My take on our top juniors

[mdrew]

Brock Hamill. (Updated) He is a young local red headed backrower originally from the Southport Tigers rugby league club and also played for Keebra Park in relation to his schoolboy football and for Burleigh in the MM Cup competition. At the U13 level a number of seasons ago Brock Hamill also played a game or two for the Titans Development Squads at Redlands.

In 2019 Brock Hamill played nine matches for the Bulldogs in the Jersey Flegg competition starting in the front row in Round two against the Parramatta Eels. Brock Hamill also started in Rounds Three and Four when he started at lock against the Wests Tigers and North Sydney Bears respectively. Brock Hamill’s remaining matches were from the bench including the Bulldogs two 2019 finals which were against the Knights and Roosters.

Also in 2019 Brock Hamill played fourteen matches for the Moorebank Rams in the Sydney Shield competition coming into the side in Round Six when he started at hooker against the Bulls. Brock Hamill started his first three 2019 Sydney Shield matches at hooker before starting at lock in Round Eleven against the BR Eagles.

In total Brock Hamill started four in his eleven matches at hooker, nine at lock, including Week Two of the Finals against the Saints and one being Round Nineteen against the Bulls from the bench.

Brock Hamill had a great start to the 2019 Sydney Shield competition scoring in his first four matches including a Round Eleven double against the BR Eagles. His Round Six, Seven and Eight tries were against the Bulls, Owls and Magpies.

In 2018 Brock Hamill was diagnosed with cancer but before his treatment started Brock Hamill made his debut off the bench for the Bulldogs Jersey Flegg side scoring a double against Manly.

From Keebra Park Brock Hamill represented South Coast at the U18 level in 2016 and 2017and in 2017 was selected in the Queensland School boy’s side for the Australian School boys Championships. South Coast won every match by more than 40 points including beating Met North 74 – 4 in the final.

Brock Hamill has also been a key part of the Keebra Park Open side that won the GIO Cup in 2017 including being part of the Keebra Park side that won their Queensland semi-final over the The Cathedral College 74 – 0.

For the Burleigh Bears MM Cup side in 2017, Brock Hamill started in all six of their matches starting Rounds One and Two in the second row, Round Three in the front row and Rounds Four to Six at lock.

Brock Hamill played his club rugby league for the Southport Tigers primarily at the U19 level in 2017 but also played two matches in the Doug Lipp Cup competition, making his debut in that competition in April against Burleigh with his other Doug Lipp Cup match coming in June against Bilambil. In the U19 competition, Brock Hamill to date has played in seven matches, scoring doubles against Runaway Bay and Burleigh and in his first match of the season in that age group scored against Mudgeeraba.

Over the course of his junior career, he has made a number of junior representative sides including U13 and U14 Gold Coast Vikings squads and represented South Coast at the U15 level. He has been named in the U18 South Coast squad for the upcoming QSSRL championships, along with five other Keebra Park team mates.

Running with the football, Brock Hamill 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.

Brock Hamill 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 usually with his right hand when he has impacted the defensive line and regularly showcases this in game situations.

Defensively Brock Hamill can certainly hit very hard, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads. He has above average lateral mobility for a forward and due to the fact that he bends his hips when looking to make a tackle he 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. 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 Brock Hamill is a plus defender.

After two seasons with the Canterbury Bulldogs in Sydney playing for their junior representative sides Brock Hamill will be back playing on the Gold Coast in 2020.

From a position perspective even though he spent some time playing in the front row earlier in his junior career, he has spent the last couple of seasons playing in the back row and to a lesser extent hooker, and that is where I would envisage he will stay for the remainder of his rugby league career.

From a player comparison perspective, someone along the lines of former Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International backrower Cory Parker may be a good comparison from a style perspective as a solid back rower who plays the game hard and with all-out effort.

Brock Hamill has overcome a significant health scare already in his life got back on the field so it would be difficult not to cheer for the red headed backrower in the next season or two as he looks to break into the Queensland Cup.

[mdrew]

Vito Sula-Siaosi. The young former Queensland U16 representative and Coombabah State High School student seemingly dropped off the rugby league map over the last couple of seasons but will line up for the Ormeau Shearers in the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition.

In 2017 Vito Sula-Siaosi played a number of matches for the Burleigh Colts U20 side. Vito Sula-Siaosi played for Gold Coast Green in the MM competition in 2015 and in 2014 being the same year he came off the bench for Queensland U16’s he was named as Gold Coast White CC Player of the year. At around that time Vito Sula-Siaosi was a member of the Titans Junior Development set up.

On a number of occasions, Vito Sula-Siaosi also represented the South Coast in School boy rugby league competitions. Vito Sula-Siaosi also spent some time in New Zealand before returning to the Gold Coast including representing a New Zealand Warriors Invitational side in a number of matches in an U18 New Zealand National competition in 2016. Vito’s younger brother Phransis who was also a former Titans Development Squad member is now in Brisbane playing rugby in the Brisbane Premier Colts I competition.

Vito Sula-Siaosi’s junior club in New Zealand was the Point Chevalier Pirates<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_Chevalier_Pirates>.

Vito Sula-Siaosi is a hard running backrower who really does look to run straight over people and is best running on the fringes of the ruck, rather than straight up the centre. He still has decent to above average top end speed but he does take a little bit of time to get up to his top speed. I would suggest his speed is a tick above average for a back rower. He also has a very good right hand fend to add to his stocky frame and good strength. His low centre of gravity and power make him a difficult proposition to defend against, regardless of where he lines up in attack.

Defensively Vito Sula-Siaosi hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribs and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls. He also has a touch of aggression in his play and definitely finishes off each tackle that he is involved in. He is equally adept at defending in the centre of the ruck as he is defending on the fringes and his initial contact is more than sufficient to make an impact on the ball carrier.

Vito Sula-Siaosi set a good stable base with his lower body, which he them used to explode into the attacker. This was evidenced by a tackle with about two minutes to go in U16 interstate match when Vito Sula-Siaosi absolutely smashed the New South Wales ball carrier from the kick off with New South Wales only four points behind after Broncos NYC player Koloni Staggs scored for New South Wales. The great tackle caused a knock on which sealed the win for Queensland.

It is great to see Vito Sula-Siaosi back playing on the Gold Coast as part of the Ormeau Shearers CGRL First Grade squad.

Vito Sula-Siaosi has played a variety of positions over his rugby league career to date including hooker and back row but moving forward I envisage him playing more of a back row role for any team that he represents.

I will admit that it is an interesting to see how Vito Sula-Siaosi would go playing in the dummy half role in 2020 for the Ormeau Shearers. If Vito Sula-Siaosi can spend some minutes at hooker over the course of a match, he becomes an even more valuable commodity to his team.

Vito Sula-Siaosi has missed a number of seasons (or parts thereof) but he is only 21 in 2020 and still has time and of course the ability to make an impact in the Queensland Cup and from there he is only one step away from the NRL.

From a style perspective, a player that stands out with a similar playing style, especially in terms of attack is former Melbourne Storm and Penrith Panther Sika Manu as a tough nuggetty back rower with decent footwork prior to the line to add to sold speed for a backrower and someone who is aggressive in defence.

[mdrew]

I would think that where Erin Clark has been training with the NRL squad this offseason that Erin Clark is certainly considered a dummy half option espacillay when you take into account that he can kick out of dummy half.

Does Erin Clarke have the potential to play Hooker for a few years until someone like Eddie comes through at all or who is a young hooker you would look at to replace Peats ?

[mdrew]

Laz Sua. (Revised). Laz Sua started the 2019 season as part of the Souths Logan Hastings Deering’s Colts side playing in five matches for the Magpies before heading back to play in the GCLR First Grade competition with the Ormeau Shearers with his first match being in Round 16 against Currumbin when he came off the bench. Laz Sua also came off the bench in Round Seventeen.

Laz Sua made his first start since coming back to Ormeau in Round Eighteen when he started at hooker against Southport and also came off the bench in Rounds Nineteen and Twenty.

Laz Sau started off the 2019 season with the Souths Logan Magpies U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts side, playing his first match in Round Three against Norths when he started the match in the front row.

In total for Souths Logan Laz Sua played in five Hastings Deering’s Colts matches this season, starting three in the front row, one at lock being Round Five against Burleigh and one from the interchange bench which was in Round Six against the Northern Pride.

The powerful nuggetty young Gold Coast local had an outstanding 2018 season. Even in the 2018 pre-season Laz Sua was in outstanding form. In Tweed Heads MM trial against Souths Logan at Waterford, the Seagulls were on the back foot for the first two quarters but Laz Sua’s introduction made a significant difference and when he was on the field he provided momentum through his hit-ups and defensive starch and that was just a trial!

In the MM Cup season proper in 2018 Laz Sua started in the front row of all seven of Tweed Head’s matches including their semi-final against South’s Logan. Laz Sua did not score any tries in the MM Cup this season, but was rewarded for his outstanding effort in Round Five against the Townsville Blackhawks when he converted Tweed Heads final try in a big 72 – 6 victory.

After Tweed Heads finals elimination, Laz Sua moved directly to the Tweed Heads Seagulls Colts side starting in his debut in the front row in Round Ten against Ipswich and came off the bench in Round Eleven against the Northern Pride who were top of the table at that point. Round Twelve saw Laz Sua once again start on the bench. He was also on the bench for the Seagulls in Rounds Thirteen and Seventeen to Twenty Four.

Laz Sua moved to the Gold Coast Rugby League competition in Round Eight of that competition, coming off the interchange bench for the Ormeau Shearers who unfortunately suffered a 74 – 12 loss to a rampaging Bilambil Jets side. In total Laz Sua played in five GCRKL First Grade matches in 2018.

In 2017 in addition to playing for Keebra Park, Laz Sua was selected in the South Coast U18 side and from there was selected in the Queensland U18 Open Schoolboy side for the ASSRL Championship including scoring a try on Day Three in a 28-18 loss to New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges.

Laz Sua and his Keebra Park Open team mates had an outstanding 2017 GIO Cup campaign with the Gold Coast based school winning the National final with Laz Sua starting the final in eth second row and playing on the left side of the field against Westfield’s Sports High School.

Laz Sua was also a member of the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side for the 2017 version of that competition and played for Queensland Samoa U18 squad for the QPICC tournament that was held in October 2017.

Laz Sua played in club football in 2017 with the Ormeau Shearers across a number of competitions including the U17 Division One competition, U19’s, the Doug Lipp Cup and five first grade matches. In the U17 Division One competition, Laz Sua played in five matches scoring three tries including a double against Burleigh with his other try coming against Mudgeeraba. In the U19 competition, Laz Sua has played in nine matches scoring against Runaway Bay in June and also kicking a late conversion against Mudgeeraba.

Laz Sua made his Doug Lipp Cup debut in June against Tugun and celebrated by scoring on debut. Playing first grade at any level as a 17 year is no mean feat and Laz Sua achieved that feat on Sunday June 18 2017 when he came on from the interchange bench against Currumbin. His other first grade matches came against Runaway Bay, Bilambil, Currumbin again and Southport.

During the 2016 season Laz Sua was selected as a result of his good form to represent Queensland at the U16 level. Unfortunately for Laz Sua he only got a handful of minutes on the field when he came on late and played in the dummy half role.

In relation to his club rugby league on the Gold Coast in 2016 he played six matches for the Ormeau Shearers club in the U16 Division One competition and scored three tries in limited action, including scoring against eventual premiers Burleigh on two separate occasions and also against Helensvale.

For Gold Coast White in the CC Cup competition in 2016, Laz Sua played in all six of their games, splitting his time evenly between starting at hooker and at lock. He started at hooker in Rounds One, Six and Seven and started at lock in the other three games. He also crossed for two tries which came in Rounds One and Two, against Souths Logan and Gold Coast Green respectively.

In addition, after the completion of the 2016 season he was a late replacement in the Team Toa side where he came off the bench in their loss to a NSW New Zealand side. In 2016 he was also a member of the QAS squad and in 2015 made the Queensland Maroon U15 side for the ASSRL U15 championships after playing a leading role for South Coast at the U15 QSSRL championships where he played the majority of his matches in the centres.

In attack, regardless of the position he is playing, he is quick and strong and has good footwork to beat opposition defenders and then has very good speed, not necessarily speed off the mark, but definitely has good top end speed once he gets moving. In relation to his play at hooker his passing is reasonably crisp, especially to the right side, but on occasion he passes in two movements, the first being a straightening motion with a distinct second motion being the delivery of the pass, on other occasions he does pass directly from the ground in one fluid motion, like he would be doing as a rugby half.

Laz Sua does like to run from dummy half and his strength and speed does compensate if there are no gaps in the defensive line. Once tackled he immediately starts fighting to get a quick play the ball in an effort to maintain momentum.

In terms of wider positions, such as in the back row or at centre, he can and will take on defenders and look to run over them, when he stays wide, like he did for Keebra good things happen for his team.

Defensively Laz Sua is more than strong enough to defend in the middle of the ruck and quick enough to defend on the fridges. In the centre of the ruck he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards.

When defending out wide, he is better in an up and in type defensive scheme rather than a sliding defensive structure. Laz Sua is also extremely fit thus getting back into the defensive line is no issue for him over the course of the entire game.

Laz Sua is still Colts eligible in 2020 and looks set to line up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in 2020. In addition to playing for the Tweed Heads Colts side Laz Sua will look to break into the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad in 2020 but if he is not in the Seagulls side for any given round Laz Sua will play with the Ormeau Shearers in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition.

The big question for he is where Laz Sua’s long term future lies. I know that he played a fair bit of front row in 2019 for Souths Logan and in 2018 in the MM Cup and Colts but there are skills in his game which suggest a future in a wider playing position such as in the back row is the ideal position for him.

Laz Sua has a diverse range of skills to take advantage of and with a reduction of the inter change currently being fore shadowed a player of his type will become very valuable. Regardless of the position that he is playing, Laz Sua also has outstanding endurance and shapes as an 80 minute player now.

He may not be as big as the player I am using as a playing comparison but for me Laz Sua has a playing style similar to North Queensland’s versatile John Asiata. Both have intriguing skills and a hardness to their play that compels others to follow their lead

[mdrew]

Greg (GL) Leleisiuao. It is almost a case of the cult hero returns in relation to Greg Leleisiuao who was a star for the Titans NYC side in 2015 and 2016 before he headed down Parramatta where he won an NYC title in 2017 and was also named on the wing in the National Youth Competitions 2017 Team of the Year before being elevated to the Eels NRL Top 30 squad for the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

Whilst he did not make an NRL appearance for Parramatta Greg Leleisiuao starred for the Wentworthville Magpies Canterbury Cup side especially in 2019 when he led the competition in multiple attacking categories, and led them by a big margin to be honest in each case.

Greg Leleisiuao has signed a two year NRL deal with the Titans that encompasses the 2020 and 2021 NRL seasons. If he is not in the Titans game day squad Greg Leleisiuao will play for the Burleigh Queensland Cup side in 2020.

In 2019 for the Magpies in the New South Wales Canterbury Cup competition Greg Leleisiuao played in all twenty six of the Magpies matches starting all on the right wing, playing 80 minutes in all bar two meaning that in the Canterbury Cup, including finals matches in 2019 Greg Leleisiuao played 2 063 minutes out of a possible 2 080, seventy seven of which were in the Grand Final that the Magpies lost 20 – 15 to the Newtown Jets who went on to narrowly defeated Burleigh in the National Final a week later.

In 2019 Greg Leleisiuao led the Canterbury Cup in four categories being most runs (433), most run metres (4 513), most post contact metres (1 535) and most tackle breaks (196). Greg Leleisiuao also scored twelve tries, eleven in the regular season and also scored in Week One of the Finals against the Penrith Panthers.

In addition to a Round Two double against the Bulldogs, Greg Leleisiuao scored in matches against the Mounties (Rounds Five and Fifteen), Wests Magpies (Round Six), North Sydney (Round Ten), Penrith (Round Eleven), Souths Sydney (Round Twelve), the Warriors (Round Fourteen)and Blacktown (Rounds Sixteen and Twenty Two).

In addition to his Canterbury Cup league leading stats in 2019 that are mentioned above, Greg Leleisiuao also made fifteen line breaks, had two line break assists and a try assist which was in Round Eight against the Dragons.

Defensively Greg Leleisiuao made seventy six tackles at a tackling efficiency of 79.17%. Greg Leleisiuao in fact did not miss his first tackle of the 2019 season until Round Six against the Wests Magpies and in thirteen of his twenty six matches (50%) had a 100% tackling efficiency.

Incredibly in all twenty six of his 2019 Canterbury Cup matches Greg Leleisiuao ran for in excess of 100 metres, with his “lowest” run total being 115 metres in Round Seven against Newcastle, he made up for that later in the season. In thirteen of his matches, Greg Leleisiuao was his team’s leader from a metres gained perspective and led his side in tackle breaks far more frequently than that.

Even more impressive was the fact that Greg Leleisiuao ran for in excess of 200 metres on five occasions being Round Eight against St George (246 metres), Round Sixteen against Blacktown (210 metres), Round twenty against St George (201 metres), Round Twenty Two against Blacktown (211 metres) and in Round Twenty One against the Newcastle Knights Greg Leleisiuao ran for a staggering 283 metres. In the Round Twenty One match against Newcastle 108 of his 283 metres were post contact (38.16%).

On eight occasions in the Canterbury Cup in 2019 Greg Leleisiuao broke at least ten tackles in a match including breaking twelve tackles in his “career” match in Round Twenty One against Newcastle.

On a per match basis in 2019 in the Canterbury Cup Greg Leleisiuao played just over 79 minutes, ran for 173 metres (59 post contact), broke 7.54 tackles on 16.65 runs and made three tackles.

Greg Leleisiuao also played in the Canterbury Cup for the Wentworthville Magpies in 2018. After missing the opening rounds with injury Greg Leleisiuao’s first match of the season was in Round Three when he started on the wing against the Newcastle Knights.

In total in the 2018 Canterbury Cup competition started all twelve of his matches on the right wing, playing the entire 80 minutes in each and scored six tries to finish with a 50% strike rate. In addition to a Round Twenty Four double against the Bulldogs, Greg Leleisiuao scored in four straight matches from Rounds Fifteen to Eighteen against Wyong, Newtown, the Warriors and St George.

In his 960 minutes on the field in the Canterbury Cup competition Greg Leleisiuao ran for 1 495 metres (478 post contact), broke eighty three tackles and made thirty six tackles at a tackling efficiency of 73.47%.

Greg Leleisiuao’s 2018 Canterbury Cup per game averages included running for 124.58 metres and making three tackles.

In eleven of his twelve matches Greg Leleisiuao ran for in excess of 100 metres (in the other game he ran for 99 metres) including running for 174 metres in Round Seven against Penrith. Greg Leleisiuao broke ten or more tackles in three matches including thirteen tackle breaks in Round Seven against Penrith.

Defensively in Round Three against the Knights Greg Leleisiuao made eight tackle at a 88.89% tackling efficiency and in Round Twenty Two against North Sydney he had a 100% tackling efficiency whilst making seven tackles.

In 2017 for Parramatta in the NYC competition Greg Leleisiuao made his first appearance in Round Four against the Cronulla Sharks starting that match on the wing and scoring in his Eels debut. Greg Leleisiuao went on to start on the wing in twenty one NYC matches for the Eels in 2017 including their Grand Final loss to Manly.

Greg Leleisiuao finished the 2017 NYC season with a try scoring strike rate of 95.23%. Included in his twenty tries were a Round Nine hat trick against North Queensland and doubles in Round Ten and Round Eighteen and the first week of the finals against the Roosters, Storm and Sharks respectively.

In addition to Round One in 2017 Greg Leleisiuao also scored in matches against the Warriors (Round Six), Wests Tigers (Rounds Seven and Twenty), Penrith (Round Eight and the Preliminary Final), the Canberra Raiders (Round Eleven), Bulldogs (Rounds Seventeen and Twenty Two) and the Brisbane Broncos in Round Twenty One.

Greg Leleisiuao was a star for the Titans NYC side in 2016 in the first half of the season, starting at centres in the opening eleven rounds of the competition scoring a double in Round Four against the Raiders and adding a further try in Round Seven against the St George Dragons.

Greg Leleisiuao burst onto the NYC scene with the Titans in Round Thirteen of 2015 starting from the bench against the Wests Tigers and scoring on debut. Greg Leleisiuao made his first starting appearance in Round Fourteen against the Bulldogs when he started at fullback and also started at fullback and scored in Round Fifteen against the New Zealand Warriors.

Greg Leleisiuao then moved to the wing for the remainder of his 2015 NYC matches for the Titans (other than Round Twenty Two when he started from the bench). In addition to the tries noted above Greg Leleisiuao also a Round Sixteen double against the Roosters as well as a double in Round Twenty Four against the Raiders and also scored in Round Twenty Five against the St George Dragons.

Greg Leleisiuao is a powerfully built young man who runs with pace and power. It would be unfair to categorise that his game is only built on pace and power though as he has a very good right foot step and left hand fend, he can also draw defenders in to give players outside him room.

If he gets on the outside of his opposing winger Greg Leleisiuao 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 his build Greg Leleisiuao may not look like he has a lot of speed, but he definitely does. Greg Leleisiuao is not necessarily the quickest off the mark but ha very good acceleration once he is moving and can sustain his top pace over an extended period.

Impressively a lot of Greg Leleisiuao’s metres in 2019 came through the centre of the ruck with Parramatta regularly running down the blind side on his side of the field. If the opposing winger is drawn in Greg Leleisiuao broke down the touch line, if not he would come back inside and bash and barge his way through the centre of the ruck.

Greg Leleisiuao is also very good at running out of dummy half. In relation to kick returns Greg Leleisiuao, on the majority of occasions would not be subtle, he would retrieve the ball and run straight and hard into the oncoming defensive line.

Greg Leleisiuao is always going to be judged on his attacking ability, but he is a solid defender as was evidenced in the Canterbury Cup this season. Greg Leleisiuao has the size and strength for powerful initial contact especially when he come out of the line and also has the speed to turn and chase when required.

Greg Leleisiuao may never be considered an outstanding defender but he has the skill set and physical attributes to be a solid NRL defender both from an individual and team perspective.

As noted above Greg Leleisiuao is currently training with the Titans NRL squad on a train and trial basis and if he does not pick up an NRL contract will play for Burleigh in the 2020 Queensland Cup competition.

Greg Leleisiuao immediately brings power running from the wing position for the Titans NRL squad as well as the ability to break through tackles on a regular basis.

I do not for a second believe that Greg Leleisiuao would recreate his 2019 Canterbury Cup statistics in the NRL should be make his debut for the Titans in 2020 but certainly running with the ball he has a real chance of being a difference maker as well as helping to get supporters excited about the season and thus helping get them to come to home matches.

Earlier in his career Greg Leleisiuao spent time in the centres and at fullback including for the Titans NYC side (and on the wing for the Titans NYC side as well) and even spent time at five eight in the U16 Cyril Connell Cup for Souths Logan in 2013 but moved to the wing permanently when he left for Parramatta and to be fair has not looked back since and at around 99kg and 180cm is the perfect build for a wrecking ball type winger who is just as happy to run over opposing wingers as he is to run around them.

For people who followed the Titans NYC side in 2015 and 2016, Greg Leleisiuao is a bit of a cult figure of sorts as that star youngster who displayed immense ability and potential before heading south, let’s hope that in his second coming Greg Leleisiuao can secure an NRL contract straight off the bat but if not he should be a dominant player for Burleigh come the 2020 Queensland Cup season.

Greg Leleisiuao plays like well Greg Leleisiuao, he is a ball of muscle with speed and a low centre of gravity who is very difficult to tackle and has steadily improved defensively over the last couple of seasons.

For the people that have not seen Greg Leleisiuao possibility a good NRL player comparison is former New Zealand Warrior and New Zealand International centre Solomon Kata that being of a hard running aggressive type of player with a solid build who relishes the contact, the harder the better both in attack and defence and also one that seems to be more than happy to run over his direct opponent rather than beating him with speed and/or guile even though he has both in his attacking ****nal.

[mdrew]

Phillip Sami – (Updated) He is winger originally from Ipswich who signed a new deal with the Titans in late 2019 which will keep him on the Gold Coast until the end of the 2021 NRL season.

In 2019 Phillip Sami played in fourteen matches (he was on the bench for another but did not get on the field) and was on the field for 839 minutes out of a possible 1 120 being 74.91%. On ten occasions Phillip Sami played all eighty minutes.

In those minutes, Phillip Sami ran for 1 799 metres (559 post contact), broke sixty one tackles including twelve in Round Seventeen against Penrith and ten in Round Six against Newcastle, broke the line on eight occasions, forced two drop outs, had a try assist and made forty seven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 61.6%.

Phillip Sami scored doubles in Rounds Fifteen and Twenty One against Manly and St George respectively and also scored Round Six against Newcastle and Round Twenty Five against St George.

Phillip Sami’s 2019 NRL per game averages included playing 59.23 minutes, running for 112.5 metres and making 3.36 tackles. Thus per eighty minutes, Phillip Sami, in 2019, ran for 151.95 metres and made 4.54 tackles.

On eleven occasions Phillip Sami ran for in excess of 100 metres in a match twice exceeding 200 metres including Round Twenty Five when he ran for 206 metres against St George and Round Six against Newcastle when he ran for 219 metres.

In 2018 Phillip Sami played in twenty three NRL matches for the Titans, scoring fourteen tries along the way. In addition he forced a drop out, ran for 3 015 metres, had a try assist, broke the line on thirteen occasions and made seventy tackles at a 81.4% tackling efficiency.

Phillip Sami made his NRL debut in in 2017 Round Fifteen against the South Sydney Rabbitohs and also played the final three rounds of the 2017 season in the NRL with matches against the Parramatta Eels in Round Twenty Four, the Bulldogs in Round twenty Five and Sydney Roosters in Round Twenty Six. Phillip Sami started his first two matches on the wing before starting in the centres in the final two rounds and scored his first NRL try in Round Twenty Five at home against the Bulldogs when he was one of the best Titans players on a tough afternoon.

In total in the NRL in 2017 Phillip Sami played the entire 80 minutes in all four matches, took fifty hit-ups, ran for 451 metres and made 29 tackles with only two misses for a tackling efficiency of 93.5%. Phillips Sami’s 2017 NRL per game averages include 12.5 carries for 113 metres and 7.3 tackles in 80 minutes. Incredibly Phillip Sami ran for over 100 metres in each of his four NRL matches including running for 123 metres in Round Twenty Six. On two occasions Phillip Sami made nine tackles in a match coming in Rounds Twenty Five and Twenty Six and after missing two tackles in his first NRL match did not miss another tackle in the NRL in his final three matches.

In the NYC for the Titans in 2017, Phillip Sami made twenty appearances scoring nine tries including a Round Twenty hat trick against the Penrith Panthers, a double in Round Sixteen against the Wests Tigers and also tries against the Eels in Round Three, the Storm in Round Ten, the Sea Eagles in Round Eleven and against the Warriors in Round Fourteen.

In total in 2017 in the NYC Phillip Sami carried the ball on 347 occasions running for 3 487 metres, made sixteen line breaks, offloaded 33 times and made 120 tackles with a tackling efficiency of 81%. Phillip Sami started thirteen matches in the centres and seven at fullback. His 2017 NYC per game averages included 17.5 carries for a staggering 175 metres and six tackles playing the entire 80 minutes in each of his twenty matches.

In 2017 Phillip Sami also started in the centres for the Queensland U20 side in their annual match against New South Wales U20’s and was named in the centres in the 2017 NYC team of the year.

Over the course of the 2016 NYC season Phillip Sami played in 24 of 26 possible matches and paced the Titans with 11 tries. On four occasions Phillip Sami crossed for doubles which came against the Rooster in Round 10, Raiders in Round 16, and in consecutive weeks in Rounds 22 and 23 against the Warriors and Wests Tigers respectively.

For the Titans NYC side Phillip Sami started on the wing on nine occasions and in the centres on 15 occasions. In total Phillip Sami ran for 2 750 metres on 275 carries and made eleven line breaks. In addition Phillip Sami also made 197 tackles. From a purely statistical perspective, Phillip Sami’s best match with the ball in hand was against Penrith and South Sydney in Rounds Eleven and Twelve respectively when he ran for 190 metres. On 17 occasions Phillip Sami made more than 100 metres in a match.

Defensively Phillip Sami averaged just over eight tackles per match and against the St George Dragons in Round Seven made 20 matches, the most in any match during the 2016 NYC season. Phillip Sami was credited with 28 missed tackles.

The table below compares Phillips Sami’s 2016 and 2017 NYC and 2017 NRL per game averages.

2016 NYC 2017 NYC 2017 NRL 2018 NRL 2019 NRL

Games played 24 20 4 23 14

Minutes per game 80 80 80 73 59.23

Metres made per game 114.6 174.5 113 131.1 112.5

Tackles per game 8.2 7.3 6 3.04 3.23

Phillip Sami’s calling card when you see him play is his foot work, it is absolutely outstanding in the centres. He can step off both feet effortlessly and put multiple combinations of steps together in a short space of time and a small radius to get out of difficult situations and still make ground. He does not just beat larger forwards with his footwork, he will make the fastest of outside backs and fullbacks look silly on occasion as they are left grasping at thin air.

Phillip Sami’s speed off the mark would have to be considered plus and whilst his top end speed may not necessarily be elite he can sustain it over an extended distance. He also has a solid low centre of gravity type build and also a decent fend complicating the task of defending against him.

Regardless of where he receives the ball he is an exceptional attacking player. If he gets an off load from a forward through the middle he is through the gap before the defence can react, if he gets the ball in space out wide he is make it very difficult for the opposing defender to get a clean shot at him and if he gets the ball from a kick, if the defensive line is not straight in the chase he can make significant ground. Seemingly like all modern day outside backs he has exceptional body control enabling him to score some amazing tries along the touchline with long range dives with the ball out in front of his body in one hand.

Defensively Phillip Sami uses his size to good effect, he drives with his shoulder into his opponent and has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and his opposing centre gets on his outside. Other defenders keyed off him in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside.

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

Phillip Sami also has the speed to turn and chase as was evidenced by his incredible and in some ways iconic effort to catch and tackle Melbourne Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr in 2019. It was one of the plays of the year from my perspective.

Phillip Sami is contracted to the Titans until the end of the 2021 season and for me is currently our most effective winger at the NRL level.

Prior to the 2016 season, being before he started in the NYC competition with the Titans, Phillip Sami played a variety of positions including, fullback, centre, wing and even some halfback when playing schoolboy rugby league for Ipswich State High School and in the NYC competition for the Titans he was outstanding in the centres (including being named there in the 2017 NYC Team of the Year). Phillip Sami however has cemented a position for himself on the wing in the NRL over the last two and a bit seasons and that is where Phillip Sami will stay for the duration of his NRL career.

[mdrew]

Alexander (AJ) Brimson. (Revised). The outstanding young 181cm 89kg flying fullback or half late last year signed a three year NRL deal which will keep him with the Titans until the end of the 2022 season.

In the 2019 NRL competition, AJ Brimson played in twenty one matches for the Titans, starting eleven at fullback, one at half, four at five eight and five from the interchange bench. In those twenty one matches AJ Brimson was on the field for 1 445 minutes out of a possible 1 680 being 86.01%, playing the entire eighty minutes on fourteen occasions scoring four tries along the way which came in Round Eight, Nine, Eleven and Fourteen against North Queensland, Cronulla, Manly and New Zealand respectively.

In addition AJ Brimson ran for 2 274 metres, kicked for 730 metres, forced five drop outs, had seven offloads, assisted in five tries, broke fifty nine tackles including ten in Round Eight against North Queensland and made 200 tackles at a 68.5% tackling efficiency.

AJ Brimson’s 2019 NRL per game averages included playing for 68.81 minutes, running for 108.3 metres and making 9.52 tackles. Thus per eighty minutes, AJ Brimson, in 2019, ran for 125.91 metres and made 11.07 tackles.

On eleven occasions AJ Brimson ran for more than 100 metres and twice that figure exceeded 200 metres including running for 202 metres in Round Twenty One against St George and running for 211 metres in Round Twelve against North Queensland.

In ten NRL matches in 2019 AJ Brimson made twenty tackles or more including twenty six on two occasions with those matches being against Canberra in Round One and St George in Round Twenty Five.

AJ Brimson also made his International debut in 2019 when he started from the bench for the Junior Kangaroo’s as they defeated France 62 – 4. In the International AJ Brimson played forty four minutes, the majority of which was in the dummy half role, ran for eighty one metres, had two line breaks, broke four tackles, had a try assist, kicked for thirteen metres and had a 100% tackling efficiency on the way to making fifteen tackles.

AJ Brimson made his NRL debut in 2018 for the Titans going on to play in fifteen NRL matches scoring seven tries along the way. In total in his fifteen matches AJ Brimson ran for 1 453 metres, kicked for 857 metres, forced four drop outs, had two try assists, offloaded the ball on three occasions and made 229 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 89.12%.

AJ Brimson donned a Titans jersey in two pre-season trials in 2018 including scoring a try in an NRL trial against the Brisbane Broncos in Toowoomba in February when he sliced through the broncos defence on the left side of the field to score midway between the touch line and the uprights.

AJ Brimson was also part of the Queensland U20 Emerging Origin Squad in 2018 after representing Queensland U20’s in 2017 with Titans team mates being Keegan Hipgrave and Phillip Sami.

AJ Brimson started the 2018 season plying his trade in the Queensland Cup with the Tweed Heads Seagulls starting at five eight in Rounds One, Three and Four and at fullback in Rounds Five and Six. AJ Brimson was the travelling 18th man for the Titans when they played New Zealand thus he missed Round two for Tweed Heads. Also in almost every NRL round so far in 2018 AJ Brimson has been named as an emergency for the Titans NRL side.

In the 2018 Queensland Cup competition, AJ Brimson has played a more understated role than in the NYC in 2017 but he was quietly effective, especially in relation to his kicking game, both tactical and attacking. Certainly his move to fullback was a great move as AJ Brimson looked more confident especially in terms of running with the ball.

Against Townsville in his first match at fullback AJ Brimson was a handful for the Blackhawks regularly chiming into the back line on the right side of the field and narrowly being tackled short of the try line after slicing through the defensive line. AJ Brimson also had some good touches on the left especially in terms of getting the out wider to the centres and wingers.

In saying that however in the two games after he moved back to fullback, AJ Brimson has been more prominent including a standout performance against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls on Saturday night when he had an outstanding match, including scoring a good second half try when he came into the backline off an inside pass and outpaced the cover defence to score.

AJ Brimson had to do a lot more tackling in 2018 season but with the added strength from the offseason training with the Titans NRL side he has been effective defensively. Clearly also he is being targeted by sides running big forwards in his direction, which is fair enough as that is what occurred when he came into the NRL.

In the 2018 Queensland Cup competition AJ Brimson was credited with two try assists, two line break assists and forcing a line drop out. He has run for 285 metres and made an impressive 62 tackles at a tackling efficiency of a more than solid 80.8%. On a per game basis AJ Brimson has run for 57 metres, made 12.5 tackles and kicked for 108.3 metres.

In his Queensland Cup debut in Round One against North’s AJ Brismon played the entire 80 minutes, ran for 55 metres, ten of those post contact made fourteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 97.33% and kicked the ball on four occasions for 137 metres.

In the Round Three rivalry round against the Burleigh Bears AJ Brimson once again played the entire 80 minutes at five eight making 14 metres and 23 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.21% as the Bears ran a lot of traffic in his direction in difficult conditions.

In Round Four against the PNG Hunters in Port Moresby, AJ Brimson once again started at five eight and playing 67 minutes making 56 metres (season best), eight of those post contact and 10 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 89% against an aggressive Hunters forward pack that ran a lot of traffic in his direction the entire match. AJ Brimson was also credited with four tackle breaks in the match.

AJ Brimson moved back to fullback in Round Five against the Townsville Blackhawks and played the entire 80 minutes on his way to making 60 metres and seven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 87.5%. AJ Brimson also had a line break assist, a line break and eight tackle breaks and was unlucky not to have scored when he spun his way through the Blackhawks defence only to be pulled down just short of the try line.

AJ Brimson also played fullback in Round Six in Tweed Heads first win of the season over the Wynnum Manly Seagulls, 26 – 22 and having his best match to date in the Queensland Cup. In the match last weekend AJ Brimson once again played all 80 minutes on his way to making an even 100 metres (26 post contact) on eleven runs and eight tackles at a tackling efficiency of 80%. AJ Brimson also had a try assist, two line breaks and three tackle breaks to go along with his second half try.

AJ Brimson has been named at fullback for the third match in a row for the Seagulls for their Round Seven match this afternoon against the Easts Tigers at Tweed Heads.

The table below compares AJ Brimson’s 2016 and 2017 NYC per game averages and his 2018 Queensland Cup averages. It should be noted that in the 2016 season AJ Brimson played six matches at fullback:

2016 NYC 2017 NYC 2018 QCup 2018 NRL 2019 NRL

Minutes per game 72 80* 76 74 68.81

Metres made per game 97 100 63 96.93 108.3

Tackles per game 12 17 12.5 15.27 9.52

*AJ Brimson played 80 minutes in every game bar one when he played 71 minutes.

AJ Brimson was outstanding for the Titans NYC side in 2017 season and was rewarded with being selected on the extended bench for the Titans final NRL match against the Sydney Roosters. In 2017 AJ Brimson was named the Titans NYC player of the season sharing the award with giant young front rower and fellow Titans Top 30 contracted player Moeaki Fotuaika. AJ Brimson was also named in the 2017 NYC team of the year along with fellow Titans Top 30 contracted player Phillip Sami.

AJ Brimson has signed a three year deal with the Titans at will keep him at the club under the end of the 2020 season and in 2018 is part of the Top 30 squad even though he is still eligible to play in the U20 Colts competition.

AJ Brimson’s 2017 season kicked off when he played for the Titans in the Auckland Nine’s where he would have gained invaluable experience playing against NRL calibre players. From a trivia perspective, AJ Brimson’s older brother is Will Brimson who progressed through the Broncos U20 ranks and played for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls in the Queensland Cup in 2017.

In the 2017 for the Titans NYC side AJ Brimson played in twenty one matches and averaged just under a try a match with twenty tries. AJ Brimson scored two hat tricks in 2017 which have come against the North Queensland Cowboys in Round Four and against the Manly Sea Eagles in Round Eleven and also doubles against the Newcastle Knights in Round Two and the St George Dragons in Round Seventeen. AJ Brimson scored a try in every match from Rounds Twenty to last weekend’s Round Twenty-five loss to Canterbury.

AJ Brimson’s per game 2017 NYC averages were 100 run metres on ten carries and 17 tackles at a tackling efficiency of around 85%. On seven occasions AJ Brimson has run for more than 100 metres in a match including an exceptional match in Round Eleven against Manly when he ran for 215 metres from just thirteen carries. Defensively AJ Brimson made more than 20 tackles on six occasions with his best tally coming in Round Three against the Newcastle Knights.

For all intents and purposes AJ Brimson was been an 80 minutes player with the Titans NYC side in 2017 as on only one occasion did he not played the entire match that was against the Parramatta Eels in Round Four when he “only” played 71 minutes.

AJ Brimson made his NYC debut in 2016 starting half back against South Sydney in Round 13 then playing every game up to Round 25 when he was injured after 51 minutes. Over the course of the twelve matches that he played AJ Brimson scored three tries on top of running for a total of 1 162 metres on 114 carries. His tries came in Round 15 against Manly, Round 20 in his fullback debut against Parramatta and finally against the Warriors in Round 22. In total AJ Brimson played his first six NYC matches at half back before playing his final six at fullback. The move to fullback was a master stroke by the NYC hierarchy.

AJ Brimson’s 2016 season averages per game included 97 metres on 11 carries and 12 tackles. His best running game came in Round 20 in his fullback debut when he ran for 159 metres against the Wests Tigers and in his NYC debut AJ Brimson made 21 tackles against South Sydney. In addition to the exceptional statistics noted above AJ Brimson also made nine line breaks including three against the Wests Tigers in Round 23 on top of his 159 metres. It was only in Round 25 when he was injured that AJ Brimson did not play the entire 80 minutes in a match.

Surprisingly AJ Brimson only scored two tries in the MM competition in 2016 where he played all of the Gold Coast White’s matches at half back. Upon completion of the MM season, AJ Brimson played a handful of matches with the Tweed Heads Seagulls QCup Colts side before finishing the 2016 in the Titans NYC side where he primarily played fullback. 2016 also saw AJ Brimson made GC White MM Player of the Year and joint MM Player of the year.

In 2016 he also played his schoolboy football for Keebra and made the South Coast QSSRL U18 squad. He also made his QCup Colts debut Tweed Seagulls late in the 2016 season, and scored a try on debut. Understandably he was also a very good touch rugby player.

AJ Brimson started attending Keebra Park State High School in 2013 with absolutely no rugby league experience at all focussing on touch instead including representing the Queensland U15 side at the Australian Touch Championships.

In attack AJ Brimson’s speed off the mark is the first attribute that you will notice when you see him play live. Any video’s, including video’s on the official site does not do his speed off the mark justice, watching him play live, it is great to see when he takes off. AJ Brimson does not seem to have an extra gear once he is through the defensive line, but has the ability to maintain his speed over a long distance, thus the apparent lack of an extra gear in speed has no discernible impact that I have identified.

Coupled with a very good right foot step, AJ Brimson’s speed enables him to make numerous line breaks. He can and will beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies. He also backs up any line breaks and loves to score tries.

AJ Brimson’s try in the February 2018 NRL trial against the Broncos can but put down to the analysis above, he took the ball on the left side and the field, stepped and exploded through a gap to score the Titans first try in their tough trial loss.

The area that for me AJ Brimson has developed the most over the last couple of seasons is in relation to his play making skills, including putting his runners, whether they are backrowers or centres into holes. His enhanced plays making skills has made his speed with his show and go more effective as defensive lines start to focus in his runners and thus leave more space for him.

As games progress AJ Brimson is very good at identifying tired forwards in the defensive line, and he will ruthlessly exploit that when he sees that. Multiple times this season he has left forwards clutching at air as they began to tire, for that matter it has not been just forwards as the Townsville Blackhawks backline can attest to.

AJ Brimson has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate enough and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field. He will chase hard and usually is one of the first down field to defend. In terms of his short kicking game, he will back himself and put in little kicks over the top or grubber through the defensive line for himself, which causes all sorts of issues for defences due to his speed and desire to get to the ball first.

In defence, due to his size AJ Brimson is obviously not going to come up with the big hit but reads the play well enough and can hold his own when defending much bigger players. AJ Brimson will also track across field well looking when the ball is turned back inside. When confronted with forwards running directly at him on the edge of the ruck, he will get in front of them and use his shoulder in an effort to contain them until defensive help arrives. Certainly in the Queensland Cup so far this season the weight training that AJ Brimson did with the NRL squad has clearly benefitted him.

AJ Brimson has signed a new deal which will keep him with the Titans for the next couple of seasons and I am sure that we will see of the best of him in 2020 under new coach Justin Holbrook.
All in all with his blinding speed, especially off the mark and his play making skills as well as his ability to create for himself means that AJ Brimson is truly exciting player of the very near future in the NRL for the Titans.

AJ Brimson is a player who whilst known for his amazing speed off the mark, does have some other attributes to his game which can sometimes get be overlooked when people focus purely on his speed. Certainly the key attribute that is developing well in the NRL is in relation to his play making skills which are continuing to develop.

[mdrew]

Moeaki Fotuaika. (Revised) The giant young twenty year old Titans NRL contracted and former South’s Logan and Keebra Park front rower made an immediate impact in the NRL after starting off the 2018 season for the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2018 Queensland Cup side and continued that incredible impact through the entire 2019 NRL season.

Moeaki Fotuaika is so highly regarded at the Titans that he is given the responsibility of taking the first hit-up from the first kick-off or game restarts, clearly designed to get the Titans on the front foot from a momentum perspective to start their set of six tackles coming off their own goal line.

The fact that Moeaki Fotuaika is the only twenty year old in the NRL speaks volumes for his skill and maturity level. When his four year NRL contract with the Titans expires at the end of the 2022 season he will just be coming into his own, which will be scary proposition for opposition forward packs.

In 2019 Moeaki Fotuaika had what can only be described as an incredible year that was capped up by being named the Titans based at the 2019 Awards night.

In 2019 Moeaki Fotuaika played in twenty one NRL matches, starting eleven in the front row and ten from the bench. In his twenty one matches Moeaki Fotuaika was on the field for 988 minutes out of a possible 1 680, being 51.81%, ran for 2 800 metres (1 061 post contact), broke thirty two tackles, offloaded the ball thirteen times and made 563 tackles at a 91.9% tackling efficiency.

Moeaki Fotuaika’s 2019 NRL per game averages included playing 47.05 minutes, running for 133.4 metres and making 26.81 tackles. Thus per eighty minutes, Moeaki Fotuaika, in 2019, ran for 226.82 metres and made 45.59 tackles.

Moeaki Fotuaika played the entire eighty minutes in Round Fourteen against New Zealand and from a post contact metres perspective ran for ninety one metres in Round Eleven against Manly and ninety three metres in Round Twenty Two against Parramatta.

On eighteen occasions Moeaki Fotuaika ran for in excess of 100 metres in a match and on two occasions his running metres exceeded 200 metres, being Round Eleven when he ran for 207 metres against manly and Round Twelve when he ran for 217 metres against North Queensland.

In eighteen NRL matches in 2019 Moeaki Fotuaika made in excess of eighteen tackles in a match and in seven of those matches he recorded more than thirty tackles including thirty nine in Rounds Twelve and Fourteen against North Queensland and New Zealand respectively.

In the 2018 pre-season the 193cm, 110kg Moeaki Fotuaika started from the inter change bench for each of the Titans NRL trials and had a particularly solid NRL trial against the New Zealand Warriors on the Sunshine Coast in wet and windy conditions. Moeaki Fotuaika also had a couple of solid runs in a youthful Titans side in their first NRL trial this year against the Brisbane Broncos in Toowoomba in February.

Moeaki Fotuaika played in sixteen NRL matches in 2018 making his debut in Round Nine against the Raiders in Canberra. Moeaki Fotuaika scored two NRL tries this season the first coming in Round Eighteen against the Sydney Roosters and the second a week later in Round Nineteen against the Newcastle Knights.

In his sixteen matches Moeaki Fotuaika started on the interchange bench in fourteen and he started Rounds Seventeen and Eighteen against Brisbane and the Sydney Roosters in the front row.

In his NRL matches this season Moeaki Fotuaika ran for 1 359 metres (534.9 post contact being 39.36% of his totals metres gained) at a per game average of 85 metres. Moeaki Fotuaika was also credited with nineteen tackle breaks.

Defensively Moeaki Fotuaika made 307 NRL tackles at a per game average of 19.2 and an impressive tackling efficiency of 92.4%.

In Round Twenty Four against the Melbourne Storm Moeaki Fotuaika had an outstanding match, a career match if you will on the way to running for 160 metres and making 25 tackles at a 100% talking efficiency. That match was one of six where Moeaki Fotuaika ran for in excess of 100 metres this season.

At the Tweed Heads Seagulls prior to his NRL call up Moeaki Fotuaika had the ideal coach to help steer his fledgling rugby league career in Ben Woolf who was also his NYC coach in 2017 and the person who first saw him play in the Open NYC trial and who has gone on record to say that he was immediately impressed and got him signed to the Titans NYC that very same day, job well done Ben Woolf.

In Round One this season I thought that Woolf may have started Moeaki Fotuaika off the bench to ease him into the Queensland Cup competition. Ben Woolf was spot on however starting the big strong young man in the front row and Moeaki Fotuaika has not looked back in his matches since. Moeaki Fotuaika was named as Tweed Heads Seagulls best player in Rounds One and two.

In 2018 in the Queensland Cup for Tweed Heads through this seven matches Moeaki Fotuaika ran for 893 metres at an average of 127.6 metres per match and made 158 tackles at an average of 26.4 per game at an outstanding tackling efficiency of 83.3% all whilst playing on average 62.5 minutes per game. Moeaki Fotuaika also has made 325.9 of his running metres post contact, being 36.49% of his total metres, has had twelve off-loads, eleven tackle breaks and one line break.

Defensively Moeaki Fotuaika made 158 Queensland Cup tackles in 2018 at a tackling efficiency of 83.3%.

In Round One against the North’s Devils Moeaki Fotuaika ran for 148 metres, 64 of those post contact on fifteen hit-ups and made twenty eight tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.75%. Moeaki Fotuaika backed that up in Round Two against South’s Logan by running for 168 metres, 53 of those post contact and making twenty nine tackles at a tackling efficiency of a staggering 96.67% (only one missed tackle), all in just 56 minutes on the field. In Round Two, Moeaki Fotuaika also had two off loads and a line break.

In the Round Three rivalry round against the Burleigh Bears, Moeaki Fotuaika continued his outstanding form on the way to 124 metres, 45 of those post contact on thirteen hit-ups and made 25 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 89.29%. Considering the difficult conditions and the dominance of the Burleigh Bears forward pack that afternoon, Moeaki Fotuaika’s performance was outstanding and received a considerable amount of praise from the Channel Nine commentators including former Gold Coast Charger Scott Sattler.

In the Round Four clash between Tweed Heads and the PNG Hunters Moeaki Fotuaika continued to hold his form against an aggressive Hunters forward pack on their home ground in Port Moresby on his way to running for 87 metres, 30 of those post contact on eleven hit-ups and made 22 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 100%. Moeaki Fotuaika was also credited with one line break and five tackle breaks.

Moeaki Fotuaika also scored his first Queensland Cup try in Round Four when he scored under the posts late in the second half to get Tweed Heads back into the game against the Hunters. Moeaki Fotuaika received the ball from the dummy half standing still about five metres out from the try line with three PNG Hunters forwards directly in front of him.

Moeaki Fotuaika proceeded to get low and barge his way over to score. It was quite an amazing show of strength and power considering that he received the ball with no momentum and was able to push back three Hunters forwards who had set themselves for the tackle but they were still unable to stop the ultra-talented Titans youngster.

Round Five saw Moeaki Fotuaika and his Tweed Heads Seagulls team mates travelled north to play the Townsville Blackhawks where Moeaki Fotuaika ran for 92 metres,30 of those post contact from eleven hit-ups and made 28 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.33%. Moeaki Fotuaika was also credited with three line breaks and three off-loads. Tweed Heads lost the match 38 – 4.

The table below compares Moeaki Fotuaika’s 2017 NYC per game averages his 2018 Queensland Cup averages and his 2018 and 2019 NRL seasons:

2017 NYC 2018 QCup 2018 NRL 2019 NRL

Games 22 7 16 21

Minutes per game 64 62.5 32 47.4

Runs per game 14 11.1 7.6 12

Metres made per game 135 127.6 85 133.4

Tackles per game 26 26.4 19.2 26.81

The key take out for me from the table above is that Moeaki Fotuaika, for an twenty year old, development is exceptional from 2017 through to now. Moeaki Fotuaika’s statistics are just outstanding when you are talking about such a young man up against NRL veterans.

Usually when NYC players step up in class, their statistics drop to reflect the difference in skill level and experience of the opposition, the opposite is the case in relation to Moeaki Fotuaika.

For me Moeaki Fotuaika was one of the real success stories out of the Titans NYC squad in 2017, even more incredible was that Moeaki Fotuaika was still eligible for the MM Cup competition throughout the 2017 NYC season. Moeaki Fotuaika attended an Open Titans NYC trial in late 2016 and has been a revelation ever since including being named as the Titans 2017 NYC joint player of the year alongside fellow Titans Top 30 contracted and current Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup team mate youngster AJ Brimson.

For the Titans in the NYC competition in 2017, Moeaki Fotuaika played in twenty two matches starting all of those matches in the front row. Moeaki Fotuaika’s averages per match for the season include 14 hit ups for 135 metres, two offloads and 26 tackles with a 90% defensive efficiency rate. Moeaki Fotuaika has also scored six tries with those tries coming against the Knights on two separate occasions, the Sydney Roosters, New Zealand Warriors and a double in the televised Round Twenty match against the Penrith Panthers.

For a giant young front rower it is an impressive feat that Moeaki Fotuaika played 1 341 minutes to average 64 minutes a match and on four occasions he has played the entire 80 minutes, including against the Broncos in Rounds Twelve and Twenty-Two, the Wests Tigers in Round Sixteen and against the Parramatta Eels late in the season.

Running with the ball Moeaki Fotuaika had some huge matches including in 17 of his 21 matches running for more than 100 metres. His “best” match from a running metres perspective was against the Wests Tigers in Round Sixteen when he ran for 213 metres on 23 hit ups. Moeaki Fotuaika also ran for 199 metres against the Broncos in Round Twenty two and against the Parramatta Eels ran for 166 metres.

From an off-loading perspective Moeaki Fotuaika off loaded the ball against the Cronulla Sharks on six occasions in Round Eight as well as six occasions against the Wests Tigers in Round Sixteen.
Another positive in relation Moeaki Fotuaika is that he has continued to cut down his error rate from the start of last year through this season and is currently averaging well south than an error a match.

Defensively Moeaki Fotuaika made more than 30 tackles in a match on eight separate occasions in the NYC in 2017, three times making 34 tackles coming against the Raiders in Round Six and Broncos in Rounds Twelve and Twenty Two. Against the Parramatta Eels in Round Twenty Four Moeaki Fotuaika made 20 tackles.

Moeaki Fotuaika earlier in 2017 was named with fellow Titans Darius Farmer and Rehiena Marsh as part of the New Zealand Australian residents U18 side for a match in October with a New Zealand Residents U18 side. Moeaki Fotuaika was part of the Queensland Academy of Sport U18 squad earlier in the 2017 season and was named in the New Zealand U20 squad as well in 2017.

The young former Keebra Park student is a giant of a young man who exudes size, strength and power when he plays. In addition to playing in the Keebra Park Open Rugby League sides in 2016, Moeaki Fotuaika started every match in the front row for South’s Logan in the MM Cup and proved to be a handful in that competition for opposing defences.

For the 2016 South’s Logan MM Cup squad, Moeaki Fotuaika bookended the season with two great performances against the Gold Coast MM sides. In Round One against Gold Coast Green Moeaki Fotuaika scored a double within the first 12 minutes of the game and was basically unstoppable and compared favourably that day to Payne Haas.

In the last match of the 2016 season he was just as dominant against Gold Coast White (which was the side with the majority of Titans linked boys) on his way to a hat trick, including scoring two barn storming tries in the second half where he just crashed through the Gold Coast White forward pack which was no mean feat when you consider that he was lined up against the likes of Kobe Tararo and Blake Lenehan, two very good defenders both then and now.

Moeaki Fotuaika 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 Moeaki Fotuaika 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. Moeaki Fotuaika 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. Moeaki Fotuaika had an impressive off load in Round Three against the Burleigh Bears.

In the first set of six in the game, in driving rain Moeaki Fotuaika offloaded a great ball with his right hand. The fact that the off load was in the first set of six and only ten metres out from his own line, shows the confidence that Moeaki Fotuaika has in his ability and his team mates.

One area that he did not seem to use too often this year, but does seem to have the capacity 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. Moeaki Fotuaika 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 Moeaki Fotuaika 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. Moeaki Fotuaika’s raw natural strength means that he is also dominant when looking to slow the paly the ball down.

In Round Three against Burleigh, two tackles that Moeaki Fotuaika made are perfect examples of the impact that he can have in defence. The first tackle that Moeaki Fotuaika made was a brutal front on tackle on Burleigh front rower Luke Page. Luke Page ran straight at the 18 year old youngster. Moeaki Fotuaika set himself and smashed Luke Page front one with a perfectly timed and executed tackle which immediately halted Luke Page’s momentum.

The second tackle that can be critical reviewed was a tackle on Burleigh’s elusive winger Henere Wells. Wells had come off his right wing to take a hit-up in the middle of the ruck. He was able to isolate Moeaki Fotuaika, but Moeaki Fotuaika steadied himself and waited for Henere Wells to make his final move before coming forward and crunching the Burleigh winger in a copy book front one tackle.

In the Round Five match against the Townsville Blackhawks Moeaki Fotuaika also made an outstanding tackle on Townsville half Jalen Feeney. Feeney came back on the inside and looked like scoring but Moeaki Fotuaika had not stopped when the ball went past him and covered across on the inside to prevent an almost certain try and from the next play the ball was on hand to hold up the Townsville dummy half.

Moeaki Fotuaika signed a four year NRL deal in early 2019 with the Titans and multiple reports that came out of the Titans over the off season revolved around his strength and fitness levels stunning his seasoned NRL team mates and coaching staff alike. Clearly the reports were accurate based on his NRL form this season.

At the end of 2017 and through the 2018 pre-season, I expected Moeaki Fotuaika to start the season in the Queensland Cup Colts competition before breaking into the Queensland Cup mid-season before getting a game or two in the later rounds of the NRL. How wrong was I?

I will acknowledge that I thought scrapping the NYC competition was the incorrect decision but seeing Moeaki Fotuaika’s development in the Queensland Cup prior to his NRL call up, and also the play of Jai Whitbread and AJ Brimson, I have to take my lumps and say from a player development perspective the decision appears to be absolutely correct.

Even more amazing for Titans fans is that Moeaki Fotuaika was still eligible to play in the U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition in 2019.

In 2020 at just 21 year old Moeaki Fotuaika will be the corner stone of the Titans NRL forward pack and has a ten year NRL and representative career in front of him for sure.

Moeaki Fotuaika has made the front row position his own with the Titans over the last 18 months and that will not change anytime soon. He looks to be a ten year NRL front rower and perennial Tongan International as well. I am glad the Titans hierarchy got this young man signed to a long term deal over the off season.

Based on his performances in the NRL this season I am really struggling to come up with an NRL player comparison for Moeaki Fotuaika.

Moeaki Fotuaika has the size of the Titans own Ryan James, the speed of Brisbane Bronco Matt Gillett, the mobility of giant North Queensland Cowboys front rower Jordan McLean, the power of Canberra’s and soon to be Titan Shannon Boyd and the skill set of Sonny Bill Williams from an off-loading perspective.

I have not EVER seen a young front rower with Moeaki Fotuaika’s physical attributes and skill set all rolled into one. From what I understand Moeaki Fotuaika is also a dedicated hard working young man who has the motivation and dedication to make the most of the opportunity that he has with the Titans. All evidence to date suggests that is absolutely the case and will continue to be so.

I expected Moeaki Fotuaika to play well in 2018 and 2019 but seriously he is that far in front of where I thought that he would be it is not funny. Without trying to put undue pressure on him, Moeaki Fotuaika has the ability, skill set, physical attributes and motivation to redefine how front rowers play rugby league over the coming seasons.

There is a lot of hype about former Titan junior and current Brisbane Bronco front rower Payne Haas (and certainly deservedly so) but Moeaki Fotuaika is easily just as good, both from a skill, power and mobility perspective considering as well that Payne Haas is a year older than the outstanding Titans NRL contracted youngster who also has an inspiring back story making it impossible not to cheer for Moeaki Fotuaika.

[mdrew]

Erin Clark. The New Zealand born utility signed a two year NRL contract with the Titans in early 2020 and shapes as a utility player who can play both in the halves as well as hooker efficiently at the NRL level.

Erin Clark played his junior football for the Manurewa Marlins and Point Chevalier Pirates and attended Manurewa High School before being signed by the New Zealand Warriors.

Erin Clark made his NRL debut for the Warriors in Round Two of the 2017 season against the Melbourne Storm and played for the Junior Kiwis later that same season.

In his NRL debut Erin Clark came off the bench playing only six minutes. Erin Clark made the most of those minutes however, running twice out of dummy half making eighteen metres, seven post contact, and made five tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Erin Clark joined Canberra mid-season in 2017 but did not add to his one NRL match in his time with the Raiders. Erin Clark in fact returned to New Zealand in late 2017 taking the 2018 season off before lining up in the Sharman Cup for Manurewa in 2019.

In addition to playing in the Sharman Cup in 2019 Erin Clark played two matches for Counties Manakau in the New Zealand National Premiership. Erin Clark started at hooker in Round One and scored in the second half against Waikato and also started at hooker in Round Two against the Akarana Falcons.

In May 2016, Erin Clark played for Samoa against Tonga< in the 2016 Polynesian Cup where he played off the interchange bench in the 18-6 win at Parramatta Stadium. Later in 2016 Erin Clark represented Samoa in an International against Fiji in Apia, playing off the interchange bench in Samoa’s 20 - 18 loss.

Against Tonga Erin Clark played thirty four minutes off the bench running out of dummy half on four occasions for twenty six metres (eight post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.85 seconds and made sixteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 94.1%.
Against Fiji Erin Clark played thirty two minutes, running four times for thirty two metres (eight post contact) with three of those being runs out of dummy half, played the ball at an average speed for 2.42 seconds and made sixteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

After moving over from the New Zealand Warriors Erin Clark completed the 2017 season as part of the Canberra Raiders NYC side as well as two matches in the Canterbury Cup for the Mounties.

For the Raiders in the 2017 NYC competition Erin Clark came into the team in Round Sixteen starting at hooker against the Brisbane Broncos going on to play in ten matches. Erin Clark started at hooker in the first six matches that he played for the Raiders before moving in Round Twenty Three starting at half against the Sharks. After that match Erin Clark started the next two matches also at half before starting from the bench in Round Twenty Six against the Storm.

Erin Clark scored three tries after moving to the Raiders with his first coming in Round Seventeen against North Queensland. Erin Clark also scored in Round Twenty One against Souths Sydney and Round Twenty Two against the Sharks.

Erin Clark also played in two matches for the Mounties in 2017 with his first match coming in Round Twenty Five when he started at half against the Sea Eagles. Erin Clarke played the entire 80 minutes of the match, running for seventy seven metres (thirty four post contact), had three try assists, three line break assists, broke three tackles, played the ball at an average speed for 3.34 seconds, kicked for seventy six metres and made eighteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Erin Clarks second Canterbury Cup match came in Week One of the 2017 Finals series when he started at half and played the entire eight minutes against St George. In his time on the field, Erin Clark ran for sixty eight metres, had a line break assist, broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed for 3.9 seconds, kicked for 148 metres and made twenty tackles at a 95% tackling efficiency.

In his 160 Canterbury Cup minutes in 2017 Erin Clark ran for 145 metres, had three try assists, four line break assists, broke five tackles , kicked for 224 metres and made thirty eight tackles at a 97.44% tackling efficiency. Therefore Erin Clarkes per game totals included running for 72.5 metres, kicking for 112 metres and making nineteen tackles.

For the Warriors in the 2017 NYC competition before his move to the Canberra Raiders mid-season Erin Clark started eight matches at hooker scoring in Round Eleven against St George.

In the 2016 season, Erin Clark was part of the Warriors NYC side for the second season playing in twelve matches after coming into the side in Round Seven against the Bulldogs starting at five eight. Ove the course of the 2016 NYC season Erin Clark made ten starts at five eight and two at lock being Round Sixteen against the Cronulla Sharks and Round Seventeen against the Titans.

From his twelve matches Erin Clark scored in Round Eight against the Melbourne storm, Round Ten against Penrith and Round Fifteen against the Roosters.

In 2015, even though he was still U18 eligible Erin Clark was part of the Warriors NYC squad and was the only player in the Junior Warriors’ squad to appear in all 27 matches that season, including finals.

Erin Clark played the majority of the 2017 NYC season at half, but also started four matches at hooker, including the Warriors Preliminary Final loss to Penrith which ended their season. Erin Clark’s first start at hooker came in Round Twenty Two against St George.

In his twenty seven 2015 NYC matches Erin Clark scored eight tries with his first try of the season coming in Round Two against the Raiders. Erin Clark also scored against the Wests Tigers (Rounds Six and Twenty Five), Cronulla Sharks (Round Eight), Melbourne Storm (Round Eighteen) St George (Round Twenty Two), North Queensland (Round Twenty Four), Bulldogs (Round Twenty Six) and the Brisbane Broncos (Week Two of the Finals).

In his NYC career for both Canberra and the Warriors Erin Clark played in fifty three NYC matches scoring sixteen tries to account for his sixty four points.

Erin Clark represented the New Zealand Residents U18s and the New Zealand Secondary Schools in 2014 (as a 17 year old) and that same year won the major rugby league accolade at the 2014 ASB Young Sportsperson of the Year Awards.

With the ball Erin Clark is a very good distributor and will take the ball to the line in an effort to set up his supports. Erin Clark is adept at drawing an opposing defender out of the defensive line and then putting his support runner through the resulting gap. In terms of his speed, I would suggest that an appropriate definition of his speed would be that he is quick off the mark but does not have an extra gear when he breaks into open space.

Regardless of the state of the game Erin Clark will back his judgement and take the game on. Assisting his play is the fact that he makes the decision what to do with the ball quickly thus enabling the ball to get out wide quickly.

Erin Clark’s passing game is solid but seems to be slightly better when he is passing to the right side of the field. His ability to dummy and go also seems slightly more effective when he is running to the right side of the field.

Erin Clark has a good short kicking game but he does not have the strongest leg in terms of kicking deep but is accurate and regularly finds the ground to enable the chasers to get down field. Erin Clark also has developed the ability to get his kick away defensively and thus can kick out of dummy half which is a great skill in his ****nal to have.

Erin Clark is also very vocal on the field always talking and encouraging his side both in attack and defence.

Defensively like the way that he takes the line on, Erin Clark is aggressive and attacks the ball carrier rather than waiting for the attackers to come to him and clearly looks to limit the time opposition players have to generate momentum before they get to him. Against players similar in size or reasonably close to it, Erin Clark is very aggressive and makes sure that he finishes off every tackle in an effort to win every one on one individual battle against his opponent.

From a kicking perspective Erin Clark has range and accuracy in relation to his tactical kicking with another positive being that he gets his kicks away quickly. When he was playing at hooker in the NYC competition I can recall instances when he kicked from dummy half and even in that environment where he have limited time and space was able to generate distance whilst maintaining accuracy. Few players have the ability to kick out of dummy half well but the Titans have one such player in Erin Clark.

Erin Clark has signed a two year NRL deal with the Titans which will keep on the Gold Coast until the end of the 2021 season. Erin Clark has obviously impressed Justin Holbrook and the other coaches with his work ethic in the offseason but his role in 2020 will ultimately be determined by how he performs in the 2020 NRL trials.

For the Titans I believe that Erin Clark will operate as a utility type of player primarily from dummy half but will also spend time in the halves. Dare I saw it but Erin Clark’s best opportunity to break into the Titans NRL side in 2020 is off the bench, where he can cover both the dummy half role and in the halves should an injury occur there.

The fact that Erin Clark is also a solid tactical kicker who has the ability to kick out of dummy half will also work in his favour in terms of being a valuable member of the Titans NRL side in 2020 and 2021 whether that is in relation to starting or coming off the bench.

From an NRL player comparison perspective for Erin Clark, I can really see aspects of the play of former Titan and Manly NRL utility Cameron Cullen as a player who provides a spark in both attack and defence when he is on the field with his feisty and aggressive take no prisoner’s nature in the way that he plays.

Erin Clark since leaving Canberra and heading back to New Zealand was for all intents and purposes off the radar from a rugby league perspective but he has clearly worked hard and trained exceptionally well to be offered a two year NRL deal by the Titans.

[mdrew]

Solomon Torrens. (Revised) The Titans contracted powerful forward has had an impressive start to his career in Titans colours being involved in late 2018 in matches for the Titans against PNG and New South Wales Country and also was part of the Titans U18 side in January 2019 that played against the Newcastle Knights.

Currently Solomon Torrens is training with the Titans Rookie Squad as well as training with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad and will be part of the Titans Rookie Squad that will play the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in early February.

In March 2019 Solomon Torrens was selected in the South Coast U18 side for the 2019 QSSRL U18 Championships and started in the front row for South Coast in the QSSRL U18 Championships. One Day One of the Championships, Solomon Torrens was his typical hard charging self, scoring when he collected a grubber kick that had bounced around through a number of feet to score near the right upright.

South Coast went through the Championships undefeated including coming from behind to defeated Northern in the final 22 – 16.

Solomon Torrens was subsequently named in the Queensland School boy’s side for the Australian School boy Championships and in fact was named Player of the Tournament.

Solomon Torrens was the captain of the 2019 Queensland U18 ASSRL side playing in all of his Queensland’s matches starting in either the front row or second row although he did some matches with an injury.

Solomon Torrens played in all eight matches for the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side in 2019 and was particularly outside in their semi-final win against Souths Logan including being heavily involved in the Seagulls first try.

Operating on the left, Solomon Torrens used impressive late footwork to get outside of the Magpies right second rower and get the ball to the outside, leading directly to a try for fellow Titan, centre Caleb Hodges.

In the 2019 MM Cup Grand Final against Wynnum Manly Solomon Torren was one of Tweed Heads best and scored the match sealing try late in the second half when he cut back in after receiving he ball and crashing over for an outstanding try.

Solomon Torrens was also at his rampaging best in the National U18 Grand Final against Illawarra proving to be a real handful for the Steelers defence every time he took the ball up.

Solomon Torrens played thirty six minutes in the National Final, running for an incredible 150 metres (forty six post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.83 seconds and made fourteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 87.5%.

Solomon Torrens started Round Two of the Langer Cup for PBC on the bench against St Mary’s but when he was injected into the match mid-way through the first half, Solomon Torrens put PBC on the front foot with some big charges through the middle and started at lock against Keebra Park.

2019 also saw Solomon Torrens start in the front row for the Titans U18 side in their match against North Queensland that was played as the curtain raiser to the Titans/ Warriors NRL match in June 2019.

The powerfully built young forward has moved up in 2018 from Northern New South Wales and has made an immediate impression at PBC State High School and for me was the best player on the field when PBC defeated Keebra Park 26 – 22 in the Langer Cup (Open Age Group) recently. The match was a high quality affair but Solomon Torrens was a class apart with his powerful running on the fringes of the ruck for PBC.

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

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

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

When the 2018 MM Cup competition reached its conclusion, In addition to playing for PBC Solomon Torrens played for the Bilambil Jets in the Gold Coast Rugby League U17 Division One competition. Round One saw Solomon Torrens start in the front row as the Jets lost 20 – 18 to the Tweed Heads Seagulls. An opponent in that match but a team mate for PBC in the Langer Cup match against Keebra Park was giant Titans linked front rower Jordan Tauali’i .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

He will need to continue to work on his strength and lateral movement as he progresses but his work ethic is such that continued hard work is not an issue for Solomon Torrens.

Solomon Torrens signed a recent deal with the Titans that will keep him on the Gold Coast until the end of the 2021 season. Currently Solomon Torrens is training with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad and whilst it is likely that he will start the 2020 season with the Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad, it is also likely that Solomon Torrens will make his Queensland Cup debut over the course of the 2020 season.

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

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

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

Solomon Torrens 2018 and 2019 season for both the Tweed Heads MM Cup side and PBC has been nothing short of absolutely outstanding and he still has a lot of potential that is yet to translate into production but it will and when it does opponents are in a world of trouble both in terms of how he attack them and hit them defensively.

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

[mdrew]

Te Ahurei Epapara. The giant young New Zealander had an outstanding career in both rugby and rugby league across the ditch but has headed over to the Gold Coast and will look to cement a spot in the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad this season. Te Ahurei Epapara is also U20 eligible in 2021.

In 2019 Te Ahurei Epapara played school boy rugby for the powerhouse New Zealand school Rotorua Boys High playing primarily at lock (loosely equates to second row in rugby league) in their talented First XV side. Te Ahurei Epapara also played a number of First XV matches at No. 8 including a key match against Tauranga Boys College.

In 2019 Te Ahurei Epapara also played 7’s rugby for Rotorua Boys High including the U19 Bay of Plenty 7’s tournament where Te Ahurei Epapara was named Rotorua Boys High best forward.

Prior to the 2019 season Te Ahurei Epapara played a significant amount of rugby league including representing the Wai-Coa Bay Colts in the New Zealand U17 National Youth Tournament in 2018 starting all five of their matches at lock with those matches being against the Auckland Vulcans, Wellington Orca’s twice, Counties Manukau Stingrays and Northern Swords.

In 2018 Te Ahurei Epapara represented the Bay of Plenty side at the U17 Northern Districts Rugby League Tournament and in 2015 was an Upper Central Zone U15 representative. In the Bay of Plenty area Te Ahurei Epapara played for the Pikiao Warriors club.

Te Ahurei Epapara will attack the edge of the ruck looking to isolate a defender and keep his right arm free to off load. If his support runner is on his inside he has the strength to maintain contact with the defensive line and pop a short pass. If his support is on his outside Te Ahurei Epapara is adept at flicking the ball out of the back of his hand a la Sonny Bill Williams.

Te Ahurei Epapara runs with the primary intention to engage the defensive line front one, he does not over complicate the task and runs straight and hard getting his shoulders down low just prior to contact. His broad shoulders and strong frame back him a difficult proposition to handle.

As noted he looks to isolate a defender, if that defender goes low Te Ahurei Epapara will off load with his right arm and if the defender looks to tackle him around the chest, Te Ahurei Epapara will initiate the contact and continue to pump his legs to either gain as much ground as possible or to break the tackle completely through sheer force of will.

In addition Te Ahurei Epapara to above average speed with a high knee lift and the constant pumping of his legs Te Ahurei Epapara will break through the initial defensive line more often than you think likely. Te Ahurei Epapara also has outstanding mobility which enables him to get to his feet quickly once he has been tackled aiding in the continuation of the momentum that he has established for his team.

Defensively the aggressive nature of the initial contact made by Te Ahurei Epapara is the primary component of his defensive methodology, in short Te Ahurei Epapara attacks opposition runners front on. Te Ahurei Epapara looks for the big front on hit as often as possible but does actually have a good front on defensive technique, maintaining leverage and balance when looking to tackle smaller opponents on the edge of the ruck.

Te Ahurei Epapara looks to obtain both physical and mental dominance over his opponents in all aspects of the game and as you would except with an aggressive player of his size Te Ahurei Epapara will also win the ground wrestle on the vast majority of occasions.

Te Ahurei Epapara has moved over to the Gold Coast and is part of the 2020 Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad for the upcoming season and is also Colts eligible in 2021.

Te Ahurei Epapara is a giant of a young man but for his size has outstanding speed and mobility and as you would expect from New Zealand school boys who have played No. 8 in their schools First XV also has exceptional ball skills and a hardness and toughness about them as well as outstanding leadership attributes.

Te Ahurei Epapara will also certainly start in the second row for Burleigh this season and projects to be a great hard running, wide running, offloading runner with very good athletic skills and the heart and desire to succeed no matter what, down the track however a move to the front row is not out of the question for the talented New Zealander.

[mdrew]

Jack Glossop. The former North Queensland Cowboys NYC and Townsville Blackhawks front rower/lock is set to line up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in 2020.

Jack Glossop has been on the radar of NRL clubs since he was just 15. Jack Glossop at that age was part of both the North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Bronco’s Development programs but ultimately made the decision to sign with the Cowboys, moving to Townsville once the former Gladstone Valley’s junior finished his schooling at St Brendon’s Yeppoon.

In 2019 Jack Glossop was part of the Townsville Blackhawks Queensland Cup but did not make his debut, he was however named to start from the bench in Round Seventeen but ultimately did not debut.

In 2018 Jack Glossop played in the Hastings Deering’s Colt’s competition for Townsville playing in the Blackhawks first eleven matches before missing the remainder of the season. In his eleven matches Jack Glossop scored four tries including a Round Two double against Ipswich and also scored in Round One against the Mackay Cutters and Round Eight against the Victoria Thunder.

Jack Glossop started seven of his 2018 Colts matches at lock, one in the front row, being Round Eleven against Wynnum Manly and the remainder from the interchange bench.

In 2017 Jack Glossop was part of the North Queensland Cowboys NYC squad, making his debut in Round Two against Manly, starting from the bench and scoring on debut as well as being named the Cowboys best in the match.

In total in the NYC competition in 2017 Jack Glossop played in sixteen matches, starting fourteen off the bench including their Week One Finals loss to Manly. Jack Glossop made his first NYC start when he started at lock in Round Eight against the Newcastle Knights and also started at lock in Round Nine.

In 2015 and 2016 Jack Glossop was part of the Townsville Blackhawks MM Cup squad’s and in 2016 was also part of the Blackhawks squad that took on the Penrith Panthers in the U18 National Final.

Running with the football, Jack Glossop 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. Jack Glossop does not have great speed off the mark or necessary above average high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of the ability he possesses. Jack Glossop actually does have a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well.

Defensively Jack Glossop is a solid hitter, usually aiming for just under the ribs and first intention is to lock up the ball to prevent offloads rather than just trying to belt the opposition. 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.

Jack Glossop 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.

In 2020 Jack Glossop will be part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad and he will be looking to make his debut after coming so close in 2019 with the Townsville Blackhawks. Obviously Jack Glossop is also looking to impress the powers that be at the Titans as he looks to get a look in at the NRL level in coming seasons.

For his entire rugby league career to date including juniors and school boys Jack Glossop has played either lock or in the front row and with his playing style and size, there is no reason to indicate that that situation will alter any time soon.

From a player comparison perspective for Jack Glossop, 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 and overall team success none the less

[mdrew]

Cole Geyer. (Revised) The young hooker was outstanding in 2018in both the MM Cup competition and for Currumbin in the U17 Division One competition and Cole Geyer also got an opportunity in the GCRL U19 competition as a result.

Cole Geyer started the 2019 season off with the Burleigh MM Cup side for the second year in a row in the MM Cup (Cole Geyer played for the Tweed Heads MM Cup side in 2018), playing in all six matches, starting five at hooker and one, being Round Five against Souths Logan at lock.

In the final round against the previously unbeaten Wynnum Manly Seagulls Cole Geyer scored in a tight 23 – 22 Burleigh win. With Burleigh right on the Wynnum Manly line, they were spread out to the right, instead Cole Geyer threw what could only be described as an extravagant dummy to score from close range from dummy half. Cole Geyer also scored two tries against Norths in Round One.

At the end of season awards, Cole Geyer was named 2019 Burleigh MM Cup Players Player.

Post the MM Cup competition Cole Geyer moved back to play for Currumbin in the GCRL competition, bypassing the U18 Division One competition all together to start in the U20’s. Cole Geyer came off the bench in Round Six before moving into the starting side in Round Seven at hooker, scoring a hat trick as Currumbin defeated Burleigh 52 – 28.

Two of his tries were simply outstanding individual efforts. In the first half, Cole Geyer took the ball from dummy half running to his left around forty metres out from the Burleigh line, he broke through the initial defensive line as a result of a dummy (Cole Geyer ran with the ball out in front of his body in two hands) and a step.

As he was coming to the fullback Cole Geyer showed outstanding speed by literally running around him and then did the same to the Burleigh left winger who came back to try to tackle him to score in the right corner. The paly started on the left side of the field, highlighting Cole Geyer’s speed.

Cole Geyer’s try in the second half was no less impressive, Cole Geyer packed in at lock in a scrum with a Currumbin feed around sixty metres out from the Burleigh line. Cole Geyer picked up the ball from the back of the scrum running to his right.

Once again Cole Geyer ran with the ball out in front of his body in two hands, putting the defence in doubt as to his intentions. As he was coming to the defensive line Cole Geyer just took off through a gap and then outpaced the cover defence in a sixty metre sprint to the try line to score out wide on the right.

Cole Geyer also scored in Round Eight when he came off the bench for Currumbin in their 26 – 24 loss to Runaway Bay. Cole Geyer’s try was the final one of the match, with Currumbin behind and attacking the Runaway Bay line, Cole Geyer shaped to pass to his left but instead ran to his right with the ball out in front in two hands (I know that I harp on it but so few players do it) but instead of passing cut off his right foot on an approximately 45 degree angle with score under the posts.

Cole Geyer also had two try assists in the match, in relation to the first, with Currumbin a metre out from the Runaway Bay line, Cole Geyer shaped to throw a long pass behind his forward running what looked like just run through but instead Cole Geyer double pumped throwing a soft pass, in a great sleight of hand to his forward to score near the right upright.

Cole Geyer’s second try assist was no less impressive, Cole Geyer shaped to pass to his left, where Currumbin had a backline spread out, but instead ran down a short blind side (maybe four metres) and put in a grubber from around thirty five metres out for his right winger to dive on. Both try assists came in the first half.

Cole Geyer also came off the bench in the GCRL U20 major Semi-final as Currumbin fell 26 – 12 to Burleigh and also started from the bench in the Preliminary Final against Runaway Bay with the Eagles prevailing 20 – 16 to progress to the Grand Final against Burleigh.

In total in the GCRL U20 competition, including finals Cole Geyer played in six matches scoring the four tries noted above.

Across the 2019 season Cole Geyer also played in five GCRL U18 Division One matches for Currumbin, scoring against Mudgeeraba in late May.

Cole Geyer made his Hastings Deering’s Colts debut when he started at lock for Burleigh in Round Twelve against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

Cole Geyer also started at hooker for the Titans U18 side’s early October match at Pizzey Park against PNG scoring a long range individual try out of dummy half. Cole Geyer ran out of dummy half to the right of the play the ball, running right through the centre of the PNG ruck before outpacing the cover defence to score under the posts in the first half.

In the 2018 MM cup competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Cole Geyer started at hooker for Tweed Heads opening three matches against Norths, Victoria and Burleigh. His sole MM Cup try of the season came in Round Two against Victoria.

Post the MM Cup competition Cole Geyer transitioned back to the U17 Division One competition and was outstanding over the course of the regular season playing in nine matches and scoring nine tries for a 100% strike rate through the regular season.

Cole Geyer scored three doubles which were against Ormeau, Tweed Heads and Burleigh in the final round of the U17 Division One regular season being Round Eleven. Cole Geyer also scored against Mudgeeraba, Bilambil and Runaway Bay.

In Round One of the GCRL U17 Division One Finals series, Cole Geyer started once again at hooker and was dominant throughout scoring a double as Currumbin defeated Ormeau 18 – 8 in the Qualifying Final to continue their progress towards U17 Division One Premiership success.

In the second round of the GCRL U17 Division One Finals series, started at hooker and made it three tries from two finals matches as he led Currumbin to a 32 – 22 win over Burleigh in a match of exceptional quality.

In the 2018 U17 Division One Grand Final against Runaway Bay, Cole Geyer started at hooker for Currumbin as they overcame the Seagulls to win 30 – 10 in an outstanding display by the Eagles.

Cole Geyer made his U19 debut for Currumbin in June against Bilambil and played his other U19 match in July against Helensvale.

The Marymount College Burleigh Heads student has represented his school with distinction this season including leading Marymount to victory in the Titans School Boy Open competition and in fact Cole Geyer was named Player of the Competition.

Marymount College defeated Keebra Park C 52 – 6 in the final with Cole Geyer scoring the first try of the game to give Marymount College the lead which they never relinquished.

Cole Geyer also represented Marymount College at the 2018 Confraternity Shield and was the Spirit Award winner for Marymount College in the competition. Cole Geyer started at hooker in all six of Marymount College’s matches.

In the Qualifying rounds Marymount College defeated Marist College Ashgrove 24 – 10 in Round One and Rockhampton Grammar School 17 – 10 in Round Two before drawing 18 all with St Brendan’s College Yeppoon in Round Three.

They lost their Qualifying final 24 – 16 to Cathedral College before bouncing back to defeated St Augustine’s College Cairns 24 – 6 and in their final match of the competition suffered a 24 – 22 defeated to Rockhampton Grammar School.

The talented young Currumbin Eagles hooker had an outstanding 2017 rugby league season both from a club and school boy perspective. For his Currumbin side Cole Geyer started at hooker in their 34 – 4 grand Final win over Burleigh scoring a try and also proudly represented his school side being Marymount College in a number of school boy competitions including the GIO Cup when they lost in the last minute to Redbank Plains State High School in a great match which easily could have ended in Marymount’s favour.

Over the course of the 2017 U16 Division One season for Currumbin Cole Geyer played in twelve matches scoring eight tries. Cole Geyer had an outstanding start to the season scoring in each of his five games against Southport, Ormeau, Runaway Bay, Helensvale and Ormeau again. In the match against Helensvale, Cole Geyer in fact crossed for a double. Later in the season Cole Geyer also scored against Runaway bay and as noted scored against Burleigh in the U16 Division One Grand Final.

At the 2017 Queensland Independent Secondary Schools Rugby League (QISSRL) Carnival held at Padua College in Brisbane, Marymount College in fact were the Bob Linder trophy winners beating fellow Gold Coast School Aquinas College in the final and also the QRL Referees Fair Play Award Winners. In the QISSRL Carnival, Cole Geyer played in all six of Marymount’s matches scoring in a tough 16 – 8 loss to St Augustines College Cairns.

Cole Geyer’s best attribute is his passing skills from the dummy half position. His passing is effective from both sides of his body and leads his forwards onto the ball by putting the ball out in front of his runners so that they can maintain momentum.

Cole Geyer does not have an overly long pass but his passing is accurate regardless of whether he is passing to a forward running the ball up or the half back looking to get the ball out wider. The standout feature is the speed in which he gets the ball out of his hands at dummy half.

Cole Geyer is not a huge threat to run the ball out of dummy half but will take what he is given if the defence does not consider him a threat at any particular time. His initial burst off the mark is reasonable and he has decent feet to enable him to create space, but Cole Geyer does not have the top end speed to break clear of the defensive line if he gets through a gap either by accepting an off load or by exploiting a gap in the defensive line.

Cole Geyer’s first thought when coming into dummy half is to distribute the ball effectively to his support players. When close to the line Cole Geyer will dummy and get down low to the line when the opportunity presents but again this is a secondary consideration as he progressively works through his options in that part of the field.

In relation to his defence, Cole Geyer will get in front of opposing forwards and look to slow their momentum with solid initial contact. Cole Geyer is tenacious and courageous, because even at the U16 level there are some huge boys running around.

Cole Geyer has very good endurance and projects as a hooker who will be able to play the full match without interchange something that he is already used to doing with his club side and School Boy sides regularly playing two or more matches in any given week.

Cole Geyer will be part of the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts side in 2020 where he should get an extended run and will likely also get a number of matches against men in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition for the Currumbin Eagles. Cole Geyer is also Colts eligible in 2021.

Cole Geyer is probably a fraction taller than your typical hooker but it has not stopped him at all being a very good distributor at dummy half and also being a more than solid defender. It is these attributes as well as his determination that has me convinced that Cole Geyer can develop into a very good hooker at the NRL level in coming seasons.

It should be noted for completeness however that Cole Geyer has spent some time at lock this season and it is not inconceivable that he could operate there or in the second row for short spurts to take advantage of his ball playing skills wider of the ruck especially down blind sides.

From a NRL playing comparison perspective Cole Geyer has a similar playing style to that of Melbourne Storm, Queensland State of Origin and Australian Test Captain Cameron Smith, in that he is a leader on the field, is very good at leading his team around the field and a very good defender on top of all of his other attributes.

Like Smith Cole Geyer just seems to have all the time in the world when he has the ball to do whatever he wants and that always leads to positive outcomes for his side. Over the course of this season Cole Geyer just seems to be far more assured and confident within himself and that is translating to outstanding performances on the field.

Cole Geyer is not just a future NRL captain but a future representative level and club captain and a person that any NRL club would be proud to have their brand associated with.

[mdrew]

Levon Pure. The young New Zealander is a Titans linked player from Auckland who started in the halves (five eight) for the Titans U16 side that defeated the Newcastle Knights U16 Harold Matthews side in Coffs Harbour in January 2020, 18 -14 in wet, steamy and slippery conditions.

In the match Levon Pure operated on the left side of the field with fellow New Zealander and halves partner Keano Kini on the right. Levon Pure was acknowledged for his performance by Titans JTS Co-ordinator Matt Srama in his review of the match in a video on the Titans Official Site after the match especially taking into account that Levon Pure had only two or three field sessions with the rest of the Titans team prior to the match.

In 2019 Levon Pure played for the Northcote and Birkenhead Tigers Junior Rugby League club in the Auckland U16 competition even though he was still U15 eligible. In his eight matches in that competition in 2019 Levon Pure scored two tries to finish the 2019 season with a 25% strike rate.

2019 also saw Levon Pure named in the Auckland Vulcans U15 representative side for the New Zealand National Youth Tournament.

I really like the way that Levon Pure plays in attack, he will try different things and play what is in front of him rather than stick to the same tactics over and over again. In many respects Levon Pure is very unpredictable when he gets the ball, he is adept at running himself when presented with an appropriate opportunity and has a very good turn of speed off the mark. Similarly Levon Pure can throw some superb passes to his support runners if they find themselves running into a gap.

Currently Levon Pure is probably a touch better runner of the ball then ball player (but only a touch) and can step off both feet and is quite strong for his size and will shrug off larger defenders if they try to go high and try to wrap up the ball without committing to the tackle properly or target him with an incorrect tackling technique.

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

Levon Pure has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so to either side of his body. Adding in this is that Levon Pure 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 re-adjust.

Levon Pure also runs with the ball out in front of his body in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what he is going to do before the play is executed or develops to its ultimate conclusion front of them. I know that I carry on about this but it is just something that constantly makes defensive lines uncertain about what is coming at them, which is the goal of any attacking side.

Defensively Levon Pure 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.

Levon Pure has a very good low tackling technique which is simple, repeatable and effective against all size opponents and thus there is no need for a defensive minder on his side of the field.

Defensively Levon Pure 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 opposite number gets on his outside.

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

Levon Pure will continue to play in New Zealand in 2020 and will be in line to represent the Auckland Vulcans in the 2020 U17 New Zealand National Youth Tournament late in the year. Levon Pure is also U17 eligible in 2021.

Levon Pure will also continue to play for the Northcote and Birkenhead Tigers Junior Rugby League club in 2020 in the Auckland competition most likely in the U16 age group although he may play some matches in the U17/18 competition as well.

I was impressed with the way that Levon Pure played in the halves for the Titans U16 side against Newcastle in January 2020 and based on that match plus a few other views from matches in New Zealand I can see no reason why Levon Pure would need to move positions into the future

[mdrew]

Blake Forder. The Northern New South Wales youngster is a Titans contracted player who was outstanding for the Titans U16 side that defeated the Newcastle Knights U16 Harold Matthews side 18 – 14 in Port Macquarie in January 2020 in wet and slippery conditions.

Blake Forder started the match at fullback and was heavily involved in two of the Titans tries, one in each half and one on each side of the field. As a result of the performance, Blake Forder was named the Titans best back in the match. Blake Forder was also acknowledged for his outstanding performance by Titans JTS Co-ordinator Matt Srama in his review of the match in a video on the Titans Official Site after the match.

Blake Forder’s first try assist came early in the first half when he chimed into the Titans backline on the left side of the field and threw a long cut out pass to his left to his left winger Kobie Mackay-Taylor who was able to dive over in the corner after beating one Knights defender on the way to the line.

In the second half, Blake Forder’s try assist impressively come on the right side of the field. Blake Forder received the ball whilst running on an angle to his right and straightened up the attack just a fraction before stepping off his left foot to enable him to run parallel the Knights defensive line for just a fraction to draw in two defenders before popping a great ball to his right to the Titans right centre to charge over near the right corner post.

In 2019 Blake Forder who attends Benora Point High School was selected at fullback for the Lismore Diocese Northern Country U15 rugby league representative side for the NSW CCC trials that were held in Sydney and subsequently was selected in the NSW CCC for the U15 ASSRL Championships that were played at Redcliffe. Blake Forder played a number of matches for the NSW CCC side on the wing in the National Championships and was part of the NSW CCC Championship winning side.

Blake Forder also represented the Group 18 U15 representative side in 2019, starting at fullback in all of their matches at the 2019 New South Wales Country Age Championships. Blake Forder also represented Group 18 in 2018 at the U14 NSW Country Championships.

From a club rugby league perspective, Blake Forder played for the Murwillumbah Colts in the 2019 Group 18 U15 competition after moving over from the Bilambil Jets for whom he played for in the Group 18 U14 competition in 2018.

Blake Forder is an agile runner of the football who relies on his decent speed and elusiveness to make it difficult for larger opponents to line him up. When lining up at fullback Blake Forder always makes himself available for offloads in the centre of the ruck.

One thing that impresses me is that Blake Forder does not jog after the ball when it is kicked down field, he will flat out sprint to get there either on the full or as quickly as possible, thus eliminating the effectiveness of the oppositions kicking game.

When he retrieves the ball Blake Forder makes a decision quickly about where to look to run around a staggered defensive line or to run straight in an effort to make as much ground as possible. Blake Forder really does pay attention to details and is rarely if ever out of position.

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

Blake Forder’s passing game is outstanding and he drifts across the field looking for runners to run into holes and has the ability to “freeze” the defensive line, making to easier for his support runners as was evidenced in the Titans U16 victory against Newcastle in January 2020.

Also Blake Forder’s hands at fullback are quite safe and dependable when collecting kicks whether taking the ball on the full or retrieving the ball along the ground. In both instances Blake Forder makes an immediate decision on what to do next and never second guesses himself.

Blake Forder is not the biggest or necessarily strongest player but will take the hit when needing to make the tackle in the last line of defence and uses the sideline well to redirect the opposition towards the sideline. Blake Forder just has a knack of being at the right place at the right time in a defensive sense and continually tracks the oppositions play across the field and positions himself accordingly.

Blake Forder is also effective at forcing the attacker to make a decision with the football rather than allowing them the time and opportunity to progressively work through their options.

Blake Forder will continue to play for Murwillumbah in the Group 18 U16 competition in 2020 and will represent St Joseph’s Benora Point in multiple New South Wales school boy competitions. Blake Forder may also play a match or two for the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the 2020 NRRRL U18 competition such is his maturity and skill level.

Blake Forder can play a variety of back line positions, including fullback, wing and potentially centre, but with his ball playing skills and passing ability to both sides of his body which were evidenced in the Titans U16’s in January 2020, fullback seems to be Blake Forder’s ideal position.

With his ability to gain separation from his opponent and sound positional sense, I see aspects of the game of former Titans fullback, former Palm Beach Currumbin student and soon to be Tweed Coast Raider Michael Gordon in the play of Blake Forder.

I would argue however that the “out the back” ball playing skills that Blake Forder currently possesses already have reached and surpassed those that Michael Gordon had at his disposal when he retired from the NRL at the end of the 2019 season.