18 NRRRL match in 2017 season but he made the most of it, scoring 18 points from a try and seven goals against Mullumbimby in April. Tahne Robinson played thirteen 2017 Novaskills NRRRL First Grade matches scoring nine tries and a conversion over those matches. In addition to the double in the final regular season round against his new team being the Tweed Coast Raiders, Tahne Robinson scored a double in mid-July against Mullumbimby.

Earlier in 2017 season Tahne Robinson was named at half back for the East Coast Dolphins U18 side in the New South Wales Country Championships. Tahne Robinson played the 2016 season in the U18 NRRRL Competition with Casino RSM and finished as the leading points scorer in the competition with 106 points which came from four tries and 45 goals.

Tahne Robinson is only slight of build even when up against players in his own age group but looks even smaller against men. Do not take his lack of size in any way as a lack of ability or courage, he has a lot of both, which is on display each time he runs onto the field. With the ball he is a very good distributor and will take the ball to the line in an effort to set up his supports. Tahne Robinson is particularly adept at using the blind side when he sees an opportunity.

Tahne Robinson has an exceptional show and go and step has scored a number of tries in 2017 in first grade using these traits including his first try against the Tweed Coast Raiders late in the 2017 season. Once he is open space his above average speed off the mark allows him to gain separation from the defence and enables him the time to make the correct decision with the ball.

From kicking perspective Tahne Robinson has a very good short tactical kicking game especially in relation to grubber kicks into the in goal area where he is able to weight the ball well. From a goal kicking perspective Tahne Robinson displays both range and accuracy and has the opportunity going forward to be a team’s first choice goal kicking option.

In defence, due to his size Tahne Robinson 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. He is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side to move up in a straight line and make hard initial contact with the ball runner.

Tahne Robinson is good enough to push for playing time in the Queensland Cup Colts competition in 2019 but first things first, he will finish this season in the Tweed Coast Raiders NRRRL side where even at just 18 years old he is one of the competitions stand out players.

If he chooses to test himself in the U20 Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts competition, Tahne Robinson will have two years of eligibility starting in 2019.

Tahne Robinson always has been and always will be a half back when playing rugby league although he would likely be able to full in at hooker should the need arise.

From a player comparison perspective for Tahne Robinson think of someone like the Titans own Ashley Taylor as a young play maker who whilst having all the skills necessary for a future at half back, also shows the ability to alter his game based on what his team needs during the course of a match and whose kicking game can have a major impact.

One aspect where Tahne Robinson is a touch different to Taylor is his willingness to take the line on often, I am not saying that he is reckless running the ball, more that Tahne Robinson is very confident in his ability to run the ball and looks to do so on a regular basis.

Tahne Robinson’s improvement this season has been nothing short of incredible and was in no way out of his depth as an 18 year old playing for the Northern Rivers U23 side and was unlucky not to be selected in the New South Wales Country U23 side such was the quality of his performances.

[mdrew]

Ryan Foran. The young Murwillumbah Colts second rower has already donned a Titans jersey this season when he was part of the Titans U15 side that defeated the Western Mustangs six tries to three in March at Nerang.

In that match Ryan Foran started in the second row playing on the left side of the ruck in the first half and then switching to the right side when he came back on in the second highlighting his versatility.

Along with fellow Murwillumbah Colts U15 player and Murwillumbah High School student Riley Lack, Ryan Foran recently signed a Titans contract.

Ryan Foran 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 contracted players Riley Lack, Josh Gilbert and Thomas Weaver are also part of the touring party.

To cap off an impressive junior representative year to date, Ryan Foran has also been selected in the New South Wales Combined High Schools (CHS) U15 side for the U15 ASSRL Championships and will be up against a number of Titans boys in the two Queensland sides being Queensland Maroon and Queensland White and the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges side which contains Titans contracted half back Thomas Weaver and Josh Gilbert amongst other Titans linked players. Titans contracted fullback or centre Rowan Mansfield is a team mate in the NSW CHS U15 side as is fellow Murwillumbah High School student Riley Lack.

Ryan Foran is one of ten Titans contracted U15 players that will be involved in the U15 ASSRL Championships.

In 2017 Ryan Foran started in the second row for the Group 18 U14 side that competed in the New South Wales Country Rugby League U14 Championships playing three matches against Maitland, Group One and Newcastle in the Northern Plate Final.

Fellow Titans linked youngsters in the 2017 Group 18 U14 side were outstanding Titans contracted half back Thomas Weaver front rower Josh Gilbert. All three were also team mates of Ryan Foran when he played for the Titans U15 Invitational side against the Western Mustangs in early 2018.

For his age group Ryan Foran is a tall athlete and this can be seen when be he is running with the ball. In his hit ups he carries the ball with pace and is very good at running on the fringes of the ruck.

Ryan Foran 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.

One trait that stands out every time that you see him play is that he runs with speed into the defensive line and his foot work prior to the line enables him to get partly through the line on a number of occasions. Ryan Foran 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.

In relation to the defensive aspects of his game Ryan Foran is an exceptional cover defender. With his above average to plus speed for his position he is able to track the ball across the field and be in a position to make the cover defending tackle if breaks are made.

From a front on tackling perspective Ryan Foran has a solid repeatable technique which he can use against attackers of any size. The keys to his technique are his timing and anticipation as well as correct head placement. So many defenders in either rugby or rugby league have no idea about head placement but Ryan Foran is not one of them.

Another impressive aspect from a defensive stand point for Ryan Foran is the fact that he came make multiple tackles one after another and then still be in position to track the ball across the field, he has exceptional stamina from an aerobic capacity stand point including the ability to consistently sprint short distances time and again in a short time span whilst maintaining his positioning on the field.

Ryan Foran will play out the 2018 season with the Murwillumbah Colts U15 side in the Group 18 Junior rugby League competition and is a near certainly for the Group 18 U15 side for the New South Wales Country Age Championships which are scheduled to be held in September this year as well as the trip of a life time to France for the afore mentioned Battle Challenge.

Ryan Foran has a bit of height about him and the frame to add muscle mass over the coming seasons without compromising his speed or lateral mobility, to that end it is likely that he will stay in the second row for the coming seasons and one that is comfortable operating on either side of the ruck .

Ryan Foran has a similar playing style to that of current Titans Co-captain and former New Zealand International Kevin Proctor as a wide running player on either side of the ruck and who can defend either in the centre of the ruck or a little wider out as a foil for his half and five eight on either side of the ruck as well.

[mdrew]

osh Gilbert. The big strong young front rower from the Group 18 competition just south of the border recently signed with the Titans and was part of the Gold Coast Titans U15 Invitational side that defeated the Western Mustangs six tries to three at Nerang on an incredibly hot Sunday morning in March of this year.

The St Joseph’s College Benora Point student had a solid 2017 season including representing U14 Group 18 at the New South Wales Country championships (Northern Pool) where he started all three of the matches that he played in the front row. Josh Gilbert’s matches in those Championships were against Maitland, Group One and Newcastle.

Team mates in those matches and for the Titans U15 Invitational side was Titans contracted ultra-talented half back Thomas Weaver and Titans contracted fullback/centre Riley Lack and second rower Ryan Foran both from Murwillumbah. All three were also team mates when Josh Gilbert played for the Titans U15 side against the Western Mustangs in the match mentioned earlier.

Josh Gilbert has also recently 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 and NSW CHS which contained Titans Rowan Mansfield at fullback Ryan Foran in the second row and Riley Lack on the bench. Titans contracted Thomas Weaver is also in the NSW CCC U15 squad.

Josh Gilbert 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 contracted players Ryan For a, Riley Lack n and Thomas Weaver are also part of the touring party.

Josh Gilbert is a powerful runner of the football, who knows only one way and that is straight ahead and can offload once he has impacted the defensive line or has crashed through it. There is no subtlety to his running, it is straight and hard and another positive is that he will not just run upright, Josh Gilbert will drop his should into the defender making it difficult if not impossible for him to be stopped one on one. He does though have quite foot speed when/if he gets into space, probably above average for a front rower.

Defensively Josh Gilbert looks to hit opposing forwards front on and use his natural strength to negate their initial contact and use their momentum against them. Josh Gilbert is a plyer who can hold the line well defensively in the centre of the ruck.

Josh Gilbert will play out the 2018 season at the U15 level in the Group 18 Junior Rugby league competition and will also be involved in various school boy rugby league competitions with St Joseph’s College Benora Point.

Josh Gilbert is also a likely Group 18 U15 representative as well later this season for the New South Wales Country Age Championships to be held in Dubbo in September as well as the trip of a life time to France for the afore mentioned Battle Challenge.

With his size, strength and surprising speed, Josh Gilbert seems a certainty to stay in the front row for the duration of his rugby league career. For me locks have a slightly different skill set and with above average speed for his size, Josh Gilbert could conceivably also wear the No. 13 jersey.

From a style perspective in relation to Josh Gilbert thinks of former Manly and current English Super League front rower Darcy Lussick as a player who will not stand out per say but he is very effective in the role he is asked to and is comfortable playing within the confines of the role as well.

In using this comparison I must note however that Josh Gilbert has dominated some junior rugby league matches that he has been involved in through his sheer size, strength and power both in attack and defence. In short in a couple of games in his junior career he has been near unstoppable.

[mdrew]

Tytan Lord. The former Singleton youngster moved to the Gold Coast for the start of this season and is currently playing for the Helensvale Hornets in the Gold Coast Rugby League U17 Division One competition.

In just his second match for the Hornets, being Round Four, Tytan Lord started in the centres and scored his first try on the Gold Coast in a 22 – 4 win over the at that time previously undefeated Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Tytan Lord has a lot of junior representative experience including representing the Greater Northern Tigers in 2017 at the U16 level as well as representing Group 19 junior age sides on numerous occasions over recent seasons.

In 2017 Tytan Lord in the U16 Central Hunter Combined competition playing in 13 matches and scoring six tries for Singleton.

Even though he does not have great top end speed Tytan Lord is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing outside backs. His bread and butter play in the centres is a good in an away to hold the defender and beat him on the outside, Tytan Lord then has the ability to draw and pass to his winger if the opposing winger looks to come in, thus creating an overlap on the outside.

When playing on the wing Tytan Lord always seems to stick to the sideline which means his inside attackers will know where he is at all times, thus allowing them to confidently off load the ball if an overlap is created. I have not seen him score any highlight reel tries that seem to be the norm for modern day wingers but he will score the tries that he needs to.

When defending in the centres, Tytan Lord really does look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop, his timing in those situations is quite good to the extent that he does not often over comment thus allowing his opponent to get on his outside. Tytan Lord does not let the play unfold in front of him, he looks to disrupt as early as possible and usually does effectively.

With his size and defensive tendencies when defending in the centres, Tytan Lord is more suited to an up and in defensive methodology compared to a sliding system, where quicker opposing centres look to get on his outside and try to use their pace against him although he is not necessarily a slouch in that department.

Tytan Lord will play the remainder of the 2018 season for the Helensvale Hornets U17 Division One side and in 2019 will likely push for a spot in either the Tweed Heads Seagulls or Burleigh Bears MM Cup sides.

Later in the 2018 season Tytan Lord may also get an opportunity in the Helensvale U19 side, he certainly is physically mature enough to handle the step up in age group and opposition size and quality.

Tytan Lord has played both in the centres (primarily in club rugby league) and on the wing (primarily in representative sides) and whilst he will likely be adept at playing both for the short to medium term I think that as he matures, Tytan Lord will settle as a winger with height and straight line speed at his disposal.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style to Tytan Lord is for me Sydney Roosters winger Blake Ferguson, like Ferguson Tytan Lord is a very good kick return and has the size, strength and speed to be a real handful for an opponent’s three quarter line, especially when he looks to run straight at the defensive line.

[mdrew]

Tate Roberts. (Revised) The Titans linked young centre and PBC student is currently playing for the Currumbin Eagles in the Gold Coast Rugby League U16 Division One competition, starting in the centres through the opening five rounds.

Tate Roberts is also training with the Titans U16 squad which is preparing for matches later in the year against PNG and New South Wales Country.

To date through those opening seven rounds of matches, Tate Roberts has scored nine tries including doubles in Rounds Two and Three against Helensvale and Runaway Bay respectively. Tate Roberts also scored against Mudgeeraba in Round One and currently sits atop the U16 Division One try scoring list one try ahead of fellow Titan and centre Trey Peni from the Nerang Roosters.

Playing at Cbus stadium in Round Five as a curtain raiser to the Titans v Rabbitohs NRL match, Titans centre Tate Roberts scored his sixth try of the season to maintain his place at the top of the U16 Division One’s try scoring list. Unfortunately his Currumbin side were defeated 26-22 by Nerang.

In Round Seven Tate Roberts was outstanding scoring a hat trick in a 32 – 18 victory over Burleigh.

Tate Roberts played for the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 competition starting a number of the rounds in the centres. Tate Roberts has also recently been selected in the reduced South East Queensland U16 side, surviving the first rounds of player cuts. 2018 also saw Tate Roberts involved in the U16 Queensland Murri side.

Tate Roberts has a previous association with the Titans, with both of his older brothers being involved, oldest brother Ethan played two seasons in the Titans NYC squad and his other brother Blake has played CC Cup and played at five eight against Balmain in a U15 development match late in 2015 and is currently playing for the Cudgen Hornets in the NRRRL U18 competition.

2016 saw the PBC student represent the Gold Coast Vikings at the U14 level and in 2015 he was a U13 Vikings representative. In 2016 Tate Roberts also represented South East Queensland at the U14 level at the Hill Stumer Championships.

In 2017 Tate Roberts played two matches for Currumbin in the U15 Division One competition but in June received a clearance to move to Burleigh for whom he played seven matches scoring four tries from doubles against Southport and Coomera. Tate Roberts also played two late season matches for Burleigh at the U16 Division One level both being semi-finals with Tate Roberts coming off the bench including in the Grand Final loss 34 – 4 ironically against Currumbin.

Whilst in does not have blinding speed off the mark, Tate Roberts does have decent top end speed and can break tackles by running over his direct opposite defender as well as 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.

One skill that Tate Roberts does possess when playing in the centre position is a decent in and away especially from the right hand side of the field. He will wait until the last possible minute to step to commit the defender before getting on his outside and using his strength and power to break the initial defensive line.

Tate Roberts defensive game is one built on intimidation he will come out of the line when the opportunity presents itself and hit very hard around the chest and drive through is lower body and continue until the tackle is well and truly finished.

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

Tate Roberts will play the remainder of the 2018 season for the Currumbin Eagles in the U16 Division One competition and represent South East Queensland at the U16 level. Tate Roberts will also be involved in Palm Beach Currumbin State High School’s Super Six and GIO Cup school boy rugby league campaigns.

I am still a touch conflicted as to whether Tate Roberts will ultimately end up staying in the centres or transition to the second row full time but his play this season has made it more likely than not that he will have the opportunity to stay in the centres long term.

With his hard straight running and strong initial defensively contact, I can see aspects of the play of Wests Tigers centre Esan Marsters in his play. Like Marsters, Tate Roberts is a strong presence in the three quarter line both in attack and defence and can break a game open with a powerful run and fend or a dominant tackle.

[mdrew]

Vinncent Takataka. The former Canterbury Bankstown junior moved up to South East Queensland at the start of 2018 and has had an exceptional start to his rugby league career in South East Queensland ever since.

Vinncent Takataka represented South’s Logan in the 2018 MM Cup competition starting a number of the Magpies matches including their MM Cup Grand Final against North’s and their National Final against Penrith. Earlier this season the former Canterbury Bankstown junior represented South Coast at the U18 QSSRL Championships in Toowoomba where South Coast was defeated by Met East in the Championship final.

Post those feats, Vinncent Takataka made his debut in the Gold Coast Rugby League U19 competition when he started in the second row for Runaway Bay in Round Eight in their 32-24 win over the Ormeau Shearers. In Round Nine Vinncent Takataka started in the second row once against and scored a double as his Runaway Bay side defeated Beaudesert 32 – 20. Round Ten saw Vinncent Takataka come off the bench for Runaway Bay as they defeated Currumbin 24 – 18.

In the MM Cup competition for South’s Logan as noted Vinncent Takataka played in four South’s Logan’s matches. Vinncent Takataka broke into the South’s Logan MM side in Round Three against North’s from the inter change bench and also played off the bench in Round Four against Burleigh. Vinncent Takataka started Round Five against Wynnum Manly in the front row and started the MM Cup Grand Final and U18 National Final in the second row, scoring in the National Final against the Penrith Panthers.

Vinncent Takataka, prior to his move to Queensland was part of the Canterbury Bulldogs Junior Development set-up for a numbers of years, joining the Bulldogs in their U15 Development Squad in 2015 and progressing to playing for the Bulldogs U16 Harrold Matthews Cup side in 2016. Vinncent’s Takataka’s junior rugby league club in Sydney was the Bankstown Sports Club where he started his rugby league journey in the U12’s.

Vinncent Takataka is a powerfully built second rower with a solid frame and a low centre of gravity, but for his size has above average balance, speed and footwork operating normally on the left side of the ruck.

Vinncent Takataka’s style of play is that of a powerful wide running back rower with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average to plus. Vinncent Takataka 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 second rower, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a big strong powerful young player who can cause nightmares for any defensive line. Vinncent Takataka seems to line up on the left side of the field more so than the right, but I have no doubt moving forward that he will be able to play on either side of the field, he seems to be just so skilful.

For a backrower of his size, he runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball during a game. For a young player, Vinncent Takataka seems to have a good understanding of when to off load the ball, currently most of his off loads occur when he is part way through the defensive line and can get his right arm free to pass to his outside support runners.

Vinncent Takataka is aggressive in defence 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 and targets the area around where the attackers carry the football. 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.

Where Vinncent Takataka will play the remainder of the 2018 season is an interesting question. He certainly has the ability to make the transition to the Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts competition sooner rather than later. If/when he does make the step up to Colts the question is whether Vinncent Takataka will play for Burleigh or South’s Logan. Hopefully Burleigh for me but let’s be honest, I am biased.

If a promotion to the Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts competition is not forth coming you would have to think that it will not be too long before Vinncent Takataka finds himself in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition for Runaway Bay gaining experience against men.

With his above average to plus speed and foot work for a solidly built player Vinncent Takataka shapes as a second rower for the duration of his rugby league career.

This should be no real surprise as Vinncent Takataka has been playing almost exclusively in the second row since starting in the second row for the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in Round One of the 2016 Harrold Matthews U16 Cup competition. I do note that he did start one MM Cup match this season in the front row for South’s Logan.

Vinncent Takataka has the look of a very talented player with a playing style similar to that of St George Dragons, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International second rower Tyson Fizzell as a powerful and devastating runner on the fringes of the ruck.

Like Fizzell what makes Vinncent Takataka such a handful is his outstanding foot work that compliments his speed and power with a low centre of gravity perfectly.

[mdrew]

Jack Kuhnell. He is a young second rower who has made an early impression in the Group One Junior Rugby League competition since his early May transfer from the Caboolture Sharks on the Sunshine Coast is second rower Jack Kuhnell.

The former Tullawong student started the 2018 year in the Sunshine Coast Junior Rugby League U15 competition playing for Caboolture. He played two games for them including scoring an impressive four tries in Round One against Stanley River. On May 9 of this year he received a clearance to move to the Group One competition, playing for the Kyogle Turkeys.

To date for Kyogle, Jack Kuhnell has played in six matches in the Group One U15 competition scoring nine tries crossing in every match to date.

In his first match for Kyogle, Jack Kuhnell celebrated his debut by scoring against Clarence Coast. In his next three matches he scored doubles which came against Lismore Marist Brothers, Ballina when he was up against Titans contracted Rowan Mansfield and against Casino RSM.

In Round Eight Jack Kuhnell scored once again against Ballina. Immediately after that match, Jack Kuhnell backed up to play in the U16.5 clash, his first in that age group since his move south. Round Nine saw Jack Kuhnell cross the line this time in a 16 – 10 win over Clarence Coast.

Jack Kuhnell has had some Queensland representative success prior to his move to Northern New South Wales, including representing Sunshine Coast in the U15 QSSRL Championships and in 2017 also represented the Sunshine Coast at the U14 level including scoring a try and kicking a conversion on Day One of the U14 Championships.

From an attacking perspective, Jack Kuhnell has a wide running mindset for a backrower with a very good turn of speed once he breaks through the line. Like all good running backrowers though, he takes his share of runs in the middle of the ruck but he is impressive at running good lines on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into although he is not averse to running straight over people either.

From the games that I have seem play Jack Kuhnell normally runs to the right side of the field, and will run wider out and look to come back on the inside shoulder of the opposition defence on the edge of the ruck, looking for situations where the opposition inside defenders are slow to come across.

His determination is one aspect that enables him to be in the right place at the right time. Another key aspect of his running game is that Jack Kuhnell runs fast into the defensive line.

His initial contact is solid and is more than enough to stop the momentum of the ball carrier and effect tackles one on one. He is also effective at wrapping the ball up and preventing offloads. When he hits he hits hard, but I would not call it aggressive per say, but he is just tough in his approach to his defence.

I do not necessarily think that his defensive work will stand out because he is not going to come up with a huge hit which will get the crowd on its feet, but Jack Kuhnell will do a lot of work and will likely always finish at or near the top of the tackle count regardless of the level and standard of football he is playing.

Jack Kuhnell will play out the 2018 rugby league season with the Kyogle Turkeys in the Group One U15 competition and is also likely to add to his debut match in the U16.5 competition.

Jack Kuhnell played in the second row in his years at Caboolture and for Sunshine Coast representative sides and has continued at that position since his move to Northern New South Wales and that trend appears certain to continue as he progresses through his rugby league career.

For me Jack Kuhnell has a playing style similar to Melbourne Storm, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International second rower Antonio Kaufusi as a hard working player who is an outstanding ball runner on the fringes of the ruck.

[mdrew]

Syris Schmidt. (Revised) He is a local young five eight from the Ormeau Shearers club on the Gold Coast who after attending Keebra Park High School for a number of years took up a rugby scholarship with TSS last year playing in their U14A side and this year will play for the Gold Coast based School in the U15A GPS school boy rugby competition with a team mate being Titans contracted centre Kaleb Ngamanu.

This season in relation to club rugby league on the Gold Coast, Syris Schmidt is playing for Ormeau in the U15 Division One competition, playing five matches to date scoring a Round Four double against Mudgeeraba and also scoring against Runaway Bay in Round Seven.

Syris Schmidt represented South Coast in the QSSRL U15 Championships and has been named in the U15 Queensland White side for next week’s ASSRL U16 Championships where team mates will be Titans contracted Ezra Ubaldino and Brody Smitka. Flynn Daniel who has been involved in Titans Development Squads is also in the Queensland White side.

Even though the GPS school boy rugby season has not kicked off yet, Syris Schmidt has already played a number of matches for TSS. He started on the bench for the first two trials which were against Far North Coast and Toowoomba Grammar School before moving into the starting side at outside centre for the last three trials against Nudgee, Ipswich Grammar School and Ambrose Treacy College in the most recent trial.

In his three appearances in the TSS U15A starting trial side Syris Schmidt has been partnered in the centres with Titans contracted Kaleb Ngamanu with the outstanding Jojo Fifita also in the stacked backline.

In the 2017 GPS rugby season for the TSS U14A side, Syris Schmidt played in seven matches. Syris Schmidt started the season on the bench for the TSS U14A side making his TSS Rugby debut in Round One against Brisbane Stet High School.

Syris Schmidt broke into the TSS U14A starting line-up in Round Eight against St Joseph’s Nudgee College starting the match at No. 10 (fly half) and was named Best Back in his starting debut. Syris Schmidt also started in Round Nine this time at inside centre against Churchie.

In 2017 for the Ormeau Shearers, Syris Schmidt played eight matches in the U14 Division One competition, scoring seven tries and kicking a conversion to finish with 26 points. Syris Schmidt scored four tries in a match against Runaway Bay and a double against Nerang.

Syris Schmidt represented Keebra Park in the Renouf Cup competition in 2016. Syris Schmidt also represented the U13 Vikings side that went through the Hill Stumer Championships undefeated and also represented South East Queensland Green at the U13 level in the Queensland Age Championships which were held in Toowoomba.

In 2015 Syris Schmidt represented Queensland at the U12 level. For the Queensland U12 side, he scored two tries across the competition that Queensland won, including scoring a try against Western Australia in their round 3 victory and another against Victoria in their 52 – 0 semi-final victory.

For Ormeau in the U13 GCJRL competition in 2016, Syris Schmidt finished as the leading try scorer with 22 tries from ten matches, two in front of Keebra Park team mate Tuvallo-Afoa Khan Pereira. Syris Schmidt scored six tries in a match against Currumbin and also scored two hat tricks which came against Jimboomba and Runaway Bay.

For South East Queensland Green in the Queensland Age Championships in 2016, Syris Schmidt scored four tries, including a hat trick on Day Two in a big 44 – 4 win over the Northern Marlins and he also scored on Day Three in a 40 – 10 victory over SEQ White.

For the U13 Vikings, he played an under stated role leading his team around the field but on Day Two against Ipswich, after mainly setting up his support runners, he started to run more in the second half including a superb play late in the match where he drifted across the field and threw a great dummy before accelerating through the Ipswich defensive line to score under the posts.

In relation to Schoolboy rugby league, Syris Schmidt also had a great year in 2015 for Keebra Park culminating in him being selected at five eight in the Keebra Park team of the year. Playing for the U13 Renouf Cup side, Syris Schmidt scored five tries across the Rounds, including against Ipswich SHS in Round Two, two tries against Marsden in Round Five, a try against local rivals PBC in Round Six and in the Round of 16 had a great game against Ipswich once again when he split the line to score from 40 metres out with his first touch and also late in the match popped a great ball to Tuvallo-Afoa Khan-Pereira to score.

In attack, he is a five eight who is a dynamic runner of the football who excels in taking on the defensive line with deft footwork around the ruck, looking to seek out bigger slower forwards when they are caught on the edge of the ruck.

Syris Schmidt also has a very good dummy which continues to be effective regardless of the frequency of its use as it is indistinguishable in process from when he is going to actually pass the ball.

Syris Schmidt does not however have blinkers on, and when his backline is set deep, he can see an overlap or a another play developing he will get the ball out quickly and effectively, using his solid passing skills from both sides of his body, where he will put the football out in front of his runners. Syris Schmidt is able to impart a good spin on the ball, thus can get good distance on his passes whilst maintaining accuracy from both sides of his body.

Assisting his play is the fact that Syris Schmidt makes the decision what to do with the ball quickly thus enabling the ball to get out wide quickly. One aspect that is notable when you see him play is how he directs the team around the field, he is in charge of when and where the forwards run and also when he wants the ball to spread it out wide to his backline.

For his age group, he has a prodigious kick on him and seemingly also has good accuracy and presents as a future 40/20 threat. Also his prodigious boot generates significant height on his bombs, and I mean they are huge bombs and again are seemingly quite accurate, his ceiling is that of his team’s primary tactical kicker moving forward, both from a field position and attacking perspective.

Defensively he has decent size for a five eight, a facet which assists in him being a very effective defender for his position, in fact he is an asset to his team’s defensive pattern to the extent that he has the strength and technique to more than hold his own one on one against wide running forwards.

Playing no. 10 or at inside centre in school boy rugby has also assisted his defensive development. Loose forwards come off the back of the ruck or maul and traditionally target the channel defended by either the inside centre or fly half, where obviously Syris Schmidt is stationed the majority of the time.

Moving to the current 2018 season, Syris Schmidt will continue to play for the Ormeau Shearers as well as for the TSS U15A school boy rugby side.

TSS started their 2018 GPS U15A campaign in Round One against Anglican Church Grammar School at home on 21 July after a final trial away to Sunshine Coast Grammar School the week prior to the GPS First XV Round One fixture. Syris Schmidt has been named on the bench for the final trial along with a number of likely starters for Round One including Titans contracted Kaleb Nganamu.

It is great to see him continue to play both codes as the skills he is developing in both codes is no doubt immensely assisting in his development in both codes as the skills are complementary in nature, especially around tactical kicking and game management. Playing a high level of school boy rugby at either No. 10 or inside centre can only enhance and accelerate his rugby league developmental curve.

Syris Schmidt plays his football currently at the five eight position both in terms of club and representative football and certainly has the skills to stay there long term. He has all of the skills that you would want from your five eight, he can run the ball very well, he is a very good distributor and game manager and is also a very good general play kicker.

From a player comparison perspective, I am going to make a big call but he really does play the game like Darren Lockyer with more speed than when Darren Lockyer moved to five eight. Syris Schmidt really does present on the field as a natural gifted young player who does not take his natural ability for granted.

[mdrew]

Reno Gerrard. (Revised) He is a local young front rower who was part of the of the Burleigh Bears MM Cup this season as well as being a key member of the TSS First XV School Boy Rugby side who are looking to repeat last year’s GPS First XV success.

Recently Reno Gerard was named in the GPS Blue side at No. 8 for the upcoming Queensland Schools Championships. This is the second year that he has represented GPS schools. On Day One of the trials Reno Gerrard’s GPS Blue (Navy) side defeated GPS Gold 19 – 10 and on Day Two Reno Gerrard was outstanding in the first half (he sat out the second half) as GPS Blue defeated AIC 24 – 12 in a game of two halves.

Post the Queensland Schools Championships, Reno Gerrard was named at No. 8 for the Queensland II School Boys side for the National Schools Championships that are on later this month.

For the Burleigh MM Cup side this season Reno Gerrard started the opening three rounds in the front row being against Sunshine Coast, Redcliffe and Tweed Heads scoring against Sunshine Coast for his sole try of the MM Cup season.

Even though the GPS Rugby season has not kicked off yet Reno Gerrard has played in five trials for the TSS First XV plus the two GPS Trial days starting all at No. 8 including trials against New Zealand’s powerful Westlake Boys High and Sydney’s Riverside College. The most recent trial was a full contact trial against the TSS Second XV side.

In 2017 Reno Gerrard was an ever present in the TSS First XV side that were joint premiers, starting at No. 8 in all eight matches and scoring six tries including a hat trick in Round Six against Brisbane Grammar School. Reno Gerrard’s other tries came against Ipswich Grammar School in Round Three, Brisbane Boys College in Round Four and Churchie in Round Nine.

In the Round Six clash Reno Gerrard’s first try came just after he made a barnstorming 50 metre kick-off return, scoring in the right corner from a pick and drive. His second try came as a result of a TSS line out move when Reno Gerrard got low and barged over from short range and his third came from backing up a break by front rower Zane Nonggorr and then out pacing the BGS cover defence.

Reno Gerrard also scored against Brisbane Boys College in Round Four when he ran an outstanding outside shoulder line off five eight Campbell Perata to crash over half way between the goal posts and the touch line. Earlier in 2017 Reno Gerrard started at No. 8 for the GPS Three representative side at the Queensland Rugby Schools Championships held at Ballymore in July 2017.

The TSS First XV side determine their best players through the First XV being awarded coaches points, in 2017 Reno Gerrard twice received the maximum three points, with those games being in Rounds Two and Six against Toowoomba Grammar School and Brisbane Grammar School respectively.

For the 2016 GPS U16A Championship winning TSS side Reno Gerrard started all eight matches at No. 8 and scored seven tries. He scored doubles in Rounds Three and Five against Brisbane Boys College and Brisbane Grammar School respectively. Reno Gerrard’s other tries came in Round two, Seven and Eight against Ipswich Grammar School, Nudgee College and Churchie respectively.

Reno Gerrard played for the Burleigh Bears junior rugby league club in 2016 and also attends The Southport School (TSS) where he was part of their First XV squad in 2016 and 2017 where he played No. 8. Previously Reno Gerrard was linked with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The former PBC student represented South Coast in the QSSRL U15 State Championships in 2015, he started in the second row and scored a try against Peninsula in South Coast’s first pool match. South Coast went on to win the championships with Reno Gerrard subsequently being named in the front row for Queensland White for the Australian U15 school boy championships. Reno Gerrard played a number of CC matches in 2016 in the front row including scoring in week one of the CC semi-finals in a tough loss for the Gold Coast side.

For Burleigh, Reno Gerrard played for the U15 Division One side in 2015, alternating between the front row and second row and scored ten tries in the ten matches he played, including scoring a hat trick against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks in a match in July. He has named in the 2016 Gold Coast Green side for the CC competition. Reno Gerrard was also named alongside a couple of other Gold Coast youngsters, including centre Ronan Kapi in the Queensland Reds U15 rugby side that played NSW in July 2015.

Reno Gerrard runs exceptionally hard but with a degree of subtlety to his running style, and he will not just run upright, he will drop his should into the defender making it difficult if not impossible for him to be stopped easily or by a single defender. Due to his speed and size, when he is running on the fringes of the ruck, he as handful and also has a very good fend. When playing in the second row, he seemed from my perspective to play on the right hand side of the ruck on the majority of occasions, including in representative matches.

Whilst Reno Gerrard is also very effective taking hit ups in the centre of the ruck, when you have someone with his size and speed, I think that getting him to run a little wider is a more effective utilisation of his skill set both from an individual and team perspective clearly this is the case from a rugby perspective for players in the No. 8 jumper.

In terms of his speed, I would consider it above average for a second rower but it would be considered plus for front rower, in short he is a very good athlete, with size, strength, speed and power. He also is very strong, at representative level for South Coast and Qld White he regularly shrugged off opposing defenders when they looked to tackle him front on around the chest area.

It regularly takes defences to commit multiple resources to stop his momentum. If Reno Gerrard is not tackled around the legs, his strength means that he will continue to make ground after contact due to his never say die attitude.

The one aspect of Reno Gerrard’s game that has increased over the last season or two is his ball playing skills which is prerequisite for playing No. 8 in rugby which he has done over the last couple of seasons.

Defensively he hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. Reno Gerrard 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 as a result of his aggressive tackling style.

Reno Gerrard really does know how to tackle effectively, as he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards and then explodes through his core with the kinetic effects transferring through his body into his opponent. 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 for stretches of a game.

In terms of his school boy rugby commitments Reno Gerrard will be back at TSS for his second season as a regular member of their First XV where he will surely start at No. 8 with TSS looking for back to back GPS First XV Championships.

TSS started their 2018 GPS First XV campaign in Round One against Anglican Church Grammar School at home on 21 July after a final trial away to Sunshine Coast Grammar School the week prior to the GPS First XV Round One fixture.

From a long term position perspective I believe that Reno Gerrard ultimately ends up in the front row in senior rugby league, but for me that is still a few years away at least. Yes he can certainly play in the front row now, and play very well, but I would much prefer for him to play exclusively in the second row for the near future to take advantage of his speed and hard running on the fringes of the ruck. Playing No. 8 for TSS in the highly competitive GPS First XV competition has only enhanced his skill set from both a running and ball playing perspective.

From a player comparison for Reno Gerrard think of South Sydney Rabbitoh and English International Sam Burgess as a big strong powerful hard running forward with some good ball skills when the opportunity presents and an aggressive tackling technique to inflict the maximum amount of damage to his opponents.

[mdrew]

Ronan Kapi. (Revised) He is a local young centre who last played rugby league on the Gold Coast in 2015 with the Burleigh Bears but who was part of the of the Burleigh Bears MM Cup this season as well as being a key member of the TSS First XV School Boy Rugby side who are looking to repeat last year’s GPS First XV success.

Recently Ronan Kapi was named in the GPS Gold side at outside centre for the upcoming Queensland Schools Championships. This is the second year that he has represented GPS schools after being named on the bench for the GPS Three side in 2017.On Day One Ronan Kapi’s GPS Gold side went down to GPS Blue 19 – 10 and on Day Two they defeated Queensland Combined High Schools by in excess of 60 points.

Post the Queensland Schools Rugby Championships, Ronan Kapi was named on the bench for the Queensland I side for the Australian Schools Championships which take place later this month.

For the Burleigh MM Cup side this season Ronan Kapi played in six of Burleigh’s seven MM Cup matches, missing only Round Three. Ronan Kapi started five of his six matches in the centres and came off the bench in Round Two against Redcliffe.

Ronan Kapi scored twice in the MM Cup this season, being against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Round One and against South’s Logan in Round Four to accumulate a strike rate of 33%.

Even though the GPS Rugby season has not kicked off yet Ronan Kapi has played in five trials plus the two GPS Trial days starting all at outside centre including trials against New Zealand’s Westlake Boys High and Sydney’s Riverside College. The most recent trial was a full contact trial against the TSS Second XV.

In 2017 Ronan Kapi was an ever present in the TSS First XV side that were joint premiers, starting on the right wing in seven matches and one at outside centre being against Ipswich Grammar School in Round Two.

In those eight matches, Ronan Kapi scored four tries all of which came in consecutive rounds from Round Four to Six. In Round Four Ronan Kapi scored against Brisbane Boys College, Round Five against Gregory terrace saw him score a double and in Round Six Ronan Kapi scored against Brisbane Grammar School.

The TSS First XV side determine their best players through the First XV being awarded coaches points, Ronan Kapi received a point in Round Three against Toowoomba Grammar School.

In 2016 Ronan Kapi was a standout performer for the TSS U16A squad and earlier that year was part of the U16 Queensland Rugby League Emerging Origin squad.

For the 2016 GPS U16A Championship winning TSS side Ronan Kapi started all eight matches at fullback and finished the season on a big note scoring a double in the final round, being Round Nine against Brisbane State High School.

Ronan Kapi played the 2015 season with the Burleigh Bears at the U15 Division One level and also represented South Coast U15’s at the QSSRL U15 school boy’s competition where he was selected on the wing, from there he gained representation in the Qld White side for the ASSRL U15 championships. At those championships, he scored a double against the ACT side in one of the pool matches.

Previously Ronan Kapi has represented the Vikings and South East Queensland in the U13 and U14 age groups. For his club football, he only played handful matches for Burleigh during the 2015 season, but scored eight tries in those matches, where he played in the centres. He also played in the centres for the Gold Coast White CC side in the 2016 competition.

Ronan Kapi also represented the Titans U15 development squad in their match late in 2015 against the Balmain Tigers a match which the Titans won three tries to two, with Ronan Kapi, scoring the Titans third try. He was named the Titans best back in that game by former Tigers player Paul Sironen.

From a rugby perspective, Ronan Kapi was also named in the Queensland Reds U15 side to play against New South Wales in 2015.

Ronan Kapi is a quite a quick centre with good centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. His has used this skill attribute on multiple occasions from the left side of the field. At this point in his career, there is a definite preference to playing left centre compared to him being on the right hand side of the field.

When the ball is passed to him early, he straightens the attack up well, meaning he does not run himself or his support out of room. Even though he has decent speed in the centre position, he does look for his outside support when confronting the fullback and positions his supports well.

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

Defensively the area that Ronan Kapi has impressed me the most is his ability to defend close to his own try line. Ronan Kapi seemingly has more strength that his size would indicate, and he uses this strength to move up off his own try line and hit his opposition, redirecting the momentum of the ball carrier and thus eliminating the immediate attacking threat.

Regardless of where he defends in terms of where the game is situated on the field, Ronan Kapi sets a good base and uses his leg strength to direct his energy through the core of his body into that of his opponent.

In terms of his school boy rugby commitments Ronan Kapi is back at TSS for his second season as a regular member of their First XV where he will surely start at outside centre with TSS looking for back to back GPS First XV Championships.

TSS started their 2018 GPS First XV campaign in Round One against Anglican Church Grammar School at home on 21 July after a final trial away to Sunshine Coast Grammar School the week prior to the GPS First XV Round One fixture.

From a position perspective, even though he has spent some time on the wing for a couple of representative sides, I believe that Ronan Kapi’s medium/long term future lies as a talented centre with the ability to make breaks using his foot work and evasive skills. Playing outside centre (No. 13) for TSS in the highly competitive GPS First XV competition has only enhanced his skill set and will continue to do so this year.

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

[mdrew]

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

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

Lofi Khan-Periera is a contracted Titans player who represented South Coast at the QSSRL U18 Championships in Toowoomba scoring a number of long range tries from the left wing and was in my eyes an unlucky omission from the Queensland U18 QSSRL side which contains fellow Titans contracted, South Coast representative and Keebra Park student David Butler.

Lofi Khan-Periera has played a number of matches for Keebra Park this season including matches against PBC which they lost by two, points, and in wins over Wavell State High School and St Mary’s College who Keebra Park defeated 24 – 18.

Lofi Khan-Periera started the 2018 season off in the MM Cup competition with the Burleigh Bears, playing in all six of Burleigh’s matches, starting four on the wing and two at fullback. Lofi Khan-Periera started the Bears first four matches on the wing before moving to fullback for the Round Six match against the Western Mustangs.

In his six matches Lofi Khan-Periera scored five tries including a Round Six double against the Western Mustangs. Lofi Khan-Periera also scored tries in Rounds One, Three and Four against the Sunshine Coast, Tweed Heads and South’s Logan.

Post the MM Cup, Lofi Khan-Periera has played in one match for the Burleigh U17 Division One side scoring a hat trick against Helensvale.

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

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

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

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

There is no point trying to come up with a fancy way of describing his style of game, he is a talented powerful runner who will get back deep and run straight and hard and crashes through his opposing defender. Throw in very good speed for a young man and you have a real handful for a defensive line.

With his size and strength Lofi Khan-Periera carries defenders with him and continues to pump his legs to gain more ground. He is also a smart player from a position perspective and does stay out on the wing and usually stays back to make sure that he does not overrun the pass.

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

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

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

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

Valentine Holmes of the Cronulla Sharks Queensland State of Origin and Australian Test sides is a good playing comparison for Lofi Khan-Pereira in terms of a hard straight running quick winger who is difficult to tackle every time he touches the ball and from both a technical and positional perspective very good defensively as well.

[ALX25]

Syris has an impressive passing game. Has been a real threat for QLD U15 White.

[mdrew]

Kaleb Ngamanu. (Revised) He is a Gold Coast based youngster originally from Western Australia where he played two years of rugby league for the Joondalup Giants who moved over to the Gold Coast at the start of 2016 season, making every post a winner since that time in his junior rugby league career.

Kaleb Ngamanu recently signed a two year deal with the Titans after a starring on the left wing for the Titans U15 side in their six tries to three win over the Western Mustangs and his selection in the South Coast U15 QSSRL side at the completion of the South Coast Trials. Kaleb Ngamanu was subsequently selected in the Queensland Maroon U15 side for the U15 ASSRL Championships.

Other Titans linked boys to make the 2018 U15 South Coast QSSRL squad include front rower Brody Smitka, centre/second rower Ezra Ubaldino, front row Titan Vaikai, outstanding backrower Bailey Martin and second rower/centre Flynn Daniel.

As a result of his performance at those Championships has been selected in one of the two Queensland sides for the Australian Championships.

Unfortunately Kaleb Ngamanu was injured in the camp just prior to the U15 ASSRL Championships and was unable to take his place in the Queensland Maroon side.

When he moved over to the Gold Coast, Kaleb Ngamanu started attending Keebra Park State High School making a big impression in their U13 side even though he missed portions of the 2016 season with an injury. Kaleb Ngamanu however was identified by The Southport School (TSS) and for 2017 transferred there standing out in their U14A GPS rugby side in 2017 in Term Three.

This season Kaleb Ngamanu is playing club rugby league for the Coomera Cutters and obviously for TSS in terms of school boy rugby.

For Coomera in the U15 Division competition this season, Kaleb Ngamanu has played in five matches to date, scoring three tries. Kaleb Ngamanu scored a Round One double against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks and scored against Runaway Bay in Round Four.

Even though the GPS school boy rugby season has not kicked off yet, Kaleb Ngamanu has already played a number of matches for TSS. He started on the bench for the first two trials which were against Far North Coast and Toowoomba Grammar School before moving into the starting side at outside centre for the last three trials against Nudgee, Ipswich Grammar School and Ambrose Treacy College. In his three appearances in the starting trial sides Kaleb Ngamanu has been partnered in the centres with rugby league youngster Syris Schmidt.

Round One of the U15A GPS rugby season starts in late July when TSS take on Anglican Church Grammar School in Round One at home and barring injury Kaleb Ngamanu is a certainty to start that match. Prior to that however TSS have one final trial which will be away to Sunshine Coast Grammar School.

The 2017 season Gold Coast Junior Rugby League season saw Kaleb Ngamanu play up an age group in the U15 Division One competition after transferring from Southport to the Coomera Cutters. In the U15 Division One competition, Kaleb Ngamanu played in eight matches scoring 28 points in total from three tries and eight goals, with the tries coming against Southport, Helensvale and Nerang. In the match that he scored against his former club Southport, Kaleb Ngamanu also kicked six goals for a sixteen point haul on the night.

Kaleb Ngamanu also played one match for Coomera in the U14 Division Two competition (his regular age group) which was against the Robina Raptors, he then backed up to play for his “regular” U15 Division One side later that Friday night.

2017 also saw Kaleb Ngamanu represent the Gold Coast Vikings at the U14 level and from there going on to make the South East Queensland Green U14 side for the Queensland Age Championships that were held in Toowoomba on July last year. In those Championships, Kaleb Ngamanu scored on each of the first four days, in order against Central, Northern South East Queensland White and Central again.

In 2017 Kaleb Ngamanu played for TSS in the GPS U14A competition, starting all eight of TSS’s matches at outside centre except for Round Nine when he started at fullback against Nudgee College. In those eight matches he scored six tries and was awarded the best back award on three occasions, being against Brisbane State High School in Round One, against Ipswich Grammar School in Round Three and against Gregory Terrace in Round Five.

Kaleb Ngamanu scored a Round Six double against Brisbane Grammar School and also scored against Ipswich Grammar School in Round Three, against Brisbane Boys College in Round Four, against Gregory Terrace in Round Five and against Nudgee College in Round Nine.

Kaleb Ngamanu also scored against Downlands College in a “trial” match when TSS had a GPS Round Seven bye.

Kaleb Ngamanu played the 2016 season for the Southport Tigers at the U14 level splitting time between the U14 Division One and Division Two competitions even though he was still eligible to play in the U13 competition.

Kaleb Ngamanu started off his rugby league journey on the Gold Coast with a bang by making the 2016 U13 Vikings squad after impressing in the trials held in the weekend of 16-17 April 2016 where he played the majority of the trials in the centres after playing almost exclusively at five eight in the Western Australian junior rugby league competition.

Kaleb Ngamanu is a smooth powerful runner of the ball who seems to glide across the field effortlessly and certainly has an extra gear in relation to the speed he possesses as well as plus speed off the mark. In the centre position, he has the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the modern game.

When he gets the ball early from his inside play makers, Kaleb Ngamanu is incredibly difficult to deal with one on one, as whilst his speed has already been noted, he is also a powerful runner who has the power to also break tackles through sheer power and not just rely on his speed to beat his opponent.

Kaleb Ngamanu had a very solid match for the Titans U15 side at Nerang recently playing on the left wing outside of Titans contracted youngster JT Manuofetoa who was also outstanding on the day. In fact their combination was responsible for Kaleb Ngamanu’s try that Sunday when they used their numbers perfectly to send Kaleb Ngamanu down the left touch line in the second half for him to score in the corner to open up the Titans lead.

For the Titans I would really have liked to see Kaleb Ngamanu operate in the centres but on the day the exceptionally talented Rowan Mansfield and the a fore mentioned JT Manuofetoa started in the centres and excelled so you can understand Kaleb Ngamanu operating on the wing in the match.

That Sunday morning against the Western Mustangs at Nerang I was also impressed by the amount of runs Kaleb Ngamanu took from dummy half helping the Titans bring the ball out of their own end. The outstanding feature of his paly however for the Titans was his spacing out wide. Kaleb Ngamanu stayed on the touch line and was regularly able to exploit room down the touch line when space was created by JT Manuofetoa and halves, Jed Bignell and Thomas Weaver on his inside.

In terms of chasing attacking kicks Kaleb Ngamanu has a very good leap and uses his forward momentum well to get above defenders, where the majority of the time he looks to catch the ball rather than hit it back to his team’s advantage, in my opinion that is not a bad thing at all.

Kaleb Ngamanu also has very good hands low to the ground on grubber kicks or when defenders drop bombs and uses his reach to get to the ball quickly before defenders. Kaleb Ngamanu will also chase general play kicks with vigour trying to improve the effectiveness of his teams kicking game.

Like all well coached youngsters Kaleb Ngamanu displays a sound defensive technique and a disciplined approach both from an individual and team perspective. From a defensive technique perspective Kaleb Ngamanu uses his shoulder well to disrupt the momentum of the ball carrier and does not “jumper” grab but rather drives through the tackle with his shoulder both in regards to a front on tackle or a side on tackle

Kaleb Ngamanu will play the remainder of the 2018 Gold Coast Junior Rugby League season with the Coomera Cutters in the U15 Division One competition.

Kaleb Ngamanu will also continue to play school boy rugby with TSS, this season in the U15A competition once again likely in the centres as well as being in line for U15 Gold Cup rugby selection.

TSS started their 2018 GPS U15A campaign in Round One against Anglican Church Grammar School at home on 21 July after a final trial away to Sunshine Coast Grammar School the week prior to the GPS First XV Round One fixture. Kaleb Ngamanu has been named on the bench for the final trial along with a number of likely starters for Round One.

From a position perspective, even though Kaleb Ngamanu spent the majority of his formative years in Western Australia playing five eight for me I believe that he will play in the centres long term and develop into a smooth moving elusive runner of the ball and quite an effective defender as well.

Obviously the time spent at five eight in Western Australia will only enhance his ball skills and assist in creating space for his support players wider out. I just think that Kaleb Ngamanu’s running skills will be better suited to playing in the centres or on the wing rather than imposing added pressure to be a play maker at five eight where it does not necessarily come as naturally as when he is running the ball out wider of the ruck.

I really am a proponent of youngster playing different sports, in this case in relation to Kaleb Ngamanu rugby at a high level in the GPS school boy competition. The “second” sport whether it is touch or rugby assists in the skill set development and exposure to different critical skill sets, tactical game situations and coaching philosophies.

From a player comparison perspective, consider the game of Cronulla Sharks fullback and Queensland State of Origin and Australian International winger Valentine Holmes in relation to Kaleb Ngamanu as a player who attacks the game full on and has the speed, timing, anticipation, skill and confidence to make things happen with or without the ball.

[mdrew]

Noah Gafa. (Revised) The young centre is deservedly in the Titans High Performance Unit, signing a two year deal during 2017 and continues to go from strength to strength with Currumbin as well as with PBC in relation to school boy rugby league.

Noah Gafa made his Hastings Deering’s Colts debut for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Round Sixteen against Burleigh last weekend starting in the centres and has been named on the wing for Round Seventeen against Wynnum Manly today.

For Currumbin in the Gold Coast Rugby League U17 Division One competition, Noah Gafa has made on outstanding start starting in the centres in each of his six matches and scoring eight tries along the way.

Noah Gafa scored a hat trick against Tweed Heads in Round Five and has also scored against Mudgeeraba, Helensvale, Ormeau and Bilambil in the opening four rounds to lead the U17 Division One try scoring list. Noah Gafa’s other try came against Burleigh in Round Six

Prior to the season proper, Noah Gafa was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad playing in all seven of their matches including their final against South’s Logan. Noah Gafa started his first five matches in the centres before starting from the interchange bench in Round Seven against Easts and then again in the semi-final against South’s Logan.

In the 2018 MM Cup competition Noah Gafa scored two tries, coming against the Victorian Thunderbolts in Round two and against the Townsville Blackhawks in Round Five.

Noah Gafa has also been in outstanding form for PBC including being involved in their matches against Keebra Park 22 – 20 win, Ipswich State High School 24 – 18 win and Marsden State High School 38 – 10 win in the Langer Cup competition when he started at left centre and scored two second half tries.

In the 2017 U16 GCJRL Division One competition, Noah Gafa scored 38 points for the Currumbin Eagles which has come from eight tries and three goals. All three of Noah Gafa’s goals came in the one match in June against the Ormeau Shearers. From a try scoring perspective, Noah Gafa had a great run of four matches from April 28 to May 26 where he scored in all four matches which, in order, where against Ormeau, Runaway Bay, Helensvale and against Ormeau a second time.

Noah Gafa also scored a hat trick against Burleigh in August against Burleigh and the match prior to that scored against Helensvale. Currumbin were the deserved Grand Final winners in the 2017 GCJRL U16 Division One competition, with Noah Gafa starting in the second row in their 34 – 4 Grand Final victory over Burleigh.

In 2017 Noah Gafa was also a key member of the PBC Open Rugby League side that performed so will in the GIO Cup competition and in fact he scored in their tough Queensland GIO Cup semi-final loss to Marsden State High School 22 – 20.

Earlier in 2017 season, Noah Gafa was selected in the Gold Coast Vikings Green U16 side for their South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition and in 2013 Noah Gafa was selected in the Queensland U12 side with fellow Titan Alofiana Khan-Periera.

For a centre Noah Gafa is a big strong young man who does not rely just on his size and speed and using his natural running balance to either engage the opposing defenders and off load, run either an inside or outside shoulder route or an in and away to slow the forward momentum of the defender and accelerate on the outside. For a player of his size, Noah Gafa also has a very good passing game especially to his left side. When the ball is passed out to the back line, Noah Gafa is very good at straitening up the attacking vector of his team and pass to his outside supports if they have room to move further out wide.

From a speed perspective has above average to plus speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, he will not be caught from behind other than from only the quickest of opponents and he is also very good at positioning his support players when he gets to the fullback. The only possible question about Noah Gafa’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the plus category as he matures and inevitably fills out.

Defensively Noah Gafa uses his size to good effect, he drives with his shoulder into his opponent and has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and his opposing centre gets on his outside.

Other defenders key off Noah Gafa in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside. Noah Gafa on an individual level has the body control to redirect quickly and mirror the movement of the opposing attackers and anticipate what vector the attack comes from and innately understands when to allow the attacking play to develop in from of him and when to come out of the line to disrupt the attacking play prior to its formation.

Noah Gafa will play out the 2018 GCJRL season with Currumbin at the U17 Division One level if he does not continue in the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts side as well as school boy rugby league with PBC in their GIO Cup and Langer Cup campaigns.

Noah Gafa is eligible once again for the MM Cup competition in 2019.

From a position perspective, Noah Gafa has played well in the centres in recent seasons including this season in the U17 Division One competition last year’s U16 Division One and pre-season representative competition but there is just something about the way that Noah Gafa plays that suggests that he will ultimately end up in the second row, not necessarily for a few years though.

As a young player Noah Gafa seemingly has it all, size, strength, size and power and uses those attributes to his advantage on a football field. For me a current rugby league player with similar attributes and a similar playing style is St George Dragon’s backrower Joel Thompson, as a big strong player who can transition between centre and second row.

I think that just like Joel Thompson, Noah Gafa’s skill set will ultimately play better in the second row over the long term but that is definitely not set in stone by any stretch of the imagination.

[mdrew]

Noah Gafa with his first Colts try this afternoon for Tweed Heads, he ended the match with a double.