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  1. #1111
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    Boaz Kapua. The young Burleigh Bears centre or second rower (and occasional winger) was a member of the Titans outstanding U14 side that accounted for the Western Mustangs 32 – 8 in Mudgeeraba in very hot conditions earlier this year.

    Boaz Kapua started Round One of the U14 Division One for Burleigh from the interchange bench but moved into the starting side on the wing for Round Two against Currumbin before moving to the second row in Round Three.

    In total Boaz Kapua played in ten regular season U14 Division One matches in 2019, scoring three tries and kicked one conversion. Boaz Kapua’s three tries came in matches against Currumbin in Round Two and later in the season against Beaudesert in matches in May and June. Boaz Kapua’s sole 2019 regular season conversion came against Currumbin in late June.

    In Week two of the U14 Division One Finals series, Boaz Kapua started in the second row against Runaway Bay kicking a conversion in their 40 – 6 win and Boaz Kapua also started in the second row for Burleigh as they defeated Runaway Bay 38 – 10 in the U14 Division One Grand Final.

    In 2018 Boaz Kapua played for Burleigh in the GCRL U13 Division One competition, playing in six matches and scoring a try and kicking two conversions to finish the season with eight points. Boaz Kapua’s try came midway through the season against Runaway Bay and he also converted his own try to account for six of his eight points in that match alone.

    Boaz Kapua’s other conversion was in the 2018 U13 Division One Grand Final in a Burleigh 42 – 22 win over Southport. Boaz Kapua started the match from the interchange bench and also came off the bench in Week Two in the Finals in a 22 - 18 Burleigh win once again against the Southport Tigers.

    2018 also saw the PBC student named in the South East Queensland U13 Merit side after preforming well for the Gold Coast Vikings U13 side. In 2017 Boaz Kapua represented South Coast in the U12 age group playing a number of matches at fullback and that same year was awarded a PBC Regional Representation Sports Award.

    Boaz Kapua has played the majority of his football this year in the back row and is a strong runner of the football. Whilst in does not have blinding speed off the mark, he does have decent speed overall but I would not consider it at the plus level and can break tackles by running over his direct opposite defender as well as using a very good fend, when Boaz Kapua 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 Boaz Kapua does possess when playing out wide is a decent in and away and he will wait until the last possible minute to step to commit the defender before getting on his outside and is then able to hold his running line down the touch line.

    When Boaz Kapua plays second row previously, he has got very good feet, in terms of not just charging straight at the set defensive line. He uses foot work before and after the defensive line to assist in breaking tackles and he is adept at offloading in traffic.

    In terms of his defence, Boaz Kapua he obviously during the course of this year, defended almost exclusively in the second row but obviously his skill set indicates that defending wider out in the centres does not cause him too many issues.

    Boaz Kapua’s initial contact is more than solid and is more than enough to stop the momentum of the ball carrier. Boaz Kapua is also effective at wrapping the ball up and preventing offloads.

    Boaz Kapua will play the 2020 season with Burleigh in the U15 Division One competition and also look to be part of the South Coast U15 side for the QSSRL U15 Championships as well as representing PBC in their various South East Queensland school boy rugby league competitions in South East Queensland.

    Over the last couple of seasons Boaz Kapua has played a variety of positions, including fullback, wing and second row and to be honest I am conflicted as to where he ultimately establishes himself but potentially second row may just (by the barest of margins) be Boaz Kapua’s best position as he heads towards the senior ranks of rugby league on the Gold Coast .

    Boaz Kapua will not be a big second rower by any means, not big at the other positions that he could potentially play for into the future but he is tenacious and determined enough to overcome the potential size differential that he would encounter in the majority of matches.

    Newcastle Knights second rower Sione Mata’utia is probably an appropriate player comparison for Boaz Kapua as an undersized second rower who is successful through shear grit and determination and can also play a variety of positions both in the forwards and in the backline.

  2. #1112
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    Zac Windle. The Tweed Heads Seagulls youngster was part of the Titans U14 squad that played and defeated a Western Mustangs selection in February at Mudgeeraba and also in 2019 was part of the Group 18 U14 representative side being named in the front row for the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships.

    In the New South Wales Country Age Championships Zac Windle started both of Group 18’s U14 matches in the front row with both of those matches played on Day One of the Championships against Central Coast and Group Four.

    Zac Windle played the 2019 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls U14 side that played in the Group 18 junior rugby league competition just south of the border.

    Zac Windle is by no means the biggest second rower running around but he really does throw himself into the defensive line. Zac Windle’s normal running line seems to be on a slight angle away from the ruck and as noted on occasion he will veer back towards the ruck, I would not call it a step but more of a change to his running angle rather than a specific change of running direction.

    Zac Windle can also run a very good outside shoulder route and rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

    Zac Windle also has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late. Zac Windle’s speed can certainly be considered above average for a backrower.

    Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Zac Windle play, his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Zac Windle 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.

    Zac Windle sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them. Zac Windle is also adept at finishing off the tackle and slowing the subsequent play the ball down.

    Zac Windle 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.

    Zac Windle 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 Zac Windle will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

    Zac Windle will play the 2020 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Group 18 U15 competition and should also represent Group 18 for the second season in a row at the U15 level in 2020 in the New South Wales Country Age Championships.

    Zac Windle played in the front row for the Group 18 U14 representative side this season but I would prefer to see him operate a touch wider of the ruck and thus believe that second row is ultimately Zac Windle’s best position going forward.

    Recently retired Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International forward Matt Gillett is a good NRL player comparison for Zac Windle, both are just hard players in both attack and defence it is just as simple as that.

  3. #1113
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    Jay Blazek. The Titans linked Helensvale Hornets lock started from the bench for the Titans U16 side in their early October match against PNG U18’s at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park ground with the Titans winning 44 – 12 on the Friday night in ideal conditions for rugby league.

    In the 2019 season Jay Blazek played twelve matches for the Hornets in the GCRL U16 Division One competition scoring three tries including a double in a Week One Finals loss 42 – 20 to Burleigh. Jay Blazek’s other try came in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay as he finished the season with a 25% strike rate.

    Early in 2019 Jay Blazek was part of the Gold Coast Vikings U16 train on squad and then represented the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 Pre-season Challenge against sides from Ipswich, Brisbane (three teams) and Gold Coast Vikings Yellow.

    In 2018 Jay Blazek played eleven matches for Helensvale in the U15 Division One competition scoring five tries (45.45% strike rate) including a double against Mudgeeraba and also scored against Currumbin in two separate matches to account for the majority of his five tries.

    Running with the football, Jay Blazek 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 and uses his solid frame to his advantage.

    Jay Blazek does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed but seems to be able to sustain his top speed over a reasonable distance, but Jay Blazek will work hard and make the most of his ability in that aspect.

    Jay Blazek actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well. Where Jay Blazek is very effective is close to the opposition try line where gets down low and charges into the defensive line and has the strength to carry multiple defenders across the line.

    Defensively Jay Blazek is not a big hitter, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads. One area where Jay Blazek 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.

    Jay Blazek has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a solid forward and due to the fact that he also is not necessarily that tall, Jay Blazek is 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 and thus field position.

    Jay Blazek will probably not stand out during a game but will work hard both in attack and defence and leave all the eye catching things like big hits, line breaks and one handed off loads to other forwards who will benefit from his hard working style doing all of the little things in a match.

    Jay Blazek will play the 2020 season for Helensvale in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition and has also been named in the Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad for the 2020 version of that competition which commences in February 2020. Jay Blazek will also be MM Cup (U18) eligible in 2021.

    Jay Blazek just looks a natural playing in the centre third of a rugby league field and with his above average lateral mobility and speed in general I can see a developing lock or second rower with some very good footwork prior to the defensive line as well as being a strong dependable defender in the centre third of the field as well.

    With his solid frame and functional strength Jay Blazek reminds me from a player comparison perspective of New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International forward Leeson Ah Mau although Jay Blazek is not as big as Ah Mau and has a touch better lateral mobility but a similar all effort running style and mentality.

    Both are strong and tough and lot quicker from a speed perspective than people on occasion give them credit for. Also both Ah Mau and Jay Blazek do not submit in tackles easily, constantly pumping their legs gaining substantial post contact metres and then trying to get as quick a play the ball that they can by fighting the oppositions wrestling tactics on the ground.

  4. #1114
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    Jahream Bula. The PNG born and raised young man moved over to Australia to attend Keebra Park State High School at the start of 2018 and since then has showcased his elite athleticism both on a rugby league field as well as on a basketball court for Keebra Park.

    As a result Jahream Bula has recently signed a multi-year contract with the Titans and will play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the 2020 MM Cup competition as well as completing his senior year of schooling at Keebra Park and being part of the JTS Program with the Titans.

    In his two years of playing rugby league for Keebra Park, Jahream Bula has played primarily for the Langer Reserve side but in both 2018 and 2019 played two Langer A Cup matches with the Keebra Park Open A side including scoring against PBC in their local derby this season.

    In his first year at Keebra Park being 2018 Jahream Bula was named the Langer Cup Reserve Most Valuable Player and was also awarded the Most Valuable Player at the Year 11 level at the Keebra Park Rugby League Sports Specialisation Awards night towards the end of that year.

    As noted Jahream Bula also played basketball for Keebra Park in both 2018 and 2019, playing in five matches each year in the CBSQ Boys Fourth Division competition. In 2019 Jahream Bula averaged a team leading 11.6 points from his five games including scoring a career high twenty two points in the final game of the season against Mt Maria College. Jahream Bula added twelve points in matches against Brisbane Bayside State College (Game One) and Pacific Pines State High School (Game Three).

    In 2018 in the CBSQ Fourth Boys Division competition Jahream Bula averaged a team leading (again) twelve points a game including scoring fifteen points in the final game of the 2018 season against Springfield Central State High School.

    Impressively in 2018 Jahream Bula scored in double figures in each of his five matches. In addition to his season high fifteen point match noted above Jahream Bula also scored in double figures in 2018 against Alexandra State High School, Pacific Pines State High School, Immanuel Lutheran College and St Andrews Catholic College.

    In 2019 Jahream Bula played for the Hurricanes in the North Coast Basketball Association in the U17 – U20 competition.

    In 2018 Jahream Bula also represented North Gold Coast at the U18 Boys Division Three Queensland State Championships scoring fifty six points from seven matches at an average of eight points per game made up of twenty five two point shots and six free throws. Jahream Bula scored thirteen points (six two point shots and a free throw) in Game Three against Redlands and added twelve (six two point shots) in Game Six against the Trojans.

    Jahream Bula has some height about him and is exceptionally quick and explosive, with outstanding speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space and also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed when he is in space.

    There is nothing that Jahream Bula cannot do when running the ball and it is only now about developing his ball playing skills to make his footwork and running ability even more lethal, in attack he also played up in the line quite often.

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

    Jahream Bula is what you can consider to be a quick twitch athlete and exceptional hand eye co-ordination and outstanding balance, spatial awareness and has the ability to take in a lot of information about his surrounds and invariably make the correct decision in terms of how to proceed.

    Seriously I cannot think of a current NRL player who can as high off the ground as Jahream Bula and to make things harder for the opposition Jahream Bula can comfortably take the ball when he jumps with his arms extended over his head, thus no-one and I mean no-one else has got a chance to get near the ball.

    Thus from both an attacking and defensive perspective in relation to kicks Jahream Bula is going to be a godsend for his side. When they are on the attack kickers can put the ball up high to where Jahream Bula is running to and it is guaranteed that Jahream Bula will get the first shot at it. Similarly from a defensive aspect no one is going to get above Jahream Bula when he is looking to defuse a high kick as long as he gets a fair shot at the ball.

    In terms of Jahream Bula’s defence, one thing that has stood out to me, is when the opposition makes a break he moves forward looking to cut down the time of the attacking player, which is quite impressive for such a young player.

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

    As noted above Jahream Bula has signed a contract with the Titans and is part of the Junior Titans System (JTS) and has been named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2020 MM Cup squad. Jahream Bula will also be returning to Keebra Park for his senior year and will surely add to his four Keebra Park Open A matches in both the Langer Cup and GIO Cup school boy rugby league competitions in 2020.

    Jahream Bula, since his move from PNG has played primarily fullback for Keebra Park and whilst that is likely where he will play for Keebra Park in 2020 and in the 2020 GCRL U18 Division One competition, I am of the opinion that for Tweed Heads in the 2020 MM Cup competition Jahream Bula will start the season on the wing, just to give him some time and space to build into his rugby league career.

    In 2021 when he most likely hits the Hastings Deering’s U20 Colts competition Jahream Bula I am sure would have transitioned to fullback permanently.

    Jahream Bula has outstanding speed, strength, power and leaping ability but has probably played less rugby league than most if not all of the other players in the JTS regardless of age. That is not necessarily a bad situation as that may just mean Jahream Bula has less “bad habits” for coaches to address and rectify. Jahream Bula is a fresh canvass for coaches and development staff to work with, if you will.

    In 2020 however Jahream Bula will play a lot of matches starting with the MM Cup and then going onto the Langer Cup and GIO Cup school boy competitions all of the way most likely to playing club rugby league for the first time since his arrival on the Gold Coast in the GCRL U18 Division One competition.

    From an NRL player comparison perspective, with his speed from the fullback position potentially the best player comparison I can think of his former Canberra Raider/ Sydney Roosters, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International fullback/centre Brett Mullins as an outstanding athlete who was an even better rugby league player when he put it all together.

    Certainly a job well done to the Titans staff for seeing the exceptional athletic ability of Jahream Bula (and his rugby league skills which are probably over shadowed a touch at present, fairly or not) and bringing him into the JTS system.

    Jahream Bula does not have the resume of a lot of the current players in the JTS but he is an exceptional athlete with a leap that has to be seen to be believed as well as incredible speed and power as well as outstanding hand eye co-ordination from playing basketball as well as just pure natural athletic talent.

    The only thing that is holding Jahream Bula up is rugby league experience and as noted above he will play a lot of rugby league in 2020 as well as getting a steady dose of outstanding coaching through Keebra Park Rugby league Sports Specialisation Program which now has links to the Titans, the Tweed Heads MM Cup squad and of course Jamie McCormack and company through the outstanding JTS.

    It may take a year or two for Jahream Bula to really explode onto the rugby league scene on the Gold Coast but I can guarantee you that it will be worth the wait for Titans fans if/when it occurs.

    Jahream Bula’s explosiveness and athleticism would even now stand out in the NRL now highlighting just how impressive it is. As fans however, we just need to be patient and allow young men like Jahream Bula to grow and mature as individuals off the field as well as rugby league players at their own pace.

  5. #1115
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    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui. The 197cm, 107kg Orange born giant who played his junior rugby league on the Sunshine Coast is an outstanding signing for the Titans for the 2021 season and beyond. On the same day that he signed with the Titans for 2021 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui was named in the 2020 Queensland U20 Emerging Origin Squad.

    To suggest that Tino Fa’asuamaleaui had a stellar 2019 would be an understatement, in addition to making his NRL debut for the Storm, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui represented the Junior Kangaroo’s against France, played for the Australian Prime Minister’s XIII against Fiji and made his senior International debut for Samoa against Fiji starting in the second row.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui made his NRL debut in Round Sixteen of the 2019 NRL season when he started from the bench against St George. In his debut Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played twenty seven minutes, running for eighty four metres (thirty two post contact) and made fifteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

    In Round Eighteen Tino Fa’asuamaleaui also started from the bench against the Titans playing twenty minutes. In those minutes Tino Fa’asuamaleaui ran for thirty three metres (nine post contact) and made seventeen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui came off the bench again in Round Twenty One against Souths Sydney playing thirty minutes running for eighteen metres (six post contact) and made twenty two tackles at a tackling efficiency of 91.67%. The two tackles that Tino Fa’asuamaleaui missed in the match where the first of his NRL career and the only ones that he missed in the NRL in 2019.

    In Round Twenty Two against the Raiders, from the bench Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played twenty minutes running for fourteen metres (four post contact) and had a 100% tackling efficiency whilst making fifteen tackles.

    In his final NRL match of the 2019 season against Manly Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, once again from the bench, ran for seventy seven metres (twenty seven post contact) and made eight tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency in his sixteen minutes on the field.

    In total in the NRL in 2019 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played 113 minutes, ran for 196 metres, 78 of which were post contact (38.4%) and made 77 tackles missing only two, both coming in the same game. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s per game averages included playing twenty three minutes, running for 39.1 metres and making 15.4 tackles at a 97.47% tackling efficiency, not missing a tackle in four of his five 2019 NRL matches.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui started in the second row in his International debut for Samoa against Fiji but his side went down 44 – 18. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played the entire 80 minutes, running for seventy six metres (twenty one post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.83 seconds and made twenty six tackles at a 92.9% tackling efficiency.

    For the Australian Prime Ministers XIII in 2019 in a 52 – 10 win over Fiji Tino Fa’asuamaleaui started from the interchange bench playing forty four minutes, running for 108 metres (forty four post contact), broke four tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.07 seconds and made nine tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

    For the Australian Junior Kangaroo’s against France in their big victory Tino Fa’asuamaleaui started from the interchange bench playing thirty seven minutes, running for 142 metres (fifty nine post contact), from thirteen hit-ups, broke three tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.98 seconds and made seven tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

    In addition to all of the matches above, in 2019 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played in fourteen matches for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup scoring in Round Eight against the Mackay Cutters and Round Twelve against Burleigh.

    In his fourteen matches, three of which were Finals matches Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played 749 out of a possible 1 120 minutes (66.88%), running for 1 857 metres (705 post contact), made three line breaks, offloaded the ball four times, broke fifty eight tackles and made 288 tackles at an 87% tackling efficiency.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s 2019 Queensland Cup per game averages included playing 53.5 minutes, running for 132.7 metres and making 20.57 tackles.

    Of his fourteen 2019 Queensland Cup matches Tino Fa’asuamaleaui started eight from the bench, two in the second row beings Rounds Thirteen and Fourteen against Tweed Heads and Wynnum Manly, Round Nineteen at lock against Central Queensland and his remaining three matches in the front row including Sunshine Coast’s Preliminary Final loss to Burleigh.

    Interestingly the two games that Tino Fa’asuamaleaui started in the second row in 2019 were also the only two games that he played the entire eighty minutes.

    In eleven of his fourteen 2019 Queensland Cup matches Tino Fa’asuamaleaui ran for in excess of 100 metres including twice gaining more than 200 metres, including running for 231 metres in Round Thirteen against Tweed Heads and 202 metres in Week One of the Finals against the Townsville Blackhawks.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui certainly proved a handful for Queensland Cup defensives in 2019 as was evidenced by the fact that he broke nine tackles in Week One of the Finals against the Townsville Blackhawks and eight in Round Nineteen against the Central Queensland Capra’s.

    Defensively in seven of his fourteen matches Tino Fa’asuamaleaui made in excess of twenty tackles including his last six matches including the three finals. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s “best” defensive match came in the Preliminary Final against when he made thirty four tackles at a 97.14% tackling efficiency. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui also made twenty eight tackles in Round Six against the Easts Tigers at a 100% tackling efficiency.

    2019 was the second season that Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played in the Queensland Cup after making his debut as an 18 year old in 2018. In 2018 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui played in fourteen matches for the Easts Tigers, scoring once, broke the line on two occasions, offloaded the ball four times, ran for 1 185 metres at an average of 84.69 per match and made 212 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 87.6%.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui also started in the second row for the Queensland State of Origin U20 side in 2019 and impressively started from the bench for the Queensland U20 side in 2018 after playing in the U18 Interstate match that year as well when he started in the second row scoring Queensland first try of that match. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui also represented the Queensland U18 side in 2017 and the Queensland U16 side in 2016.

    Rarely can you find a young player who is equally at home running on both sides of the ruck but that is what a team has with Tino Fa’asuamaleaui , he runs a superb inside or outside shoulder line and his excellent footwork enables him to step off either foot to enable him to cut back against the movement of the defensive line to take advantage of gaps back on the inside of his direct opponent.

    For a big strong young man, Tino Fa’asuamaleaui also has above average (to plus) speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is not just a strong runner of the ball he as noted above has excellent footwork prior to the line and also some very good short passing both before the line and when in contact with defenders.

    On a lot of his runs Tino Fa’asuamaleaui rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

    Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Tino Fa’asuamaleaui play his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance.

    Defensively Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 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. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players on the fringes of the ruck and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork.

    Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 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.

    When you look at what he has already achieved in his career in rugby league it is scary to think that Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is still U20 eligible in 2020.

    It will be interesting to see where Tino Fa’asuamaleaui plays in 2020, do the Melbourne Storm play him in the NRL knowing that he will be joining the Titans in 2021 or will he play in the Queensland Cup with either Easts or Sunshine Coast, time will tell I guess.

    At 197cm and 107kg Tino Fa’asuamaleaui has the size to play in the front row but the speed and mobility to play in the second row, which is where I hope that Titans fans will see the best of him in 2021 and beyond.

    For people who have not yet seen Tino Fa’asuamaleaui play, for me he sits somewhere between Brisbane Broncos Payne Hass and David Fifita. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is bigger than Fifita but smaller than Haas, but has the same type of explosiveness, speed and mobility as the two Australian Internationals mentioned.
    Last edited by mdrew; 26-12-19 at 08:00 PM.

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    Isreal (Izzy) Higgins. (Revised) He is a local young centre or second rower from the Currumbin Eagles junior rugby league club on the Gold Coast as well as PBC who has recently signed a multi-year contract with the Titans, moving over from the Sydney Roosters who he was with for a number of seasons.

    Isreal Higgins has previously worn a Titans jersey when he started in the second row for the U13 Titans development squad against a Toowoomba U14 selection in late 2015 at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park. In that match Isreal Higgins scored a strong try under the posts when he charged through the Toowoomba forward pack from about ten metres out off a pass from the dummy half at the dressing room end of the ground.

    Isreal Higgins had a standout 2019 season which saw him play for the U18 National Championship winning Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side as well as representing Queensland at the ASSRL U18 School Boy Championships from PBC after representing South Coast at the QSSRL U18 School Boy Championships that were held in Toowoomba.

    In the MM Cup for Tweed Heads in 2019 Isreal Higgins played in all eight of Tweed Heads matches including starting from the bench in their 28 – 24 Grand Final hard fought victory over the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

    Isreal Higgins started Round One against the Western Mustangs in the second row, scoring his sole ty of the season before moving to the bench for Rounds Two and Three against Townsville and Burleigh respectively. Isreal Higgins started Rounds Four and Five in the centres against Central Queensland and Wynnum Manly before moving back to the bench for the remainder of the season including the Queensland semi-final against Souths Logan and the a fore mentioned fiercely contested Queensland Final against Wynnum Manly.

    In the National U18 Championship Final against the Illawarra Steelers, Isreal Higgins started from the bench for Tweed Heads in their 48 – 14 victory. In the match, Isreal Higgins played thirty one minutes, ran for eighty three metres (thirty nine post contact, being an impressive 48.99% of his total running metres) on nine hit-ups, broke a tackle and made eleven tackles at a perfect 100% tackling efficiency including a couple of brutal front on hits.

    Also in 2019 Isreal Higgins started in the second row for South Coast in the U18 QSSRL School Boy Championships, from there being named in the Queensland U18 School Boys side for the U18 ASSRL Championships playing a number of matches for Queensland at left centre including scoring in the Championship Final as Queensland defeated NSW Combined Catholic Schools 34 – 10.

    To cap off an outstanding 2019 season Isreal Higgins has recently been named in the 2020 U18 Queensland Emerging Origin Squad with fellow Titans Ediq Ambrosyev and Samuel Shannon.

    Isreal Higgins was also been a key member of the PBC Open rugby league side over the last couple of seasons including starting in the second row in 2019 in the Langer Cup Final victory and in 2018 was part of the PBC National GIO Cup winning side.

    In 2018 Isreal Higgins represented the Queensland U16 side in their annual match against New South Wales starting the match in the second row as the Maroons went down 28 – 14. Prior to his Queensland U16 selection Isreal Higgins started in the second row for the U16 South East Queensland Green side in the Queensland Age Championships.

    Also in 2018 Isreal Higgins represented Gold Coast Vikings Yellow in the 2018 South East Queensland U16 Challenge, starting the first four rounds in the second row. Isreal Higgins was also part of the 2018 U16 Queensland Emerging Origin Squad alongside Titans contracted jack of all trades Ediq Ambrosyev.

    In 2017 Isreal Higgins played in the U15 age group in the 2017 season for the Currumbin Eagles. Isreal Higgins also represented South Coast at the U15 level in 2017.

    Isreal Higgins was only able to play one match for the Currumbin Eagles U15 side in 2017 which was against Southport in April but was selected in the South Coast U15 side for the QSSRL competition after playing well for PBC and them went on to be named in the Queensland White team for the U15 ASSRL Championships.

    In 2016 Isreal Higgins represented the Gold Coast Vikings at the U14 level where he was selected at lock for the U14 South East Queensland Age Championships.

    For Currumbin in the U14 Division One competition in 2016 Isreal Higgins played in eight matches scoring six tries along the way. Isreal Higgins had a big day out in June 2016 when he scored a hat trick against Mudgeeraba and he also scored in the next two club matches that he played in which were against Burleigh Heads and Coomera. Isreal Higgins other try on the season came against Nerang in the first round of the U14 Division One season proper.

    In 2015 Isreal Higgins also was part of the U13 Gold Coast Vikings representative side and also made the South East Queensland U13 side for the Queensland Age Championships where he was selected on the inter change bench.

    Isreal Higgins is a quick powerful centre or second rower with a fluid running style with a classic centres build with the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside. In term of his play, the in and away is his bread and butter play, Isreal Higgins has very good speed off the mark and can break to the outside quickly, couple that with long arms, which he uses to great effect with a powerful fend makes him difficult to tackle.

    When opposing centres are able to get hold of him, Isreal Higgins is usually is able to maintain his balance as well as his running line and keeps an arm free, looking to offload if presented with the opportunity.

    Isreal Higgins has far more tools though than just an in and away, he will also use his size and strength to run straight over smaller opposing centres as well as also having the skill to step back inside of the defender if he is pushing to the outside too early.

    What Isreal Higgins is also adept at doing is timing his pass to his outside supports if the outside defender looks to come in and help defend him allowing an overlap to develop on the outside.

    Due to his size and strength, Isreal Higgins is a very good defender regardless of position. He will not necessarily hit hard, but he is very good at mirroring the movement of the opposing centre and wrapping him up ball and all. Isreal Higgins is also quick enough to recover and chase if the opposing centre gets on the outside and his long reach is also a positive attribute in those situations as he can quickly disrupt the running line of his opponent.

    From a team defensive methodology stand point, Isreal Higgins seems to be very comfortable in a sliding defensive scheme where he can use his speed and body control to their best advantage by allowing the play to develop in front of him before committing to an appropriate course of action to shut the play down prior to any damage being done.

    Isreal Higgins has been named in the 2020 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM squad and post the completion of that competition should move directly to the Tweed Heads U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and is a real chance at being selected in the 2020 Queensland U18 side come the representative season next year.

    I don’t envisage that Isreal Higgins will play many matches (if any) for the Currumbin Eagles in 2020 but if he does it will likely be across both the GCRL U18 Division One and U20 competitions.

    Isreal Higgins has spent significant time both in the centres and in the second row in recent seasons (including 2019) and whilst I ultimately believe that he will end up in the second row long term, I am of the firm belief that for the next couple of seasons (at least), Isreal Higgins will play a lot of rugby league in the centres as well as in the second row. If anything I anticipate that Isreal Higgins will operate in the centres (likely left centre) more so than the second row for the next two or three years before a permanent transition to the second row eventuates.

    In relation to a current NRL player with a similar playing style to Isreal Higgins my observations over the last couple of seasons would suggest that Brisbane Broncos and Tongan International centre Kotoni Staggs has a similar playing style to the new Titans signing.

    Taking into account that they operate on opposite sides of the field at present, both Staggs and Isreal Higgins are tough, quick, aggressive and deceptively strong ball runners who know the way to the try line and get there with regularity.

    The number of tackles that both Isreal Higgins and Staggs break is just amazing to be honest. For whatever reason defensive lines just seem to underestimate both of them when they are running with the ball and thus regularly are made to pay for their oversight.

    Similarly both Staggs and Isreal Higgins are outstanding defenders with a technique first approach to that critical aspect of rugby league but also initiate hard initial contact and some added mongrel if and when necessary to put an exclamation point on the tackle.

    It is great to see another outstanding young Gold Coast Junior commit to the Titans long term and another one that has a real opportunity to get to the NRL in a relatively quick time frame. The future is certainly looking bright for the Titans with the young players already in place.

    With the signing of Isreal Higgins, the Titans continue to fulfil their promise of “buying back the farm” with the goal to field a local junior heavy NRL Titans side representing the Gold Coast and Northern New South Wales, that goal is well on the way of coming to fruition

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    Zac Johnston. The Murwillumbah Colts centre represented the Group 18 U14 side in 2018 in the New South Wales Country Age Championships and post those Championships was selected as part of the Titans 2018/19 Group 18 U15 Development Squad.

    Late in the 2019 season Zac Johnston once again represented Group 18 at the U15 New South Wales Country Age Championships being named in the centres. Zac Johnston started all three of Group 18’s matches in the centres, being against Central Coast and Group Three on Day One and Newcastle on Day Two.

    In the 2018 U14 New South Wales Country Age Championships for Group 18 Zac Johnson played in all three of Group 18’s matches which were against Group’s 21, Four and Two.

    In relation to the 2019 Group 18 Junior Rugby League competition Zac Johnston played for Murwillumbah in the U15 age group operating primarily in the centres.

    Zac Johnston is a tall young man but he is exceptionally quick, with a lot of his tries coming from long range efforts originating from his own territory, as once he gets into the clear Zac Johnston is unlikely to be caught by the opposition cover defence.

    Due to his size and speed Zac Johnston is very difficult to stop one on one in the competitions that he has played in so far in his career, with his favourite move being an in and away to beat his opposing number on the outside and then using his acceleration to break the game apart.

    Zac Johnston does not just have top end speed, he also has very good acceleration off the mark as well. His fend is decent and as Zac Johnston puts on more muscle it will become more effective due to his long reach, meaning opposing defensive players cannot get close enough to combat him by impacting on his balance and running line in one on one situations before defensive help arrives.

    With his height and reach Zac Johnston should also be able to refine his ability to offload the ball in tackles, making him even harder to defend against . Obviously as a result of his height he is good under the high ball both in attacking and defensive situations and for his height is comfortable fielding the ball low to the ground from grubber kicks into or through the line.

    Defensively Zac Johnston is solid at wrapping the ball up and will continue to refine his technique as he progresses and also when to come out of the line in an effort to limit the time and space of the opposition as well as ensuring that due to his height he keeps his tackles down against opposing centres who are usually not as tall. Zac Johnston does however slide well in defence and has the speed to cover opposition line breaks very well.

    Zac Johnston will play the 2020 season with Murwillumbah in the Group 18 U16 competition and will push for a spot in the U16 Andrew Johns Cup Northern Rivers Titans side.

    Zac Johnston has a bit of height and pace about him and as long as he can maintain his speed as he physically develops there is no reason why Zac Johnston would have to move away from the centres to have an outstanding rugby league career.

    From a player comparison perspective someone like former St George centre Mark Gasnier springs to mind as someone who will be an attacking weapon in any team that he plays for although Zac Johnston probably has a bit more speed than the former Dragon, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International centre and of course former French club rugby player.

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    Elliott Speed. The McCauley Catholic College Grafton student had an outstanding 2019 season in the blue and white of the Grafton Ghosts in the Group Two U18 competition finishing the season being named the 2019 Group Two U18 Player of the Year as well as finishing as the competition’s leading point’s scorer and goal kicker. Elliott Speed also finished in the top five of the competition from a try scoring perspective.

    The award and points scoring feats noted above are more impressive when you consider that 2019 was Elliott Speed’s first year in senior rugby league (U18 level and above) and he is U18 eligible again in 2020.

    Included in the performances of the half/five eight prospect in the Group Two U18 competition in 2019 was a hat trick against the Sawtell Panthers in Round Three and a Round Five double against Woolgoolga.

    From a goal kicking perspective, Elliott Speed kicked nine goals in Round Five against Woolgoolga to finish that match with an individual point tally of twenty six and mid-season kicked six goals in a another match against Woolgoolga. Elliott Speed also had a twelve point haul in a late July derby against the South Grafton Rebels when he scored a try and kicked four goals in a keenly contested “Battle of Grafton”.

    Elliott Speed was also outstanding at five eight for McCauley College in the 2019 DEX Shield competition but unfortunately they went down in the Final to McLean High School who won the shield for the third season in a row.

    Elliott Speed is also an outstanding hockey player representing New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges and New South Wales in that sport across multiple age groups and earlier in 2019 was named in the 2019-20 Hockey NSW Athlete Acceleration Program (AAP) Boys Squad. Northern New South Wales is actually a bit of a hot spot for hockey as an aside.

    Elliott Speed is just a superb mover seemingly gliding across the field effortlessly with outstanding balance, body control and exquisite hand eye co-ordination which has been aided by playing hockey at a very high level. Seriously Elliott Speed’s running style looks just effortless and perfectly balanced.

    It is hard to put in words just how talented Elliott Speed is in terms of running the ball, he has outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end speed which must be considered plus regardless of position.

    Elliott Speed with his pace is able to exploit even the smallest of gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible acceleration as well as outstanding balance and body control. When Elliott Speed steps, regardless of the size of the step or in which direction there is absolutely no loss of speed or momentum as he moves to his new vector and continues on.

    It is that speed trait which opens up his incredible ball playing skills as well. Teams start to focus heavily on Elliott Speed when he has the ball with outside defenders looking to come in to assist that they open up holes wider out in the defensive line that Elliott Speed can exploit.

    Elliott Speed has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Elliott Speed can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust.

    Elliott Speed also runs with the ball in both hands out in front of his body which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what Elliott Speed is going to do with the ball at any given time.

    Elliott Speed just seems to have all of the time in the world to do what he wants on a rugby league field and is just so calm and composed and seemingly always two or three plays ahead of the opposition and his own team mates on occasion to be honest.

    Like when he has the ball in his hands, there is nothing that Elliott Speed cannot do in relation to kicking the ball. Elliott Speed is an exceptional tactical kicker with range and accuracy, he can put up pin point bombs and perfectly weighted grubber kicks into the in goal. In short if you can name a type of rugby league kick, Elliott Speed can execute it with precision.

    Defensively Elliott Speed is a very strong young man with exceptional functional strength to go along with an innate understanding of the attacking strategies of rugby league thus he is able to anticipate what an attacking side is looking to do with the ball and then be in the best position to negate it.

    Elliott Speed has a very good low tackling technique which is simple and repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on Elliott Speed’s side of the field. In short just like his attacking play Elliott Speed is an outstanding defender.

    Elliott Speed is also an outstanding goal kicker with range and accuracy in a repeatable, technically simple and consistent goal kicking action and has the ability to be a primary goal kicking option at the NRL level.

    Elliott Speed will play the 2020 season once again with the Grafton Ghosts in the Group Two U18 competition but without doubt will make his Group Two First Grade debut for the Ghosts probably sooner than later in the 2020 season where I believe that he will make an immediate impact in the top grade in the blue and white of the Grafton Ghosts.

    Elliott Speed also has been named in the North Coast U18 side for the 2020 Laurie Daley Cup competition. It is a strange set up as South Grafton Rebels players are playing for the Northern Rivers Titans but not Grafton Ghosts players.

    Undoubtly Elliott Speed will also continue to play hockey (and at a very high level as well, including state level) but fingers crossed that he decides in the end to choose rugby league when the inevitable crunch between the two sports occurs for this talented dual sport athlete.

    Elliott Speed from what I understand played exclusively at five eight or half this season in school boy and club rugby league and I can really see him making a name for himself at five eight in particular over the next season or two in the Group Two First Grade competition for the Grafton Ghosts.

    In saying that however with his speed, body control, elusiveness and ball skills from playing in the halves regularly I would really like to see how Elliott Speed’s skills and athletic ability would translate to the fullback position where he would have more room to move and be in a position to be the second receiver when the ball is played out the back by the half or five eight. I think that Elliott Speed would be dynamic in the custodian role.

    From my perspective, a talented, unselfish attacking player with similar attributes to Elliott Speed is North Queensland Cowboys and former Melbourne Storm fullback Scott Drinkwater. Like Drinkwater, Elliott Speed has great acceleration to go along with a wicked sidestep off both feet, and the play making skills to make opposition teams pay if defences look to focus too much on him rather than his support runners or if individual defenders come out of the line too quickly.

    Also like Drinkwater, Elliott Speed has the skill set to play multiple positions and play them very effectively over the course of a match or season.

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    Ricco Watititi. The Tweed Heads Seagulls youngster was part of the Titans U14 squad that played a Western Mustangs selection in February at Mudgeeraba and also in 2019 was named in the Group 18 U14 representative side named in the centres for the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships.

    In early in October Ricco Watititi was part of a Titans U14/15 NRRRL side that played the Titans U14 Gold Coast/Brisbane Academy side in development match at Tweed Heads Piggabeen complex with the NRRRL side going down 32 – 10 in a competitive match.

    Ricco Watititi played the 2019 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls U14 side that played in the Northern New South Wales Group 18 junior rugby league competition.

    For a centre, Ricco Watititi is a big strong young man who does not rely just on his size and speed and using his natural running gait and 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, Ricco Watititi also has a very good passing game, when the ball is passed out to the back line, Ricco Watititi 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 as a result of the defence pushing in.

    From a speed perspective Ricco Watititi has above average 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 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 Ricco Watititi ’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the plus category as he matures and inevitably fills out.

    Defensively Ricco Watititi 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.

    For me when I have seen him play for Tweed Heads Ricco Watititi 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.

    Ricco Watititi on an individual level has the body control and anticipation to redirect quickly and mirror the movement of the opposing attackers and anticipate what vector the attack will come from and innately understands when to allow the attacking play to develop in from of him and when and if to come out of the line to disrupt the attacking play prior to its formation.

    Ricco Watititi will play the 2020 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Group 18 U15 competition and should also represent Group 18 at the U15 level in 2020 at the New South Wales Country Age Championships for the second season in a row.

    Ricco Watititi is a big strong young man and would be considered a “big” centre but has the speed and mobility to stay in the centres long term, but if not he would seemingly be able to transition to the second row seamlessly.

    Ricco Watititi has an eerily similar playing style to Titans NRL Development contracted Ioane Seuili for me as an outstanding centre prospect. Interestingly in the second half of the 2019 season in the Queensland Cup Ioane Seuili transitioned to the second row, but only time will tell if Ricco Watititi’s career follows a similar path, he has the size, speed and strength to handle such a move if it eventuates but that would be a way away yet I believe if it happens at all.

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    Jaimen Jollife. The front rower has moved up from Sydney to the Gold Coast signing with the Burleigh Bears for the 2020 Queensland Cup season.

    The Wagga junior has moved around a bit chasing his rugby league dream with his first stop being in Canberra as part of the Raiders 2014 U18 SG Ball side before moving to Sydney to be part of the Cronulla Sharks program, including playing one or two NRL trials in previous seasons and finally to play for the Newtown Jets in the New South Wales Canterbury Cup competition.

    After an outstanding season in 2019 with Newtown that included being named on the bench in the 2019 Canterbury Cup Team of Year, a Premiership and then an NRL State Championship after Newtown defeated Burleigh in the last seconds of their interstate match that preceded the 2019 NRL Grand Final.

    For Newton in the 2019 Canterbury Cup competition Jaimen Jollife played in all twenty six of Newtown’s matches including Finals and the Canterbury Cup Grand Final win over Wentworthville of course scoring just the one try which came in Round Fourteen against the Mounties.

    Jaimen Jollife started twenty five of his twenty six Canterbury Cup matches in 2019 in the front row and came off the bench in his other match which was against Penrith in Round Twenty One.

    In total in the 2019 Canterbury Cup competition Jaimen Jollife ran for the third highest number of metres in the competition being 3 885, 1 262 were post contact which was also the third highest in the competition, engaged the line on 373 occasions, once again the third highest in the competition, broke fifty three tackles, off-loaded the ball on five occasions and made the fourth highest number of tackles in the Canterbury Cup in 2019 with 760 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 90.5%.

    Jaimen Jollife’s 2019 Canterbury Cup per game averages included running for 137.9 metres per game (48.54 post contact) and making 29.23 tackles. On twenty occasions in 2019 Jaimen Jollife ran for in excess of 100 metres including 193 metres in Round Nineteen against the Wentworthville Magpies.

    Defensively in twelve of his matches Jaimen Jollife made more than thirty tackles including an incredible effort in Round Eighteen which saw him make forty seven tackles against the New Zealand Warriors.

    In the NRL State Championship Final Jaimen Jollife started in the front row against Burleigh playing forty three minutes in Newtown’s 20 – 16 last minute victory. He ran for 140 metres (forty post contact) from sixteen hit-ups, broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.34 seconds and made nineteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

    2019 was the fourth season that Jaimen Jollife had played for Newtown after making his debut as a 20 year old in 2016.

    Running with the football, Jaimen Jollife 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. Jaimen Jollife 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. Jaimen Jollife actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well.

    Defensively Jaimen Jollife 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.

    Jaimen Jollife has quite reasonable lateral mobility for a front rower and due to the fact that he also is not that tall, and is usually is able to wrap up smaller attackers without his tackles slipping up to around the head or neck too often.

    As noted above Jaimen Jollife has moved up from Sydney and will play the 2020 season with Burleigh in the Queensland Cup competition and at 23 still has a chance to break into the NRL with a good 2020 season.

    At 185cm and 108kg Jaimen Jollife is solidly built and will stay in the front row for the remainder of his rugby league career.

    From a player comparison perspective for Jaimen Jollife, one 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 none the less.

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    Jesse Cronin. The former Parramatta Eels lock or front rower will play the 2020 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup competition after attracting the Titans/Tweed Heads Seagulls eye with his performances with the Parramatta Eels Jersey Flegg side in 2018 and 2019 and in the NSWRL U18 SG Ball competition in 2017, the same year that he represented the Australian School Boys Rugby League side against New Zealand, a team mate in the side that defeated the New Zealand School Boys side was Titans NRL Top 30 player Tannah Boyd who excelled on the right side of the field that day.

    The 2017 Australian School Boys representative originally signed with the Eels as a 15 year old in 2014 from the Newcastle region moving to Sydney to finish his schooling at Hills Sports High a school from where he was selected in 2017 to play for the Australian School Boys side.

    In 2019 Jeese Cronin captained the Parramatta Eels in the New South Wales U20 Jersey Flegg competition playing in sixteen matches scoring seven tries (43.75% strike rate). Jesse Cronin scored a double in Round Fourteen against the Warriors and also scored in Rounds Seven, Nine, Sixteen, Eighteen and Twenty against Newcastle, Penrith, Victoria, Canberra and the Warriors respectively.

    Jesse Cronin started the first five of Parramatta’s matches at lock, but after missing Round Six through injury started the next three rounds from the bench before coming back into the starting side in Round Twelve against Souths Sydney once again at lock maintaining his place at lock for the remaining matches that he played in 2019 except for Round Twenty when Jesse Cronin started in the second row against the New Zealand Warriors.

    In 2018 Jesse Cronin was also part of the Parramatta U20 Jersey Flegg side playing in nineteen matches including starting from the bench in their Week One Finals loss to Canterbury. Jesse Cronin started the first two matches of the 2018 season on the bench before making his starting debut in the front row in Round Three against Newcastle, going on to start in eleven matches, nine at lock, one in the front row being his debut and Round Fifteen against the Sydney Roosters in the second row.

    Jesse Cronin’s sole try of the 2018 Jersey Flegg season came in Round Twelve against the North Sydney Bears.

    Jesse Cronin became an International rugby league player in 2018 when he started at lock for Malta in their 30 – 24 loss against South Africa in a rugby league World Cup qualifying match when he played alongside his older brother.

    In 2017 Jesse Cronin was prominent for the Parramatta U18 SG Ball side and was in fact named as the Player of the Year for the Eels in that competition. Jesse Cronin played in ten matches, missing only one including starting at lock in both the SG Ball Grand Final win over Cronulla and Parramatta’s U18 National Grand Final 48 – 12 win over the Western Mustangs.

    Jesse Cronin started nine games at lock and one in the front row being in Round Five against the Wests Tigers with his sole try coming in Round Six against the North Sydney Bears.

    Jesse Cronin started his SG Ball career in 2016 when he played two matches for the Eels starting Rounds One and two on the interchange bench.

    In his first season with Parramatta being 2015 Jesse Cronin captained the Eels U16 Harold Matthews side starting in ten of their eleven matches including starting in the front row in their Grand Final loss to Cronulla. That season Jesse Cronin started nine matches in the front row and one match being Round Six at lock against Souths Sydney.

    2015 also saw Jesse Cronin named in the initial New South Wales U16 Pathways squad but he missed out when the final seventeen was named for the interstate match against Queensland.

    Previously Jesse Cronin captained the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges U15 side at the ASSRL U15 National Championships whilst still in the Hunter region. It was at these Championships where ultimately he was spotted by the Eels.

    Running with the ball, Jesse Cronin 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.

    Jesse Cronin 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. He actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well.

    Defensively Jesse Cronin is not a big 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.

    Jesse Cronin has more than 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 feasible.

    Jesse Cronin will probably not stand out during a game but will work hard both in attack and defence and leave all the eye catching things like big hits, line breaks and one handed off loads to other forwards who will benefit from his hard working style.

    Jesse Cronin will play the 2020 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup competition as he looks to attract the attention of NRL clubs (read Titans).

    At 181cm and 98kg Jesse Cronin is certainly not the biggest lock or front rower running around but with his intensity of effort and toughness and hardness Jesse Cronin is an NRL prospect not to be discounted lightly. Whilst Jesse Cronin played a match or two in the second row in both 2018 and 2019 ultimately Jesse Cronin is a player who is best suited to staying in the centre third of a rugby league field.

    Jesse Cronin has also half way through an apprenticeship so he is not just heading to the Gold Coast to make up the numbers but to have a real go at getting into the NRL with the Titans.

    From an NRL player comparison perspective, one player with a similar playing style from my perspective to Jesse Cronin is Parramatta Eels front rower or lock Nathan Brown, as a solid forward who is not the biggest on the field and who will probably never be a star but will be a solid contributor to a team’s forward pack and one that team mates will enjoy playing with every time that they run onto the field together.

    Likely there will be players with more natural ability that will not go as far in rugby league as Jesse Cronin will, simply because he will make the most of the ability he has through sheer hard work and effort.

    In saying all of that however Jesse Cronin is a tough, skilful rugby league lock or front rower who has neat crisp footwork and a more than decent off load for a player of his size which is a touch less than the average NRL lock or front rower but I would argue that the skill level is a touch higher than your average NRL lock or front rower.

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    Reico Ratana. The powerful Titans linked front rower or second rower was part of the Titans U15 side that defeated the Balmain Tigers 34 – 16 at Piggabeen in early October after being in camp for the couple of days prior to the annual match in Northern New South Wales.

    The PBC student played for the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U15 Division One competition in 2019 playing in eleven regular season matches and scoring in late July against Runaway Bay for his sole try of the season but his impact on the competition and his Runaway Bay side was worth far more than just that one try.

    In Week Two of the GCRL U15 Division One Finals Reico Ratana started in the front row for Nerang as they went down 20 – 0 to Runaway Bay. Reico Ratana also started in the front row for Nerang in their 22 – 18 Preliminary Final victory over Helensvale to progress to the Grand Final.

    In the GCRL U15 Division One Grand Final Reico Ratana once again started in the front row as Nerang avenged their Week Two finals defeat by Runaway Bay to win a fiery Grand Final 36 – 24.

    2019 also saw Reico Ratana play for PBC in various Queensland based school boy competitions including producing a Player of the Match performance in the Year Nine Hancock Cup Grand Final win 24 – 18 against Coombabah State High School.

    Reico Ratana started PBC’s fight back after they well behind 18 – 6 early in the second half when he scored a barn storming try. Reico Ratana took the ball from the dummy half around ten metres out from the line and cut back against the grain to score near where the ball was played skittling multiple Coombabah defenders along the way.

    After the season Reico Ratana was awarded the Year Nine PBC Future Reds Award at the PBC Sports Award Night held in November 2019.

    In 2019 Reico Ratana was also part of the all-conquering U15 South Coast that went through the QSSRL U15 school boy Championships undefeated.

    Late in the 2019 season Reico Ratana was named in the Queensland Maori U16 QPICC side and was named in the front row in the 2019 Nga Hau e Wha Māori Tournament U16 Boys Merit Team.

    In 2018 for Nerang in the GCRL U14 competition Reico Ratana played in fourteen matches, including finals, scoring three tries which all came against Coomera in three separate matches.

    In late 2018 Reico Ratana was part of the Queensland Maori U14 side that competed in the QPICC carnival and was in fact named as Queensland Maori U14’s Most Valuable Player.

    Reico Ratana has been a Gold Coast representative regular in recent seasons. In addition to representing South Coast U15’s this season, Reico Ratana represented the Gold Coast Vikings U14 side in 2018 playing three matches and scoring on Day One against the Ipswich Diggers. Reico Ratana also played three matches for the Gold Coast Viking sU13’s in 2017 starting those matches in the centres in fact.

    The young Nerang Roosters lock has had a great start to the 2017 junior rugby league season, successfully trialling for a spot in the 25 player 2017 Gold Coast Vikings U13 squad after playing the 2016 GCJRL season at the U12 Division One level for Nerang.

    Reico Ratana played ten matches in the U12 Division One competition in 2016, scoring three tries and kicking a single goal which came against Jimboomba in June. Reico Ratana scored his tries against Burleigh, Currumbin and Southport with all three tries coming in the second half of the season.

    Reico Ratana very late in the season played one match in the U13 Division Three competition which was against Burleigh Heads 3 which was on the weekend after his U12 commitments for 2016 were completed.

    Reico Ratana is a big powerful young man who whilst using his size to his advantage by running hard and straight, does have quite decent footwork prior to the defensive line, which he uses to cut back behind the play the ball to take advantage of defenders who are slow to get back into the defensive line.

    An area where Reico Ratana has really improved over the last two season is in relation to his off-loads in previous seasons he did not off load too much but this season he really has been able to get his arms free and get away some telling off-loads. Reico Ratana continually put his hand up all day to take the ball up and has a very quick play the ball so that his team can maintain momentum

    One area that Reico Ratana is continuing to develop based on his size, skills and footwork is the ability to off load before the line, an example of what I am meaning is how the Canterbury Bulldogs forward pack uses those small offloads prior to the line. Reico Ratana has shown glimpses of having the skills to utilise the same skills if the opportunities arise, developing this skill with only enhance his effectiveness.

    In defence Reico Ratana 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 he is more effective in the centre of the ruck, as most front rowers are.

    Reico Ratana’s raw natural strength and power means that he is also dominant when looking to slow the play the ball down from a wrestling perspective and for that matter looking to beat the wrestling tactics of the opposition when trying to get to his feet for a quick play the ball.

    Reico Ratana will play the 2020 season for the Nerang Roosters in the GCRL U16 Division One competition and should also be part of one of the two Gold Coast Vikings U16 representative squads for the U16 South East Queensland Pre-season Challenge commencing in February 2020.

    Reico Ratana will also continue to be part of the PBC Rugby League Sports Specialisation Program and be included in their multiple school boy competition sides and will push for playing time in a stacked PBC Langer B squad in 2020.

    Reico Ratana played primarily in the front row for Nerang this season but with his power and late quick footwork, I think that Reico Ratana is best suited to the second row where he played for PBC for the short term at least.

    From a player comparison perspective I would consider a less bulky version of former Penrith Panther, Parramatta Eel, Canterbury Bulldog and New Zealand International Frank Pritchard as someone with a similar style to Reico Ratana, being that of a damaging running back rower with underappreciated offloading skills and a tough hard defensive mentality.

  13. #1123
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    Rewiti Brown. The powerful New Zealand born front rower or second rower is a player with intriguing potential and in 2020 is still U18 eligible thus has a lot of growth and development left in his already impressive skill set.

    In 2019 Rewiti Brown was part of the Wai-Coa Bay Stallions U17 representative side that took part in the New Zealand National Youth U17 Tournament, starting all four of the Stallions matches in the front row with those matches being against the Akarana Falcons, Auckland Vulcans and the Central Vipers in the pool rounds and once again against the Akarana Falcons in the Finals of the Tournament.

    Rewiti Brown also represented the Wai-Coa Bay Stallions in 2017, on that occasion in the New Zealand National Youth U15 Tournament, playing three matches for the Stallions primarily operating in the front row as well.

    In 2019 Rewiti Brown was also part of the U17 Bay of Plenty representative side that participated in the North Island Development Tournament and was part of the Bay of Plenty side that went down 20 – 10 to Manawatu in the Tournament Final. At the conclusion of the Tournament Rewiti Brown was named on the interchange bench in the U17 North Island Development All Tournament Merit Team.

    In 2017 Rewiti Brown also took part in the North Island Tournament playing for Bay of Plenty at the U15 level and was part of the Bay of Plenty side that defeated Taranaki in the U15 Final and was also named in the second row in the 2017 U15 All Tournament Merit Team.

    In 2018 Rewiti Brown represented Tokoroa High School in the New Zealand National Secondary Schools tournament scoring against Otahuha College in a 22 all draw in Round Two of the Finals.

    Rewiti Brown’s Tokoroa High School played in Pool B in the pool rounds of the Tournament which included a match against powerhouse New Zealand school Kelston Boys High. Rewiti Brown and Tokoroa High School also played against another powerhouse New Zealand school in Westlake Boys High later in the tournament.

    Due to a nation-wide health crisis (measles I think) no National Secondary Schools tournament took place in 2019 in New Zealand.

    In addition to rugby league Rewiti Brown also played rugby for Tokoroa High School and in 2018 was pre-selected for the Super Rugby’s Waikato Chiefs U16 squad highlighting just how talented Rewiti Brown is at both rugby and rugby league and certainly has been recognised as such.

    In attack Rewiti Brown is a straight runner of the football and there is little subtly to his game, it is get the ball and run straight ahead to gain as much ground as possible and get a quick play the ball. On occasion Rewiti Brown does use some footwork prior to the line but in the main it is head down and run straight.

    If defences do not target his legs Rewiti Brown will drag defenders with him as he continues to pump his legs and continue to fight until the tackle is finished, then he will fight to get a quick play the ball. In short Rewiti Brown gains a lot of ground post contact.

    Rewiti Brown can off load the football and certainly will do when the opportunity is there. Rewiti Brown’s hands are actually more than decent and thus I think that he has some untapped potential to ball play a little more as his career and skill set develops.

    In defence Rewiti Brown is a solid hitter and definitely makes solid initial contact with the ball carrier and is very effective at targeting the area around the football in order to reduce the possibility of off loads occurring.

    For a front rower Rewiti Brown’s lateral movement is quite reasonable and he is also quite effective when defending at marker, and does not use it as a chance to have a break and will chase hard from the position. Rewiti Brown also has very good overall stamina for his size.

    Rewiti Brown is U18 eligible in 2020 and will be a more than handy player in that age group next season in school, club and representative sides.

    Rewiti Brown has spent his entire rugby league career in either the front row or second row and certainly over the next couple of seasons will likely continue to play in both positions although in the short term at least I think that he can certainly spend a fair bit of time in the second row before ultimately moving to the front row permanently at some point in the future.

    From a player comparison perspective for Rewiti Brown, think of someone along the lines of a young version of New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International front rower Adam Blair as a solid hard working front rower or second rower who is effective in his required role doing a lot of the small things, which are sometimes overlooked by everyone but team mates, on a rugby league field quietly and efficiently.

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    Zinzan Kahu. The young half is a recent arrival on the Gold Coast moving up from Melbourne with his family to pursue his rugby league dream on the Gold Coast as part of the Keebra Park 2020 Open rugby league squad, a squad which is already training a couple of times a week and have been for a number of weeks in preparation for next season’s Langer Cup and GIO Cup School Boy Rugby League competitions.

    In 2019 the young half played a lot of rugby league including representing Victoria in both the U15 ASSRL Pool B school boy Championships and at the U15 New South Wales Country Age Championships, Southern Zone. Zinzan Kahu also played for the Waverley Panthers in the NRL Victoria U15 club rugby league competition.

    For the U15 Victorian school boys side in the 2019 U15 ASSRL Championships, Zinzan Kahu started at half in all four of Victoria’s matches including the Pool B final against the ASSRL ATSI Invitational side, unfortunately Victoria went down 20 – 14 in the final.

    In his four matches at the U15 ASSRL Championships Pool B competition for Victoria Zinzan Kahu finished with a 50% strike rate from his four matches, scoring in Game One against the ASSRL ATSI Invitational side and Game Three against the Northern Territory. Zinzan Kahu was named Victoria’s best against the ASSRL ATSI Invitational side in Game One of the Championships.

    Post the Championship Final the former Keysborough College Melbourne student (now Keebra Park State High School student of course) was named at half in the U15 ASSRL Pool B Merit Team.

    2019 was the second season that Zinzan Kahu represented the U15 Victorian side at the ASSRL U15 Championships after also being part of the 2018 side when he played four matches at hooker as a 14 year old.

    Late in 2019 Zinzan Kahu started at half in all four of NRL Victoria’s matches at the New South Wales Country U15 Age Championships kicking a conversion on Day One against Illawarra.

    On Day Two Zinzan Kahu played in matches against Group Six and Group Seven and the following week was part of the NRL Victoria side that went down in their Final series match against Group Three.

    In 2017 Zinzan Kahu played five matches for NRL Victoria at the New South Wales Country U14 Championships even though he was still U13 eligible that year.

    In amongst his representative duties for Victoria in 2019, Zinzan Kahu also played for the Waverley Panthers in the NRL Victorian U15 club competition, playing a total of ten matches including starting the Grand Final at half, but the Panthers went down 12 – 9 to the wonderfully named Sunshine Cowboys side.

    Over the course of the 2019 season in his ten matches Zinzan Kahu scored nine points from two tries and a field goal which he kicked in late July against the Northern Thunder. Zinzan Kahu’s tries came early in the season against the Werribee Bears and Hume City Bulldogs.

    As noted above Zinzan Kahu has been a regular Victorian rugby league representative for a number of seasons, with his first taste coming in 2016 when he represented the Victorian U12 side at the National U12 Championships and scored in Victoria’s opening three matches against Western Australia on Day One, the ACT on Day Two and Northern Territory on Day Three a match which also saw him kick a conversion.

    In attack, Zinzan Kahu generally plays an understated role, focussing more on the distribution and game management aspects of his role as a half. A key attribute to how Zinzan Kahu plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations encountered within a game and where and when they occur on the field.

    Zinzan Kahu will though take the line on when the opportunity arises however, but as noted his best attribute is that of a game manager with the ability to draw defenders out of the line and put his runners into the subsequent hole that is generated. Zinzan Kahu has decent speed off the mark and quick twitch feet in confined space but does not have explosive acceleration or high top end speed.

    From a kicking perspective Zinzan Kahu has a solid kicking game, with reasonable distance and accuracy on all types of kicks, from kicking for field position or from an attacking perspective as well as tactically for field position. I am sure that moving forward focussing on his kicking skills will be a key focus area both from a distance and accuracy perspective.

    In defence, due to his size Zinzan Kahu 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 through sheer force of will. Zinzan Kahu is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side both in attack and defence.

    In 2020 Zinzan Kahu will be looking to immediately break into the Keebra Park Langer Cup A side and subsequently play for Keebra Park in the GIO Cup.

    Outside of a couple of matches at hooker for Victoria at the U15 level in 2018 when he was just 14 years of age Zinzan Kahu has settled into the half back role very comfortably and seems set to stay there for the duration of his rugby league career. Without doubt however if required Zinzan Kahu could slot back in and cover the dummy half role if the situation requires and potentially even cover at fullback as well such is his skill set in relation to game management and ball distribution.

    I am going back a few years but a player with a similar playing style and skill attributes to Zinzan Kahu for me is former Penrith great, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International Greg Alexander. Both make the task of managing the game plan and directing their team around the field from the half back position look easy and natural and both seemingly have as much time as they need to accomplish the required task expertly.

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    Jeremaiah Tamepo. The young centre from Auckland New Zealand is on his way over to the Gold Coast to continue his schooling at Keebra Park and will be part of their Open Rugby League program and will push for a spot in their Langer Cup and GIO Cup school boy sides come the 2020 season.

    In 2019 Jeremaiah Tamepo represented the Countries Manukau Stingrays representative side at the New Zealand National Youth U15 tournament starting in the centres in all four of the Stingrays matches which were against the Auckland Vulcans, one being the Tournament Final which Counties Manukau lost 18 – 6 with the other a pool match, the Wai-Coa Bay Stallions and the South Island Scorpions.

    In the 2019 Auckland Rugby League U15 club competition Jeremaiah Tamepo played eight matches for the Manurewa Force scoring five tries over the course of the season to finish with a 62.5% strike rate.

    Also in 2019 Jeremaiah Tamepo played for Counties Manukau Maori in the New Zealand Maori U15 tournament and at the completion of that tournament was named in the All-Tournament team in the centres.

    In 2019 Jeremaiah Tamepo was also a key performer for the Wesley College U15 side in their Auckland school boy rugby league competitions.

    Also in 2019 the former New Zealand Warriors Development Squad player was part of the U15 Auckland Vulcans Development Trial representing the U15 Open South side and in 2018 represented the U14 Open South side at the 2018 U14 Auckland Vulcans Development Trial.

    From an attacking perspective Jeremaiah Tamepo is a straight hard runner when he has the ball in hand, he runs a “crash” line if you will. Jeremaiah Tamepo has also shown the ability to run both an inside and outside shoulder route and he runs both with pace and power and attracts multiple defenders to try to bring him down, a quick play the ball is also a key feature of his play.

    When he impacts the defensive line Jeremaiah Tamepo drops his shoulder into the defenders and regularly bumped off multiple defenders in a single run. Another key attribute which was mentioned earlier is that he is also a talented all be it an underrated distributor.

    Jeremaiah Tamepo understands that his style of play means that he attracts multiple defenders and he has become adept at delayed sleight of hand passes right at the defensive line which meant that the defensive line could not react to the aspect change in time to prevent ground being made by the support runner.

    Due to his strength and fend Jeremaiah Tamepo regularly gets on the outside of his opposite defender forcing the winger to make a decision as to whether to come in on him or stay with his direct opponent. If he comes in, Jeremaiah Tamepo has the quick hands to get the pass away prior to contact, but also is big and strong enough as well as having very good core strength and balance to absorb the contact and still get the pass to his winger.

    If the opposing winger stays out, Jeremaiah Tamepo is definitely quick enough to break into open space although I would not say that he has plus speed, he is quick enough to gain separate from the cover defence. When you look at Jeremaiah Tamepo’s build he may not look like he has a lot of speed, but he definitely does. Jeremaiah Tamepo may not necessarily be the quickest off the mark but has very good acceleration once he is moving and can sustain his top pace over an extended period.

    Devastating would be the appropriate way to describe the defensive style of Jeremaiah Tamepo, he regularly comes out the line to literally smash the attacker coming at him. When an attacker is running directly at Jeremaiah Tamepo he will explode quickly out of his stance coming forward quickly thus preventing the opposing defender from either getting a pass wider out or for that matter bracing himself for the upcoming contact.

    A lot of bigger outside backs attempt to come out of the line a few occasions a match when the opportunity presents itself but Jeremaiah Tamepo seemingly does it four or five times a match. As a result of his timing and anticipation it is not often that an attacking can either skip to the outside or get a pass away to a support runner. Jeremaiah Tamepo just seems to have that knack of arriving just as his opponent receives the ball.

    In saying what I have above however when necessary Jeremaiah Tamepo is able to slide out and wait for the play to develop in front of him and is able to hold his momentum to the outside well in case his direct opponent looks to cut back inside as he is sliding out. Either way Jeremaiah Tamepo has a solid defensive technique in relation to side on tackles and can also turn and chase in cover defence if necessary.

    As noted above in 2020 Jeremaiah Tamepo will be part of the Keebra Park Open rugby league squad (that is already training a couple of mornings per week) and will line up in the Langer Cup in either the Reserve or A squads as he pushes also for a GIO Cup berth for Keebra Park later in the 2020 season.

    Jeremaiah Tamepo is a powerful ball runner with speed and the ability to break tackles and thus can be an impact centre in coming seasons but if not shapes as a power running winger but I am sure that Jeremaiah Tamepo will be given every opportunity to stay in the centres for the duration of his rugby league career, top notch centres are just too difficult to find.

    With the Titans association with Keebra Park, Jeremaiah Tamepo is in the perfect place to make a mark in rugby league on the Gold Coast starting as early as next year through school boy rugby league and at just 16 years of age in 2020 will get plenty of opportunities to open the eyes of the powers that be at both the Titans and Keebra Park.

    Joseph Manu of the Sydney Roosters and New Zealand International is a good NRL comparison in relation to the play of Jeremaiah Tamepo as a big strong powerful young man who will not be beaten in a one on one contest in attack or defence but fairly or not is noted almost exclusively for his attacking credentials even though the defensive aspects of his game are equally impressive.


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