Talented junior players not linked to the Titans but maybe should be

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Oryaan Kalolo. (revised) The outstanding young rugby league and rugby player started his four year Brisbane Boys College scholarship in 2016 where he stood out in the U14A GPS rugby competition and also played well for the Coomera Cutters in the 2016 U14 Division One GCJRL competition.

For BBC in both 2016 and 2017 Oryaan Kalolo has played at fly half and for Coomera he played mainly at fullback. The former Merrimac School student has previously represented South Coast in both rugby and rugby league after moving to the Gold Coast from the Hastings area of New Zealand.

I thought that Oryaan Kalolo would be lost to Gold Coast Junior Rugby League in the short term as started his BBC scholarship but it is god to see that he continued to play rugby league for the Coomera Cutters in 2107 all be it only two matches. Those two matches were against Nerang In April and Burleigh in June in the U15 Division One competition.

For Coomera across eight matches in the 2016 regular season, Oryaan Kalolo scored five tries, including a double against Runaway Bay with the other tries coming against Helensvale, Currumbin and Mudgeeraba in consecutive weeks in July. Oryaan Kalolo also kicked three conversions in the 2016 season to finish with a total points tally of 26, he also scored five tries in three matches in the U14 grading competition in the 2016 pre-season competition.

When you are looking at the attacking aspects of the play of most players there is usually a stronger aspect in relation to running the ball or being a ball player, sometimes the difference may be small but as a spectator you usually get a feel for which aspect is stronger, looking at Oryann Kalolo play for BBC I am really struggling to determine whether it is his running with the ball or his ball playing ability that is his strongest attribute, in short he excels in relation to both aspects.

First in relation to his running, he has outstanding explosiveness off the mark and has a great side step off either foot and can then accelerate again immediately as well as the ability to combine multiple side steps in quick succession. Oryaan Kalolo also has the ability to use a swerve to get around his direct opponent as well as a good in and away.

Assisting in his ability to make breaks by himself is that when he runs with the ball he holds the ball out on front of his body with both hands means defences cannot key in whether he is going to run or pass or for that matter which foot he is going to step off. This obviously creates a significant degree of doubt in the minds of defenders and led to situations where either his direct opponent or other defenders rushed out of the line, creating space which Oryann Kalolo was able to exploit across the GPS season.

In relation to his play making ability, Oryaan Kalolo has both a very good long and short passing game and generates very good spin on the ball which aids accuracy in relation to his passing. Another aspect that is very good is that there is no discernible difference in relation to his passing to either his left or right, in both instances he rotates his body well. In relation to his short passing he will run right to the line and present his outside runners with good pop passes which enables them to run right into gaps in the defensive line. A favourite target for Oryaan Kalolo, was fellow former Nerang Bull and current BBC team mate, centre Jack Kelly.

Defensively Oryaan Kalolo is also a strong presence on the field and certainly in rugby for BBC when he defended in the channel near the formation of rucks and mauls, he defends strongly against loose forwards picking and driving in his direction. He gets low and generates significant leverage with his lower body and drives into his opponent with a strong effect. Defending at fullback for the Cutters, Oryaan Kalolo would push forward when the opposition made a break to cut down the time the opponent had to make a decision in relation to whether to pass or try to beat him on his own. In short he is a very good defender regardless of position or code.

The 2018 season will see Oryaan Kalolo continue his scholarship at BBC and play the GPS competition at the U16A level where he once again should be one of the standout players across the competitive competition. Oryaan Kalolo may even sneak a match or two in the GPS First XV competition, if he does it will likely be from the bench.

It would also be great to see Oryaan Kalolo sneak in a game or two for the Coomera Cutters U16 Division One JRL side in 2018.

From an ultimate position perspective I would suggest that Oryaan Kalolo’s best position is at fullback where he can pick and choose where and when to inject himself into the play. He was a standout at fly half for BBC during the 2017 season and also played well at fullback in rugby league for Coomera in recent seasons so it is clear that he is a talented player regardless of his ultimate position in either code.

From my perspective, a talented, unselfish attacking player with similar attributes is Brisbane Broncos five eight Anthony Miford. Like Milford, Oryaan Kalolo has great acceleration to go along with a wicked sidestep and the play making skills to make opposition teams pay if defences look to focus too much on him.

One difference in relation to a comparison between Oryaan Kalolo and Anthony Milford is that Oryaan Kalolo is physically bigger and thus can also take on the line with straight when the occasion warrants rather than relying on his evasive skills every time.

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Hoani Ford-Stevens. (Revised) The talented youngster is yet another player who played both rugby league and rugby and excelled at both. In rugby league Hoani Ford-Stevens normally lined up at five eight but in school boy rugby in 2017 he played the centre position in the GPS First XV competition for Gregory Terrace.

Hoani Ford-Stevens started in the GPS First XV competition in both 2016 and 2017 and what an impact he had, he was outstanding for the Black and Red. 2017 also saw Hoani Ford-Stevens named at inside centre for the Queensland II school boy representative side.

This season Hoani Ford-Stevens has started off the season playing for Brothers in the Brisbane Premier Colts I competition, interesting starting on the left wing in the two matches that he has played to date, including scoring in Round Two for Brothers in a 34 – 0 victory over University of Queensland.

In 2017 Hoani Ford-Stevens played for the North’s Devils in the CC Cup competition where the Devils progressed to the semi-finals before being beaten by South’s Logan. Hoani Ford-Stevens was an ever present for the Devils and alternated between half and five eight, in fact on two occasions in Rounds Two and Three he was actually named at lock but ended up starting at half. He played the first three rounds at half and the final five at five eight, scoring one try and kicking five goals, with the try coming in Round Five against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls. For Gregory Terrace in the GPS Fist XV competition, he once again played every game and scored a good try under the posts in Round Three against Churchie in a blowout 48 – 0 win.

Prior to him moving to Gregory Terrace, he had a distinguished junior rugby league career, which included being named GBJRL representative player of the year two years, running for the U13 and U14 age groups and also in 2015 represented Metropolitan North in the QSSRL U15 schoolboys competition where he was named at five eight and in that same year was also part of the U15 Emerging Queensland squad.

Hoani Ford-Stevens just has a great passing game in all aspects, he has a very good long passing game and can get the ball out to his centres quickly and he is equally adept at taking the ball to the line and delivering a short pass to hole running backrowers just as the defence is converging on him. There just is not a pass that he cannot throw with timing and precision. He gets a very good spiral on the ball from both sides of his body and leads his outside attackers into the ball, enabling them to maintain the momentum of their run. A key attribute to how he plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations within a game.

He is not necessarily the quickest five eight running around but he does have some reasonable speed off the mark, which is complemented by the fact that he runs at the right moment, for example when he is drifting across field he will dummy and run when defenders anticipate the pass rather than focussing on him running the ball. His running skills compliment his ability to put runners into holes rather than the other way around.

His kicking game is very accurate, and even though he is not a big player he can generate very good distance on his kicks whilst at the same time not losing any accuracy, thus he finds the ground for a lot of his kicks. He can also kick pin point bombs, allowing plenty of time for his chasers to get to the ball as it is coming down close to the try line. He is also a decent goal kicker but I have not seen enough of him kicking to have an opinion as to whether he can be a front line kicker for his side moving forward. Similar to other aspects of his game his kicking game has developed exponentially from his time in GPS rugby.

Where he projects very well is in the defensive aspects of rugby league, in essence he is a very good defender for the half back position, this includes against opposing halves who will try to use footwork and evasion to beat him or against big wide running forwards. No matter who is running at him, his timing, strength, lateral movement and technique are all well above average even verging on plus, not just for his position but for his age group in general. His defence is an area that stands out when you watch him play in person. He, from my perspective at least defends like a second rower, which means his team’s defensive strategy can be accommodated to account for the fact that a “defensive minder” is not a critical requirement for any team that has Hoani Ford-Stevens defending in the front line.

The defensive aspects of his game have clearly been enhanced by defending at centre in the GPS Rugby First XV competition. In that competition he is competing against players up to two years older than him and he defends in the channel near the ruck and maul and has had to combat a lot of traffic coming his way from big rugby flankers and locks. In the match against TSS for example Tipene Mavoa constantly ran at him and he handled the giant TSS forward very well all match that afternoon.

It would appear that Hoani Ford-Stevens has currently made the decision to give rugby a real crack but he certainly has the skill set to be an outstanding rugby league player if he so chooses. I will admit however that I find it interesting that he has started the season out on the left wing.

From a rugby league position perspective, I can see Hoani Ford-Stevens playing at five eight in the long term. His ability to see the entire field and be able to put players into gaps as well as run himself is uncanny. He looks a real play maker of the future and playing a couple of years with Gregory Terrace at a high level in rugby only helped refine his skill set.

From a rugby league player comparison perspective, I think that the play of New Zealand International five eight Keiran Foran is a good comparison, as a strong running five eight with very under rated play making skills.

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Nick Wilkinson. (Revised) The young former Australian School Boy rugby centre has made a great start to his senior rugby career with Randwick in the Sydney Premier Rugby competition. The former Cowra youngster originally played for the Balmain Tigers in the Harrold Matthews and SG Ball competitions including starting the 2015 SG Ball competition at five eight before making a name for himself for St Joseph’s College in the NSWAAGPS First XV competition over the last couple of seasons before his graduation at the end of 2016 and his progression to Sydney Premier Colts rugby with Randwick. In 2013 Nick Wilkinson represented the U15 NSWCCC in the New South Wales Schoolboy rugby league trials.

Even though he is still eligible for the U20 Colts competition, in fact he has been named in eth provisional Australian U20 Rugby squad for the Oceania Championships later this month, Nick Wilkinson has started off the season in the Sydney Rugby 2nd Grade competition, being the Colin Caird Shield.

Wilkinson has started the opening two rounds at outside centre and scored in Round One for Randwick in a 34 – 0 victory over Gordon. Nick Wilkinson also started at outside centre in Round Two against Warringah.

In 2016 Nick Wilkinson was the St Joseph’s First XV captain and he also captained the NSW AAGPS representative side before being selected in the centres for the New South Wales I representative side for the Australian Schools Championships where he was a standout performer and deservedly was named at centre and as vice-captain for the Australian Schools side for their tour of Fiji and New Zealand. For the Australian Schools side Nick Wilkinson stared against Fiji and also against New Zealand Schools in a tough 32-22 loss which also featured former Titans youngster Josh Vuta. In the Schools International Nick Wilkinson scored a great individual try when he utilised two right foot steps to evade two defenders to score.

In 2017 in addition to playing for Randwick in the Sydney Premier Colts competition, Nick Wilkinson was also part of the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 side for the Australian U20 Championships which was won by the Queensland Reds. Nick Wilkinson played in two of New South Wales U20 matches being in Round One against the Western Force and Round Three against the ACT Brumbies. On both occasions Nick Wilkinson started at fly half (five eight).

Through the 2017 Sydney premier Rugby Competition, Nick Wilkinson played in ten of Randwick’s Premier Colts matches scoring tries against Eastern Suburbs in Round Five and against Manly in Round Six. Nick Wilkinson started the first two rounds at fullback before playing the next six at fly half and has played the last couple of matches in the centres.

When you are looking at the attacking aspects of the play of most players there is usually a stronger aspect in relation to running the ball or being a ball player, sometimes the difference may be small but as a spectator you usually get a feel for which aspect is stronger, looking at Nick Wilkinson play for Randwick I am really struggling to determine whether it is his running with the ball or his ball playing ability that is his strongest attribute, in short he excels in relation to both aspects.

First in relation to his running, he has outstanding explosiveness off the mark and has a great side step off either foot and can then accelerate again immediately as well as the ability to combine multiple side steps in quick succession. Nick Wilkinson also has the ability to use a swerve to get around his direct opponent as well as a good in and away.

Assisting in his ability to make breaks by himself is that when he runs with the ball he holds the ball out on front of his body with both hands means defences cannot key in whether he is going to run or pass or for that matter which foot he is going to step off. This obviously creates a significant degree of doubt in the minds of defenders and led to situations where either his direct opponent or other defenders rushed out of the line, creating space which Nick Wilkinson was able to exploit across the GPS season.

In relation to his play making ability, Nick Wilkinson has both a very good long and short passing game and generates very good spin on the ball which aids accuracy in relation to his passing. Another aspect that is very good is that there is no discernible difference in relation to his passing to either his left or right, in both instances he rotates his body well. In relation to his short passing he will run right to the line and present his outside runners with good pop passes which enables them to run right into gaps in the defensive line.

Nick Wilkinson has a huge boot on him and seemingly was the primary kicking option when at St Joseph’s College in the NSWAAGPS School Boy competition. Also for New South Wales in the U20 National Competition he was able to put the opposition on the back foot and force them back deep into their own territory. He is also an accurate kicker suggesting that he would be a 40/20 threat in rugby league immediately with his right foot. Nick Wilkinson also has some subtly to his kicking and is able to kick effectively across field for his outside backs. In the U20 National Competition Round Three match against the ACT a kick of this nature which was perfectly placed led to a try to his right winger.

Defensively Nick Wilkinson is also a strong presence on the field and certainly in rugby for Australian Schools and Randwick Premier Colts he defended in the channel near the formation of rucks and mauls, he defends strongly against loose forwards picking and driving in his direction. He gets low and generates significant leverage with his lower body and drives into his opponent with a strong effect. Defending at fullback for the Randwick early in the season, Nick Wilkinson would push forward when the opposition made a break to cut down the time the opponent had to make a decision in relation to whether to pass or try to beat him on his own. In short he is a very good defender regardless of position or code.

Nick Wilkinson will play out the 2018 season with Randwick in the Sydney Premier competition and it will just depend in which competition. He is still eligible for the Colts age group but appears set to play the majority of the season in the 2nd grade competition and also certainly make his 1st grade Shute Shield debut in the Randwick green. Nick Wilkinson will also surely be a key part of the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 side.

I would anticipate with the backline strength at Randwick Nick Wilkinson will continue to alternate between centre, fullback and five eight. For a rugby league perspective his experience the Balmain Tigers and how he plays rugby, I can see a bright future at five eight in rugby league. He has an above average tactical kicking game to go along with an elusive running game and underrated ball playing skills.

From a player comparison perspective thing maybe someone like the Parramatta Eels Cory Norman as a player who whilst an effective runner of the football, can also direct his side around the field equally effectively as well as being his team’s primary tactical kicker.

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James Ramm. (Revised) The young winger or fullback has recently been selected in the Australian U20 Rugby side for the U20 Oceania Championships later this month and has started off the 2018 club season once again with Randwick in the Sydney Premier Rugby competition.

James Ramm has started of the 2018 Sydney Premier Rugby season for Randwick in the senior grades even though he is still eligible for the Colts competition. James Ramm made his Shute Shield debut in Round One coming on in the second half from the reserve bench and also scoring in a 48 – 5 victory over Gordon. James Ramm also come on as a reserve in Round Two over the weekend and scored once again in a 46 – 19 Randwick loss to Warringah.

In both Rounds James Ramm played in the reserve grade competition prior to being on the bench for the Randwick Shute Shield side. In Round one James Ramm was a 2nd grade reserve but started Round Two on the right wing scoring against Warringah.

In 2017 the flying young winger benefitted from being on the end of the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 rugby side where with his speed, balance and body control he has converted a lot of opportunities into tries for the Galloping Greens. James Ramm’s form for his Sydney Premier Colts Randwick side should have come as no surprise as earlier in the 2017 season the Randwick flyer was part of the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 side that were defeated in the Australian U20 Championship final to the Queensland Red’s and was also part of the Australian U20 side that participated in the U20 Oceania Championships that were held at Bond University on the Gold Coast in April this year.

For the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 side the former St Joseph’s Hunters Hill student had a couple of big games including scoring a great wingers try against the ACT Brumbies and also kicked four conversions and a penalty goal in a solid New South Wales victory over the Melbourne Rebels. James Ramm also started on the right wing in the U20 National Final loss to the Queensland Reds kicking two conversions in the final. For Australia in the U20 Oceania series on the Gold Coast James Ramm had the distinction of scoring Australia’s first try when he scored in the eighth minute in an Australian victory over Samoa U20’s.

With his New South Wales and Australian U20 commitments James Ramm has only been able to play a handful of matches in the Sydney Premier Colts competition for Randwick the first match being Round Three when he lined up at fullback, Round Twelve when he lined up at right wing and scored in a 34 – 20 loss to Eastern Suburbs in a very physical encounter and in Round Fourteen when James Ramm scored a hat trick in a 50 – 30 win over Warringah.

Plus plus straight line speed with outstanding balance and body control are the primary attributes that James Ramm possesses on a football field. He is not the biggest or strongest winger but makes up for that with exceptional speed, timing and anticipation. For New South Wales in the National U20 competition earlier this season scored at least four tries where the move started in his own territory when the opposition just could not contain him.

It would be extremely unfair to purely put James Ramm’s success down to purely his speed, he is also has a very good in and away with a solid right fend. One thing that James Ramm also does well is change the axis of the attack just prior to receiving the ball. Certainly for New South Wales and Australian U20 sides when at full speed James Ramm would adjust the angle of his run immediately prior to receiving the ball and target the gap between his opposition winger and the outside centre and with his speed he was regularly able to explode through the resultant gap. When returning kicks James Ramm hunt’s across field before cutting back and looking to exploit a fractured defensive line.

James Ramm is not a big player at all and the obvious question is whether he is strong enough to handle the defensive side of rugby league at the higher levels, I would argue that the answer is absolutely yes. In the 2017 Oceania U20 matches for example on his right wing he was up against a number of giant wingers from Fiji, Samoa and the Junior All Blacks and he handled him very well. In defence against the bigger outside backs running around, James Ramm looks to cut down the time that they have to gain momentum thus eliminating the size differential as a defensive aspect to take into consideration.

As noted James Ramm has been has been named in the Australian U20 rugby side and will also continue to gain invaluable experience playing for Randwick in eth Sydney Premier Rugby competition which is their equilivant to the Queensland Cup.

With his express pace, acceleration, balance and body control to add to his freakish ability to be in the right place when a try on “on”, James Ramm would excel on the end of a rugby league backline and if a team has a play maker that can exploit the blind side you would have a potent attacking weapon that would not be rivalled. James Ramm has a talent that just cannot be taught and that is to sense when a try is beckoning and then have the skill set to take advantage of it.

James Ramm has more speed, a lot more than the current NRL player that I am going to use as a comparison, but in relation to his try scoring ability and also his positional sense a playing style akin to that of North Queensland Cowboys Kyle Feldt is for me a more than reasonable comparison for the young flyer.

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Lachlan Connors. (Revised) The AIC School boy rugby competition is sometimes over looked in relation to the GPS competition but with young players such as former St Patricks College No. 8 Lachlan Connors the talent in the competition cannot be ignored.

In 2017 Lachlan Connors was named in the Australian School Boy side for their matches against New Zealand Schools after starring for Queensland II and the Australian Schools Championships including a Man of the Match performance against New South Wales I.

In 2017 Lachlan Connors was been named at No. 8 in the AIC representative side for the Queensland Schools Championships at Ballymore after a stellar AIC rugby season. A lot of good judges rated Lachlan Connors not just the best No. 8 in the AIC competition but in the top one or two best players in Queensland School boy rugby regardless of position.

As a result Lachlan Connors was awarded the Ian MacMillan Trophy as the best Queensland School Boy rugby player in 2017 and was also awarded a John Eales Bond University Scholarship for 2018 and beyond. The other John Eales Scholarship winner was former Titans contracted youngster Max Dowd.

To date this season for Bond University in the Brisbane Rugby competition, Lachlan Connors has started at No. 8 for the Bond University Colts I side through the first three rounds and has then backed up to play in the Premier Rugby side from the inter change bench. Playing in the Brisbane Premier Rugby competition at 18 is an impressive feat and is akin to playing in the Queensland Cup competition.

Bond University have had a tough start to the Colts I competition losing all three matches so far. In Round One they were defeated 27 – 25 by Wests, Round Two saw a 7 – 5 loss to GPS and over the weekend Bond Colts lost 27 – 10 to University of Queensland. Lachlan Connors however has been outstanding, including scoring a double in Round One.

2017 was the second season that Lachlan Connors played First XV rugby for St Patricks College Shorncliffe in the AIC competition, even though I believe that in 2015 he played a number of First XV matches from the bench after starring in the U16A competition. Lachlan Connors was selected on the bench for the AIC school boy representative side in 2016 for the Queensland Schools trials.

Lachlan Connors showed a wide range of skills during the 2017 AIC season for St Patrick’s from power running in the centre of the ruck, through the ability to break tackles on the fringes to high level off loading skills either before the defensive line or once he has engaged it. His ability to pick the ball up at the back of a ruck or maul and generate momentum quickly regularly got SPC on the front foot in games.

Considering the limited space between Lachlan Connors and the defensive line when he got the ball, Lachlan Connors was able to make a lot of ground by getting low to engage the defenders with his shoulder rather than allowing them to get in and under his ribs and also a substantial leg drive meant that he drove defenders backwards even after they had engaged him with significant force.

In terms of ball skills, Lachlan Connors was able to regularly get his right hand free to deliver offloads when engaged with the defensive line especially when he was running one pass up the ruck and deliver some very good offloads to his support runners.

Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Lachlan Connors play his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance. Defensively Lachlan Connors has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier either in the centres or when defending in the forwards. Lachlan Connors sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

Lachlan Connors good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork, he is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

Lachlan Connors will play out the 2018 season with the Bond University Colts side, if in fact he does not move permanently to the Brisbane Premier Rugby Bond University side. Lachlan Connors looms as someone who will progress to the next level in rugby, possibly as soon as next season with the Queensland Reds and then the Wallabies post that.

From a rugby league position perspective, with his size, willingness to initiate contact and his strength the combat any size opponent defensively, Lachlan Connors shapes as an ideal rugby league second rower.

From a style perspective think of a someone along the lines of Brisbane Bronco, Queensland State of Origin and Australian backrower Matt Gillett as an intense aggressive well-rounded backrower with the ability to break the line by himself or as a result of running a good line, in Lachlan Connor’s running more to the left side and then has enough speed to break into space prior to looking for his support players. Like Gillett, Lachlan Connors is also an extremely efficient and effective defender who will hit hard when the opportunity presents itself and looks to always dominate his opponents physically in all aspects of the game.

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Matthew McTaggart. (Revised) The exceptionally talented young fullback is a sight to behold when he chimes into a backline at full pace. Matthew McTaggart was on the fringes of the Australian Sevens Men’s rugby squad in 2017 and was previously linked to the Melbourne Storm but last year at least chose to try his luck in Rugby sevens, but the door may not be closed to rugby league permanently however, well let’s hope not at least.

Matthew McTaggart has started off the 2018 Sydney Club Rugby season playing in the Colts One competition for Eastern Suburbs starting Round two over the weekend on the left wing in their 30 – 24 loss to Gordon.

In December 2016 the former St Joseph’s Sydney College student was named in the Australian Youth sevens team as well as universally being considered the Sydney GPS Schoolboy player of the year. The young man originally from the Wagga area of New South Wales has gone from strength to strength since moving to Sydney on a rugby scholarship with St Joseph’s College.

Matthew McTaggart is in some respects a throwback to the 1970’s or 1980’s when fullbacks used to chime into the back line either between the two centres or even between the centre or winger especially in relation to looking to exploit a shorter blind side. When Matthew McTaggart chimes into a back line he does not look to run into his direct opponent but he runs into the gaps and anticipates where his inside play makers are going to pass the ball.

From a running perspective, Matthew McTaggart just seems to glide across the field and it appears effortless, no matter who is chasing him, they will not catch Matthew McTaggart, I am talking James Roberts type of pace but he has a much more effortless running style to that of the current Brisbane Bronco. Matthew McTaggart does not necessarily have a side step per say, it is more of a swerve and he has a number of variations, with the scary part being that there is absolutely no loss of speed at all, making him incredibly difficult to stop when he is in open space. It is no surprise at all that he was in and around the Australian Men’s Rugby Sevens squad.

Matthew McTaggart’s passing skills are also of the highest quality., he can pass equally well from either side of his body and can throw every type of pass imaginable, he can chime into a back line at full pace and then decelerate quickly to maintain his balance a pop a superb short ball to his supports, he can throw a great spiral pass to his backline or he can quickly anticipate the numbers a throw a great cut out pass to exploit over laps. It was this exact passing skills that led to a try that he scored for Australian Schools against New Zealand Schools last year. Matthew McTaggart took the ball down a short blind side, threw a great cut out pass to left winger Yirribi Jaffer Williams and backed up on the inside and won the race to the ball when Yirribi Jaffer Williams kicked into open space.

Defensively Matthew McTaggart also stands out, with his closing speed and recovery speed to make an impact on that side of the ball as well. With his speed, Matthew McTaggart has the luxury of being able to stand a touch deeper than some fullbacks yet still be able to close quickly to negate breaks by reducing the decision making time of the attacking player.

Similar to the attributes that make Matthew McTaggart such an effective defender, Matthew McTaggart is as you would expect a great returner of the ball. His sense of timing, speed and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of kicks on the full and then accelerates looking to exploit any gaps on the kick chase. His exceptional lateral movement and sure hands means that he is a danger to make a large amount of ground from short attacking kicks by the opposition as he comes forward at full speed and retrieves with absolutely no loss of momentum and then will surprise the attacking team well before they can reorganise the defensive line.

Followers of the Sydney Premier Colts Rugby Competition will have the pleasure of seeing this incredibly talented young man in action throughout the 2018 season for Eastern Suburbs where even at that competitive level I am sure that he will stand out.

From a position stand point clearly Matthew McTaggart could play almost any position in a back line maybe except for half back but in every other position he would be an absolute stand out, but at fullback where he has the entire field in front of him and can decide where and when to attack seems to be the best use of the skill set of this exceptionally talented young man. The confidence, assuredness and calmness that Matthew McTaggart exudes on the field is exceptional.

In all honestly I cannot think of a modern day NRL player that plays like Matthew McTaggart, his combination of speed, line running and positioning is unique from my perspective. The closest comparison that I can come up with is that Matthew McTaggart has the speed and elusiveness of Billy Slater in his prime and the passing game of Cooper Cronk now. Those comparisons are a big call I know but in this instance for Matthew McTaggart they are certainly justified.

Matthew McTaggart is one of the most impressive young players that I have ever seen regardless of code and seemingly is always one play ahead of the game and an innate understanding of the game and his role in it, he does not let the game come to him, he takes the game by the scruff of the neck and just throttles it but he does it with a sense of calmness and ease with is impossible to teach. Matthew McTaggart is one of the most natural talented and instinctive young player running around regardless of code or age group.

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Dylan Pietsch. (Revised) Dylan Pietsch is a tough aggressive forward leader both in attack and defence who demands respect in the field through the sheer volume of work that he gets through. Dylan Pietsch has already played for the Australian Sevens side in a couple of the World Sevens rounds in 2017 and with his size and speed was a force when running the ball even against grown men, not a bad feat at all for an 18 year old just out of school.

Due to his Sevens commitments, Dylan Pietsch was hardly played in the green of Randwick for whom he plays for in the Sydney Premier Colts competition, where along with Sydney University, Randwick are the competition heavy weights.

Dylan Pietsch has started off the 2018 season for Randwick in the 2nd grade competition making his first appearance of the season over the weekend in Round Two where he started at No. 7 in Randwick’s 20 – 12 victory over Warringah.

Over the course of the Rugby Sevens competition rounds in 2017 the former Kings College star played 18 rugby seven’s matches for Australia with the last being on Monday 22 May 2017 in a loss against South Africa. Dylan Pietsch started off coming off the bench for the Australian Seven’s side but over the last couple of competition rounds has broken into the starting line-up. Dylan Pietsch’s success is no surprise after starring for New South Wales I schools and from there being a key member of the Australian Schoolboys pack against the junior All Blacks.

Rarely can you find a young player who is equally at home running on both sides of the ruck but that is what a team has with Dylan Pietsch, he runs a superb outside shoulder line and his excellent footwork enables him to step off either foot to enable him to cut back against the movement of the defensive line to take advantage of gaps back on the inside of his direct opponent. For a big strong young man, Dylan Pietsch also has above average speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Dylan Pietsch is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

Dylan Pietsch is not just a strong runner of the ball he as noted above has excellent footwork prior to the line and also some very good short passing both before the line and when in contact with a defender. Dylan Pietsch in schoolboy rugby and junior age groups was a magnet for defenders and is adept at identifying when multiple defenders are vectoring towards him and identifying the appropriate force to be applied to his passing. Dylan Pietsch also waits until the last possible second to off load the ball and most of the time he does not telegraph his pass to enable defences the readjust before the ball is passed.

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

Defensively Dylan Pietsch has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier. Dylan Pietsch sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them. His good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker opponents and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork, he is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

Dylan Pietsch will continue to play in the Sydney Premier Rugby Competition with Randwick in 2018 and will likely spend a fair portion of the season in the Shute Shield competition.

I appreciate it is a huge long shot but with his size, speed, strength, power and attitude, Dylan Pietsch would make an exceptional rugby league player. If he sticks with rugby I would anticipate that he will make his Super Rugby debut as a 19 year old for the New South Wales Waratah’s next season and whilst nothing is a sure thing he shapes as a 10 year wallaby at potentially any of the loose forward positions.

Dylan Pietsch is a rare combination of incredible athletic ability and an exceptional understanding of timing and anticipation on a football thus to that extent for me Dylan Pietsch has Sonny Bill Williams’s athletic ability and Matt Gillett’s football smarts and aggressiveness. For any rugby followers he plays rugby like former All Backs and New Zealand Colt hero’s Josh Kronfeld or Ritchie McGraw. Dylan Pietsch is a rare exceptional talent indeed.

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Mitieli Tuinakauvadra. The stocky but powerful 104 kg young man has played both No. 8 and blind side flanker (No. 6) for Sydney University in the Sydney Premier Colts rugby competition where with Randwick, Sydney University loom as the team to beat once again in 2018. It would have been scary to see but Mitieli Tuinakauvadra actually was a winger and made the Sydney U15 side in that position a couple of years ago.

Mitieli Tuinakauvadra started off the 2018 Sydney Premier Colts competition with a bang scoring a hat trick against Parramatta in a 48 – 15 Sydney University victory but missed Round two when Sydney University defeated Penrith 90 – 7 over the weekend.

The former St Joseph’s College Sydney student came into the 2017 Sydney University Premier Colts side in Round Four and in the subsequent six rounds has played five at blindside flanker and one being Round Eight at No. 8. Mitieli Tuinakauvadra has crossed for four tries, coming against Northern Suburbs in Round Five, Penrith in Round Six in a 95 – 10 Sydney University win, Round Eight against West Harbour in a 78 – 0 win in Round Nine against Southern Districts.

For such a strongly built young man, Mitieli Tuinakauvadra is actually very quick both off the mark and when he has broken into space. When he runs Mitieli Tuinakauvadra runs very front on with the initial contact with the defensive line being chest on. With his slightly shorter frame to a lot of the locks, No. 8’s and flankers that he runs into, Mitieli Tuinakauvadra’s centre of gravity is lower which is also as a result of his thick legs and thus unless the opposing defender gets low he runs a grave risk of being bumped off.

When Mitieli Tuinakauvadra breaks into open space and is coming towards the fullback his only thought process is seemingly to run directly over the defending fullback rather than trying to step or swerve. From what I have seen at least Mitieli Tuinakauvadra seems to run more to the right side of the field especially in pick and drive situations where his explosive power off the marks plays very well. From an overall speed perspective, Mitieli Tuinakauvadra’s speed would be considered above average at the very least.

Defensively, obviously the patterns in rugby are extremely different as opposing forwards are usually attacking the set defensive line with a limited run up, but the impressive thing that I noticed was the Mitieli Tuinakauvadra gets down low, after setting a strong lower base with his legs and drives through the body of the attacking player regularly backwards and then is powerful enough to then secure the ball for his side. The power he possesses is quite exceptional and he really does smash some opposition forwards when he was cleaning out.

Mitieli Tuinakauvadra will play the remainder of the 2018 season for Sydney University in the Sydney Premier Colts competition, where he will likely play the majority of matches at blind side flanker, although he will also get some opportunities like he has a couple of times early in the season in the No. 8 jumper especially when regular No. 8 Milan Basson is unavailable.

From a rugby league perspective, even though he may not have the prototypical height, Mitieli Tuinakauvadra shapes as a hard running tough tackling lock forward who when he is open space is quick enough to gain separation from the cover defence and does not shirk contact when he has the ball or is defending.

Former Titan and Penrith Panther Chris Greshmuhl is a solid NRL player comparison for the talented Mitieli Tuinakauvadra as a solidly built bullocking type of player with some pace and power when he breaks into open space.

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Jackson Mohi. (Revised) The New South Wales U19 Waratah selection in 2017 has a predominately rugby league background but his present focus is on rugby and in relation to club rugby is currently plying his trade with Randwick Premier Colts in the Sydney Rugby competition.

Jackson Mohi has started on the right wing in the opening two rounds of the Sydney Colts I competition for Randwick and has scored a double in each of the rounds, being in Round One in a 31 – 29 victory over Gordon and Round two in a 87 – 10 victory over Warringah. In the Warringah match over the weekend, Jackson Mohi also kicked a conversion.

Jackson Mohi played two years in the SG Ball U18 representative rugby league competition with the Sydney Roosters where he predominantly played either fullback or wing, in 2017 Jackson Mohi played five SG Ball matches for the Roosters.

Like a number of youngsters in the current era, Jackson Mohi also played rugby at school and was part of the Waverley College First XV that won the CAS First XV premiership in 201, playing mainly in the fullback role. Jackson Mohi was also part of one of the New South Wales I side that played in the Australian School rugby trials in 2016. Unfortunately Jackson Mohi missed the final due to injury and to add to the disappointment New South Wales I were defeated by New South Wales II 22 – 5.

Earlier this year Jackson Mohi was named in the New South Wales Waratah’s U19 side but graduated to the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 side playing a number of matches including starting on the bench for New South Wales in the final against Queensland. In that final Jackson Mohi came off the bench to score New South Wales third try in the 63rd minute. Queensland went on to win the final comprehensively.

As a result of his New South Wales U20 commitments Jackson Mohi has played only played in one Sydney Premier Colts match for the powerful Randwick club including being in Round Two when Jackson Mohi lined up in the left centre position.

Jackson Mohi is very quick down the sidelines with a good in and away to beat defenders on the outside and will not get caught from behind if he gets into open space. I would not say that he has blazing speed but he does have decent top end speed and is unlikely to get caught from behind by anyone but the absolute quickest of opponents. Jackson Mohi’s best attribute from an outside back perspective is his ability to keep his width and be available for his team mates, when the opposing defender cheats inside.

When the ball is moved out the back line, he stays on his line, and a lot of the tries that he scored for Waverley College last year when he was able to beat his opposite defender when they had come in just a fraction. He probably could have scored a few more tries but made sure that his team would score when in open space as he would draw the fullback and pass to his support when he could have easily gone himself, a sign of a smart team player.

When playing in the centres Jackson Mohi looks to draw in the winger to try to create space down the touch line for the attackers outside him, but when he does have enough pace, when he is able to get outside his opposing defender and make line breaks when the defensive winger stays out. Thus from what I have seen he has very good situational awareness in attack from either the centre or wing positions.

In defence, he is not the strongest player but will certainly look to hold his line defensively. I have not often see him come in when he did not need to, preferring to stay on his oppose number and trusting his teams inside and outside defenders. From my perspective at least, his skill set in defence is more suited to a sliding defence structure rather than an up and in one.

Jackson Mohi will form part of a potent Randwick Premier Colts back line for the remainder of the 2018 Sydney Rugby season and to be fair a few very talented outside backs are going to be in the Colts I competition as there is just not enough positions for the amount of talented players Randwick Colts have on their books.

Even though he has proved conclusively that he can play fullback, I believe that ultimately Jackson Mohi’s best position regardless of code is on the wing where he can utilise his outstanding straight lien speed and devastating in and away to finish off nay attacking opportunities that are created on his inside.

For me how Jackson Mohi plays either in relation to rugby or rugby league is similar to the playing style of former Titan David Mead as a talented fearless winger who whilst he can score the incredible try out wide is regularly in the centre of the ruck giving his forwards a breather with a hit up or bringing the ball back on a kick return with a fearless approach.

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Lachlan Day. (Revised) The outstanding young Randwick Colts fullback even in a side full of junior stars is a standout at the back with his exciting ball running skills and has started off the 2018 season Sydney Colt’s season with a bang scoring 27 points through the opening two rounds.

In Round One in a 31 – 29 Randwick victory over Gordon, James Ramm starting at fullback scored a try and kicked three conversions. In Round two in a big 87 – 10 Randwick victory over Warringah James Ramm kicked nine conversions.

From Round Eight onwards of the 2017 Sydney Premier Colts rugby competition Lachlan Day went on a bit of a points scoring spree, which included scoring five tries and kicking twelve conversions or penalties. In Round Eight against Northern Suburbs, Lachlan Day scored after an excellent backline movement by Randwick, in Round Nine in a big win against Gordon, he scored two tries and six goals and in the most recent round being Round Eleven, Lachlan Day scored two tries and kicked three goals against Warringah all from the fullback position.

2017 is the first season that Lachlan Day played Sydney grade rugby after graduating from St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill where he played three years in their First XV side predominantly at fullback but in earlier seasons he played a handful of matches on the wing.

In 2016 Lachlan Day’s play for St Joseph’s College Hunter Hill resulted in him being selected on the wing for the Combined States side for the Australian Schools Championships and in those Championships, one game in particular stood out from an individual stand point, when Lachlan Day tore apart the Queensland 1 side in a big win for Combined States. For Combined States, Lachlan Day was selected and spent the majority of the matches on the right wing including the match against Queensland I.

Lachlan Days’ main attribute when you see him play is his foot work, it is absolutely outstanding from the fullback position. 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.

Lachlan Day does not just beat larger forwards with his footwork, he will make the fastest of outside backs and fullbacks look slow by comparison as he leaves them grasping behind him. Lachlan Day’s speed off the mark would have to be considered plus and whilst his top end speed may not necessarily be at the elite level compared to some he can sustain it over an extended distance.

Regardless of where he receives the ball Lachlan Day 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 fullbacks and outside backs Lachlan Day has exceptional balance and body control enabling him to score some incredible tries over the course of his junior career where it appears that he would be stopped well short of the try line or be pushed into touch.

Defensively Lachlan Day uses his size to good effect at the fullback position, by driving with his shoulder into his opponent and he also has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to react and readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and the attacking player initially beats him with a move.

Lachlan Day at the 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 comes forward to mitigate the attacking play soon after a break has been made.

Depending on injury James Ramm should continue to be in and around the Randwick Premier Colts side for the remainder of the season.

Even though he has spent some time on the wing Lachlan Day’s play at fullback continues to develop which is evidenced by him consolidating his spot at fullback for Randwick. With his timing and anticipation in returning kicks and his fearless defence, Lachlan Day presents as an outstanding candidate to play fullback in rugby league at a high level.

With the disappointing showing of the Wallabies, all of the Australian Super Rugby sides and the Australian U20 side who finished sixth in their World Championships, talented young rugby players like Lachlan Day should certainly be approached to see if a change in code is a consideration. Lachlan Day is also an outstanding goal kicker who has the potential to be his team’s primary goal kicking option moving forward.

For me when I have seen Lachlan Day, and granted it has only been a handful of times live but multiple live streams and replays from Australian Schools and Sydney Premier Colts but I can see aspects of the way that Cronulla and Queensland emerging star Valentine Holmes plays, he is an explosive athlete with the confidence in his own abilities and that of his team mates.

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Yirribi Jaffer Williams. (Revised) The powerful Randwick and former Australian School boys’ rugby centre or winger is a big strong powerful outside back with a lot more to come after graduating to senior rugby from the school boy’s level in 2016. Yirribi Jaffer Williams is currently playing in the Sydney Premier Colts competition with the powerful Randwick Club where he has been mainly playing left centre over the last two seasons.

To date in the 2018 Sydney Colts I competition, Yirribi Jaffer Williams started Round One on the left wing for Randwick in their 31 – 29 victory over Gordon but did however miss Round Two last weekend with injury.

In 2016 Yirribi Jaffer Williams represented Australian School Boys on the left wing against New Zealand Schools and set up a try with a deft kick for exciting fullback Matthew McTaggart to score. On that play Yirribi Jaffer Williams received the ball down a short blind side from Matthew McTaggart and after beating his direct opponent down the touch line put in a deft kick with his left foot which bounced up perfectly for Matthew McTaggart to score a good second half try for the Australian Schools side.

The former Sydney St Joseph’s College standard had a standout Australian Schools campaign for New South Wales who won the Australian Schools competition before being selected for Australian Schools and subsequently the 2017 New South Wales Generation Blue squad.

Describing Yirribi Jaffer Williams as a powerhouse winger with the size, strength and speed to create match up nightmares for any defensive line would be an accurate representation of the facts. The key for Yirribi Jaffer Williams is to get the ball early and look to run through his opposite number if there is no room to move down the sideline.

When there is room down the side line , Yirribi Jaffer Williams has the above average to plus speed to break into open space and with his strength and power he is able to hold his opposing winger away from his body with a strong fend enabling him to maintain his balance and running line even when under pressure.

Yirribi Jaffer Williams also has the size and speed to come in off his wing and give his forwards a breather through powerful runs through the centre of the ruck and on those occasions commits multiple defenders.

Defensively Yirribi Jaffer Williams is effective at maintaining his discipline staying with his opposite winger rather than looking to come in but in the occasions that he does come off his wing, he has the strength to finish off the attacking play there and then. With his speed, Yirribi Jaffer Williams also has the recovery speed to react to opposition line breaks.

Yirribi Jaffer Williams will continue to play for Randwick in the Sydney Premier Colts competition as well as continuing to train with the New South Wales Generation Blue U20 squad. I would also expect Yirribi Jaffer Williams to also make his Shute Shield debut sometime this season in the Randwick Green.

Unfortunately the demise of the NYC competition in rugby league means that players like Yirribi Jaffer Williams even if they had an inclination to consider changing codes they will be less likely to come 2018.

Yirribi Jaffer Williams is currently playing on the left wing for Randwick. Regardless of code and yes it is probable that he will stay with rugby, but for me Yirribi Jaffer Williams is a winger with the ability to score some incredible tries on the corner through speed and elusiveness but in the same breath, he has the size and power to come off his wing and make an impact taking the ball through the centre of the ruck and gaining momentum for his team.

From a playing comparison perspective, the play of former Titans, Melbourne Storm and PNG International Marcus Bai is for me an apt comparison for Yirribi Jaffer Williams as a player with above average pace, balance, body control, strength and power with the confidence to take the game on rather than waiting back for the game to come to him.

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Jaya Yoannidis. (Revised) The flying young left winger may still be a touch raw but Jaya Yoannidis has been outstanding for Randwick in the Sydney Premier Rugby competition alternating between Premier Colts, Colts I and Colts II over the last two seasons.

The former Waverley College First XV player also has a rugby league background including playing for the Sydney Roosters at the Harrold Matthews (U16) level previously and also represented Combined Associated Schools at the U15 level at the Australian School Boys U15 national Championships. In relation to representative rugby, Jaya Yoannidis was selected last year in the Combined Associated Schools II side for the New South Wales Schools Championships.

Jaya Yoannidis started the 2018 season off on the right wing in Randwick’s Colts II side in their 28 – 10 victory over Gordon and on that Saturday also came off the bench for the Colts I match which also resulted in a wing for Randwick this time 31 – 29. In Round Two last weekend, Jaya Yoannidis started on the left wing in the Colts I side replacing the injured Yirribi Jaffer Williams and again was on a winning side as Randwick defeated Warringah 87 – 10.

In 2017 Jaya Yoannidis played in all three Sydney Colts rugby divisions, including one appearance in the Premier Colts competition where he started on the left wing in Round Eleven. Jaya Yoannidis played in five Colts I matches, averaging a try a match, including a double in Round One against West Harbour and also tries against Northern Suburbs in Round Eight where he started the match in the centres, Penrith in Round Nine, when Randwick won 103 – 0 and in Round Twelve against Eastern Suburbs. After missing Round Four with an injury, Jaya Yoannidis played Rounds four, five and Six in Colts II where he played in the centres and scored against Parramatta and Manly.

The powerful young man is a ball of muscle coupled with plus speed and strength who can either run straight over an opposing defender or run a good line into gaps in the defensive line. Jaya Yoannidis used both skill attributes to his advantage over the course of the 2017 Colts season and the start of the 2018 Colts season with Randwick. In terms of running a good gap line, Jaya Yoannidis has developed a good rapport with his fly half especially in relation to the fly half throwing a good pop ball as Jaya Yoannidis comes from behind the fly half before accelerating into a gap in the defensive line.

Once in space Jaya Yoannidis’s speed is in the plus category and whilst he does not necessarily have a dominant step he has great body control and balance when running at top speed which enables him to have a very good swerve which he used over the course of the 2017 season to beat opposing fullbacks. One thing that I have noticed in games was that when he broke into space with only the fullback to beat, Jaya Yoannidis actually changes his running angle to run directly at the fullback. What this did was stop any sideways movement of the defending fullback meaning his subsequent swerve was even more difficult to combat as the fullback has lost all lateral momentum as Jaya Yoannidis is converging on him.

On occasion Jaya Yoannidis can get fixated on beating the fullback by himself, I think that this however more a reflection on his enthusiasm rather than any hint of selfishness, I think that when he gets into space he just wants to score. Jaya Yoannidis seems to enjoy every minute of his time on the field especially when he is running with the ball. Throughout a game he rarely has anything but a smile on his face even when he gets hit heavily in a tackle.

Defensively Jaya Yoannidis is a strong hard hitter who will move forward to meet the ball carrier once they have broken into space. Whether it is by design or a by-product of his aggressive approach his movement forward to attack opponents who have broken through the Randwick defensive line dramatically cuts down on the space and the decision making time of the opponent and a couple of times during that season led to dropped balls when the attacker rushed the pass to his supports or Jaya Yoannidis hit the attacker as he was still trying to set up for the pass.

Another impressive defensive attribute that Jaya Yoannidis possesses is the functional strength to engage and redirect the momentum of attackers close to his own try line mitigating the threat to the try line. On those circumstances his initial contact is of a violent nature and over the course of the season Jaya Yoannidis was able to completely halt the attacking side’s momentum through just one tackle and consequently turn defence into attack.

With the outstanding depth at Randwick across the three Colts grades Jaya Yoannidis will likely continue to alternate between the top two Colts divisions for the remainder of the 2018 season.

From an ultimate position perspective, I think that Jaya Yoannidis would make an exceptional winger in rugby league especially one that could come in off his wing to take pressure off his forward pack as well as returning kicks. His pace and power coupled with his low centre of gravity makes him an incredibly difficult proposition for opposition backlines and forwards to deal with effectively.

From a player comparison perspective I struggled a little trying to come up with someone who has the power, strength and speed of the rough diamond that is Jaya Yoannidis but in the end the best comparison may be former Melbourne Storm winger and current Wallaby Marika Koroibete as a physically gifted player still with a long way to go to reach their full potential but regardless a player who already shows flashes of exceptional ability.

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Sepesa Tarogi is a young centre from the Randwick Rugby Club in Sydney and he was also a member of the New South Wales gen Blue 2017 squad (Read NSW U20 squad) that participated in the 2017 National U20 competition easily won by Queensland in fact against New South Wales.

After being a stand out for the Randwick Colts I side last season playing at outside centre, Sepesa Tarogi has graduated to the Sydney Grade ranks starting the first two rounds of the season in the 3rd grade competition on the left wing. Sepesa Tarogi has scored in both rounds to date with his tries coming against Gordon in Round One and Warringah in Rounds Two. Randwick won Round One 47 – 19 but lost against Warringah in Round Two 33 – 13.

Sepesa Tarogi went to the prestigious Newington College in Sydney and was part of the New South Wales I school boy side that won the 2015 national Championship defeating Queensland I 22 – 20 in the final with Sepesa Tarogi playing on the wing and scoring a critical try to New South Wales to regain the lead. Sepesa was also part of the 2016 New South Wales U20 squad in 2016 and was also been part of U20 Australian Rugby Seven’s squads.

The young right sided centre is a hard running powerful centre with a touch of flair. He has the power to run over his direct opponent, the ability to step off either foot and then accelerate immediately into the clear. Just to add another weapon to his attacking ****nal, Sepesa Tarogi also has the innate ability to set up his support runners and put them into space. His ability to off load with his right hand even when he is very close to the ground with passes out of the back of his hand has to be seen to be believed.

Doing this once or twice could be considered a bit of luck but to put this type of pass directly onto the chest of his support runners regularly is not luck it is a skills you either have or you don’t, there is absolutely no luck involved.

Sepesa Tarogi is just an explosive athlete who is also 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 left foot step and left hand fend, he can also draw defenders in to give players outside him room. Due to his strength and fend he regularly gets on the outside of his opposite defender forcing the winger to make a decision as to whether to come in on him or stay with his winger.

If he comes in, Sepesa Tarogi has the quick hands to get the pass away prior to contact, but also is big and strong enough as well as having very good core strength and balance to absorb the contact and still get the pass to his winger. If the opposing winger still out, he 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 he may not look like he has a lot of speed, but he definitely does.

Sepesa Tarogi’s defensive game is one built on intimidation he will come out of the line when the opportunity presents itself and hit very hard around the chest and drive through is lower body and continue until the tackle is well and truly finished. In School boy rugby opposing centres were looking for him in the defensive line when they were running which did generate a few lost balls, obviously it was different in the National U20 rugby competition.

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

Sepesa Tarogi has graduated from the Colts ranks and will play out the 2018 season playing in the Sydney Grade competition for Randwick, likely alternating between the 2nd and 3rd grade competitions.

Sepesa Tarogi has moved around a bit on a rugby field, including spending time at fullback and wing as well as in the centres, but from a rugby league perspective at least I certainly could envisage Sepesa Tarogi on the end of a rugby league backline. The mind boggles at what Sepesa Tarogi could do returning kicks and taking off from dummy half after a quick play the ball with the opposing forward pack still retreating to try to get back on side.

A current NRL player with similar skill attributes and playing style for me is Melbourne Storm sensation Suliasi Vunivalu. Like Vunivalu, Sepesa Tarogi is a powerful runner who displays some breath taking skills on a field.

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Thomas Serhorn. (Revised) The big strong powerful young No. 8 has through the strength of high level performances forced the hand of the Randwick coaches through the first half of the 2017 Sydney Premier Colts Rugby Competition breaking into the Randwick Premier Colts starting side after previously graduating from the New South Wales AAGPS School boy rugby competition.

The former Newington College First XV rugby star has a host of representative competition for the No. 8 spot at Randwick but his powerful bursts and crunching front on defensive methodology coupled with his outstanding workaholic attitude made it impossible for him to be kept out of the Randwick Premier Colts starting line-up in 2017.

Thomas Serhorn has started the 2018 season where his 2017 one finished being in the Randwick Colts I side, starting both rounds to date. Thomas Serhron started Round One at No. 6 in a 31 – 29 win over Gordon and started at No. 8 last weekend and also scored when Randwick crushed Warringah 87 – 10.

In the 2017 Sydney Premier Colts Competition, Thomas Serhorn played in six matches, four at blind side flanker (No. 6), one at open side flanker (No. 7) and one being the match last weekend at No. 8 in the Randwick dark green. In those matches Thomas Serhorn has scored two tries, the first coming in Round One against West Harbour and the second against Northern Suburbs in Round Eight.

For a solidly built young man Thomas Serhorn has above average speed for a forward regardless of position or code both in terms of straight line speed or speed off the mark. Randwick Premier Colts have been very good at incorporating his skill set into their game plan by getting Thomas Serhorn to run a straight inside shoulder line when opposition defences are sliding. He is particularly effective when attacking close to the line as he runs with pace and regularly drags defenders over the try line. Due to his size when defenders try to tackle him around the chest Thomas Serhorn can shrug them off but does lose momentum in his run in those circumstances.

From a defensive perspective, Thomas Serhorn’s timing and anticipation are his best attributes, he has developed an effective tackling technique in terms of coming out of the line to negate the opposition attack, he will not aim of the big hit but he is effective at wrapping out the ball and preventing the play from developing further, his natural strength is a key attribute here. Thomas Serhorn can on occasion get caught on the inside shoulder of the opposing attacker but at present his awareness enables him to adjust quickly and negate the play.

With the strength and depth at break away and No. 8 at Randwick in the Colts Divisions it is likely that Thomas Serhorn will continue to alternate between all three positions over the course of the remaining rounds of the 2018 Sydney Colts competition.

With size, strength speed and power at his disposal Thomas Serhorn has the ideal physical and skill characteristics for a rugby league second rower.

From a rugby league player comparison perspective a young player that springs to mind as a similar player is the Penrith Panthers boom young second rower Isaiah Yeo. They are both big, strong and powerful and just need to harness their considerable potential as they progress in the game.

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Milan Basson. (Revised) The athletic ball playing No. 8 for Sydney University has been one of their many stand outs in their Sydney Colts I side in 2017 and through the opening couple of rounds of the 2018 season.

Milan Basson started off the 2018 season in Sydney University’s Colts II side starting at No .8 and scoring in a 66 – 12 victory over Parramatta and then backed up to come off the bench in the Colts I match, with Sydney University also wining that match 48 – 15. Milan Basson broke into the Colts I side for last weekend’s Round Two match against Penrith starting at No. 8 and scoring in Sydney University’s huge 90 – 7 victory over Penrith.

I appreciate that Randwick have outstanding depth throughout their Colts sides but it will be difficult for the coaches to keep Milan Basson out of their Colts I side over the course of the this season.

For Sydney University Colts I in 2017 the Knox College Sydney graduate scored a number of the first coming against Easts in Round One and also in Round Six as part of a huge 95 – 10 victory over Penrith.

The tall long striding Milan Basson is at his best when he is operating in the fringes of the ruck where he can exploit gaps in the defensive line with his size and speed. When he runs Milan Basson is all arms, legs, knees and elbows and with his long stride and strong fend is a difficult proposition for defenders to handle in the context of getting him to the ground prior to Milan Basson being in a position to off load the ball effectively.

Milan Basson’s leg drive and determination also enables him to be equally effective in relation to operating in traffic where as long as he gets his body height low he can shrug off would be tacklers by dropping his shoulder into the defender just as he starts to commit to the tackle, Milan Basson can then redirect his momentum and proceed down the field on a different vector to the one he was on prior to contact. For a player his size Milan Basson can quickly get to his feet both in the context of recycling the ball when he is attacking and pilfering the ball from a defensive stand point.

The other key feature of Milan Basson’s attacking play is his ability to off load the ball, Milan Basson can pop a very good short ball from either side of his body but is very effective at keeping his right arm free when in contact with the defensive line and off load a well-timed and appropriately weighted pass to his support runners who have the confidence in him to be hitting the gaps at full speed.

In terms of overall speed, whilst above average for his position, Milan Basson when in space will be caught by cover defenders but he is quick enough to maintain separation until he has progressively worked through his options and invariably makes the right decision with the ball.

Defensively Milan Basson is adept at wrapping up the ball and his initial contact is underrated as his primary function and goal is to wrap up the ball to prevent off loads. As previously noted after making a tackle Milan Basson is quick to his feet to either look for a turnover or get to the next breakdown. His stamina is such that you will see Milan Basson make multiple tackles in a short space of time and then immediately make himself available to take a hit up or a pick and go from the back of a ruck and maul.

Even with the myriad of options at No. 8 that Sydney University has it is hard to go past Milan Basson as the best one. It will be interesting later in the year to see where Milan Basson sits in terms of representing the New South Wales Gen Blue U20 side in 2018.

From a rugby league position perspective Milan Basson shapes as a big strong wide running backrower with the ball skills and off-loading skills to set up the play either before the defensive line or when he has impacted it with the added bonus of Milan Basson being a strong defender and shapes as an 80 minute player just to throw in another plus attribute.

From a player comparison perspective, someone along the lines of the Sydney Roosters, current New South Wales State of Origin captain and Australian International second rower Boyd Cordner with the occasional Sonny Bill Williams one handed off load thrown in as an appropriate player from a style perspective for Milan Basson, being big powerful well-rounded back rower who plays the game hard with toughness and at a pace above a lot of the players around him and will get across the try line on a regular basis.