The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
In my previous life:
Australian Schoolboys & National Championships 2016
- Thread starter Hugh Jarse
- Start date
- Status
2017 Thread is up.
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/co...schoolboys-national-championships-2017.17249/
Please take the discussion on next years National Champs, Schoolboy and Schoolboy Barbarian Teams there.
Some relevant posts will be moved from here to there in the near future.
http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/co...schoolboys-national-championships-2017.17249/
Please take the discussion on next years National Champs, Schoolboy and Schoolboy Barbarian Teams there.
Some relevant posts will be moved from here to there in the near future.
amirite
Chilla Wilson (44)
Here's the issue - the Qld development pathway won't touch him because he's signed to the Rebels (where he's ACTUALLY from, not Qld
).Would probably have to make the team not via the state carnival.
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
It's a Schools comp, where does he go to School? What else matters
amirite
Chilla Wilson (44)
In terms of being selected for the Qld Schools? Well, he hasn't been included in their development programs so you tell me.
SOLE334
Jimmy Flynn (14)
I am aware he has had plenty of injuries thats kept him out of a fair bit of action and a contributing factor to his non selection in the gps 1,2 & 3 teams early this year. . along with some other key names like; #6 for bshs Josh Fenner; TSS #5 Angus Blythe.
Which development programs? I am aware the REDS have the U/16 & U/18's pathway development program BUT thats nothing to do with the gps schoolboys.
He could always be(if healthy and performing) make the CST. . . and make it from there, if Qld 1 & 2 dont pick him, qhich would be a mistake MO.
I understand quite a few from the CST made both schoolboys and Baa Baas this yr.
amirite
Chilla Wilson (44)
This is certainly not what I've heard, but time will tell.
SOLE334
Jimmy Flynn (14)
This post continues the discussions between the DARK side and the HEAVENLY side of RUGBY & RL as preferred pathways for our talented up and coming footballers.
As opinions and hard core passion to "fight for" the next gen of gladiators, each side are doing everything to affect and influence(wishful thinking rather actuality. . .I think), the CODEs stakeholders to ensure potential talent and athletic U/18's are secured and locked in.
The Titans unofficial forum page for followers and fans known as : League of Titans, has gone through some amazingly detailed researching to profile many of our gps key players(current) and it is an interesting read.
Some of his source of information , ,not so reliable, but will let it go for the amazing effort his put in. I wonder if hes aa TI or a player agent. . .(joking).
Here's a Sample fy curiosity and staying informed.
Title :"Talented junior players not yet linked to Titans and maybe should"
Declan Day. Expect to see the powerful young rugby front rower lining up in the NYC competition in 2017 rather than in rugby. Prior to moving to The Southport School three years ago, the young forward was carving an impressive junior rugby league career for himself and in fact was awarded the award for the best Under 15 player in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League competition. Over the last couple of years however, Declan Day has focussed primarily on rugby where he has played three years in the TSS First XV and in fact this season he also captained the First XV which is a huge honour, his vice-captain this year and likely First XV captain next year is Titans linked Max Dowd who played fullback in the TSS First XV for the last two years.
Earlier this season Declan Day was selected in the GPS 2 side for the Queensland Schools rugby trials and after a number of solid performances was rewarded with selection in the Queensland Two side for the Australian Schoolboy championships, unfortunately his side did not have a great Australian Championships, but they did defeated the Queensland One side in a definite grudge match.
I was fortunately enough to see five of TSS’s matches this season in the GPS First XV competition, three of those matches were live with the other two being live streams. I also watched the live streams of the four matches that Queensland Two played in the Australian Schoolboys rugby championships in Sydney, the matches were played in terrible conditions, specifically in driving rain and very muddy conditions especially the later matches. Declan Day started in three of those games and came off the bench in the other all in the front row.
At around 186 cm and just over 100kg, Declan Day is a powerful runner of the ball who runs with a slight jink, usually off his right foot, in his step prior to impacting the defensive line even though in rugby there is limited space between when Declan Day receives the ball and hits the defensive line, however when he does have some space, he is able to build up significant momentum, for example in Round One of the GPS competition against Toowoomba Grammar School he split the line wide open on the edge of the ruck, and whilst he was caught by the cover defence, he does show some reasonable pace when in the clear for a player his size. Also when he has impacted the defensive line he continues to pump his legs and gain extra metres after contact. As noted he is a solidly built young front rower with a low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle.
Like his attacking game, his defensive methodology is simply constructed and enacted. 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. His lateral movement is reasonable for a front rower but he will on occasion have some difficulty with smaller faster stepping opposition players due to the fact that he does not redirect his feet well once he has committed to a vector towards his opponent. Another impressive aspect of his play from a defensive stand point is the speed at which he gets around the field, in the GPS games that I have seen him play, he is always in and around the ball, constantly getting low to disrupt the momentum of the attackers.
As I said previously whilst he has spent the last three years making a name for himself in rugby with TSS, his size, strength speed and power for me make him a young man who would thrive in the centre of a rugby league field. He has the ideal size for a rugby league front rower and with his build would appear to have the capacity to add additional weight without compromising his speed and mobility around the field.
Over the course of the GPS First XV based on statistics developed by the Green and Gold Schoolboy rugby forum (credit where credit is due), Declan Day carried the ball 59 times and made 39 tackles in addition to missing five, meaning that he had an 88% success rate from a defensive statistical perspective. From a rugby league perspective these statistics may appear to under whelm but not from a rugby perspective when you also factor in all of the work he does around the ground in relation to the rucks and mauls both from an attacking and defensive perspective as well as line outs etc.
From a player comparison perspective, it is impossible for me not to see a similar playing to that of Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen as a hard runner who has a low centre of gravity and can also do some damage in the defensive aspects of the game.
Harry Wilson. Harry Wilson is a giant young rugby forward from St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace and was for me the stand out forward in the GPS First XV competition this year. Earlier in the year, he was selected in the GPS 2 side for the Queensland Schoolboys rugby trials in Ballymore. Those trials were the first time that I had seen him play and to say that he stood out would be an understatement. His ability to off load effectively in traffic was eye opening to say the least and also his elite athleticism for a player his size was exceptional.
From those trials Harry Wilson was selected in the Queensland Two side for the Australian Schoolboys championships and once again he was a standout which ultimately led to his selection the Australian Barbarians Schoolboy side. Unfortunately he was unable to play due to injury but a great feat none the less to make the side as such a young age but he did get a late call up to the Australian School’s side. In the Australian Schoolboy trials which were streamed live, Harry Wilson once again stood out for me due to his freakish athleticism. It was on display in a pool match against the ACT when he charged down an attempted clearing kick by the ACT fly half and then outpaced the cover defence in a 50m sprint to the line, Queensland Two went on to win that match 22 – 10.
For Gregory Terrace in the GPS First XV competition Harry Wilson was an ever present at lock across the nine rounds of the competition which was ultimately won by Brisbane State High School. Harry Wilson’s stats, curtesy of Greenandgoldrugby.com were 71 hit ups, 96 tackles and 13 missed tackles for a tackling efficiency of 88%. I have already noted his ability to off load the ball under heavy pressure and the stats from the website indicate that he offloaded eight times in contact and three more times prior to the defensive line. He also scored three tries.
Due to the superb coverage of the GPS First XV competition via live streams I have been able to watch seven of Harry Wilson’s eight matches either live or via streams both live and on replay and he really does stand out. A synopsis of Harry Wilson’s skill set could be seen in Gregory Terrace’s Round Two clash against Brisbane Church Grammar School (Churchie) when early in the second half, Harry Wilson burst onto a flat pass from his half, smashed through the defensive line and offloaded a great short ball to fellow forward Harry Webster who scored untouched under the posts.
In Round Three in a big win against Ipswich Grammar School when early in the second half once again he burst through the defensive line down the right hand side of the field before offloading a great pass under pressure to Australian Schools winger Will Eadie who scored in the corner. In another example of his athleticism Harry Wilson in Round Nine against St Joseph’s Nudgee College he once again charged down an attempted clearing kick, kicked ahead twice before scoring.
His ability to burst through defensive lines and then offload under extreme pressure is the most outstanding feature of his game and the key point is that the skills that he utilises in rugby are transferrable to rugby league. Harry Wilson has impressive speed off the mark even against set defensive lines when he picks and drives off the back of a ruck or mall he is still able to promote the ball through the power and speed in which he impacts the defensive line, he gets down low and uses an impressive leg drive to maintain the leverage he has generated through the core of his body to promote the ball further. Where he is almost unstoppable is when he running wider of the congestion off his half. He is able to time his rights to receive the ball flat and not lose momentum as was evidenced by the break he made that set up a try for Australian Schools winger Will Eadie.
His offloading skills though are exceptional, for Gregory Terrace in the GPS First XV competition he regularly as able to get his right hand free and offload to support players. Some examples have already been noted above and it is clear that as his team mates adjusted to his play the more effective his off loads became.
He is aggressive in defence whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or 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. His 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 off the back of a ruck or mall.
His 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 regardless of the size of the opponent he was able to clear them out to allow his team to get a quick clearance of the ball.
He is still eligible for GPS First XV rugby next year and will be the stand out player for Gregory Terrace and their leader both on and off the field. Harry Wilson will also be one of the first players chosen in the GPS trial sides and be in serious contention for both the Queensland One and Australian schoolboy’s rugby side for the annual matches against New Zealand Schools after making the Australian Barbarians side this year. From rugby league perspective he has been a rugby league fan all of his life and already received interest from multiple NRL sides including South’s Sydney. He will also certainly be a rugby league second rower upon transition and be a great wide running, offloading runner with superb athletic skills.
From a player comparison perspective it is impossible not to see aspects of Sonny Bill Williams in his play with his superb athletic abilities and also his strength and power in both his attack and defensive and his incredible offloading ability. Regardless of the code this young man is going to be a star who will wow supporters of rugby or rugby league with his exceptional skills and athletic ability.
Quinton Mahina. The outstanding young Brisbane State High School outside centre as a key component in BSHS’s GPS premiership success where he was the captain and inspirational leader of the side on their way to the GPS First XV Championship. Quinton Mahina made the GPS Two trial side for the Queensland Schools Rugby trials and as a result of his positive play in those trials he was selected in the Queensland One side for the Australian Schools trials.
A key feature of the play of the talented outside centre is his strong running which was a feature of his game against Western Australia in the Australian Schools trials in Sydney, a couple of powerful bursts early in the second half of that game led to a try to Queensland One winger Will Eadie. Similarly in a superb win over eventual Championship winners New South Wales Two Quinton Mahina’s powerful running led to him scoring two tries in a 19 – 13 victory. Early in the first half after some strong running by the Queensland One forwards the ball was spread wide and Quinton Mahina ran a great inside shoulder route to dive over under the posts. A different style of run led to his second try for the match when early in the second half the ball was spun out wide and Quinton Mahina was able to beat his opposite number on the outside with a great in and away to score out wide to give Queensland One the ascendancy which they never relinquished.
As noted he was the captain of the GPS First XV premierships winning BSHS side which won seven of their eight games and won the premiership in the last minutes of the final round when they came from behind to beat The Southport School (TSS) which had in their side Titans contracted fullback and TSS vice-captain Max Dowd. In fact after the siren Quinton Mahina actually kicked the final conversion in a fitting tribute to his time at BSHS. For BSHS in the 2016 GPS competition, Quinton Mahina was known for his powerful running and crunching defence and also the subtlety of his passing. Against Brisbane Boys College in Round Six he was almost unstoppable and was named the BSHS player of the match in their 13 – 12 victory and similarly in a Round Eight clash against Nudgee College he was at his dynamic best in a 29 – 28 victory, on two occasions he set up his outside supports superbly but unfortunately the ball went to ground on both occasions with the try line beckoning.
He has recently been named in the Queensland Tonga Open Rugby side as a development player from the Logan/Inala side and in December 2015 was part of the Queensland Sevens side where amongst other highlights scored a 90m intercept try against Sydney Barbarians and also in 2015 was part of the Queensland Gold Cup U17 squad, he was part of the U15 squad in 2013 where he won a couple of player of the match awards.
From an attacking perspective he is a straight hard runner when he has the ball in hand. He has shown the ability to run both an inside and outside shoulder route and he runs both with pace and power and attracts multiple defenders to try to stop him, his quick recycling of the ball was also a key feature of his rugby play for both Queensland and BSHS. When he impacts the defensive line he drops his shoulder into the defenders and regularly bumped off multiple defenders in a single run. Another key attribute which was mentioned earlier is that he is also a talented distributor. He understood that his style of play in the GPS First XV competition meant that he attracted multiple defenders and he became adept at delayed sleight of hand passes right at the defensive line which meant that the defensive line could not react to the aspect change in time to prevent ground being made by the support runner.
A spectator I was sitting near in one match commented that Quinton Mahina had a violent tackling style and that in hindsight that is extremely accurate, he really came out of the line on multiple occasions and literally smashed his opposite number on a regular basis forcing multiple turnovers, you could see opposing attackers looking to see where he was positioned in the defensive line prior to them taking the ball. A transition to rugby league would mean that Quinton Mahina would need to cut down the times that he looks to come so hard out of the line but not eliminate this aspect of his defensive game totally.
2016 was the last year at BSHS for Quinton Mahina and his services would clearly be in demand in both rugby and rugby league as it is difficult to find young players with his combination of speed, power and sure hands. In rugby he played outside centre for both BSHS and representative side and that is where he would play in rugby league.
From a rugby league player comparison perspective either of Canterbury Bulldogs Morris brothers would be good from a playing comparison perspective, that being as a centre who has a myriad of ways to beat you one on one as well as the great ability to set up his support players. Add in a viscous defensive methodology and you have the ingredients of a talented young rugby league centre.
Fraser McReight. The Australian Schools representative was the stand out player throughout the 2016 GPS season for Brisbane Grammar School, his third straight season where he played First XV GPS rugby and deservedly made the Australian Schools side and came off the bench in the second half in their recent match against New Zealand Schools and along with a couple of other substitutes got Australian back on level terms with his courage and enthusiasm at the break down and around the field in general. He also starred against Fiji U18’s and in that match actually captained the side and led by example all afternoon against a big aggressive Fiji forward pack.
Prior to the commencement of the 2016 GPS First XV season, Fraser McReight was selected at open side flanker in the GPS One side for the Queensland Schools trials and as a consequence of his play there was selected in the Queensland One side for the Australian Schools trials and from there he was selected for their tour of Samoa and New Zealand which culminated in the Australian School’s test loss to New Zealand Schools recently where he came off the bench in the second half and added a deal of enthusiasm and desperation to the Australian Schools forward pack with his defence and attack on the ball winning one or two critical penalties when New Zealand forwards failed to release the ball when attacking Australia’s line.
Unfortunately for Fraser McReight Brisbane Grammar School had another difficult GPS rugby season, winning only one game but that should not detract from the performance of the talented open side flanker. In fact Brisbane Grammar School has only won two games over the course of the last three GPS rugby seasons. He was literally everywhere in both attack and defence and in one match against TSS which I saw he was even moved out to the centres in an effort to combat the speed and power of star TSS centre Tautau Kepaoa, and to be fair he handled the transition for that one match very well. For Brisbane Grammar in addition to being the First XV captain he spent the majority of the season playing in either the Number 7 or number 8 jersey outside of the one game in the centres.
Fraser McReight is a powerful runner of the ball and once he has generated momentum he is very difficult to stop and regularly has been able to drag defenders with him after initial contact has been made. In the second half against TSS even though his team were being beaten heavily, he on one occasion in the second half, he made at least 15 metres carrying a couple of defenders with him when he picked up the ball from the back of a ruck and just charged full stream at the defensive line. Once he is in space, he actually has very good speed, I would consider it above average when analysing his speed from a rugby league forward’s perspective, to add to the difficulties for the defensive line, he runs with a high knee lift and also has a powerful right hand fend. Against Toowoomba Grammar School on one occasion he shook up two defenders with fends, including the blind side flanker on his way to a run of around 40 metres or so.
Defensively the most impressive aspect of Fraser McReight’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. For Brisbane Grammar in the GPS competition he continually have to make up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions and then clean out in the rucks and mauls and then he was also the first Grammar player to take the ball up. Whilst his stamina is impressive, so is his initial contact, he uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier. He is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role he is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward he has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.
He will also certainly be a rugby league second rower upon transition and be a great wide running, offloading runner with very good athletic skills and the heart and desire to succeed no matter what.
From a player comparison perspective think of former Balmain Tiger Wayne Pearce as a hard running hard tackling all effort type of player who will inspire the players around through his actions rather than words. He is a leader full stop, whether he has a “C” next to his name or not in the program.
Will Eadie. The young Gregory Terrace flyer was one of the best for Australian Schools against New Zealand Schools recently and in that game scored a very good try when he raced after a cross field kick to score to bring the scores level midway through the second half. The young man who is being chased by a number of NRL clubs, had a stellar season in the GPS First XV competition. His statistics which were sourced from the greenandgoldrugby.com website bear that out. Will Eadie along with scoring a competition leading 13 tries from eight games made 10 line breaks after carrying the ball 53 times and on 70% of those occasions made more than 5 metres over the advantage line. He also made 24 tackles to complement his attacking statistics.
Prior to the commencement of the 2016 GPS First XV season, Will Eadie was selected on the right wing in the GPS One side for the Queensland Schools trials and as a consequence of his play there was selected in the Queensland One side for the Australian Schools trials and from there he was selected for their tour of Samoa and New Zealand which culminated in the School’s test loss to New Zealand recently where Will Eadie played the entire match on the right wing.
In the Australian Schools championships Queensland One had a tough competition but Will Eadie was a standout including scoring Queensland One’s only try with a great solo effort in a 42 – 16 loss to Victoria, who were the surprise packets of the championships. Will Eadie also played in matches against Samoa Schools, Fiji U18’s, where he scored three tries and New Zealand Barbarian’s to have a very successful tour overall.
The reason Will Eadie is so successful on a football field is his exceptional speed and elusiveness, he is the fastest player I have ever seen on a field and when you add in his elusiveness, he is a nightmare for opposing defences. In relation to his elusiveness the thing that makes it play even better is his ability to change direction with no loss of speed, this enables him to use the sideline exceptionally well with an in and away. When the opposing defender’s momentum slows just for a split second, Will Eadie is away down the sideline and will not get caught and also regularly also beats the fullback who no matter how fast they are cannot recover the ground. In the tour match against Fiji U18’s Will Eadie’s second try came from this situation when the ball was passed out wide from an Australian line-out win and Eadie stood up his opposite winger to score in the corner. In that match his third try was a result of his timing and anticipation when he intercepted a loose pass by Fiji and then raced 50 metres to score under the posts in the last moments of the match.
Will Eadie 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 Australian Schools trials for example on his right wing he was up against the likes of New South Wales One winger Yirribi Jaffer-Williams from Hunters Hill, who also played for Australian Schools and he handled him very well. In defence against the bigger outside backs running around, Will Eadie 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. At the opposite end of the spectrum, this season in the GPS rugby competition he was also up against fellow speedster’s like TSS left wing Dan Burns and he was similarly effective against those type of players as well.
From a rugby stand point another key facet of his game is his chasing of kicks, as noted above this resulted in a great try for him against New Zealand Schools. His ability to put pressure on the fullback when chasing grubber or box kicks means that the fullback will either rush the catch and make a mistake or be caught by Will Eadie immediately when he takes possession of the ball. In short he makes a defensive clearing kick into an attacking weapon. Evidence of this could be seen in Round Nine of the GPS season, being the final round when Gregory Terrace half Sam Kirk put up a box kick which Will Eadie chased hard and was able to retrieve in front of the Nudgee fullback to score in a tight 19 – 15 victory for Gregory Terrace. Similarly in the match against Fiji U18’s his outside centre put in a nice low attacking kick which again Will Eadie was able to chase down in front of the cover defence to score out wide for his first of three tries for the match.
From a courage stand point Will Eadie also passes any objective measurement that can be considered when evaluating this criteria. Against New Zealand Schools for example he had a number of box kicks put up in his direction and each time he took possession of the ball even though he was under extreme duress on also every occasion. Also on a number of occasion late in the second half when Australian Schools were under extreme pressure in their own 20 metre area, Will Eadie was one of the first players present to take a carry into the massive New Zealand Schools forward pack and then quickly recycled the ball to try to clear the area for the Australian Schools side.
As noted above Will Eadie is being chased by a number of NRL clubs and the money being offered is more than the Reds can match, so I would anticipate that come the 2017 NYC season, Will Eadie will be on the end of a rugby league back line causing all sorts of havoc with his speed, elusiveness and acceleration. In terms of a rugby league position he will be a winger pure and simple. He may not have the prototypical size of a modern rugby league winger but he has speed to burn and that is something that cannot be taught, in fact I would suggest that should he sign a rugby league contract he would instantly become the fastest player in the game, he is seriously that fast.
From a rugby league player perspective, discounting the speed perspective as already noted I do not believe that there is a current or recent past player with anywhere close to Will Eadie’s speed, I would suggest a player with similar attributes in terms of elusiveness and the ability to find the try line would be former Queensland State of Origin and Australian Test winger Kerry Boustead.
As opinions and hard core passion to "fight for" the next gen of gladiators, each side are doing everything to affect and influence(wishful thinking rather actuality. . .I think), the CODEs stakeholders to ensure potential talent and athletic U/18's are secured and locked in.
The Titans unofficial forum page for followers and fans known as : League of Titans, has gone through some amazingly detailed researching to profile many of our gps key players(current) and it is an interesting read.
Some of his source of information , ,not so reliable, but will let it go for the amazing effort his put in. I wonder if hes aa TI or a player agent. . .(joking).
Here's a Sample fy curiosity and staying informed.
Title :"Talented junior players not yet linked to Titans and maybe should"
Declan Day. Expect to see the powerful young rugby front rower lining up in the NYC competition in 2017 rather than in rugby. Prior to moving to The Southport School three years ago, the young forward was carving an impressive junior rugby league career for himself and in fact was awarded the award for the best Under 15 player in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League competition. Over the last couple of years however, Declan Day has focussed primarily on rugby where he has played three years in the TSS First XV and in fact this season he also captained the First XV which is a huge honour, his vice-captain this year and likely First XV captain next year is Titans linked Max Dowd who played fullback in the TSS First XV for the last two years.
Earlier this season Declan Day was selected in the GPS 2 side for the Queensland Schools rugby trials and after a number of solid performances was rewarded with selection in the Queensland Two side for the Australian Schoolboy championships, unfortunately his side did not have a great Australian Championships, but they did defeated the Queensland One side in a definite grudge match.
I was fortunately enough to see five of TSS’s matches this season in the GPS First XV competition, three of those matches were live with the other two being live streams. I also watched the live streams of the four matches that Queensland Two played in the Australian Schoolboys rugby championships in Sydney, the matches were played in terrible conditions, specifically in driving rain and very muddy conditions especially the later matches. Declan Day started in three of those games and came off the bench in the other all in the front row.
At around 186 cm and just over 100kg, Declan Day is a powerful runner of the ball who runs with a slight jink, usually off his right foot, in his step prior to impacting the defensive line even though in rugby there is limited space between when Declan Day receives the ball and hits the defensive line, however when he does have some space, he is able to build up significant momentum, for example in Round One of the GPS competition against Toowoomba Grammar School he split the line wide open on the edge of the ruck, and whilst he was caught by the cover defence, he does show some reasonable pace when in the clear for a player his size. Also when he has impacted the defensive line he continues to pump his legs and gain extra metres after contact. As noted he is a solidly built young front rower with a low centre of gravity, which makes him quite difficult to tackle.
Like his attacking game, his defensive methodology is simply constructed and enacted. 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. His lateral movement is reasonable for a front rower but he will on occasion have some difficulty with smaller faster stepping opposition players due to the fact that he does not redirect his feet well once he has committed to a vector towards his opponent. Another impressive aspect of his play from a defensive stand point is the speed at which he gets around the field, in the GPS games that I have seen him play, he is always in and around the ball, constantly getting low to disrupt the momentum of the attackers.
As I said previously whilst he has spent the last three years making a name for himself in rugby with TSS, his size, strength speed and power for me make him a young man who would thrive in the centre of a rugby league field. He has the ideal size for a rugby league front rower and with his build would appear to have the capacity to add additional weight without compromising his speed and mobility around the field.
Over the course of the GPS First XV based on statistics developed by the Green and Gold Schoolboy rugby forum (credit where credit is due), Declan Day carried the ball 59 times and made 39 tackles in addition to missing five, meaning that he had an 88% success rate from a defensive statistical perspective. From a rugby league perspective these statistics may appear to under whelm but not from a rugby perspective when you also factor in all of the work he does around the ground in relation to the rucks and mauls both from an attacking and defensive perspective as well as line outs etc.
From a player comparison perspective, it is impossible for me not to see a similar playing to that of Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen as a hard runner who has a low centre of gravity and can also do some damage in the defensive aspects of the game.
Harry Wilson. Harry Wilson is a giant young rugby forward from St Joseph’s College Gregory Terrace and was for me the stand out forward in the GPS First XV competition this year. Earlier in the year, he was selected in the GPS 2 side for the Queensland Schoolboys rugby trials in Ballymore. Those trials were the first time that I had seen him play and to say that he stood out would be an understatement. His ability to off load effectively in traffic was eye opening to say the least and also his elite athleticism for a player his size was exceptional.
From those trials Harry Wilson was selected in the Queensland Two side for the Australian Schoolboys championships and once again he was a standout which ultimately led to his selection the Australian Barbarians Schoolboy side. Unfortunately he was unable to play due to injury but a great feat none the less to make the side as such a young age but he did get a late call up to the Australian School’s side. In the Australian Schoolboy trials which were streamed live, Harry Wilson once again stood out for me due to his freakish athleticism. It was on display in a pool match against the ACT when he charged down an attempted clearing kick by the ACT fly half and then outpaced the cover defence in a 50m sprint to the line, Queensland Two went on to win that match 22 – 10.
For Gregory Terrace in the GPS First XV competition Harry Wilson was an ever present at lock across the nine rounds of the competition which was ultimately won by Brisbane State High School. Harry Wilson’s stats, curtesy of Greenandgoldrugby.com were 71 hit ups, 96 tackles and 13 missed tackles for a tackling efficiency of 88%. I have already noted his ability to off load the ball under heavy pressure and the stats from the website indicate that he offloaded eight times in contact and three more times prior to the defensive line. He also scored three tries.
Due to the superb coverage of the GPS First XV competition via live streams I have been able to watch seven of Harry Wilson’s eight matches either live or via streams both live and on replay and he really does stand out. A synopsis of Harry Wilson’s skill set could be seen in Gregory Terrace’s Round Two clash against Brisbane Church Grammar School (Churchie) when early in the second half, Harry Wilson burst onto a flat pass from his half, smashed through the defensive line and offloaded a great short ball to fellow forward Harry Webster who scored untouched under the posts.
In Round Three in a big win against Ipswich Grammar School when early in the second half once again he burst through the defensive line down the right hand side of the field before offloading a great pass under pressure to Australian Schools winger Will Eadie who scored in the corner. In another example of his athleticism Harry Wilson in Round Nine against St Joseph’s Nudgee College he once again charged down an attempted clearing kick, kicked ahead twice before scoring.
His ability to burst through defensive lines and then offload under extreme pressure is the most outstanding feature of his game and the key point is that the skills that he utilises in rugby are transferrable to rugby league. Harry Wilson has impressive speed off the mark even against set defensive lines when he picks and drives off the back of a ruck or mall he is still able to promote the ball through the power and speed in which he impacts the defensive line, he gets down low and uses an impressive leg drive to maintain the leverage he has generated through the core of his body to promote the ball further. Where he is almost unstoppable is when he running wider of the congestion off his half. He is able to time his rights to receive the ball flat and not lose momentum as was evidenced by the break he made that set up a try for Australian Schools winger Will Eadie.
His offloading skills though are exceptional, for Gregory Terrace in the GPS First XV competition he regularly as able to get his right hand free and offload to support players. Some examples have already been noted above and it is clear that as his team mates adjusted to his play the more effective his off loads became.
He is aggressive in defence whether he is defending in the centre of the ruck or 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. His 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 off the back of a ruck or mall.
His 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 regardless of the size of the opponent he was able to clear them out to allow his team to get a quick clearance of the ball.
He is still eligible for GPS First XV rugby next year and will be the stand out player for Gregory Terrace and their leader both on and off the field. Harry Wilson will also be one of the first players chosen in the GPS trial sides and be in serious contention for both the Queensland One and Australian schoolboy’s rugby side for the annual matches against New Zealand Schools after making the Australian Barbarians side this year. From rugby league perspective he has been a rugby league fan all of his life and already received interest from multiple NRL sides including South’s Sydney. He will also certainly be a rugby league second rower upon transition and be a great wide running, offloading runner with superb athletic skills.
From a player comparison perspective it is impossible not to see aspects of Sonny Bill Williams in his play with his superb athletic abilities and also his strength and power in both his attack and defensive and his incredible offloading ability. Regardless of the code this young man is going to be a star who will wow supporters of rugby or rugby league with his exceptional skills and athletic ability.
Quinton Mahina. The outstanding young Brisbane State High School outside centre as a key component in BSHS’s GPS premiership success where he was the captain and inspirational leader of the side on their way to the GPS First XV Championship. Quinton Mahina made the GPS Two trial side for the Queensland Schools Rugby trials and as a result of his positive play in those trials he was selected in the Queensland One side for the Australian Schools trials.
A key feature of the play of the talented outside centre is his strong running which was a feature of his game against Western Australia in the Australian Schools trials in Sydney, a couple of powerful bursts early in the second half of that game led to a try to Queensland One winger Will Eadie. Similarly in a superb win over eventual Championship winners New South Wales Two Quinton Mahina’s powerful running led to him scoring two tries in a 19 – 13 victory. Early in the first half after some strong running by the Queensland One forwards the ball was spread wide and Quinton Mahina ran a great inside shoulder route to dive over under the posts. A different style of run led to his second try for the match when early in the second half the ball was spun out wide and Quinton Mahina was able to beat his opposite number on the outside with a great in and away to score out wide to give Queensland One the ascendancy which they never relinquished.
As noted he was the captain of the GPS First XV premierships winning BSHS side which won seven of their eight games and won the premiership in the last minutes of the final round when they came from behind to beat The Southport School (TSS) which had in their side Titans contracted fullback and TSS vice-captain Max Dowd. In fact after the siren Quinton Mahina actually kicked the final conversion in a fitting tribute to his time at BSHS. For BSHS in the 2016 GPS competition, Quinton Mahina was known for his powerful running and crunching defence and also the subtlety of his passing. Against Brisbane Boys College in Round Six he was almost unstoppable and was named the BSHS player of the match in their 13 – 12 victory and similarly in a Round Eight clash against Nudgee College he was at his dynamic best in a 29 – 28 victory, on two occasions he set up his outside supports superbly but unfortunately the ball went to ground on both occasions with the try line beckoning.
He has recently been named in the Queensland Tonga Open Rugby side as a development player from the Logan/Inala side and in December 2015 was part of the Queensland Sevens side where amongst other highlights scored a 90m intercept try against Sydney Barbarians and also in 2015 was part of the Queensland Gold Cup U17 squad, he was part of the U15 squad in 2013 where he won a couple of player of the match awards.
From an attacking perspective he is a straight hard runner when he has the ball in hand. He has shown the ability to run both an inside and outside shoulder route and he runs both with pace and power and attracts multiple defenders to try to stop him, his quick recycling of the ball was also a key feature of his rugby play for both Queensland and BSHS. When he impacts the defensive line he drops his shoulder into the defenders and regularly bumped off multiple defenders in a single run. Another key attribute which was mentioned earlier is that he is also a talented distributor. He understood that his style of play in the GPS First XV competition meant that he attracted multiple defenders and he became adept at delayed sleight of hand passes right at the defensive line which meant that the defensive line could not react to the aspect change in time to prevent ground being made by the support runner.
A spectator I was sitting near in one match commented that Quinton Mahina had a violent tackling style and that in hindsight that is extremely accurate, he really came out of the line on multiple occasions and literally smashed his opposite number on a regular basis forcing multiple turnovers, you could see opposing attackers looking to see where he was positioned in the defensive line prior to them taking the ball. A transition to rugby league would mean that Quinton Mahina would need to cut down the times that he looks to come so hard out of the line but not eliminate this aspect of his defensive game totally.
2016 was the last year at BSHS for Quinton Mahina and his services would clearly be in demand in both rugby and rugby league as it is difficult to find young players with his combination of speed, power and sure hands. In rugby he played outside centre for both BSHS and representative side and that is where he would play in rugby league.
From a rugby league player comparison perspective either of Canterbury Bulldogs Morris brothers would be good from a playing comparison perspective, that being as a centre who has a myriad of ways to beat you one on one as well as the great ability to set up his support players. Add in a viscous defensive methodology and you have the ingredients of a talented young rugby league centre.
Fraser McReight. The Australian Schools representative was the stand out player throughout the 2016 GPS season for Brisbane Grammar School, his third straight season where he played First XV GPS rugby and deservedly made the Australian Schools side and came off the bench in the second half in their recent match against New Zealand Schools and along with a couple of other substitutes got Australian back on level terms with his courage and enthusiasm at the break down and around the field in general. He also starred against Fiji U18’s and in that match actually captained the side and led by example all afternoon against a big aggressive Fiji forward pack.
Prior to the commencement of the 2016 GPS First XV season, Fraser McReight was selected at open side flanker in the GPS One side for the Queensland Schools trials and as a consequence of his play there was selected in the Queensland One side for the Australian Schools trials and from there he was selected for their tour of Samoa and New Zealand which culminated in the Australian School’s test loss to New Zealand Schools recently where he came off the bench in the second half and added a deal of enthusiasm and desperation to the Australian Schools forward pack with his defence and attack on the ball winning one or two critical penalties when New Zealand forwards failed to release the ball when attacking Australia’s line.
Unfortunately for Fraser McReight Brisbane Grammar School had another difficult GPS rugby season, winning only one game but that should not detract from the performance of the talented open side flanker. In fact Brisbane Grammar School has only won two games over the course of the last three GPS rugby seasons. He was literally everywhere in both attack and defence and in one match against TSS which I saw he was even moved out to the centres in an effort to combat the speed and power of star TSS centre Tautau Kepaoa, and to be fair he handled the transition for that one match very well. For Brisbane Grammar in addition to being the First XV captain he spent the majority of the season playing in either the Number 7 or number 8 jersey outside of the one game in the centres.
Fraser McReight is a powerful runner of the ball and once he has generated momentum he is very difficult to stop and regularly has been able to drag defenders with him after initial contact has been made. In the second half against TSS even though his team were being beaten heavily, he on one occasion in the second half, he made at least 15 metres carrying a couple of defenders with him when he picked up the ball from the back of a ruck and just charged full stream at the defensive line. Once he is in space, he actually has very good speed, I would consider it above average when analysing his speed from a rugby league forward’s perspective, to add to the difficulties for the defensive line, he runs with a high knee lift and also has a powerful right hand fend. Against Toowoomba Grammar School on one occasion he shook up two defenders with fends, including the blind side flanker on his way to a run of around 40 metres or so.
Defensively the most impressive aspect of Fraser McReight’s play is his ability to make effective tackle after effective tackle. For Brisbane Grammar in the GPS competition he continually have to make up to three and four tackles in a row on multiple occasions and then clean out in the rucks and mauls and then he was also the first Grammar player to take the ball up. Whilst his stamina is impressive, so is his initial contact, he uses his strength and leverage to hit the ball carrier hard forcing momentum changes to the ball carrier. He is also adept at wrapping up the ball and preventing offloads as he uses his functional strength to engage ball carriers. Defensively in a covering role he is also very effective as even though he is a big strong forward he has very good catch up speed and a solid low tackling technique from a side aspect.
He will also certainly be a rugby league second rower upon transition and be a great wide running, offloading runner with very good athletic skills and the heart and desire to succeed no matter what.
From a player comparison perspective think of former Balmain Tiger Wayne Pearce as a hard running hard tackling all effort type of player who will inspire the players around through his actions rather than words. He is a leader full stop, whether he has a “C” next to his name or not in the program.
Will Eadie. The young Gregory Terrace flyer was one of the best for Australian Schools against New Zealand Schools recently and in that game scored a very good try when he raced after a cross field kick to score to bring the scores level midway through the second half. The young man who is being chased by a number of NRL clubs, had a stellar season in the GPS First XV competition. His statistics which were sourced from the greenandgoldrugby.com website bear that out. Will Eadie along with scoring a competition leading 13 tries from eight games made 10 line breaks after carrying the ball 53 times and on 70% of those occasions made more than 5 metres over the advantage line. He also made 24 tackles to complement his attacking statistics.
Prior to the commencement of the 2016 GPS First XV season, Will Eadie was selected on the right wing in the GPS One side for the Queensland Schools trials and as a consequence of his play there was selected in the Queensland One side for the Australian Schools trials and from there he was selected for their tour of Samoa and New Zealand which culminated in the School’s test loss to New Zealand recently where Will Eadie played the entire match on the right wing.
In the Australian Schools championships Queensland One had a tough competition but Will Eadie was a standout including scoring Queensland One’s only try with a great solo effort in a 42 – 16 loss to Victoria, who were the surprise packets of the championships. Will Eadie also played in matches against Samoa Schools, Fiji U18’s, where he scored three tries and New Zealand Barbarian’s to have a very successful tour overall.
The reason Will Eadie is so successful on a football field is his exceptional speed and elusiveness, he is the fastest player I have ever seen on a field and when you add in his elusiveness, he is a nightmare for opposing defences. In relation to his elusiveness the thing that makes it play even better is his ability to change direction with no loss of speed, this enables him to use the sideline exceptionally well with an in and away. When the opposing defender’s momentum slows just for a split second, Will Eadie is away down the sideline and will not get caught and also regularly also beats the fullback who no matter how fast they are cannot recover the ground. In the tour match against Fiji U18’s Will Eadie’s second try came from this situation when the ball was passed out wide from an Australian line-out win and Eadie stood up his opposite winger to score in the corner. In that match his third try was a result of his timing and anticipation when he intercepted a loose pass by Fiji and then raced 50 metres to score under the posts in the last moments of the match.
Will Eadie 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 Australian Schools trials for example on his right wing he was up against the likes of New South Wales One winger Yirribi Jaffer-Williams from Hunters Hill, who also played for Australian Schools and he handled him very well. In defence against the bigger outside backs running around, Will Eadie 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. At the opposite end of the spectrum, this season in the GPS rugby competition he was also up against fellow speedster’s like TSS left wing Dan Burns and he was similarly effective against those type of players as well.
From a rugby stand point another key facet of his game is his chasing of kicks, as noted above this resulted in a great try for him against New Zealand Schools. His ability to put pressure on the fullback when chasing grubber or box kicks means that the fullback will either rush the catch and make a mistake or be caught by Will Eadie immediately when he takes possession of the ball. In short he makes a defensive clearing kick into an attacking weapon. Evidence of this could be seen in Round Nine of the GPS season, being the final round when Gregory Terrace half Sam Kirk put up a box kick which Will Eadie chased hard and was able to retrieve in front of the Nudgee fullback to score in a tight 19 – 15 victory for Gregory Terrace. Similarly in the match against Fiji U18’s his outside centre put in a nice low attacking kick which again Will Eadie was able to chase down in front of the cover defence to score out wide for his first of three tries for the match.
From a courage stand point Will Eadie also passes any objective measurement that can be considered when evaluating this criteria. Against New Zealand Schools for example he had a number of box kicks put up in his direction and each time he took possession of the ball even though he was under extreme duress on also every occasion. Also on a number of occasion late in the second half when Australian Schools were under extreme pressure in their own 20 metre area, Will Eadie was one of the first players present to take a carry into the massive New Zealand Schools forward pack and then quickly recycled the ball to try to clear the area for the Australian Schools side.
As noted above Will Eadie is being chased by a number of NRL clubs and the money being offered is more than the Reds can match, so I would anticipate that come the 2017 NYC season, Will Eadie will be on the end of a rugby league back line causing all sorts of havoc with his speed, elusiveness and acceleration. In terms of a rugby league position he will be a winger pure and simple. He may not have the prototypical size of a modern rugby league winger but he has speed to burn and that is something that cannot be taught, in fact I would suggest that should he sign a rugby league contract he would instantly become the fastest player in the game, he is seriously that fast.
From a rugby league player perspective, discounting the speed perspective as already noted I do not believe that there is a current or recent past player with anywhere close to Will Eadie’s speed, I would suggest a player with similar attributes in terms of elusiveness and the ability to find the try line would be former Queensland State of Origin and Australian Test winger Kerry Boustead.
Jordan Petaia. When looking at the centre/winger combinations in the GPS First XV competition, it was impossible not to consider the Brisbane State High School combination as the best of the bunch with Jordan Petaia joining BSHS captain Quinton Mahina in the midfield for the GPS First XV champions. The young rugby league raised centre/second row from the Carina Junior Rugby League club continues the tradition of talented junior rugby league players combining both codes with their education. Prior to the commencement of the 2016 GPS rugby season, Jordan Petaia was selected on the wing for GPS3 for the Queensland Schools trials and ultimately as a result of his play across the Queensland and Australian Schools trials, where he represented the Combined States side was selected on the wing for the Australian Barbarians side that played Samoan Schools recently. Jordan Petaia started on the wing in that match and was part of a 38 – 26 win for the Australian Barbarians. Jordan Petaia was part of the Combined States side at the Australian Schools Championships.
Jordan Petaia was named in the East’s Tigers Cyril Connell Cup squad for this season but did not play in any of their matches. In 2015 he was selected in the second row for Met East for the QSSRL U15 championships where he started in all four of Met East’s matches.
For BSHS the 16 year old started all of their eight matches on the right wing and performed solidly in his first season in BSHS’s First XV. His best game of the year was probably in Round 8 when BSHS came from behind to defeat Nudgee College 29 -28 with Jordan Petaia scoring the winning try when he outpaced the Nudgee cover defence to score in the corner. Earlier in the second half Jordan Petaia was able to dance through the line, to push State High out to a 26-16 lead. He could have had further tries over the course of the seasons especially in Round Nine against TSS but Titans linked TSS fullback cut him down in one of the best fullback cover defending tackles I have seen on the 22m metre mark after it looked like Jordan Petaia was going to score after retrieving a grubber kick.
In attack one of the positives in rugby compared to league is the space that wingers have, when the ball is given to them early they seem to have a lot more room to move and this is something that Jordan Petaia has exploited this season. Whilst he is a big strong powerful young winger, he also has a myriad of attacking moves, including a great in and away, and also being able to cut back on the inside of his defender if they over commit to the outside, as was evidenced by one of his tries against Nudgee College.
From what I have seen I would consider that his speed would in the plus category for a centre, add his power and strong fend and you really have a young centre who could develop in anything on a football field. I concede that I know little about the attacking strategies of the BSHS First XV side but he seems to run slightly better when he lines up on the left hand side of the field, his spacing, line running and ability to beat his opposite number on the inside seems a little more instinctive from that side of the field. He must be a five eight’s dream, when he gets the ball early he seems to cause real havoc for the defensive line.
Defensively he hits very hard and constantly is in a position to disrupt the attacking movement of the opposition. Extrapolating his skill set to league, I would suggest that he would be more than capable to adapt and excel in either an up and in or sliding methodology. The other point I will make is that he certainly does not shirk contact, both in attack or defence and similarly in committing to the break down in rugby, he will put his head over the ball to protect the ball when BSHS have it and also clear out aggressively when looking for the turn over for BSHS. The GPS matches are keenly contested and the rucks and mauls are not for the faint hearted. I am certainly not saying the matches are dirty or anything just keenly contested by young men representing their schools.
Jordan Petaia still has two years left at BSHS and with star BSHS centre and captain Quinton Mahina moving on he will likely move closer to the action for BSHS or should at least although he may also move back to fullback. He will surely also make one of the three GPS Schools trials sides and from there be one of the first picked for Queensland Schools for the Australian Schools championships and may well follow on from his Australian Barbarians jerseys this year, with an Australian Schools one in 2017. Even though he spent this GPS First XV season on the wing and he has previously played some second row in rugby league, I believe that his combination of speed and power is ideally suited to the centres in rugby league.
For me he a strong powerful centre with good speed and footwork and has the skills to stay at centre in the long term. From a style perspective, think of someone along the lines of Michael Jennings now of the Parramatta Eels as a legitimate strike centre with the ability to make breaks from anywhere but also can handle the defensive side of the game. He is just one of those players that looks like he was born to play rugby league.
Jordan Petaia was named in the East’s Tigers Cyril Connell Cup squad for this season but did not play in any of their matches. In 2015 he was selected in the second row for Met East for the QSSRL U15 championships where he started in all four of Met East’s matches.
For BSHS the 16 year old started all of their eight matches on the right wing and performed solidly in his first season in BSHS’s First XV. His best game of the year was probably in Round 8 when BSHS came from behind to defeat Nudgee College 29 -28 with Jordan Petaia scoring the winning try when he outpaced the Nudgee cover defence to score in the corner. Earlier in the second half Jordan Petaia was able to dance through the line, to push State High out to a 26-16 lead. He could have had further tries over the course of the seasons especially in Round Nine against TSS but Titans linked TSS fullback cut him down in one of the best fullback cover defending tackles I have seen on the 22m metre mark after it looked like Jordan Petaia was going to score after retrieving a grubber kick.
In attack one of the positives in rugby compared to league is the space that wingers have, when the ball is given to them early they seem to have a lot more room to move and this is something that Jordan Petaia has exploited this season. Whilst he is a big strong powerful young winger, he also has a myriad of attacking moves, including a great in and away, and also being able to cut back on the inside of his defender if they over commit to the outside, as was evidenced by one of his tries against Nudgee College.
From what I have seen I would consider that his speed would in the plus category for a centre, add his power and strong fend and you really have a young centre who could develop in anything on a football field. I concede that I know little about the attacking strategies of the BSHS First XV side but he seems to run slightly better when he lines up on the left hand side of the field, his spacing, line running and ability to beat his opposite number on the inside seems a little more instinctive from that side of the field. He must be a five eight’s dream, when he gets the ball early he seems to cause real havoc for the defensive line.
Defensively he hits very hard and constantly is in a position to disrupt the attacking movement of the opposition. Extrapolating his skill set to league, I would suggest that he would be more than capable to adapt and excel in either an up and in or sliding methodology. The other point I will make is that he certainly does not shirk contact, both in attack or defence and similarly in committing to the break down in rugby, he will put his head over the ball to protect the ball when BSHS have it and also clear out aggressively when looking for the turn over for BSHS. The GPS matches are keenly contested and the rucks and mauls are not for the faint hearted. I am certainly not saying the matches are dirty or anything just keenly contested by young men representing their schools.
Jordan Petaia still has two years left at BSHS and with star BSHS centre and captain Quinton Mahina moving on he will likely move closer to the action for BSHS or should at least although he may also move back to fullback. He will surely also make one of the three GPS Schools trials sides and from there be one of the first picked for Queensland Schools for the Australian Schools championships and may well follow on from his Australian Barbarians jerseys this year, with an Australian Schools one in 2017. Even though he spent this GPS First XV season on the wing and he has previously played some second row in rugby league, I believe that his combination of speed and power is ideally suited to the centres in rugby league.
For me he a strong powerful centre with good speed and footwork and has the skills to stay at centre in the long term. From a style perspective, think of someone along the lines of Michael Jennings now of the Parramatta Eels as a legitimate strike centre with the ability to make breaks from anywhere but also can handle the defensive side of the game. He is just one of those players that looks like he was born to play rugby league.
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
Harry Wilson started at Lock for Aus Schools vs Fiji, Played very well (and played full 70 mins I believe). Aust won 37-22 after being down 22-3 at half time. He was the youngest on tour, and should figure again in 2017.
TheKing
Colin Windon (37)
Wilson has the height to play lock again in his senior year, but it just seems wasteful to lock him into the scrum when he could be breaking off it.
If I was Terrace coach Ben McCormack (or rumoured replacement) I'd absolutely stick him at No.8 and run from the back of every scrum on 80% of feeds. Worst case scenario he's dragged down on the advantage line. Best case scenario, he draws three defenders and SBWs his side to a certain try.
I think his weight will ultimately determine his playing position. If unchanged or minor gain he should stay at lock. If he grows, Number Eight becames a very interesting discussion - at least for junior footy.
If I was Terrace coach Ben McCormack (or rumoured replacement) I'd absolutely stick him at No.8 and run from the back of every scrum on 80% of feeds. Worst case scenario he's dragged down on the advantage line. Best case scenario, he draws three defenders and SBWs his side to a certain try.
I think his weight will ultimately determine his playing position. If unchanged or minor gain he should stay at lock. If he grows, Number Eight becames a very interesting discussion - at least for junior footy.
The Honey Badger
Jim Lenehan (48)
Think it will be a luxury to play him 8, it will depend what other Locks are available and how good the Scrum is when your best Lock is not playing lock.
SOLE334
Jimmy Flynn (14)
"I think his weight will ultimately determine his playing position. If unchanged or minor gain he should stay at lock. If he grows, Number Eight becames a very interesting discussion - at least for junior footy.[/quote]
King, I agree mate! 'Boys to men' continue to transform(body mass and mindsets) through to their 19's sometimes 20's. therefor IMO, Positional adaptation then is vital to be adaptable at this level so at least athletes like Wilson have the versatility to transition into the right fit when their body's have settled and fully grown.
King, I agree mate! 'Boys to men' continue to transform(body mass and mindsets) through to their 19's sometimes 20's. therefor IMO, Positional adaptation then is vital to be adaptable at this level so at least athletes like Wilson have the versatility to transition into the right fit when their body's have settled and fully grown.
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