My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

William Woolley. (Revised) He is a young second rower, who normally operates on the left side of the field for Tweed Heads originally from the Ballina Seagulls in the Group One Junior rugby league competition who is part of the Titans Rookie Squad and played this season as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts squad operating normally on the left side of the field.

Through the 2018 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, William Woolley was part of the game day 17 on ten occasions, starting six of those matches in the second row and two at lock being Round Twenty Two against Victoria.

William Woolley came into the side in Round two against Victoria and also started in the second row against Burleigh in Round Three before missing a number of matches through injury but was back starting in the second row in Rounds Seven against the Easts Tigers and also started in the second row in a 32 – 28 Round Eight victory over the Western Mustangs.

William Woolley scored three tries in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition this season, being in Rounds Eleven Twelve and Twenty Four against Northern Pride Sunshine Coast Falcons and the Easts Tigers respectively.

The 2017 season saw William Woolley on the Gold Coast playing for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the MM Cup and U20 Colts Challenge competitions and mid-season was for one match named in the Titans NYC extended 21 man squad but did not make his NYC debut.

William Woolley played the first four rounds of the 2017 MM Cup competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls starting all four matches in the second row and scoring a double in Round Two against Victoria. William Woolley broke into the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts Challenge side in Round Two when he started from the inter change bench against Easts and also came off the bench in Rounds Three and Four.

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

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

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

In 2015 William Woolley played for Ballina in the Group One U16.5 competition scoring four tries in a match against Kyogle and he also scored a double against Lismore Marist Brothers.

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

From an attacking perspective, William Woolley has a wide running mindset for a backrower with a very good turn of speed once he breaks through the line, he is speed would certainly play at the above average level in game situations for a backrower.

Like all good running backrowers though, William Woolley takes his share of runs in the middle of the ruck but he is impressive at running good lines on the fringes of the ruck and constantly picks the right holes to run into although he is not averse to running straight over people either when the need arises.

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

Defensively William Woolley hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls through his work on the ground in the wrestle. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in.

William Woolley is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier. His lateral speed is good and thus he can defend well against nippy runners who look to beat him with foot work.

William Woolley will be part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts squad once again in 2019 and will also likely play a number of matches for Tweed Heads in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition.

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

Corey Harawira-Naera currently of the Penrith Panthers however soon to be Canterbury Bulldog with his hard running coupled with his non-stop movement when running the ball into the defensive line as well as the intensity in his defence is an apt player comparison for the talented William Woolley.

[mdrew]

Alex Dunemann. (Updated) The talented young fullback, centre or five eight was part of the Western Mustangs MM Cup winning 2017 side that won the Queensland final with a 40-30 win over Souths Logan with the young man scoring the Western Mustangs second try in that match.

In 2018 Alex Dunemann started the season in the MM Cup competition, playing fullback in the Western Mustangs first three matches against Victoria, Ipswich and Norths and also coming off the bench in Round Five against Sunshine Coast. Unfortunately he suffered an injury during the MM Cup season.

Post the 2018 MM Cup competition, Alex Dunemann played the season with Southern Suburbs in the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition, but Alex Dunemann also broke through into the Southern Suburbs First Grade side making his debut in July against Toowoomba Brothers.

In his debut First Grade match, Alex Dunneman kicked a conversion and added two more conversions in his second and final First Grade match of the 2018 season against Highfields and Districts also in July 2018. Alex Dunneman started both of his First Grade matches at fullback after starting at fullback in the U18 match earlier in the day.

In total in the U18 TRL competition, Alex Dunneman played in sixteen matches including the finals series scoring two tries and kicking seven goals for a total point’s haul of 22 on the season. Alex Dunemann’s tries came as a result of a double against Dalby mid-way through the regular season.

Alex Dunemann started the first three finals for Southern Suburbs at fullback. In Week One of the Finals he kicked a goal in a 42 – 16 win over South Burnett and in the Preliminary Final in Week Three kicked three goals as Southern Suburbs qualified for the Grand Final with a 44 – 4 win over a Dalby side which contained Titan Henry Abdul-Rahman.

In the Grand Final Alex Dunneman started at fullback against Highfields and Districts with Southern Suburbs winning 38 – 10.

In the 2017 MM Cup competition Alex Dunemann came off the bench in Round Two but was in the starting side for the remainder of the MM Cup competition, playing all bar Round Eight in the centres, in Round Eight Alex Dunemann started at five eight. Alex Dunemann also started in the centres in the National Final against Parramatta but moved to five eight when Travis Turnbull was injured. In that final Alex Dunemann set up a try for fullback Denzel Burns with a deft left foot chip.

Post the 2017 MM Cup Competition Alex Dunemann played in the U18 Toowoomba Rugby League competition, playing three matches for South Suburbs, scoring in his first match in the competition against South Burnett and kicking a goal in a late season match against the Warwick Cowboys. Alex Dunemann also played in a 2017 TRL Presidents Cup match as well.

Alex Dunemann had a solid season in the U16 Toowoomba Junior Rugby League competition in 2016. For the Kingaroy Red Ants in 2016 Alex Dunemann scored 14 tries and kicked 10 goals across 15 games, including four in a match against South’s and three doubles which came against Dalby, Pittsworth and Gatton.

Alex Dunemann’s calling card from an attacking perspective is his passing and game management abilities, these were on show in the TJRL U16 competition over the course of the 2016 season when he directed his Kingaroy side around the paddock. In terms of his running game, Alex Dunemann is not going to be known as someone that is going to beat a defender with speed, but he does very good foot work that he uses to good effect in tight spaces.

Alex Dunemann has a very good step off both feet and can put together combinations of steps over a short distance to break free of situations where he is seemingly surrounded by defenders. Also maybe it’s only me, but he seemed to rarely take a big hit when running through the centre of the ruck.

Going back to his speed briefly, as noted Alex Dunemann is not super quick, but he does have some speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. His running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around.

Alex Dunemann’s kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus he finds the ground for a lot of his kicks. He can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line. An added bonus in relation to his kicking game is that he is a left foot kicker.

Defensively Alex Dunemann tackles well low and that is seemingly his main tactic against wide running forwards rather than trying to tackle them ball and all and potentially being bumped off. Against the bigger packs in the MM Cup competition, he was constantly battered by huge forwards running at him but he held his own all season.

His quick feet and sense of timing and anticipation enable him to see plays developing in front of him quickly and he is able to adjust and look to shut down the attacking play prior to it fully developing and being executed. In short he is quite a solid defender regardless of the position that he is occupying.

Alex Dunemann will start the 2019 season in the 2018 Western Mustangs U20 side and starting this season has two years of eligibility in that competition remaining.

Prior to the 2017 season, I admit I really only considered Alex Dunemann as a five eight but with his play in the centres in the MM Cup competition and at fullback in the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition a reassessment at least needs to be considered.

Alex Dunemann could conceivably play a number of positions such as fullback, centre or five eight but by a very small margin I think that the most appropriate utilisation of his skills is on at fullback but until then I am sure that Alex Dunemann will get opportunities certainly in the centres.

With is ability to gain separation from his opponent and sound positional sense, I see aspects of the game of current Titans fullback and former Palm Beach Currumbin student Michael Gordon in the play of Alex Dunemann.

Both Gordon and Alex Dunemann are rugby league players who will not present as flashy players but definitely solid and dependable ones.

[mdrew]

Chris Chambers. (Revised) The Titans linked outside back was part of 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.

Post the MM Cup competition 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 six Colts starting on the right wing in those matches as well.

In addition to his Round Ten double, Chris Chambers also scored in Round Seventeen against Redcliffe and in Round Twenty Three against Wynnum Manly Chris Chambers kicked a conversion.

In the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition for Toowoomba Valleys Chris Chambers played in a total of seven matches, scoring a try and kicking two goals, with the try coming against Pittsworth late in the season. Chris Chambers’ goals were kicked against Gatton and Warwick.

In early August Chris Chambers made his Toowoomba Rugby League Reserve Grade debut against Pittsworth.

The talented right winger made the most of playing outside of a talented halves combination for the 2017 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 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 2017 U18 Toowoomba Rugby League competition scoring six tries and kicking four conversions from eight games, 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 2017 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 Chris Chambers 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 over the course of the last two seasons.

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 and passing even when he is running at full pace.

Chris Chambers also has very good hands and over the course of the last two MM Cup seasons 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 be part of the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side in 2019 and will also be Colts eligible in 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.

I appreciate that Chris Chambers has played in the second row on a number of occasions for Toowoomba Valleys in the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition, but it is certainly not where I see his future, in the short to medium term at least.

Chris Chambers is just a solid player who seems to be able to break tackles even against far bigger opponents thus from a comparison perspective I can see aspects of the play of Melbourne Storm centre Chayse Blair when watching Chris Chambers play.

Chris Chambers is just an effective player who slips under the radar a little and probably will continue to do so for most if not all of his rugby league career.

[mdrew]

Mitchell Farlow. (Revised) The young lock or front rower from the Highfields club in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition was a solid performance for the Western Mustangs U16 Development Squad that played a match against the Titans U16 Development Squad in Lenox Heads in Northern New South Wales in October 2017.

Mitchell Farlow was part of the Western Mustangs MM Cup side in 2018, coming into the side in Round Six against the Burleigh Bears, a match that the Western Mustangs staged a remarkable comeback from 34 – 6 down to win 39 – 34.

Mitchell Farlow also played in Round Seven against the Souths Logan Magpies. Mitchell Farlow came off the bench in both of his MM Cup matches this season.

Post the MM Cup competition, Mitchell Farlow played in fourteen matches for Highfields and Districts including the Finals series in the U18 Toowoomba Rugby League competition including playing in the Grand Final against Southern Suburbs.

Highfields and Districts lost the Grand Final 38 – 10 with Mitchell Farlow starting from the interchange bench in the match.

The Southern Suburbs side had multiple players with Titans links, including Leslie Hartvigsen (centre), Alex Dunneman (fullback), Luke Maiden (front row), Jordan Crocker (second row) and Connor Williams (centre).

In 2017 Mitchell Farlow started a lock in the 2017 Toowoomba Junior Rugby League U16 Grand Final but his Highfields side were defeated by Toowoomba South’s 32 - 20. Over the course of the 2017 U16 competition, Mitchell Farlow started in nine matches for Highfields, including the Grand Final but did not cross the try line, it certainly was not through lack of effort that is for sure.

In 2017 Mitchell Farlow represented Toowoomba U16’s at the South West Mustangs U16 trials and from there was selected in the front row for the South West Mustangs side that participated in the U16 Central Division Carnival. At the conclusion of the Central Division Carnival Mitchell Farlow was selected in the Central Crows U16 side for the Queensland Age Championships.

Running with the football, Mitchell Farlow 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.

Mitchell Farlow does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability. Mitchell Farlow actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well.

Defensively Mitchell Farlow is a solid hitter, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads. One area where is quite effective whether he is defending on the fringes of the ruck or in the centre of the ruck including when he is defending at marker, is against smaller attackers who look to use their foot work.

Mitchell Farlow has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a forward and due to the fact that he also is not that tall, usually is able to wrap up the smaller attackers without his tackles slipping up to around the head or neck, and thus giving away penalties.

His ability to successfully defend against these types of attackers as well as having the technique to defend against larger forwards is one of a number of reasons that I consider that a future in the higher echelons of senior rugby league is certainly feasible.

In relation to the 2019 season, Mitchell Farlow will once again be part of the Western Mustangs MM Cup squad looking to add to his two matches from late this season and upon completion of that competition will play for Highfields and Districts in the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition.

Mitchell Farlow will also likely get a game or to with both the Western Mustangs U20 Colts side and in the Toowoomba Rugby League First Grade competition with Highfields and Districts.

The big strong barrel chested young man is certainly going to play in the centre third of the field and thus will be either a front rower or a lock over the remainder of his rugby league career.

From a player comparison perspective for Mitchell Farlow, a current NRL player with a similar playing style from my perspective is Parramatta Eels front rower Nathan Brown, as a solid forward who will probably never be a star but will be a solid contributor to a team’s forward pack.

[mdrew]

Henry Abdul-Rahman. (Revised) The talented young Dalby Devils backrower or hooker was a late call up to a Titans/Western Mustangs camp at Lennox Heads at the end of the 2017 rugby league season and performed more than well enough to be signed by the Titans for the next couple of years.

Henry Abdul-Rahman played four matches for the Western Mustangs MM Cup side this season coming into the side in Round Three against Ipswich starting from the bench. Henry Abdul-Rahman also started from the bench in Round Four (Norths), Round Five (Sunshine Coast) and Round Seven (Souths Logan).

In the Toowoomba Rugby League U18 competition, Henry Abdul-Rahman played in eleven matches including the finals series scoring six tries, a number being the first try of the match.

Henry Abdul-Rahman scored a double against Highfields and also scored against Pittsworth in two separate matches, Toowoomba Valleys and South Burnett.

Henry Abdul-Rahman’s 2018 U18 Toowoomba Rugby League season came to an end with a 44 – 4 Preliminary Final loss to a Titans filled Southern Suburbs side a fortnight ago.

Earlier this season Henry Abdul-Rahman was part of the Darling Downs side that took part in the U18 QSSRL Championships.

Henry Abdul-Rahman played the 2017 rugby league season with Dalby in the U16 Toowoomba Junior Rugby League competition, averaging a try a match through ten matches. Henry Abdul-Rahman had a great start to the season scoring a hat trick in his first match of the season against Toowoomba Brothers and also scored doubles against Pittsworth, Brothers and against eventual Premiers Souths in a finals loss.

In 2016 Henry Abdul-Rahman represented Darling Downs in the U15 QSSRL Championships starting the majority of matches from the interchange bench but certainly made an impact when he came on including scoring on Day One against South Coast and Day Two against Northern.

Henry Abdul-Rahman is a talented all round hooker, who excels at all three critical aspects of the modern day hooker, those being his distribution out of dummy half, selective running out of dummy half and defending in the centre of the ruck. In terms of his distribution out of dummy half, he is efficient in his passing and there is little wasted movement as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand then pass.

In the games that I have seen there is no discernible difference between Henry Abdul-Rahman’s passing from either side of his body, and his passes are crisp and flat and also he can pass a reasonable distance off the ground when the first receiver is standing a little wider of the play the ball.

Where Henry Abdul-Rahman is also extremely effective is leading his forwards onto the ball, he passes in front of the forward ensuring no loss of momentum to the run. In short Henry Abdul-Rahman is a very good game manager from the hooking position.

Where Henry Abdul-Rahman really stands out in terms of attacking play, is his speed out of dummy half, he is extremely quick and has exceptional footwork to take advantage of tiring forwards, using a step off either feet to look to break through the initial defensive line.

Henry Abdul-Rahman is very successful running at forwards who are offside, if the offside forward is called out of the play he has the speed to break into open space and has the pace to make it difficult for the cover defence to get to him.

Around the try line Henry Abdul-Rahman is also very good at making the right decision whether the go himself for the try line or pass, where he gets down low and drives with his legs. Due to the pace that Henry Abdul-Rahman plays the game at and his speed he is always available in terms of backing up in the centre of the ruck, when forwards get their arms free.

Henry Abdul-Rahman’s defence for a hooker is very good for a smaller type of forward he is a hard hitter and can defend effectively one on one against far larger forwards, he sets a good base with his lower body and explodes upwards with his shoulders to drive opposing forwards backwards and is also very good at slowing the play the ball down.

Henry Abdul-Rahman’s intensity means that he will track the play across and thus is in a good position to affect the tackle if the ball is passed back inside.

Henry Abdul-Rahman will play the 2019 season as part of the Western Mustangs MM Cup squad and if he does not get an immediate call up to the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition on its completion will continue to play for Dalby in the U18 Toowoomba competition and will in all likelihood get a Toowoomba Rugby League First Grade opportunity as well.

Henry Abdul-Rahman has played a bit in the backrow especially for Dalby this season and even in the halves for the Western Mustangs in the 2018 MM Cup but for me I believe that hooker will be his best position moving forward although just like how the Titans used Nathan Peats this season, that is starting the match at hooker and then transitioning to the backrow when Mitch Rein is injected to the match.

From an NRL player comparison perspective, due to his distribution, running, defence and the speed and intensity that he plays the game at, a playing style akin to Titans and former New South Wales State of Origin hooker Nathan Peats is certainly not an unreasonable playing comparison.

[mdrew]

Jayden Sharp. (Revised) The big strong young front rower or lock won the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League U17 Division One player of the year in 2017 and maintained his impressive form and enhanced his reputation throughout the 2018 season across multiple levels and competitions.

Jayden Sharp started the season in the Burleigh MM Cup side and had a solid Round One on the Sunshine Coast being part of Burleigh’s 52 – 22 MM Cup victory as well as scoring a first half try for the Bears.

In total for Burleigh in the MM Cup competition Jayden Sharp played in all six of Burleigh’s matches starting his first three matches from the interchange bench before breaking into the starting line-up in Round Four. Jayden Sharp then started the final two Burleigh matches in the front row.

Jayden Sharp broke into the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side for their Round Thirteen match against Ipswich. Jayden Sharp went on to play an additional seven Hastings Deering’s Colts matches starting the first three from the interchange bench, and coming into the starting side in the front row in Round 17 against Norths and he maintained his starting spot in the front row for the remaining rounds.

Jayden Sharp’s sole U20 Colts try came in Round Sixteen in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Post the MM Cup competition Jayden Sharp played a number of Helensvale in the GCRL competition prior to his inevitable promotion to the Burleigh Colts side.

In his first U19 match of the season for Helensvale after the completion of the MM Cup competition Jayden Sharp dominated Beaudesert scoring a hat trick and a fortnight later scored a double against Ormeau. In Round Sixteen with the Burleigh Colts side having a bye, Jayden Sharp was back for the U19 Helensvale side starting in the front row an scoring his six try against Runaway Bay. In total in the U19 competition Jayden Sharp played in five matches and scored the a fore mentioned six tries.

Jayden Sharp made his Doug Lipp Cup debut for Helensvale in early May against Currumbin and scored on debut as well. The following week Jayden Sharp also played in the Doug Lipp Cup this time against Ormeau and also scored. In each of his three Doug Lipp appearances Jayden Sharp was backing up after playing in the U19 match earlier in the day.

Jayden Sharp had an outstanding 2017 season with the Helensvale Hornets in the GCJRL U17 Division One competition culminating in him starting at lock in Helensvale’s 34 – 20 Grand Final victory over the Ormeau Shearers. Titans linked team mates of Jayden Sharp that night included centre Braden Amusden and front rower David Butler.

Jayden Sharp played in fourteen U17 Division One contests and three more in the U17 Division Two contests for Helensvale this season. In the U17 Division Two competition, Jayden Sharp scored all of his three tries in that grade in his last match for the year there when he scored a hat trick against Beaudesert in July.

From his fourteen U17 Division One matches, Jayden Sharp scored eleven tries to finish third on the try scoring list. Jayden Sharp scored a hat trick against Ormeau in June and scored doubles in consecutive matches late in the season including a semi-final against the Bilambil Jets. The match prior to the semi-final Jayden Sharp scored a double against Runaway Bay.

In addition to playing for Helensvale in 2017, Jayden Sharp also represented the U18 PNG Kokomo’s in the QPIIC tournament held late last year and had an outstanding match in that competition against the Cook Islands when in addition to scoring PNG’s first try set up a second half PNG try with a deft chip kick for his winger to cross. Jayden Sharp was almost the hero for PNG against Queensland Maori but unfortunately he had a try disallowed which would have broken an 8 all deadlock.

Jayden Sharp is a big strong powerful aggressive young man and uses these attributes when he runs with the ball, he will take the line on and look to drop his shoulder into the defender who is looking initiate contact.

Jayden Sharp can also off load the football both before the line and when he is being tackled, he seems to be one of those players with the innate ability to get his hands free, or more accurately his right hand free.

Jayden Sharp is always the player standing back deep from kick ups to take the first hit up and will charge straight at the line. Jayden Sharp also is quite quick for a big young bloke, both in terms of explosive speed off the mark and agile from a footwork perspective but also with speed over an extended distance.

In defence, Jayden Sharp can certainly hit very hard and for a solidly built player has quite decent endurance thus allowing him to get back quickly into the defensive line play after play. Where he is also very good, due to his good athletic skills is for a front rower is effectively tackling smaller attackers in the centre of the ruck. Jayden Sharp does not fall for dummies and is difficult to step as he mirrors the lateral movement of the attacker to effectively wrap up the opposing player.

Jayden Sharp will play out the remainder of the 2018 season with the Burleigh Colts side and still has two years of Colts eligibility remaining.

From a position perspective Jayden Sharp will be a centre third of the field type of player and thus with either line up in the front row or lock for any team that he plays for in rugby league.

The Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International lock Josh Maguire is a great player comparison for Jayden Sharp. Like Maguire, Jayden Sharp works all day both in attack and defence and when you least except in, he will produce a great offload or massive hit to ignite his team.

Jayden Sharp has handled everything that has been thrown at him this season and that bodes well for the future for this talented young man.

Jayden Sharp was outstanding in 2017 and he has progressed at an exponential rate in 2018 as a result of hard work and dedication will still more yet to come.

[mdrew]

Cooper Many. The talented Lower Clarence Magpies second rower was a revelation this year for Lower Clarence in the NRRRL U18 competition and as just 17 years old is certainly going to be some sort of player when all is said and done.

Cooper Many started the 2018 season as part of the Northern Rivers Laurie Daley Cup U18 side, playing in four matches, starting all in the second row with those matches coming against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad, North Coast, Central Coast Roosters and the Greater Northern Tigers.

From a club perspective in 2018, Cooper Many linked up in the second row for the Lower Clarence Magpies in the U18 NRRRL competition, progressing all the way to the Preliminary Final before falling to the Ballina Seagulls 30 - 14.

Cooper Many played in sixteen U18 NRRRL matches for the Magpies this season including finals and scored eight regular season tries. Each of Cooper Many’s tries came in individual games including games against Lismore Marist Brothers, Ballina, Murwillumbah, Casino RSM, Cudgen and Evans Head.

In 2017 Cooper Many played for the Clarence Coast Magpies in the U16.5 competition and finished as the competitions leading try scorer with ten tries from just twelve matches. Cooper Many scored a hat trick against Ballina and a double against Lismore Marist Brothers.

Cooper Many has previously represented Group One at the U14 and U15 levels in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Cooper Many is a hard running forward who is very good at running the right line including both and inside shoulder and outside shoulder line and consistently hits the pass off either the dummy half or play maker flat thus generating his best possible speed and momentum to hit the defensive line at full speed.

Where he really excels though is his footwork, Cooper Many has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late.

Cooper Many is adept at cutting back behind the play the ball area when the markers do not work hard and make ground as a result. When Lower Clarence were in the attacking area, Cooper Many was regularly used to draw the defence into the centre of the ruck thus stretching the defensive line out wide to allow the backline more room to move.

Even when he is taking a hit up in the centre of the ruck, Cooper Many’s feet are always moving and he is constantly making slight corrections to his running vector and he is also able to maintain his speed regardless of those multiple directional changes. He seems just to run and think at a faster pace than other forwards on the field.

These attributes lead to a lot of line breaks and he has the speed to convert them into tries himself. Cooper Many’s speed is probably a bit above average but it is the speed that he is able to generate from only a few paces which makes it play faster from a defenders perspective.

Defensively he hits very hard and had one of the better defensive technique s in the NRRRL U18 competition this season. Cooper Many’s technique revolves around timing and execution. Cooper Many’s head is almost always correctly positioned and he always drives with his shoulder and never just jersey grabs.

From the matches that I have seen Cooper Many also tackles with both shoulders equally effectively. The impressive thing for me also is that Cooper Many never seems to bounce off the ball when he makes a front on tackle meaning his target area and the ability to hit the area on a regular basis is quite exceptional for a reasonably inexperienced forward.

Another defensive aspect that I noted during the 2018 season was that Cooper Many does not just make one tackle at a time, he makes a series of tackles one after another all as clinical and effective as the one before.

Cooper Many’s lateral speed and mobility is quite good due to his quick twitch feet and thus he is effective at defending against smaller dynamic runners out of dummy half as well as half backs and five eights running of the fringes looking to isolate forwards.

Cooper Many is once again U18 eligible in 2019 and whilst he will play a lot of the season in the NRRRL U18 competition, Cooper Many will I am sure make his NRRRL First Grade debut for the Lower Clarence Magpies.

Cooper Many will also in all likelihood line up for his second season in the U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition with the Northern Rivers Titans in 2019.

Cooper Many has a number of traits that certainly lend themselves to a player comparison to Titans and Queensland State of Origin backrower Jai Arrow. Both are hardworking forwards who will impress rugby league followers with their skill and effort.

[mdrew]

George Etuale-Noa. (Revised)To say that George Etuale-Noa had a good 2018 season would be an absolute understatement. For the Coomera Cutters in the U17 Division Two competition he was simply outstanding leading his side all of the way to the Grand Final.

Over the course of the 2018 U17 Division Two season George Etuale-Noa played in fourteen matches for Coomera including the finals series scoring a competition leading twenty seven tries at an impressive strike rate of 193%.

In the regular season George Etuale-Noa scored six tries in a late season match against Jimboomba (he scored four against them in the finals) and hat tricks against Jimboomba who must have been sick of the sight of him by seasons end and Currumbin, with those hat tricks coming in consecutive rounds. George Etuale-Noa also scored regular season doubles against Beaudesert and of course Jimboomba.

In four matches against Jimboomba this season including one finals match George Etuale-Noa scored fifteen tries for a strike rate against the Thunder of 375%.

In Week Two of the U17 Division Two finals series George Etuale-Noa started at lock for Coomera scoring a try as the Cutters went down 28 – 16 to Currumbin.

In Week Three of the U17 Division Two finals series the Cutters bounced back from their previous week’s finals loss to put Jimboomba to the sword in the Preliminary winning 62 – 4 with George Etuale-Noa started in the front row and scoring four tries.

In the Grand Final George Etuale-Noa started in the front row and scored a hat trick but could not prevent Coomera going down 24 – 18 to Currumbin.

George Etuale-Noa also had an outstanding 2017 campaign with the Coomera Cutters playing in two different age groups and was also selected in the 2018 Burleigh Bears MM Cup training squad.

George Etuale-Noa started off the 2017 season in the U17 Division Two competition playing in seven matches scoring against Burleigh Heads and Nerang. Around mid-season, George Etuale-Noa started playing more for the Cutters in the U16 Division Two competition where he was near unstoppable averaging a try a match through eight games.

George Etuale-Noa started off his time in the U16 Division Two competition with a double against Nerang and finished it with a hat trick against Nerang as well. In between George Etuale-Noa scored a double against Helensvale and he also scored against Ormeau to account for his eight tries in the U16 Division Two competition.

George Etuale-Noa is a hard running player who never seems to just put his head down and runs straight, he always uses a slight step prior to contacting the defensive line, coupled with the fact that he drops his shoulder into defenders, means that he is a bit of a handful to tackle and he is not often knocked back onto his heals. George Etuale-Noa is also good at maintaining his momentum and body control after impacting the defensive line.

George Etuale-Noa seems to have a high work rate and I would suggest that he would normally be at or near the top of his team’s statistics in terms of the number of hit ups he makes and on occasion runs a very good inside shoulder route to supplement his other attacking attributes. He does not off-load the ball much however and probably never be one based on how he asked to play the game.

Defensively George Etuale-Noa aims hits very hard and usually hits around the top of the ball region 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 by using wrestling techniques well.

Last year his speed and mobility seemed to have increased and as a consequence he was better able to mirror the opposition attackers more effectively. George Etuale-Noa will make opponents feel every tackle that he makes.

George Etuale-Noa is eligible for the MM Cup competition is 2019 and will play in the U19 Gold Coast Rugby League competition post the completion of that competition.

From a position perspective, George Etuale-Noa seems to have the skill attributes and mentality to stay in the front row or at lock as he moves through the senior rugby league competitions.

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

[mdrew]

Lewis Cooper. (Revised) He is a young front rower who moved with his older brother and former Titans junior development squad member Austin “Aussie” Cooper to the Sawtell Panthers from the South Grafton Rebels in the Tooheys New Group Two competition in Northern New South Wales for this year’s Group Two season.

Lewis Cooper who played a number of U14 matches for the Titans junior development squads was named in the North Coast Dolphins U18 side starting in the front row (wearing the No. 17 jersey) for Round One of the Laurie Daley Cup competition against the Sydney Roosters aligned Central Coast Centurions being Round Two after having a Round One bye. Lewis Cooper also started in the front row in Round Three against Northern Rivers in Coffs Harbour a match that North Coast won 36 – 6 over their fierce local rivals.

Lewis Cooper scored a double for the North Coast U18 side in their 40 – 20 win in Round Two against Central Coast, the first try coming inside the first two minutes and the second coming in the 54th minute. In fact Lewis Cooper could have had two more tries but was brought down inches short of the try line directly under the posts in the second half twice just prior to his second try.

Lewis Cooper did not impact the score board in Round Three against Northern Rivers like he did in Round Two but still had a couple of highlights, including a great right arm off load in the eight minute when he shook off a defender who went to tackling him around the chest, a huge collision with Titans linked Northern Rivers front rower Jordan Tauali’i which shook the entire ground and in the second half made a run of about 20 metres where after smashing through the Northern Rivers defensive line dragged a number of defenders with him as a result of sheer strength and power and the ability to keep his legs pumping even under extreme duress.

A team mate in the North Coast side is Titans contracted standout second rower Ben Liyou. Lewis Cooper also represented the East Coast Dolphins at the U16 level in 2016 and was named in the U18 East Coast Dolphins 2017 squad but did not play any matches that season.

For the Sawtell Panthers in the 2018 Toohey’s Group Two competition Lewis Cooper played matches in all three grades.

In ten regular season Group Two U18 matches, Lewis Cooper finished as the equal leading try scorer with ten tries from nine games in the regular season and he was only kept from scoring in two of those matches. Lewis Cooper scored doubles against the Grafton Ghosts, South Grafton Rebels and Bellingen. Lewis Cooper’s other tries came against Macksville in two separate matches, Coffs Harbour and Grafton.

Lewis Cooper and his U18 Sawtell Panthers were defeated in the Group Two Grand Final 16 – 12 against Macksville.

Lewis Cooper also played one Group Two Reserve Grade regular season match this season scoring a double in that match against South Grafton in May.

Lewis Cooper made his Group Two First Grade debut for Sawtell in in April of this year against his former club the Grafton Ghosts (Lewis Cooper played eight First Grade matches for Grafton in 2017) scoring against his former team mates. Lewis Cooper also scored a late season double against Grafton, clearly Lewis Cooper thrived on playing against his former team mates. Lewis Cooper’s other 2018 Group Two First Grade try came against Nambucca heads in Round Two.

In total in the 2018 Group Two First Grade regular season, Lewis Cooper played in seven regular season matches scoring the above mentioned four tries.

Lewis Cooper played the 2017 season with the South Grafton Rebels playing in both the first Grade and U18 competitions and was a key contributor to the success of both sides.

In the U18 Durbridge Family Trophy competition in 2017, Lewis Cooper scored five tries from as many matches including doubles against Coffs Harbour and Sawtell and in the Group Two Tooheys New Shield Lewis Copper scored a single try from eight matches with the try coming against Orara Valley in early July.

Lewis Cooper played the 2016 season in the Group One U16.5 competition, playing in nine matches and averaging just under two tries a match to pace the competition from a try scoring perspective. Only in the final game of the season was an opposition side able to keep him try less, that opponent being Casino RSM.

Lewis Cooper scored four tries in a match against Kyogle in August and he also crossed for a hat trick against Marist Brothers in May 2016. Lewis Cooper also crossed for four doubles being against Kyogle, Clarence Coast, Ballina and Casino RSM.

Lewis Cooper also played rugby in 2016, including making the Mid North Coast Axemen representative side and from there he was selected in the New South Wales Country Cockatoos U16 side. In rugby he played both centre and No. 8 and apparently even played some fullback as well.

In 2016 Lewis Cooper was also selected in the New South Wales Combined High School’s Open Schoolboy rugby side that toured South Africa for the St John’s College Annual Easter Rugby Festival, a great achievement considering that he missed the trials with injury.

On the 2016 South African tour Lewis Cooper played in all four of NSW CHS’s matches, starting the first two from the interchange and coming into the starting line-up for the final two matches, including playing against South African side Paarl Boys High who have not lost a match in four years that includes matches against the top New Zealand School Boy sides.

From his four matches on the South African tour, Lewis Cooper was named Man of the Match in two and was also named as the NSW CHS Best Back of the tour, an impressive feat as a 16 year old.

In short Lewis Cooper is a big strong young man with surprising speed for his size both in terms of the initial burst and extended straight line speed. When he runs the ball, and I will mainly refer to play in the forwards as that is where I think that he ultimately ends up, Lewis Cooper is like a wrecking ball, he has a strong upper body which allows him to shrug off tacklers who look to go high and whilst he does not use a great deal of foot work prior to the line has shown enough to suggest that this will be able to be incorporated into his game as he progresses.

Both of Lewis Cooper’s two tries in Round Two of the Laurie Daley Cup highlighted the strength and power discussed above. On both occasions he took the ball from around ten metres out and just charged through a set defensive to score. In fact Lewis Cooper’s first three runs were all outstanding. His first try scoring run was his first run of the game, his second came from the third hit-up from the kick off from his try and his third was in the next set of six that North Coast had.

In terms of his speed, once Lewis Cooper gets past the initial contact, he really move and his speed would be considered as plus for a front rower of his size and to be fair it is also at the above average for a centre.

Defensively defence Lewis Cooper uses his size and strength to make very solid initial contact and certainly can take on all opposing forwards one on one. He is not averse to looking for the big hit but does have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining decent leverage and reasonable agility and lateral movement when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck, although clearly Lewis Cooper is more effective in the centre of the ruck, but he has the speed and lateral mobility to defend wider out as well.

The 2019 season will be an interesting one for Lewis Cooper as he is no longer U18 eligible. If he stays in Sawtell Lewis Cooper is a certainty to play a key role for the Sawtell First Grade side, if he chooses to try his luck in the U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition with either Tweed Heads or Burleigh it is hard to see that he would not make an immediate impact with his combination of size, strength speed and mobility.

From an ultimate position perspective, due to his combination of size and speed playing in the front row seems the most plausible position projection for Lewis Cooper.

The power and intensity of Canterbury Bulldog, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International forward David Klemmer is mirrored by Lewis Cooper he is just an intimidating presence on a football field and a young player who will only to continue to get better and better as he gains more experience there is certainly a lot of raw ability and untapped potential to work with.

If Lewis Cooper can continue to work on his endurance, functional strength and mobility he really does have an extraordinary set of skills both from a physical perspective as well as a rugby league skill attribute perspective.

Obviously luck is also involved as well, his brother Austin had a similar skill set but unfortunately multiple knee and ankle injuries severely affected his development although he is now fit and performing very well in the Group Two First Grade competition.

[mdrew]

Daniel Butterini. (Revised) He is a local young centre originally from just south of the border, who is part of the Titans High Performance Program and is also at PBC State High School as part of their Rugby League excellence program. Daniel Butterini was also part of the Titans U15 squad that played against a Balmain Tigers selection late last year, in that match Daniel Butterini spent the majority of the game in the centres.

At the start of this season, Daniel Butterini was part of the Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side that competed in the U16 South East Queensland Challenge and post that competition was called up to be part of the South East Queensland Green side for the Queensland U16 Age Championships playing all four of their matches including the Championship final which SEQ Green won 30 – 18 SEQ White.

Daniel Butterini played his club rugby league this season with Currumbin playing in twelve U16 Division One matches including the finals series scoring three tries in total, including a double against Mudgeeraba and also scored early in the season against Runaway Bay.

Daniel Butterini started for Currumbin in the U16 Division One Grand Final but was on the losing side with Nerang coming out victorious 24 – 8.

Daniel Butterini also played one match this season in the U17 Division One competition with that match coming against the Bilambil Jets late in the 2018 season.

Daniel Butterini was selected this season in the South Coast U15 QSSRL side in 2017. Earlier in the 2017 season Daniel Butterini was also selected in the Group 18 U15 squad after representing Group 18 at the U14 level in 2016 where he played primarily at fullback in the New South Wales Country Age Championships.

In late 2015 Daniel Butterini was named on the wing for the Titans U13 development squad for their match against a Toowoomba U14 selection, but unfortunately he did not participate in the match due to injury. In 2014 Daniel Butterini was named in the New South Wales North Coast U12 rugby league side from the Burringbar Public School in Murwillumbah.

For a centre, Daniel Butterini is a 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, Daniel Butterini also has a very good passing game especially to his right side. When the ball is passed out to the back line, Daniel Butterini 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 Daniel Butterini has above average speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, he will rarely be caught from behind other than from only the fastest of opponents and he is also very good at positioning his support players when he gets to the fullback. The only possible question about Daniel Butterini’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the above average category as he matures and inevitably fills out.

Defensively Daniel Butterini uses his physical characteristics 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.

For me when I saw him play for either PBC or Burleigh Daniel Butterini was the defensive leader of the three quarter line and other defenders keyed off him in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside.

Daniel Butterini 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.

In 2019 Daniel Butterini will likely be part of either the Burleigh or Tweed Heads MM Cup squads (tweed Heads most likely) as well as playing for the Currumbin Eagles U17 Division One side and for PBC in their various school boy competitions including the GIO Cup.

Daniel Butterini has played primarily in the centres throughout his junior rugby league career but has spent some time in the second row this season. For me though it is far too early to write Daniel Butterini off in terms of not being able to stay in the centres long term.

A player with a similar playing style for me for Daniel Butterini would be Cronulla Sharks centre Ricky Leutele, they are both around the same size and look to use their size and speed to their advantage to dominate the opponent directly in front of them.

[mdrew]

Brody Jones. (Revised) The tough young Lismore Marist Brothers second rower’s 2017 rugby league season finished with him attending the Titans U16 High Performance Academy camp in Lennox Heads in late 2017 where he played for the Titans in their match against a Western Mustangs U16 side that was also attending the high performance camp.

This season in the NRRRL U18 competition Brody Jones played in thirteen regular season matches for Lismore Marist Brothers scoring an impressive nine tries along the way for a strike rate of 69.23%.

Brody Jones scored a hat trick against Kyogle mid-season and the week prior scored a double against Murwillumbah. Brody Jones also had a good try scoring run late in the season when he scored in consecutive rounds against Casino RSM, Lower Clarence and Tweed Coast. Brody Jones’s remaining try came in Round Three once again against Tweed Coast.

Brody Jones played for Lismore Marist Brothers in two different competitions in 2107 being the U16.5 Group One Junior Rugby League competition and the NRRRL competition at the U18 level.

For Lismore Marist Brothers in the 2017 Group One U16.5 competition, Brody Jones played in twelve matches for the 4th placed Rams scoring three tries including two in two weeks against Ballina and Clarence Coast and later in the season Brody Jones scored against Casino RSM.

In total Brody Jones also played four matches at the U18 level in the 2017 NRRRL competition with his first match coming in early April against the Tweed Coast Raiders which included the outstanding young forward Oscar Clarke.

In 2016 Brody Jones was selected on the bench for the U15 New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges Northern Region side for their annual trials.

Brody Jones 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 Brody Jones with significant force rather than allowing them to impact on his momentum.

Once he is in space, Brody Jones actually has very good speed for a second rower, 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 Brody Jones his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Brody Jones 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. Brody Jones sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

Defensively Brody Jones 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.

Brody Jones is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier’s momentum.

Whilst his stamina is impressive, so is his initial contact, Brody Jones uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier. Brody Jones is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers.

Defensively in a covering role Brody Jones is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward he has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.

Brody Jones’s good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork by moving forward in a measured and calculating manner.

Brody Jones 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.

Brody Jones will still be eligible to play in the U18 NRRRL competition in 2019 and may also get an opportunity in the NRRRL First Grade competition with Lismore Marist Brothers.

U18 Laurie Daley Cup selection also looms for Brody Jones in 2019 for the newly minted Northern Rivers Titans.

With his size, strength, speed and aggressive streak Brody Jones has the ideal build and mentality to forge a success career in the second row on a rugby league field.

Extrapolating what Brody Jones brings to an NRL side leads me to a player comparison to aggressive Titans forward Keegan Hipgrave. Like Hipgrave, Brody Jones seems to really enjoy the competitive aspects of rugby league and he also clearly likes the physical contact as well.

[mdrew]

Reece Tapine. (Revised) The former Sydney Roosters U18 SG Ball outside back made every post a winner in his first season on the Gold Coast in 2018 after being rewarded with a starting spot on the left wing for the Burleigh Bears U20 side for their Round One matches against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

Reece Tapine’s debut was a good one scoring in Burleigh’s big 52 -22 victory over the Sunshine Coast Falcons. Reece Tapine also started on the left wing for Burleigh’s Round Two match against the Redcliffe Dolphins on the Gold Coast and once again scored to have a 100% strike rate after the first two rounds of the 2018 season.

In total in the 2018 Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts competition, Reece Tapine played in seventeen matches scoring eight tries. Reece Tapine scored doubles in Round Six against the Western Mustangs and in Round Eleven against Easts.

Reece Tapine’s other four tries came in Rounds One, Two, Eight and Thirteen against Sunshine Coast, Redcliffe, Central Queensland and Ipswich.

Reece Tapine started his first seven U20 Colts matches this season on the wing before moving to the centres in Round Eight against Central Queensland and remaining there for the remainder of the 2018 season.

Late in the 2018 season Reece Tapine was promoted to the Burleigh Bears Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side scoring on debut against Bilambil in Round Sixteen and also scored in his second and first GCRL First Grade match of the season against Tugun the following round being Round Seventeen. Reece Tapine started both of those matches in the centres.

The former Springfield Panthers junior rugby league player played in two matches for the Sydney Roosters in the 2017 U18 SG Ball competition. In that competition the former Trinity College Beenleigh student played in matches against the Cronulla Sharks and the Penrith Panthers starting both matches being Rounds One and Two on the left wing.

The Sydney Roosters signed Reece Tapine from the Ipswich region where he played for the Springfield Panthers with his last year there being the 2016 season representing the Panthers in the Ipswich U17 competition scoring eleven tries from just thirteen matches. For the Springfield Panthers, Reece Tapine spent the vast majority of his playing time in the centres.

Reece Tapine also represented Trinity College with distinction across a number of seasons including at the Open level in the 2015 QISSRL Confraternity Shield Division Two competition as a 16 year old starring against St Joseph’s Assumption College when he scored a double starting in the centres.

Reece Tapine’s Round One try against the Sunshine Coast Falcons came as a result of him maintaining his position and spacing. It was not a spectacular try in the context of a dive for the corner and so forth but as the ball went to the left through the hands of Titans due five eight Taine Tuaupiki and left centre Jaxon Paulo, Reece Tapine stayed on his wing and did not over run the ball to make it easy for Jaxson Paulo (who was outstanding on the day and on the season for that matter) to draw and pass to send Reece Tapine over in the left corner untouched.

Reece Tapine’s try in Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins can also be put down to his positioning. After a long break by Burleigh and with the Redcliffe defence all over the place it would have been easy for Reece Tapine to come in from the left wing looking to be the hero, but instead he stayed on his wing.

Burleigh half back Harry Fitzhugh got the ball from the dummy half and seeing Reece Tapine out wide to the left unmarked put in a deft chip which Reece Tapine took easily on the full to cross untouched and was even able to bring the ball around to near the posts to make the conversion a lot easier for Jaxson Paulo.

Whilst in does not have a great deal of speed off the mark, Reece Tapine does have above average top end speed once he gets moving and can break tackles by using a very good fend, when he gets to the outside, this prevents defenders from getting he under his ribs and thus he can maintain his running line under defensive pressure.

When engaged with the defensive line Reece Tapine also has a reasonable offload and when he breaks through the main defensive line he is also very effective at setting up his support players, by committing the fullback before off-loading.

Reece Tapine also has a more than 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. Reece Tapine is just a solid attacking player and before you realise he has made a number of breaks and scored multiple tries.

Reece Tapine 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.

Reece Tapine 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 Reece Tapine 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 Reece Tapine is just solid defensively there is really no other word to describe it.

Reece Tapine is eligible for the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition again 2019 and will also likely add to his two matches for Burleigh in the GCRL First Grade competition.

Whilst he has spent some of his junior rugby league career in the centres I think that where Reece Tapine is playing for Burleigh Colts, being the left wing is his best position in terms of the utilisation of his key skills being his straight line speed and discipline in terms of the positioning and spacing.

From a player comparison perspective for Reece Tapine, think of someone like St George Dragons and New Zealand International Shaun Nightingale as an extremely competent winger who may not make highlight reel plays on a regular basis but quietly does what needs to be done in terms of safe hands, positioning spacing and scoring when the opportunity presents.

Reece Tapine is a quietly effective player will not make mistakes either with his hands or his positioning and will also be a regular contributor on the score board from a try scoring perspective whether playing in the centres or on the wing. He is definitely not a flashy winger like say Canberra Raiders winger Jordan Rapana but Reece Tapine is an effective one none the less.

[mdrew]

Thomas Farragher. (Revised) The young Kyogle half back has already been in and around Titans development squad after spending time in recent seasons training with the Titans. In 2018 Thomas Farragher played in two competitions for the Kyogle Turkeys being the U16.5 competition in Group One and the U18 NRRRL competition.

After the competition of the Andrew Johns Cup Thomas Farragher played for the Turkeys in the Group One U16.5 competition and also played a number of matches for Kyogle in the NRRRL U18 competition, not a bad effort at all for a 16 year old.

For Kyogle in the Group One U16.5 competition Thomas Farragher played in ten matches and averaged more than a try a game on the way to scoring eleven tries. Included in those eleven tries was a late season hat trick against Ballina and doubles against Lismore Marist Brothers and Casino RSM.

Thomas Farragher also scored tries against Clarence Coast in two separate matches, Casino RSM and Ballina. The try against Ballina was in Week One of the 2018 Group One U16.5 finals that saw Kyogle knocked out as a result of a 26 – 16 finals loss.

For Kyogle in the 2018 NRRRL U18 competition Thomas Farragher made his debut in May against Murwillumbah and went on to play an additional five U18 NRRRL matches, scoring two tries in the process. Thomas Farragher scored his first NRRRL U18 try in just his second game in that competition against Grand Finalists Cudgen and also scored against Casino RSM late in the season.

Early this season Thomas Farragher was part of the Northern Rivers U16 side that participated in the inaugural Andrew Johns Cup. In that competition Thomas Farragher played in three matches, coming off the bench on all three occasions, being Round One against the Newcastle Development Squad, Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters and Northern Rivers finals match against the Western Rams.

In those matches Thomas Farragher played primarily as a backup in the halves and hooker.

Early in the 2017 season Thomas Farragher was part of the U15 New South Wales Combined High Schools trials and was the starting five eight for the Group One U15 representative side and the New South Wales Combined High Schools U15 side.

Thomas Farragher late last year received a Northern New South Wales local sports champion award for his performances over the course of the 2017 rugby league season.

In 2017 season Thomas Farragher played eight matches in the Group One U15 Junior Rugby League competition scoring eight tries to average a try a match including an early season double against Lismore Marist Brothers and he also scored tries against Casino RSM and Ballina.

In 2016 the young Kyogle Turkeys halfback had a solid start to his club season which culminated in his selection in the Group One U14 side that competed in the New South Wales Country Age championships in Forster. In those championships he played in all three of Group Ones matches including their 58 – 0 win over Group 19 on Saturday and both of their Sunday matches against Central Coast and their Northern Trophy final loss to Group 21.

Over the course of the three matches that Group One played, he scored two tries which came against Group 19 on Saturday and then scored his team’s only try on their 20 – 6 loss against Central Coast early on Sunday morning.

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

His passing game is what I would consider above average and he will drift across the field looking for runners to run into holes and has the ability to hold the defensive line in place as he develops the play in front of them, making to easier for his support runners to get a clear passage through the line, especially when a defender comes out of the line and commits to Thomas Farragher.

Thomas Farragher will also wait until the last possible moment to release the football. His best attribute in his passing game is the speed, timing and accuracy when he passes to his outside backs. He gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run.

A key attribute to how Thomas Farragher plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations within a game.

Where he projects very well is in the defensive aspects of rugby league, in essence Thomas Farragher is a very good defender for the half back position, this includes against opposing halves who will try to use footwork and evasion to beat him or against big wide running forwards. No matter who is running at him, Thomas Farragher’s timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group in general.

His defence is an area that stands out when you watch Thomas Farragher play in person. He, from my perspective at least defends like a second rower, which means his team’s defensive strategy can be accommodated to account for the fact that a “defensive minder” is not a critical requirement for any team that has Thomas Farragher defending in the front line.

Thomas Farragher will continue to play in the NRRRL U18 competition for Kyogle in 2019 and it would not surprise if he received an opportunity in the NRRRL First Grade competition late next season even though he will be only 17 years old.

Thomas Farragher will also be in contention for a spot in the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad for the 2019 extended version of the competition.

From a position perspective I cannot see any reason that Thomas Farragher would not continue to play at halfback for the foreseeable future although the success that he had coming off the bench in the dummy half role this season is intriguing and thus a role at hooker should not be discounted.

From a player comparison perspective, I can really see aspects of the play of Redcliffe and former Titan and Manly utility Cameron Cullen as a player who provides a spark in both attack and defence when he is on the field and can also play a variety of positions.

[mdrew]

Cameron Brown. (Revised)He is a talented young half who was heavily involved late in the 2018 season with the Burleigh Bears Colts side.

Cameron Brown came into the Burleigh Colts side in Round Eleven against Easts starting from the interchange bench and went on to play an additional nine Colts matches, splitting time between starting in the halves and from the interchange bench. Cameron Brown started five matches, the first being in Round Twelve against the Mackay Cutters.

Cameron Brown scored four Colts tries in 2018, including a Round Twenty Four double against Easts and tries in Round Twenty and Eighteen against Victoria and Redcliffe respectively. Whether or not it really means anything, all of Cameron Brown’s tries came in matches where he started.

Cameron Brown has played for Helensvale for a number of seasons and this year was no different lining up for the Hornets in the GCRL U19 competition. In the U19 competition, Cameron Brown played in nine matches, scoring seven tries.

Cameron Brown had an outstanding start to the U19 competition this season, scoring in his first five matches including a double against Southport and tries against Beaudesert, Currumbin and Ormeau in two separate matches. Cameron Brown also scored a late season try against Bilambil.

Late in 2017 Cameron Brown was named in the Burleigh 2018 MM Cup squad but he did not play in any MM Cup matches this season.

For Helensvale in the 2017 GCRL U17 Division One competition Cameron Brown played in thirteen matches in total including starting at half back in the Hornets 34 – 20 Grand Final win over Ormeau scoring to cap off a great match. In addition to his try in the Grand Final Cameron Brown scored another ten tries to finish third on the try scoring ladder for the U17 Division One competition including scoring a hat trick against Mudgeeraba in May and a double in June against Grand Final opponents Ormeau. Cameron Brown also scored in Helensvale’s other finals match which was against Bilambil.

Cameron Brown is only slight of build but do not take his lack of size in any way as a lack of ability or courage, he has a lot of both, which is on display each time he runs onto the field. With the ball he is a very good distributor and will take the ball to the line in an effort to set up his supports. Cameron Brown is adept at drawing an opposing defender out of the defensive line and then putting his support runner through the resulting gap.

In terms of his speed, I would suggest that an appropriate definition of Cameron Brown’s speed would be that he is quick off the mark but does not have an extra gear when he breaks into open space.

Cameron Brown will back his judgement and take the game on especially when the game is on the line. Assisting his play is the fact that Cameron Brown makes the decision what to do with the ball quickly thus enabling the ball to get out wide quickly.

In previous seasons when I have seen him play he sometimes took the line on himself too much, but the times that I have seen him play this season Cameron Brown has become more selective about when to pass and when to run. His passing game is solid but seems to be slightly better when he is passing to the right side of the field.

Cameron Brown has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field to enhance his team’s field position.

Defensively I like the way that he takes the line on, Cameron Brown is aggressive and attacks the ball carrier rather than waiting for the attackers to come to him. He clearly looks to limit the time opposition players have to generate momentum before they get to him.

Against players similar in size or reasonably close to it, Cameron Brown is very aggressive and makes sure that he finishes off every tackle in an effort to win every one on one individual battle against his opponent.

Cameron Brown finished the 2018 season with Burleigh in the U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition and that is where he will start the 2019 season and Cameron Brown will also be Colts eligible in 2020.

I would think that regardless of what level of competition rugby league takes Cameron Brown that he will be in a No. 7 jersey as a tough feisty half back.

For me a current NRL player with a similar playing style to that in Cameron Brown is Sydney Roosters five eight Luke Keary being that of a solid talented all round half who will surprise a defensive line with some very good short balls when it looks for all money like he is going to run himself.

[mdrew]

Apiata Neoma-Matenga (Revised) He is a local young second rower who has had a solid 2017 NYC campaign with the Titans and was rewarded with being selected on an extended bench for the Titans final NRL match of the season against the Sydney Roosters.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga did not however make his NRL debut that afternoon late last year. Apitia Neoma-Matenga has also had the honour of captaining the Titans NYC side in 2017 and spent the pre-Christmas 2017-18 off-season training with the Titans NRL squad.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga started this season as part of the Burleigh Bears U20 Colts side, starting all of his matches in the competition in the second row with the Bears before his inevitable promotion to the Burleigh Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side.

In total before his promotion to the Burleigh Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side Apitia Neoma-Matenga played in eight Colts matches scoring three tries.

In Round two against Redcliffe Apitia Neoma-Matenga scored a try and set up another, both instances occurring in Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins at Pizzey Park on the Gold Coast.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s try in that match came purely as a result of a powerful barn storming run. Apitia Neoma-Matenga who has been lining up on the right side and took a pass off Burleigh five eight Taine Tuaupiki and simply steam rolled over the couple of Redcliffe defenders score just to the right of the goal posts.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s try assist came once again on the right side of the field. Running a good inside shoulder route Apitia Neoma-Matenga took a great flat pass off Taine Tuaupiki once again, going through the Redcliffe line untouched about twenty metres out, Apitia Neoma-Matenga could have easily taken on the fullback himself but instead he drew the fullback and passed back to his left to Taine Tuaupiki who was backing up for the young five eight to score under the posts to extend the Burleigh lead.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga established a very good combination with Taine Tuaupiki on the right hand side of the field and over the course of this season with Burleigh in both the Colts competition and the GCRL First Grade competition both have benefitted greatly from it, as has the entire Burleigh Bears team for that matter.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s other two tries came in Round Seven and Eight against the Western Mustangs and Victoria respectively.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga was promoted quickly to the Burleigh Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side, making his debut early in the season, going on to play in ten matches including scoring a double in Round Sixteen against Tugun in probably his best GCRL First Grade match to date.

Over the course of the 2017 NYC season Apitia Neoma-Matenga played in 23 of the Titans 26 matches scoring five tries which came against the Parramatta Eels in Round Three, the Cowboys in Rounds Four, against the Raiders in Round Six, and in Rounds Sixteen and Seventeen against the Wests Tigers and St George respectively.

Of the 23 2017 NYC matches that he featured in Apitia Neoma-Matenga started every match in the second row except for two matches where he started at lock being Rounds Four and Ten.

In total Apitia Neoma-Matenga spent 1,657 minutes on the field for the Titans NYC side in 2017 which equates to a per game average of approximately 72 minutes per game with Apitia Neoma-Matenga playing the entire 80 minutes on 18 occasions. Apitia Neoma-Matenga was on the field for every minute from Rounds Seventeen to Twenty-five inclusive.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s 2017 season per game averages included 74 run metres on eight carries and 21 tackles at a tackling efficiency of just over 80%. On six occasions in 2018 Apitia Neoma-Matenga ran for in excess of 100 metres in a match with his “best” effort coming against the Wests Tigers in Round Twenty-One when he ran for 151 metres on just nine carries. From a defensive perspective in Round Seventeen against the Dragons Apitia Neoma-Matenga made 35 tackles.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga made his NYC debut in Round 17 of the 2016 season against the New Zealand Warriors from the inter change bench, playing 33 minutes in his debut and taking a heavy knock to the head. Apitia Neoma-Matenga then kept his position in the 17 for the remainder of the season, playing five matches off the inter change bench and the other four matches starting at lock.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga scored his first and only NYC try for the year in Round 19 against Parramatta. Apitia Neoma-Matenga in his nine NYC matches averaged just on 40 minutes per game with the most minutes being against the Penrith Panthers in Round 25 when he played the remainder of the match after coming off the inter change bench in the 19th minute of the first half.

In his nine matches in 2016 Apitia Neoma-Matenga averaged 62.5 run metres per match on 5.5 hit ups and 17.5 tackles. His best match purely from a total run metre perspective came on his debut when he ran for 117 metres and tackling wise in his starting debut in Round 19 against St George, he made 28 tackles. Apitia Neoma-Matenga however did miss 31 tackles but I would agree that had more to do with his over enthusiasm rather than a defensive positioning or technique deficiency.

For Gold Coast White in the 2016 MM competition, Apitia Neoma-Matenga played in all of Gold Coast White’s matches including their quarter and semi-finals scoring one try which came against the Ipswich Jets in the big quarter final win. Apitia Neoma-Matenga started his first five matches at lock before moving to the second row in Round Seven and then staying in the second row for the two finals matches.

Over the course of his junior football the former PBC student made numerous representative sides including the Vikings, Kookaburras, South East Queensland, Queensland Maroon and South Coast at the U15 and U18 level. Apitia Neoma-Matenga attended PBC and was part of their GIO Cup side that lost the Queensland Grand Final, however they did defeat Keebra Park in the Queensland quarter finals in a high quality contest in front of a crowd of around 5,000.

Other Titans linked PBC team mates in that game included former NYC team mate and current tweed Heads Seagull Ethan Roberts. In the Keebra side that day was Titans NRL contracted AJ Brimson. Previously Apitia Neoma-Matenga was part of the Broncos Elite Player Development Squad and was so for a number of years before signing with his local NRL club three years ago.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga is a hard running backrower who really does look to run straight over people, especially when he played in the centres, towards the end of the year, in the back row, he did use more footwork prior to the line and was best running on the fringes of the ruck, rather than straight up the centre.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga still has decent to above average top end speed but he does take a little bit of time to get up to his top speed these days compared to when he was playing in the centres in seasons past.

I would suggest his speed is above average for a back rower however. Apitia Neoma-Matenga also has a very good left hand fend to add to his stocky frame and good strength. His low centre of gravity and power make him a difficult proposition to defend against, regardless of where he lines up in attack.

Defensively Apitia Neoma-Matenga hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. Apitia Neoma-Matenga also definitely has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in including the wrestling battle to slow down the play the ball.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier.

Towards the end of the 2016 year, Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s defensive technique in the forwards had improved immensely, especially as he transitioned to the NYC ranks and he set a good stable base with his lower body, which he them used to explode into the attacker.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s aggression can on occasion get the best of him but he certainly does make an impact defensively in every tackle that he is involved in.

It is clear from his selection on the extended First Grade bench for Round Twenty-Six last year and spending the off-season training with the NRL side that Apitia Neoma-Matenga is highly thought of by the Titans and understandably so.

Apitia Neoma-Matenga will push for a place in the Burleigh Bears Queensland Cup squad in 2019 and has the strength, skill and attitude to one day be a solid player at the NRL level.

From an ultimate position perspective, Apitia Neoma-Matenga’s transition from centre to the back row is now complete and Apitia Neoma-Matenga has now firmly established himself as a powerful young backrower with a low centre of gravity and aggressive attitude to boot.

From a style perspective, a player that stands out with a similar playing style, especially in terms of attack is former Titan Greg Bird as a tough nuggetty back rower with decent footwork prior to the line to add to sold speed for a backrower and someone who is aggressive (very aggressive) in defence.

With Apitia Neoma-Matenga in a team, that team will definitely not lack aggression in both attack and defence on the right hand side of the field.