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

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Chris Holten. (Revised) The young Bilambil Jets centre who is the cousin of Titans linked Brenton Daley-Holten is back playing rugby league after a four year hiatus when he was down in Sydney as part of the Sydney Swans Elite Junior Squad. The layoff did not do anything to dull the skill or speed of the young Northern New South Wales flyer.

Chris Holten started off the 2018 Gold Coast Rugby League season in fine style scoring a hat trick and kicking a conversion in Round One of the GCRL U19 competition in a Jets 28 – 12 win over Burleigh. Chris Holten started the match from the interchange bench but made a significant impact upon being injected into the game. In Round Two Bilambil defeated Runaway Bay 20 – 8.

In 2017 Chris Holten was part of the New South Wales Combined High School U17 Development Squad which undertook an eight day four match tour of New Zealand where he played a number of matches at play five eight even though he spent the majority of the 2017 season with the Bilambil Jets at either fullback or centre.

Even though Chris Holten moved from Tweed River High School back to Melville High School, he continued to travel up to play for Bilambil for whom he played matches at the U17 Division One level and at the U19 level in 2017.

In the U17 Division One competition in 2017 for Bilambil, Chris Holten played in thirteen matches inclusive of finals and scored eight tries and kicked eight goals for a total of 48 points. Of his eight tries six came as a result of doubles which came against Ormeau on two separate occasions and Helensvale. Chris Holten also played five matches in the U19 Gold Coast Rugby League competition scoring against Ormeau in just his second match at that level.

In terms of his attacking play Chris Holten is a smooth runner of the ball who has above average to plus top end speed and good evasiveness to get on the outside of his opposing defender with a decent fend that enables him to keep opposing defenders at a distance and away from his body. When playing at centre Chris Holten is adept at straitening up the axis of attack to ensure his outside supports have room to move and exploit any advantages identified.

Chris Holten has quite a good step, predominately off the left foot, so he certainly has the skills to adjust his running line as he gains more experience and develops a better rapport with his teams play makers. Chris Holten does not have the size or strength to run over the top of opposing defenders thus he needs to use his speed and guile to make an impact and the earlier he gets the ball the better but as noted just needs to straighten up the attack on occasion. In the games that I have seen he lines up mainly on the left hand side of the field.

Defensively Chris Holten has a very good low tackling technique, he is by no means a big player but his defensive low tackling technique is very good, he can defend opposing centres one on one, and is one of the better low tacklers I have seen in junior rugby league. Tackling around the legs seems to have become a lost art, but when done right it is in my opinion it is still the most effective way of defending.

Chris Holten is not the biggest or strongest, thus when he looks to tackle his oppose number around the chest area, he can have difficulty. Due to the defensive attributes noted Chris Holten Bligh is clearly more effective defending in a side with a sliding defensive methodology rather than an up and in approach.

Chris Holten will play out the 2018 rugby league season with the Bilambil Jets in the GCRL U19 competition and may even sneak a few GCRL First Grade matches in as well.

With his speed and elusiveness there is nothing to suggest that Chris Holten cannot stay in the centres long term even though Chris Holten can also play fullback or five eight.

From a player comparison perspective for Chris Holten, think of someone along the lines of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Queensland State of Origin centre Dane Gagai as a smooth moving centre who is elusive and difficult to defend against as a result. Like Gagai, Chris Holten is also a solid defender without necessarily standing out in that aspect of rugby league.

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Josh Fryer. (Revised) He is a young hooker/half from just across the New South Wales border and grew up playing for the Bilambil Jets in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League competition and for whom he is playing for the in the 2018 U19 Gold Coast Rugby League competition.

In Round One Josh Fryer was part of a 28 – 12 winning side over Burleigh with the young hooker scoring one of the Jets five tries. Round Two once again saw Bilambil win, this time a 20 – 8 victory over Runaway Bay with Josh Fryer starting at hooker.

For Tweed Heads in the 2017 MM Cup competition, Josh Fryer played in five of Tweed Heads six matches starting four from the interchange bench and in Round Six Josh Fryer started at hooker and also celebrated his elevation to the starting side with a try against the local rivals the Burleigh Bears.

In addition to playing for Tweed heads in the MM Cup competition, Josh Fryer in 2017 played matches for the Bilambil Jets in the U19 GCRL competition and in June also made his Doug Lipp Cup debut.

In the U19 competition, Josh Fryer had an outstanding finish to the season including starting at half and scoring a hat trick in Bilambil’s Grand Final victory over Tugun. Titans Rookie Squad member Allan Lockwood was also part of the Jets Grand Final winning side. Josh Fryer also scored in Bilambil’s other final in 2017 which was against Tugun as well. Josh Fryer’s other tries Currumbin, Burleigh and Southport.

Josh Fryer played the 2016 season for Bilambil where he played 14 matches in the U19 competition with one of those matches being a 28 – 26 upset Grand Final win over Southport that contained Titans NYC squad member Bostyn Hakaraia. In the 14 matches that he played Josh Fryer scored four tries which came against Runaway Bay, Southport, Tugun and Currumbin. Josh Fryer also played four reserve grade matches with his debut against Beaudesert in June. In three of those occasions Josh Fryer backed up from the U19 match.

Josh Fryer started at hooker for the East Coast Dolphins U18 side in 2016 after representing Group 18 in the selection matches against U18 sides from Groups One and Two. In 2015 Josh Fryer played the season with the Gold Coast White CC side that lost their semi-final to the Sunshine Coast. Previously he has represented Group 18 at the U14 and U15 levels.

Josh Fryer is solid all round hooker who distributes effectively to both sides of the ruck. He does have some speed when running out of dummy half but as he progresses up the ladder through higher standards of competitions he will need to ensure that he is selective about when he runs the ball and when he passes. He has become more selective in terms of running out of dummy half and as a result ended up more effective and drew a number of penalties as forwards tired and just could not get back on side.

Josh Fryer is efficient in his passing and there is little wasted movement as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand then pass. He passes well from both sides of his body. His passing to the left is still a little better than to the right, but over the last couple of seasons he made positive strides in that regard, thus there is no reason to expect anything other than continued progression.

One thing that Josh Fryer does well in dummy half is not taking his eye off ball until it is in his hands. I know that that sounds like common sense, but even in first grade the number of fumbles that occur from the dummy half is far too high and change the course of a game.

Another skill that he continued to develop over the last couple of season is kicking out of dummy half. He is not a long kick, but is effective at finding the ground with his kicks. Josh Fryer was an effective kicker in terms of game management, what I mean by that is that late in games when his team were up or needed a breather he kicked for touch in those instances, which showed a high level of maturity and game management skills.

Josh Fryer defends in the middle of the ruck and is an effective low tackler and is adept at wrapping the ball up. He is also very good defending at marker in terms of harassing the opposition kickers. He is not going to wow you with his defence because you will not see big hits, but you will see an efficient and effective defender. He has very good endurance and projects as a hooker who will be able to play 80 minutes without interchange.

Josh Fryer will play out the 2018 rugby league season with Bilambil in the U19 competition and will be Colts eligible once again in 2019. Josh Fryer may also get an opportunity with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Colts side at the 2018 season progresses.

Josh Fryer has played the majority of his junior rugby league career at hooker and even though he has spent more time at half back in 2017. I believe that he will ultimately end up in the hooking role. Josh Fryer could potentially fill in at half back for short periods of time due to his passing skills but it would only be on an as needs basis to compensate for injuries in the course of a match.

From a player comparison perspective, due to tenacity, a playing style and comparison akin to current Titans and New South Wales State of Origin hooker Nathan Peats would be appropriate from a leadership, courage and determination perspective for Josh Fryer.

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Mitchell Wood. (Revised) The former Nudgee College second rower or No. 8 performed well in the GPS First XV rugby competition in 2016 and 2017 all be it in limited opportunities, but the 2015 Queensland U15 representative is a player to watch on the back of his size, strength and above average to plus speed for a young player of his size.

Mitchell Wood is a tall strapping second rower or No. 8 in school boy rugby and was a key line out jumper at Nudgee College in his last two GPS First XV seasons as well as for a number of junior gold representative rugby sides in previous seasons, including the U15 Gold rugby squad in 2015. Mitchell Wood in previous years has also been a great track and field athlete for Nudgee including being an age Shot put champion and 400 metre runner as well as being very competitive at the 100 metre and 200 metre distances.

Post his school boy rugby career Mitchell Wood has moved to the Brisbane Premier Colts competition playing for the Wests Rugby Club. In his first year in Colts, he has had a bit of an injury interrupted start but he burst into the Colts II competition in Round Five in a dominant display including scoring as Wests defeated South’s 38 – 10. Mitchell Wood started the match at No. 8.

The standout aspect when you watch Mitchell Wood is not necessary his power and aggression, which are both on display in abundance, but his speed, he has exceptional speed both off the mark and also can sustain that speed over distance as well.

Mitchell Wood uses his speed well to charge into the defensive line and is adept at getting low and dropping his shoulder into the first defender and for Nudgee College regularly bumped up that defender off. Once in open space he is a sight to behold with his size and speed charging at the fullback, in short he has the speed of an outside back. Across the season he was just a handful for all other GPS teams.

His offloading skills are probably the last piece of the puzzle that he needs to work on, he can get his right arm free he be takes on the defensive line but at present does not necessarily throw the pass but seems more concerned about a quick recycling of the ball, although I note that this potentially is a team tactic rather than necessarily a skill or experience issue for Mitchell Wood, regardless Mitchell Wood has the raw tools to be an effective off loader of the ball in traffic as his experience grows.

He is aggressive in defence whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or more towards the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks.

His incredible speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves and he is able to track the ball across the field and be in a position to assist his backline defensively where he can mirror the movement of attacks before committing to the tackle.

Mitchell Wood’s aggressive tendencies were also on show when he was cleaning out at rucks and mauls, he would get low and clear out defenders who had not rolled away after the tackle was completed and will do so with great vigour.

Mitchell Wood will continue to play for Wests in the Brisbane Premier Colts competition where it should only be a matter of time before he breaks into the Wests Colts I side even though the Wests Colts I side has a number of representative players in the same positions that Mitchell Wood is best suited to.

Any transition to rugby league for Mitchell Wood would see him play in the second row with his power and aggression on display.

I know that this is going to be a little bit of an odd player comparison but the play of Mitchell Wood especially in relation to his plus speed reminds me in no small way of the play of Brisbane Bronco and Queensland State of Origin winger Corey Oates.

I know that Oates currently is a winger but he grew up playing in the second row all the way to the NYC competition and if reports are to be believed he wants to move back to the second row as soon as possible and may even need to move NRL clubs to make it happen.

Mitchell Wood has previously been linked with a number of rugby league teams and has a wealth of opportunities which he will have to sort through in relation to his sporting future.

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Tristan Staghorn. (Revised) While he was primarily an outside centre in school boy rugby, the former Anglican Church Grammar (Churchie) student would be ideally suited to the wing in rugby league where his outstanding pace could be utilised to the most effect. With the exceptionally quick William Eadie, Tristan Staghorn was arguably the quickest player in the GPS First XV competition in 2017.

Currently Tristan Staghorn is plying his trade in the Brisbane Premier Colts I rugby competition with Brothers and has a 100% strike rate through the opening five rounds where he has started all at outside centre. In Rounds Two Tristan Staghorn scored a double in a 34 – 0 win over University of Queensland and also has scored In Round One against GPS, in Round Three against Easts and in Round Five last weekend in a 33 – 14 win over Bond University where he came up against former Titan Max Dowd.

At the start of the 2015 school year Tristan Staghorn moved from Iona College to Churchie and made every post a winner making the outside centre position his own in the Churchie First XV side in 2015 to 2017. Early in 2017 Tristan Staghorn was selected in the GPS One Schools representative side and as a result of his good form in the Queensland Schools trials made the Queensland One Schools side for the Australian Schools championships.

From those Championships Tristian Staghorn was selected in the Australian Schools side and started School Boy ‘Tests” against Fiji and New Zealand Schools on the right wing.

Tristan Staghorn He is just an incredibly fast player who has an effortless running style, he looks like his is gliding across the ground. In the centre position, he has the ability to stand up his direct opposite and then beat him with pace on the outside, something that is rare in the modern game.

When he gets the ball early from his inside play makers, Tristan Staghorn is incredibly difficult to deal with one on one, as whilst his speed has already been noted he also has a very good in and away to get on the outside of his direct opponent and from there he transitions the ball into both hands thus creating uncertainty in the minds of any outside defender in terms of whether they should come in off their wing or stay with their man.

For a young man that does not necessarily present as a giant Tristan Staghorn also has a solid fend especially when he has been able to get on the outside of his opposite number and thus they are not perfectly balanced to make the tackle. He is able to push off then and use his exceptional body control to maintain his balance and once he is in the clear he is not going to get caught from behind.

Defensively the methodology that Tristan Staghorn employs is to use his speed to get up quickly on his opposite number to prevent then building their momentum in their run and even though he was nowhere near the biggest centre running around in the Brisbane Premier Colts I competition Tristan Staghorn regularly put his body in front of opposing defenders.

In a 2017 game against Brisbane State High School, Tristan Staghorn came out of the defensive line to combat star BSHS centre Quintan Mahina, even though the hit did not stop Mahina’s forward progress it did cause a turnover when defensive help arrived.

The 2018 year will see Tristan Staghorn continue to play in the Brisbane Premier Colts I competition and he will be eligible for that competition once again in 2019.

As noted Tristan Staghorn played at outside centre for Churchie and is currently playing there for Brothers in the Brisbane Premier Colts I competition but from a rugby league perspective and Premier Colts, with his outstanding speed and evasive skills he projects as a try scoring winger who would score multiple long range tries.

The play of Tristan Staghorn reminds me of how former Titan Kevin Gordon played when he first came into the NRL when he was able to exploit his speed advantage over the opposition before injuries cruelled his career and forced him into retirement.

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Shaun Hudson. The former Titans NYC captain has battled through a series of injuries since joining the North Queensland Cowboys but now that the 23 year old has had an injury free period, he is starting to find the form that led him to play a number of Titans NRL trials a few years ago including an NRL trial against the Warriors in Toowoomba when he scored in the right corner.

Shaun Hudson is currently playing in the Queensland Cup for the Townsville Blackhawks primarily at fullback. To date in the Queensland Cup in 2018, Shaun Hudson has played in eight matches playing the entire 80 minutes on each occasion whilst playing in the centres. Shaun Hudson has scored one try which came in Round Eight against Souths Logan.

In total this in the Queensland Cup this season Shaun Hudson has played 640 minutes, running for 503 metres,175 of those post contact (34.79%) and making 73 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 76.8%, Shaun Hudson also has two try assists, seven tackle breaks and seven offloads. Shaun Hudson’s 2018 Queensland Cup per game season averages include, playing 80 minutes, running for 62.9 metres and making nine tackles.

From an attacking perspective in Round Six against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Shaun Hudson ran for 88 metres and in Round Five against Tweed Heads he made 84 metres. On two occasions Shaun Hudson has made 13 tackles in a match being in Rounds Two and Six against Ipswich and Tweed Heads respectively.

The 186cm 90kg utility back even though he does not have great top end speed Shaun Hudson is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing defenders. One good think about his play in attack is that he maintains his spacing out wide and is regularly outside his opposite number allowing his inside players to be able to find him in attack.

Shaun Hudson seems to be aware of his skill set as he does not take chances with the sideline and does his utmost to ensure that he is not taken over the sideline and knows when to cut back inside rather than taking his opposite number on along the touchline.

In defence, Shaun Hudson is not the biggest centre running around, but does seem to have good strength, but will certainly look to come out of the line to stop the attack before it has time to fully develop. Like all younger players he just needs experience to ensure that he picks the right time to come out of the line. He will show his opposite centre the sideline and is confident that his speed will enable him to get across to make the tackle.

Shaun Hudson will play out the 2018 Queensland Cup season with the Townsville Blackhawks. Post this season I would be more than happy to see Shaun Hudson return to his junior club being the Burleigh Bears to continue his rugby league career starting in the Queensland Cup.

Over the course of his NYC career with the Titans and for Townsville in the Queensland Cup Shaun Hudson has played fullback, centre and wing but I believe that his best position and his best chance to break into the NRL is on the wing as a dependable mistake free type of rugby league player.

Shaun Hudson is likely never going to be a star but has flashed the ability to potentially be a solid NRL player in the mould of current Titans centre Brendan Elliott as a solid unfashionable type of player who could fill a number of roles for an NRL side and do so effectively.

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Tristian Reilly. (Revised) Combining top level school boy rugby and junior representative rugby league as well as trying to complete Year 12 studies is no mean feat but talented five eight Tristian Reilly was able to do just that in 2017.

In 2017 in addition to playing five eight for South Sydney in the U18 SG Ball competition Tristian Reilly played First XV School Boy rugby for St Joseph’s College Hunters Hill and was a surprise omission from the two New South Wales teams for the Australian Schools Championships where Titans Rookie Squad member Rhian Stowers stood out for the Queensland II side.

Tristian Reilly has initially chosen to play rugby in his first year out of school in 2018 with the talented youngster signing with Randwick in the Sydney Premier Rugby competition. Tristian Reilly missed the opening rounds of the 2018 season but was back in Round Three with an outstanding display for Randwick in the Second Grade competition, starting at outside centre (No. 13) and scoring a double. To play 2nd grade Sydney Premier Rugby in your first year out of school is an outstanding achievement.

In Round Four against West Harbour Tristian Reilly again lined up at outside centre for Randwick in the 2nd grade competition with Randwick winning 48 - 29 and Tristian Reilly once again amongst the try scorers.

In a sign of just how high regard Tristian Reilly is held in at Randwick, post his comeback Colts match, he was on the bench for the Shute Shield match (Queensland Cup equilivant), coming on to score the winning try whilst playing in the centres as Randwick defeated Easts 26 – 19 in Round Three. An impressive achievement to say the least.

The former Yamba junior has had a great deal of representative rugby league success including in 2015 being selected at half back for the New South Wales U16 side in their annual match against Queensland. In that interstate match Tristian Reilly scored two tries in the second half. The first try was a superb show and go and the second with less than five minutes left in the match was an opportunist try after Queensland dropped the ball.

A number of Titans linked boys such as Reihiana Marsh were in the Queensland side that night. Tristian Reilly also represented New South Wales Korri U16’s against Queensland Murri earlier in 2015.

For South Sydney in the SG Ball competition, the former Northern New South Wales junior played six matches scoring two tries which both came in Round Five against West Coast. In five of Tristian Reilly’s matches he started at five eight but in the final round being Round Nine Tristian Reilly started in the centres.

It is hard to put in words just how talented Tristian Reilly is in terms of running the ball, he has outstanding speed both off the mark which I would consider in the plus plus category and top end
speed which must be considered plus regardless of position. Tristian Reilly with his speed is able to exploit even small gaps in the defensive line with an exceptional step off either foot and incredible
acceleration as well as outstanding body control.

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

He has exquisite timing on his passes and is able to weight them perfectly as well and can do so from either side of his body. Adding in this is that Tristian Reilly can stop on a dime even travelling at full speed and pop the short pass, thus it looks for all money that he is going to run the ball thus the defence converges and then the ball is delivered to a support runner who is through a hole before the defensive line can readjust. Tristian Reilly also runs with the ball in both hands which is another reason why the defensive line is unable to determine exactly what he is going to do.

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

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

The demise of the NYC competition in 2018 has really impacted on rugby league keeping youngsters like Tristian Reilly. Previously the progression was known and understood, you went into an NYC squad prior to first grade or QCup or New South Wales Cup rugby league.

Until clubs sort out the new pathways there will be a degree of certainly in the minds of young players and thus for youngsters like Tristian Reilly it is understandable that they chose rugby where the established pathway is through the U19 State teams and then onto the new U20 national competition. It is ironic that as rugby league gets rid of their U20 competition (the demise is solely to do with NRL players wanting more money) that rugby understands that a national U20 competition is a must for continued development of both the games and players involved.

Tristian Reilly will be eligible for the Colts competition again in 2019 but I would respectfully suggest that Tristian Reilly is unlikely to ever play in that age group again and by seasons end will be a permanent member of the Randwick Shute Shield side.

Tristian Reilly predominately played five eight in rugby league as he did last SG Ball season with South Sydney but either inside centre or fullback in rugby where his elusive running plays best, although I do acknowledge that he is currently playing outside centre for Randwick’s 2nd grade side. For me however I would really like to see Tristian Reilly at fullback in rugby league where he would be a devastating open field runner.

From a player comparison perspective, New South Wales Waratah and Wallaby back Kurtley Beale is an apt comparison in relation to Tristian Reilly. He really is a bit of a magician when he has the ball in his hands in relation to either code.

From an NRL player comparison perspective, former Titans NYC player and current South Sydney five eight Cody Walker is an accurate comparison for the talented Tristian Reilly.

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Blaise Barnes. The outstanding youngster, after a stellar school boy rugby career with St Joseph’s College in Sydney, signed a two year deal with the Parramatta Eels for the 2017 NYC season and beyond but with the demise of the NYC competition has moved back to rugby where he has been in outstanding form for the Randwick Rugby Club in the Sydney Premier Rugby Colts II competition coming back from an ACL injury which forced him to miss all of last season.

I am not sure the specifics of Blaise Barnes return to rugby but it may relate to the fact that he missed the 2017 season with an ACL injury and with the demise of the NYC the writing was on the wall. I am not sure if Parramatta released him or he requested a release but considering that Blaise Barnes had only played rugby prior to 2017 I thought that his transition to rugby league all things considered would take a couple of seasons. It is interesting that Blaise Barnes was involved in the Parramatta Eels U20 Jersey Flegg side (with a young powerful centre who will be Titans colours in 2019) in the off season including playing the first trial after being named on the interchange bench.

Through the opening rounds of the Sydney Premier Rugby Colts competition for Randwick, Blaise Barnes has started at No. 10 (roughly similar to five eight in rugby league). Blaise Barnes started Round One at fly half in the Colts III competition scoring a try and kicking a conversion in a 31 – 10 win over Gordon.

In Round two Blaise Barnes was promoted to the Randwick Colts II side , starting at fly half, scoring a hat trick and kicking a conversion in a 63 – 5 win over Warringah. Round Three saw Blaise Barnes maintain his place at fly half in the Colts II Randwick side and he repaid the coaches faith kicking seven conversions from as many attempts as Randwick defeated Easts 49 – 14. Thus through two matches in the Sydney Premier Colts II competition, Tristian Reilly has already amassed 31 points.

Round Four against West Harbour last weekend saw Blaise Barnes move up to the Randwick Colts I side where he played inside centre and scored a double with Randwick winning the match 109 – 0.

Prior to signing with the Parramatta Eels Blaise Barnes had an outstanding school boy rugby career with St Joseph’s College in their 2017 XV side and in Year 11 was selected in the New South Wales II School boy side for the Australian Schools Championships.

Blaise Barnes is just a smooth mover, he can create for himself or others and if a defensive line does not chase a kick in one straight line the young flyer will simply cut them apart. Blaise Barnes’s speed off the mark is in the plus plus category and when accompanied with exceptional body control and balance he is a handful for defensives especially when the defensive line is not set or when a turnover occurs.

Just like his explosive speed off the mark, Blaise Barnes’s body and body control are in the plus plus category as is his ability to step off both feet and can, just like Benji Marshall in his heyday, step multiple times in a small time frame and area to change both his direction and momentum as well as defenders.

Blaise Barnes also has exceptional hands when defending against kicks especially when low short attacking kicks are put in, Blaise Barnes attacks the ball at full speed aiming to get there prior to the arrival of the attacks and look to make ground while the opposition are still in an attacking mode.

Blaise Barnes is also a very good goal kicker with both good range and accuracy. I would suggest that he is likely to be his side’s primary goal kicker regardless of the level he progresses to into the future.

Defensively Blaise Barnes is more than strong enough to confront any attacker who has broken through the initial defensive line and if he is caught out of position has dynamic closing speed to address this situation. When a break has been made, Blaise Barnes’s primary objective is to more forward to reduce the time available for the attacker to work through is options.

Blaise Barnes is also effective at maintaining his composure and taking the player with the ball and not falling for any dummies, he makes an opposing team earn the ground that they make with his exceptional closing speed.

Blaise Barnes will play out the 2018 season with Randwick and should also get a number of matches in Randwick’s Colts I side and potentially also with their 2nd grade side where Randwick traditionally promote their youngsters to once they have started to master the Colts I competition. As he gets back to full fitness after his ACL injury last season there is no doubt his class will shine through and Blaise Barnes will excel for Randwick regardless of grade, age group or for that matter position on the field.

The movement is talented young players is without doubt a big negative of the demise of the NYC competition. With the reduction in the prestige of U20 rugby league it is more than understandable that Blaise Barnes has chosen to head back to rugby instead of continuing in rugby league especially taking into account his injury marred 2017 season. It is still disappointing however that rugby league is now more NRL focussed than ever before.

My player comparison for Blaise Barnes is a little out of left field, primarily because I have seen Blaise Barnes play more rugby than rugby league (a lot more) but he has outstanding elusiveness and body control even though he does not necessarily have elite top end speed. Blaise Barnes’s speed off the mark however can be considered at the elite level. Couple those attributes with an outstanding kicking game, both tactical and goal kicking and developing game management skills and you have a young player who plays like New Zealand All Black and Wellington Hurricanes Super 15 Rugby No. 10 Brayden Barrett.

Injuries have curtailed the career of Blaise Barnes over the last 12 months but now that he has returned to the field the sky is the limit for this outstanding young ball runner and playmaker.

Blaise Barnes is certainly a loss to rugby league for the present time but he has family ties to rugby league so fingers crossed one day he is back in the rugby league ranks and making an impact in the NRL.

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Murray Taulagi. The former Brisbane State High School Rugby star had an outstanding season with the North Queensland Cowboys NYC side in 2017 and is slowly but surely starting to display the same type of form in the Queensland Cup this season with the Northern Pride for whom he has been playing on the wing.

To date in the Queensland Cup in 2018, Murray Taulagi has played in eight matches for the Northern Pride scoring three tries in the process. Murray Taulagi’s tries have come in Round two against PNG, Round Three against Townsville and Round Eight against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

Murray Taulagi has been on the field for 606 minutes this season, playing the entire 80 minutes on seven occasions. The only match that he did not play the entire 80 minutes came in Round Four against the Mackay Cutters when he played just 46 minutes.

To date in the 2018 Queensland Cup season, Murray Taulagi has run for 767 metre, 272 of those post contact (35.46), 63 from kick returns and made 30 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 83.33%. Murray Taulagi’s 2018 per game averages include playing 78 minutes, running for 95.9 metres and making 3.75 tackles. Murray Taulagi has also made 28 line breaks (eight in Round One against Wynnum) five line breaks, seven off-loads and also forced a drop out.

In three of his eight matches Murray Taulagi has run for in excess 100 metres, including running for 141 metres in Round One against Wynnum Manly, 138 metres in Round Six against Easts and 128 against Ipswich in Round Six. Defensively Murray Taulagi made 18 tackles in Round Five against Ipswich and 17 tackles in Round Two against the PNG Hunters.

In addition to playing for Brisbane State High School in the GPS School boy rugby competition and also playing for the GPS I and Queensland I School Boy representative side, Murray Taulagi has also represented PNG at the U18 level where a team mate was former Titans NYC and current Burleigh Bears U20 Colts second rower Ben Valeni.

Murray Taulagi is just a smooth mover, he can create for himself or others and if a defensive line does not chase a kick in one straight line the young flyer will simply cut them apart. T-Max Dixson’s speed is in the plus plus category and when accompanied with exceptional body control and balance he is a handful for defensives especially when the defensive line is not set.

Just like his explosive speed off the mark, Murray Taulagi’s body and body control are in the plus plus category as is his ability to step off both feet and can, step multiple times in a small time frame and area to change both his direction and momentum as well as defenders.

Murray Taulagi also has exceptional hands when defending against kicks especially when low short attacking kicks are put in, Murray Taulagi attacks the ball at full speed aiming to get there prior to the arrival of the attacks and look to make ground while the opposition are still in an attacking mode.

Defensively Murray Taulagi is a solid player who looks to mirror the movements of his direct opposite and slide staying inside his man before committing to the tackle. If an opposing winger gets on his outside Murray Taulagi has the recovery speed to make up ground very quickly and eliminate the attacking threat prior to the requirement to get his team’s fullback to engage. Certainly a sliding defensive methodology suits Murray Taulagi’s skill set most appropriately although his speed timing and body control means that he can also adequately handle an up and in style of defending.

Murray Taulagi will play out the 2018 Queensland Cup season with the Northern Pride and even though I fear next season he will head back to rugby in 2019, I would really like to see him on the Gold Coast playing in front of Titans officials with either the Tweed Heads Seagulls or Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup.

In the GPS schoolboy rugby competition in 2016 for Brisbane State High School, Murray Taulagi was a star fullback in their GPS Premiership winning side but for the Cowboys NYC side in 2017 and for the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup this season, Murray Taulagi has played on the wing where he has established himself as not just an out and out try scorer but also a big winger who can return the ball from kicks to get his team good field position and also a winger who can run the ball with great effect from dummy half when coming out of his own territory.

Even though he has a different body shape to the Melbourne Storm’s Josh Addo-Carr, Murray Taulagi has the same outstanding speed and explosiveness off the mark. He is just a sight to behold when he is in top flight and can score from anywhere on the field.

Considering that Murray Taulagi is only in his second season of rugby league it is quite incredible just how good he currently is and just as importantly if not more so how good he will become into the future.

[mdrew]

Harry Grant. The young 20 year old Melbourne Storm hooker comes off contract at the end of this season and with the hooking depth in Melbourne may well be able to be stolen away from them with the hope of an NRL spot.

With Mitch Rein off contract at the end of this season and Nathen Peats injuries, the Titans could do a lot worse than have a look at the Rockhampton born youngster who is excelling for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup this season. Harry Grant is also a member of the 2018 Queensland Emerging Origin squad showcasing the high regard that he is held in.

The former Melbourne Storm NYC captain played one game in the Queensland Cup for Sunshine Coast in 2017 and has played in all eight rounds to date this season, starting all at hooker, scoring four tries in the process to have a 50% strike rate. Harry Grant’s tries have come in Round Two against Wynnum, Round Four against Easts, Round Five against the Cutters and last weekend in Round Eight against the Northern Pride.

In total in the Queensland Cup in 2018 Harry Grant has had 557 minutes of game time, playing all 80 minutes in Rounds Two, Five and Seven against Wynnum, Mackay and Ipswich respectively. In those minutes, the 177cm, 87 kg hooker has run for 549 metres and made 289 tackles at a tackling efficiency of more than solid 89.6%.

Harry Grant’s 2018 Queensland Cup per game averages include playing 67 minutes, running for 68.7 metres, making 36 tackles and kicking for 31.6 metres. Harry Grant has also forced a line drop out, had a try assist, a line break assist, six offloads and broken 24 tackles (in three matches breaking five tackles).

In three matches, Harry Grant has made 40 tackles or more including making 45 tackles in Round Four against Easts and 40 tackles against Mackay and the Northern Pride in Rounds Five and Eight respectively. Twice harry Grant has run for in excess of 100 metres, running for 113 metres against Mackay in Round Five and 108 metres in Rounds Two against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls. Harry Grant also ran for 95 metres last weekend against the Ipswich Jets.

Harry Grant is a dummy half with a goal to lead his team around the field and determine when the forwards take the ball up and when the ball is directed out to the backline. Harry Grant looks to lead his forwards onto the ball and provides a flat pass to enable his forwards to time their run onto the ball. Harry Grant aims to be the team’s general from dummy half and control the pace of the match and the axis from which his team directs their attack and also from what part of the field.

Running with the ball Harry Grant has good speed off the mark, probably in the average category for a hooker but normally runs off the back of a big run from one of his forwards so that he runs when the defensive line is still retreating back to their 10 metre mark.

Harry Grant is also a solid kicker out of dummy half both in terms of short attacking kicks and longer range tactical kicking. In many ways his kicking from a situational perspective at least is like that of Cameron Smith. Like Smith he is unlikely to be his side’s primary kicking option but if the opportunity presents he will be a 40/20 threat.

Just like he is when he is at dummy half Harry Grant is a leader when he is in the defensive line looking to direct his forwards towards where the ball is likely heading and individually identifying which forward defends which attacker.

Harry Grant certainly has a tough streak and will look to hit opposing forwards regardless of their size as hard as possible and looks to finish off each tackle with aggression. Harry Grant is also a solid worker when at marker and will chase and look to harass both ball runners and tactical kickers alike.

Another area where Harry Grant has a plus attribute is in relation to his leaderships skills. He is a strong confident personality and that translates to a leader on and off the field, this is a trait that you cannot teach, you either have it or you don’t. Even if he is not the nominated captain on the field he is a leader regardless of which team he is lining up for and acts accordingly. The confidence that his team mates have in Harry Grant is just exceptional.

Harry Grant will see out this season and his contract with the Melbourne Storm playing for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup and based on his form this season is ready for the rigours of the NRL now whether that is with the Storm or another very fortunate NRL club.

With his leadership skills, speed out of dummy half, endurance and game management, Harry Grant seems poised to have a long and distinguished NRL career on front of him in the hooking role.

From a NRL playing comparison perspective Harry Grant has a similar playing style to that of his Melbourne Storm team mate, 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 a very under rated kicker from the dummy half position and a very good defender on top of all of his other attributes. Harry Grant though has more speed both off the mark and at full pace than Cameron Smith.

[mdrew]

George Fai. The big strong young 21 year old front rower is the older brother of former Titans NYC player Justin Fai and like his brother came through the ranks at the outstanding Logan Brothers Junior Rugby League club in Brisbane’s south. George Fai is currently contracted to the Brisbane Broncos through to the end of the 2019 season but with the emergence of a number of talented young Bronco forwards it would not hurt at all to see if George Fai is in their long term plans.

In May 2017 the 187cm 111kg George Fai made NRL debut in a Round Twelve match against the Warriors, making 40 metres, 19 post contract and 23 tackles in around 35 minutes of playing time. To date that is the only NRL match that he has played but he figures to play more in the future as he is still just 21 years old.

This season George Fai has been playing for the Souths Logan Magpies in the Queensland Cup competition and has started in the front row in all eight of their matches. Through his eight matches, George Fai has been on the field for 369 minutes, ran for 911 metres, 343 of those post contact (37.65%) and made 136 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.9%.

George Fai has scored two tries, the first of which came in Round Six against the Central Queensland Capra’s and the second last weekend in Round Eight against the Townsville Blackhawks.

George Fai’s 2018 Queensland Cup per game averages include playing 48.12 minutes, running for 114 metres on 10.8 hit-ups and making 17 tackles. George Fai has also been credited with six offloads and an impressive 38 tackle breaks which puts him in the top five of the Queensland Cup through the opening eight rounds. Thirteen of those tackle breaks came in Round Six against Central Queensland.

On five occasions George Fai has run for more than 100 metres in a match, including in Round Six when he ran for 165 metres and in Round Seven against PNG George Fai ran for 138 metres. George Fai’s “best” game defensively came in Round Three against the North’s Devils when he made 27 tackles in just 49 minutes of playing time.

In addition to his one NRL match, George Fai has played for the Broncos in a World Club Challenge match against the Warrington Wolves in 2017 and has previously represented Queensland at the U20 level, is a former GBJRL U17 player of the year and has represented Samoa in a number of junior rugby league competitions in Australia.

The pace and power in terms of how George Fai runs the ball is the outstanding feature, he takes the ball to the line with speed, but he does not just put his head down and rush forward. He uses subtle footwork prior to the line and seems to targets the gaps between defenders and will actively seek out opposing forwards who are slow to move up. George Fai’s movement prior to engaging the defensive line is actually quite impressive, from the moment that he receives the ball from the dummy half he is moving subtly from side to side thus not allowing defences to key in on him.

When the opposition are on the back foot George Fai will target the smaller defenders on the edge of the ruck and burst through and for a big young bloke he has very good speed over the medium term and has the strength to drag defenders with him. Close to the line he was very effective for South’s Logan and scored a number of tries from reasonably close range where he just carried opposing forwards over the line with him.

George Fai is an aggressive defender whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or wider on the fringes, and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks and targets the area around where the attackers carry the football.

George Fai’s speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half. Due to his speed and athleticism George Fai covers across the field well, thus putting him in a good position to make the tackle when the ball is turned back inside from the halves.

As I have noted, George Fai is contracted to the Brisbane Broncos to the end of the 2019 season but with the emergence of some young forwards and pressure on the Broncos salary cap to resign Matt Lodge, Tevita Pangai Junior and Corey Oates amongst others an inquiry to the Broncos about his availability may yield a positive result.

George Fai certainly would provide a more than solid acquisition for the Titans. For that matter also bring back his younger brother Justin who just needs experience (He is currently playing for Souths Logan in the Brisbane Premier Grade competition) to be a potentially solid NRL player of the future.

George Fai will play out the remainder of the 2018 season with the South’s Logan Magpies at the Queensland Cup level and continue to be their forward leader. It will also be interesting to see if George Fai is able to add to his single NRL game over the remainder of this NRL season, especially around State of Origin time.

At 187cm and 111kg with speed and mobility, George Fai shapes as a very solid young NRL front rower who is still a couple of seasons away from his peak.

For me a solid NRL comparison for George Fai is current Wests Tigers and New Zealand International front rower Russell Packer as a front rower who regularly crashes head long into the defensive line but does have some subtle footwork which seems to get largely over looked. As for that matter is his solid defensive technique.

[mdrew]

Lamar Liolevave. (Revised) The young 23 year old second rower had an outstanding year for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Queensland Cup competition including being awarded the Seagulls Queensland Cup Player of the year at their 2017 Awards Presentation night.

Lamar Liolevave has started off the 2018 in the same fashion for Tweed Heads through the opening eight rounds of the competition. Through the opening eight rounds Lamar Liolevave has started in the second row in all eight matches.

Lamar Liolevave has been on the field for 637 of a possible 640 minutes, playing all eighty minutes on seven occasions and playing “just” 77 minutes in Round Five against the Townsville Blackhawks. He has run for a total of 816 metres, 309 post contact (37.87%) and made 200 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 83.9%. Lamar Liolevave’s sole 2018 try came in Round Five against the Blackhawks in Townsville.

Lamar Liolevave’s 2018 Queensland Cup per game averages include playing 80 minutes, running for 102 metres from 9.8 hit-ups and making 25 tackles. Lamar Liolevave also has two line breaks, two line break assists, three off loads and six tackle breaks.

In attack Lamar Liolevave had an outstanding match in Round Six against the Easts Tigers when he ran for an impressive 179 metres, 80 of those post contact. In Round One he ran for 138 metres against Norths and in Round Five against Townsville Lamar Liolevave ran for 108 metres. Defensively Lamar Liolevave made 30 tackles in Round Six against the Mackay Cutters.

The former Keebra Park student started off his rugby league career with the Wests Tigers NYC side and played one NRL match as well for the Tigers which came in Round Four of the 2015 NRL season. Lamar Liolevave moved back to the Gold Coast in 2016 after also spending some time with the Canterbury Bulldogs and the 201-17 off season spent some time training with the Titans NRL Squad.

In the 2017 Queensland Cup competition, the 185cm 112kg second rower missed only one of Tweed Heads twenty three matches when he missed Round Fourteen with suspension. Over the course of the 2017 season, Lamar Liolevave scored three tries which came against the Burleigh Bears in Round Six, North’s Devils in Round Seven and Redcliffe Dolphins in Round Twelve.

Lamar Liolevave in 2017 in the Queensland Cup competition played a total of 1 741 minutes, ran for 2 417 metres and made 544 tackles. His per game 2017 averages included playing 77 minutes, making 25 tackles and running for 110 metres.

In an incredible seventeen of his twenty two matches, Lamar Liolevave played all 80 minutes and on another occasion being Round twenty Three he played for 79 minutes. When he played “only” 67 minutes In Round Four, Lamar Liolevave played his least amount of minutes on the season.

In fourteen of his twenty two matches Lamar Liolevave ran for in excess of 100 metres in a match including an incredible effort in Round Eleven when he ran for 179 metres. In addition, Lamar Liolevave ran for between 90 and 100 metres on five other occasions.

Lamar Liolevave made more than twenty tackles in twenty of his twenty two matches displaying incredible consistency including a thirty three tackle effort in Round Two of this year’s competition.

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 Lamar Liolevave, 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, Lamar Liolevave also has above average speed, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Lamar Liolevave is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

Lamar Liolevave 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. Lamar Liolevave in schoolboy rugby league 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.

Lamar Liolevave 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 Lamar Liolevave 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 Lamar Liolevave has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier. Lamar Liolevave 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.

Lamar Liolevave will play the remainder of the 2018 season with the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side and with his form the way it is and the fact that the Titans must sign three players (at least) prior to June 30, Lamar Liolevave may just find himself in a Titans jersey sooner rather than later. He would certainly not let anyone down if he got an NRL opportunity that is for sure.

Positionally Lamar Liolevave has been a second rower dating all the way back to his school boy days with Keebra Park and that will not change going forward.

Lamar Liolevave plays well like Lamar Liolevave, he is a solidly built second rower with deceptive speed and an outstanding right hand offload where he holds the defender off with his left arm and off loads with his right. Defensively Lamar Liolevave is deceptively strong and making powerful initial contact all whilst playing big minutes in matches.

I am not sure that Lamar Liolevave can do any more to get noticed, he was outstanding in 2017 and has started in the same vein in 2018.

[mdrew]

Emosi Tuquiri. The big strong powerful young former Wests Panthers junior rugby league player is back in rugby league with the Souths Logan Magpies MM Cup side in 2018 after starring for the Marist College Ashgrove First XV in the Association of Independent Schools (AIC) School boy rugby competition over the course of the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

In the 2018 Hastings Deering’s Cup MM Cup competition, Emosi Tuquiri played in eight of Souths Logan’s nine matches starting all of them in the front row including their semi-final victory over the Tweed Heads Seagulls and their Grand Final match against the North’s Devils with Souths winning 18 – 16.. Emosi Tuquiri missed Round Three against the North’s Devils through injury and has scored one try which came against the Western Mustangs in Round Seven.

Emosi Tuquiri is one of three former school boy stars who have joined the Souths Logan Club in 2018 with five eight Kye Oates (Corey’s cousin) and Ashton Watson, both from Toowoomba Grammar school being the other two in the Souths Logan Colts side, in fact Key Oates is currently the competitions leading point’s scorer in that competition.

Emosi Tuquiri in addition to playing school boy rugby has played Rugby League his entire life including representing Met West in a number of age groups and in 2016 was part of the Wests Panthers U16 Division One side that defeated Brothers 38 – 16 in the GBJRL Grand Final where a team mate was former Titans junior development squad member O’Shea Petusa. That afternoon Emosi Tuquiri started in the second row and was near unstoppable.

At around 186cm and 120kg, Emosi Tuquiri is a powerful runner of the ball who runs with a slight jink, predominantly off his left in his step prior to impacting the defensive line even though in rugby there is limited space between when Emosi Tuquiri receives the ball and hits the defensive line as he is usually picking up the ball from the back of a ruck or maul, however when he does have some space, he is able to build up significant momentum over a reasonably short distance. Also when he has impacted the defensive line he continues to pump his legs and gain extra metres after contact on a regular basis.

From a rugby league perspective, Emosi Tuquiri runs a little wider of the ruck than he did in rugby and in that situation has very good ball skills prior to the line as he attracts so many defenders when he runs. For a player of his size and low centre of gravity Emosi Tuquiri actually has plus speed for his position not speed off the mark per say, but if he is allowed to gather some momentum in his runs he is a difficult proposition for a defensive line to address especially if it is in a one on one situation. Emosi Tuquiri also has quite decent stamina and seems to be always around the ball, both in attack and defence.

Emosi Tuquiri’s defensive methodology is quite simple, he moves up and hits the ball carrier as hard as he can, as often as he can, full stop. He is best suited to defending in the centre of the ruck and that is where you will almost always find him and for a solidly built young player, he moves well in terms of moving up and back in defence and his lateral movement is exceptional for a front rower.

Another impressive aspect of his play from a defensive stand point is the speed at which he gets around the field, in the AIC games that I have seen him play, he is always in and around the ball, constantly getting low to disrupt the momentum of the attacking team. The situation has been similar for South Logan in the MM Cup competition this season.

Post the MM Cup competition Emosi Tuquiri will push for selection in the Souths Logan Magpies Colts side and will be eligible for that competition again in 2019 and 2020.

Even though Emosi Tuquiri played the majority of his junior rugby league in the second row for the Wests Panthers a couple of seasons ago, his exceptional ball skills in traffic and powerful defence lends itself to him playing in the centre third of the field, thus a career in the front row in rugby league is surely in the offing for Emosi Tuquiri.

From a player comparison perspective think of the Canterbury Bulldogs Sam Kasiano as a big strong front rower who has more speed and mobility than it would appear, but also off-loading skills to complement including both after contact and before the line.

Throughout his career people who have not seen him play will discount Emosi Tuquiri because even though he presents as a powerful player he does not look at first glance to be very athletic, this is a mistake, Emosi Tuquiri has exceptional speed and mobility for such a big strong powerful player and uses it to his advantage on the football field.

[mdrew]

Vahai Finau. (Revised) The young Logan Brothers junior played very well in the U16 Brisbane Red squad in 2017 in the centres scoring a number tries including tries in Rounds Three and Four against Brisbane Blue and Gold Coast White respectively.

Vahai Finau’s game has gone to a different level however this season for the Souths Logan Magpies MM Cup squad that won the Grand Final 18 – 16 against the North’s Devils, Vahai Finau started the Grand Final on the left wing for the Magpies.

Over the course of the 2018 MM Cup season for Souths Logan Vahai Finau played in three regular season matches and both of their finals matches, all on the left win. Vahai Finau came into the Souths Logan side in Round Five against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and had an outstanding debut scoring a hat trick in a big win for the Magpies. Vahai Finau scored four tries to have a strike rate of100% with his other try coming in Round Six against the Central Queensland Capra’s.

Vahai Finau also represented Samoa at the 2015 QPICC tournament where he was up against the likes of Brent Barnes amongst others. Vahai Finau also started on the wing for the Logan Brothers U15 GBJRL Premier Division side that defeated Carina in the Grand Final that same year.

A powerful runner of the ball is the way that the attacking aspects of Vahai Finau’s play can be described, whilst the majority of occasions he runs hard, fast and straight he also has a very good in and away to beat defenders and on occasion over the course of the junior rugby league career
He has stepped back on the inside of his opposite defender when they overcommitted to the outside.

Once in the clear he has a tick above average top line straight speed. Vahai Finau is not necessarily a quick twitch athlete in the context of a quick late step or speed off the mark but he is no slouch either but it would be fair to say that his attacking game is first and foremost about hard straight running to draw in defenders to create space for his team mates.

Defensively his penchant was to come out of the line and line up his opposite number but on occasion he did get the timing wrong which did allow his opposite number to get on his outside, but in the majority of occasions Vahai Finau is able to readjust and make the tackle further downfield. From a technique perspective Vahai Finau really does side a strong base and explodes into the attacker, the initial movement forward in those circumstances is quick and explosive and can take an attacker by surprise.

Defensive transitions from an up and in style of defence to a sliding defensive methodology will be something for Vahai Finau for work on but he has the raw ability and game understanding to account comfortably for the different methodologies as he gains experience in the higher levels of junior rugby league.

With the MM Cup competition now concluded, Vahai Finau will transition back to Logan Brothers in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League competition where he will be likely involved in their U18 Nev Blair Cup side.

The exceptional depth at Logan Brothers across all age groups means that no one is guaranteed a position in any side and thus Vahai Finau will be battling with a lot of other exceptionally talented young players for a spot.

Vahai Finau, who I first saw playing at the U14 Division One level for Logan Brothers in 2015 was played a fair bit of centre over the course of his junior career to date but this season in the MM Cup competition he has played exclusively on the wing which is ultimately where I think that Vahai Finau will end up as he transitions towards the senior rugby league ranks. Vahai Finau is also at the perfect junior club to reach his potential being the Logan Brothers Junior Rugby League Club in Brisbane’s South.

With his size, speed and power Vahai Finau’s game resembles that of Wests Tigers NRL wing David Nofoaluma. Both run with power and really do bend the defensive line backwards but both are also exceptional finishers with the ball in their hands.

[mdrew]

Jonathon Reuben. Most 24 year old Queensland Cup players may have thought that their time had passed in relation to the NRL but the former Sydney Rooster Intrust Super Cup and Canberra Raiders NYC player has been in outstanding form this season and just through sheer weight of his performances NRL clubs must be starting to take notice.

To be fair to Jonathon Reuben however his play in the 2018 season is not fluke, he has been outstanding for the Blackhawks for the last couple of seasons from the right wing and occasionally at fullback.

In his Queensland Cup career which started in Round One of 2015, Jonathon Reuben has scored an incredible 64 tries in just 57 matches to have a career strike rate of an impressive 112%.

To date in the Queensland Cup in 2018, the 181cm 87kg Jonathon Reuben has played in eight matches scoring seven tries for a 2018 strike rate of 87.5%. Jonathon Reuben has scored three doubles which came against Mackay Cutters in Round One, against Tweed Heads in Round five and against Norths in Round Seven, he also scored against Sunshine Coast in Round Six.

To date this season Jonathon Reuben has been on the field for 640 minutes, playing the entire 80 minutes in all of his matches, run for a staggering 1 122 metres, 317 of those post contact (28.25%) and 215 metres from kick returns. Jonathon Reuben has also made 30 tackles at a 75% tackling efficiency.

Jonathon Reuben’s 2018 Queensland Cup per game averages include playing 80 minutes, running for 140.3 metres and making 3.77 tackles. Jonathon Reuben has also had two try assists, 24 tackle breaks and seven line breaks through the opening eight games.

In six of his eight matches, Jonathon Reuben has run for in excess of 100 metres, including an outstanding match in Round Five against Tweed Heads when he ran for 245 metres and 170 metres in Round Seven against Norths. In Round Four against Redcliffe Jonathon Reuben made nine tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Jonathon Reuben was raised in Townsville but headed down to Canberra to play in the NYC competition for the Raiders from 2011 to 2013 and in 2013 was the NYC’s leading try scorer before moving to the Sydney Roosters for one season in the Intrust Super Cup before heading back to Townsville joining the Blackhawks.

The young man is very difficult to stop once he is in motion, his speed, power and body height all contribute to this. On the wing when he can wind up and build momentum he looks to run over his direct opponent rather than try to run around them. In fact in the majority of occasions it is Jonathon Reuben that actually initiates the contact and I do not recall seeing a player being able to run over his direct opponent with absolutely no loss of momentum.

From a speed perspective I would argue that his speed is a tick above average for a winger but obviously the key attribute from an attacking perspective is how hard he hits the defensive line. Like his overall speed Jonathon Reuben’s lateral mobility is probably just a tick above average. Jonathon Reuben with his size and strength is also able to make a lot of ground after contact with his ability to absorb the defensive contact and maintain his balance and body control.

When he is close to the line Jonathon Reuben is able to absorb a significant amount of punishment and still hold his running line thus he is able to score close to the side line without being pushed over the sideline regardless of the number of defenders looking to do so. The ability to absorb contact is on display when he comes into the centre of the ruck to take the ball up into the teeth of the defensive line.

Defensively for a big strong powerful young man, Jonathon Reuben actually has good discipline for such a young player and in the main stays on his man rather than coming in and looking for the big hit. Do not get me wrong he will on occasion aim to smash the opposing outside if they do not see him coming but in the main he is quite disciplined and looks to ensure his opposing winger does not get on his outside looking to use their speed against him.

Jonathon Reuben will play out the 2018 Queensland Cup season with the Townsville Blackhawks and based on his Queensland Cup performances to date in 2018 hopefully gets an opportunity to trial for an NRL contract with a club who will look at performance rather than the date on a birth certificate.

In the NYC competition for the Canberra Raiders and for the Sydney Roosters in 2014 Jonathon Reuben played on the wing and he has continued to do so in his four seasons in the Queensland Cup with the Townsville Blackhawks, outside of a couple of matches at fullback, and there is no doubt that is where he would play if an NRL club were to give him an opportunity in the 2018-19 off season.

Jonathon Reuben could have had no better audition to impress the Titans hierarchy than his 245 metre running effort against the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Townsville in Round Five earlier this year where he tore apart the Seagulls defence at will on his way to two tries, five tackle breaks and a line break in that game alone.

With his size (181cm and 87kg), speed and power Jonathon Reuben’s game resembles that of Wests Tigers NRL winger David Nofoaluma. Both run with power and really do bend the defensive line backwards and make significant metres but both are also exceptional finishers with the ball in their hands including being able to score from long range.

[mdrew]

Keenan Palasia. (Revised)The young former Titans junior and PBC student spent the 2015 t0 2017 seasons with the Brisbane Broncos and in 2017 was a solid member of their forward pack which played so well throughout the season including deep in the finals series.

Keenan Palasia was a Titans junior through to 17 years old including captaining Gold Coast White in the CC Cup a number of seasons ago before its demise. This season Keenan Palasia has joined the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and has split his time between the Queensland Cup and the Brisbane A Grade competition with the Seagulls.

In the 2018 Queensland Cup Keenan Palasia has played in two matches being Round One against the Northern Pride and Round Seven against his junior club the Burleigh Bears, starting both off the interchange bench.

In total in 2018 Keenan Palasia has been on the field for 67 minutes, making 135 metres, 52 of those post contact (38.51%) and has made 25 tackles at a tackling efficiency of a more than acceptable 92.59%. Keenan Palasia has also broken a tackle and had an offloads. Keenan Palasia’s 2018 per game Queensland Cup averages included playing33.5 minutes per game, running for 67.5 metres and making 12.5 tackles. In Round One against the Northern Pride in 34 minutes, Keenan Palasia ran for 83 metres, 32 post contact and made 15 tackles in a solid display.

In 2017 Keenan Palasia represented the U20 Queensland side alongside four Titans played in their annual clash against the New South Wales. In 2015 Keenan Palasia started from the bench for the Queensland U18 side against New South Wales U18’s.

In 2017 for the Brisbane Broncos Keenan Palasia played in sixteen NYC matches including starting eleven in the second row two in the front row and three from the interchange bench. Keenan Palasia played in all of the Broncos matches to and including Round Nineteen against the Newcastle Knights and scored five tries. His tries came in Round two against Cronulla, Round Eight against the Rabbitohs, Round Eleven against the Wests Tigers, Round Sixteen against the Raiders and Round Seventeen against the Melbourne Storm.

The 192 cm 110 kg Keenan Palasia’s 2017 NYC per game season averages included 103 running metres on 10.5 hit ups and 24.5 tackles (tackling efficiency of 90%)in 55 minutes. In total Keenan Palasia ran for 1 651 metres from 169 hit ups, made five line breaks, eighteen off loads and 391 tackles. On nine occasions Keenan Palasia played all eighty minutes in a match including a seven match stretch from Round Eight against the Rabbitohs to Round Sixteen against the Raiders.

On nine occasions Keenan Palasia ran for in excess of 100 metres including Round Eighteen against the Storm when he ran for 160 metres and on twelve occasions he made in excess of twenty tackles in a match including making 36 in a Round Ten match against Manly.

When contracted to the Titans Keegan Palasia played the 2013 season in the CC Cup competition for Gold Coast Green, captaining the side and scoring two tries and in 2014 he played in the MM Cup competition for Gold Coast Green scoring a try on the season.

Keenan Palasia runs exceptionally hard and there is little subtlety to his running, it is straight and hard and another positive is that he will not just run upright, he will drop his should into the defender making it difficult if not impossible for him to be stopped easily or by a single defender. His running style means that he throws self-preservation out of the window, and fires up his team mates with his charges at full speed into a set forward defensive line.

Keenan Palasia will on occasion take advantage of slow defenders by angling back behind the play the ball, but outside of that he just flat out runs full throttle every time he touches the ball and runs fast and will fight for a quick play the ball every time. If anything he is more effective in the second half of games where his running style begins to wear down the opposition. Keenan Palasia runs very much front on and perpendicular to the defensive line and uses his strong lower body to power through tackles.

With the power that he has in his legs when opposing defenders try to tackle him around the legs, it is almost impossible for them to bring Keenan Palasia down quickly which enables him to either break the tackle completely or to off load to his support runners as he pushes through the defensive line. When they look to tackle him around the chest his upper body strength enables him to absorb the initial contact and also to maintain his balance and momentum.

Defensively Keenan Palasia is able to engage and defeat opposing attacker one on one regardless of size. He does not just charge up trying to hit attacker’s chest on but Keenan Palasia is clinical about how and where he hits the opponent and sets a solid base with his legs and drives directly into their body. In short he is a difference marker with his defence. Even though he does not necessary have great straight speed, his lateral movement is very good and on the majority of occasions is able to mirror the movement of smaller attacker looking to exploit a perceived speed and/or mobility difference.

Keenan Palasia defends in the centre of the ruck and is best suited in the long run defending there and adds a degree of intimidation to any forward pack he plays for. Like with his attack his functional strength and his height with its associated leverage benefits aids his defensive game by being able to generate leverage in his tackles and he can therefore quickly get the attacker off balance.

Keenan Palasia is currently playing for the Wynnum Manly Seagulls and by the end of this season should have consolidated his place in the Seagulls Queensland Cup side and will have gained invaluable experience.

In terms of position, Keenan Palasia has the size and power to be a key contributor in the front row for a team but also shows enough speed and skill not to be purely a battering ram but a front rower who can create opportunities on the fringes of the ruck and create opportunities for his team. Keenan Palasia will benefit greatly from a year or two in the QCup where he can hone his skills and continue to get stronger and certainly has the potential to be a solid contributor at the NRL level in a couple of seasons.

Cronulla Sharks front rower Ava Seumanu***a for me has a similar playing style to that of Keenan Palasia, both are big strong powerful front rowers who are slowly but surely building up their strength, power and stamina to push themselves into NRL calculations in the front row in coming seasons.