A Guide to the U19 Men's Origin
Queensland will look to end New South Wales streak on home turf.
The last time Queensland tasted victory in an under-19 Origin fixture, the majority of the players who will run out in Thursday’s game were about a year old.
It was Wednesday, May 25, 2005, the curtain-raiser to the Matt Bowen intercept game at Suncorp Stadium. The junior Maroons got the night off right, winning 42–12.
Greg Inglis was the star for the Maroons, with the fullback scoring two tries and kicking three goals. His teammates included future NRL players Scott Bolton, William Zillman, Steve Michaels and Berrick Barnes. Inglis had already played three NRL games at that point and would go on to make his senior Origin debut almost exactly a year later.
New South Wales would win the next two fixtures in 2006 and 2007, with future Dally M winner and current innate at Geoffrey Pearce Correctional Centre Jarryd Hayne, the star for the Blues in their ‘06 win.
In 2008, the formats were changed from 17s and 19s to under-16s, under-18s, and later, under-20s.
The Blues reignited their 17-year-long streak last season, with the reintroduction of the under-19 format. They demolished Queensland 32–4 at Leichhardt with Melbourne’s Jonah Pezet the star of the show. No players from that victory return in 2023, save for Samuela Fainu who was in the extended squad.
Queensland will welcome back Broncos duo Blake Mozer and Ben Te Kura. It was a rough outing for both last year, Mozer was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle and Te Kura lasted about seven minutes before leaving the field with a concussion.
Going back to 1987, my earliest record of the fixture, New South Wales has won 17 of the 23 under-19 Origins. Until 2004, the under-19 (and under-17) Origins were played under residency rules, which saw several players play for the other state. Most famously, Gorden Tallis and Jonathan Thurston both represented New South Wales while in Sydney, while future Blues Ryan Hoffman and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs played for Queensland.1
The last Queensland junior Origin win came in 2019, a 34–12 victory in the under-18s. Three current senior Maroons played for Queensland that night - Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Xavier Coates and Reece Walsh. The New South Wales fullback in that game was Bradman Best, who will make his State of Origin debut this week.2
So who will win? I don’t know, New South Wales probably if history is anything to go by. Since 1987, 73 junior Origins have been played, with New South Wales winning 53 and Queensland 19, with one draw.3
Queensland U19 vs. New South Wales U19
Thursday, July 13, 7:45 pm (local), Kayo Stadium
The game will be shown LIVE on Nine, Gem, Foxtel and Kayo
Queensland
1 Mutua Brown (CQ Capras / North Queensland Cowboys)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolboys (2023), Queensland Country U17 (2022)
An Innisfail junior, Brown moved down south after receiving a scholarship to Ipswich Grammar School in his early teens. In 2022, he moved to Rockhampton to attend The Cathedral College and joined the Carpas under-18s. He played two Colts games this year before the Schoolboys season started. Last Friday, he was named in the 2023 Australian Schoolboys team.
2 Israel Leota (Souths Logan / Brisbane Broncos)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2022)
An athletic freak, Leota was a star sportsman at Ipswich Grammar, where he played AFL, union and volleyball, among others. A member of Souths Logan’s Mal Meninga Cup-winning side in 2022, Leota has progressed from Meninga to Colts to Queensland Cup this season. After six games in the under-21s, he made his Cup debut in Round 10, running for 105 metres in a win over the Northern Pride.
3 Caleb Jackson (Redcliffe / Dolphins)
Jackson earned a Dolphins contract after starring for Ipswich State High in their run to the National Championship last season. A North Ipswich and Brothers junior, he made his Cup debut against his hometown Jets in Round 6, before even playing a Colts game. He has since moved back down to the under-21s, where he’s spent time at fullback and centre, scoring three tries in six games.
4 Mitchell Jennings (Melbourne Storm)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2021)
Jennings made the move to Melbourne this year after two seasons with the Sunshine Coast’s under-18 side. The Beerwah junior has played in 15 of the Storm’s Jersey Flegg games so far in 2023, scoring six tries. Predominately a centre, Jennings has shifted into the back row six times this season.
5 Timothy Sielaff-Burns (Penrith Panthers)
Sielaff-Burns started at fullback in Souths Logan’s Mal Meninga Cup-winning side in 2022 before moving up to the Colts, where he played 10 games. A move to Penrith this year saw him start the season in the SG Ball Cup. The Jimboomba junior is now a regular in the Panthers’ Jersey Flegg side, playing nine games
6 Stanley Huen (Melbourne Storm)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2022)
Another former Ipswich Grammar student, Huen joined the Storm this season as part of their First Nations Pathway program in 2023. He started the year in SG Ball, playing just four games before receiving the call-up to Jersey Flegg, where he has become the club’s starting five-eighth. He was also a member of Souths Logan’s Mal Meninga Cup-winning side in 2022.
7 Zack Lamont (Townsville / North Queensland Cowboys)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2021)
A Sunshine Coast junior, Lamont played Mal Meninga Cup for the Brisbane Tigers in 2021 while attending Anglican Church Grammar. He shifted to Townsville last year after signing with the Cowboys, playing for their Mal Meninga Cup side and getting a few games in Colts. In 2023, he’s become the starting halfback for the under-21s, playing eight games.
8 Ryan Jackson (Redcliffe / Dolphins)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2021)
Jackson came through the grades with Wynnum Manly before signing with the Dolphins in 2022. The 19-year-old has spent the entire 2023 season in Queensland Cup, playing 12 games for Redcliffe. The Souths Graceville junior scored a try and ran for 112 metres off the bench in a Round 10 win over Mackay.
9 Blake Mozer (Souths Logan / Brisbane Broncos)
Rep Honours: Queensland U19 (2022), Queensland City U17 (2021), Australian Schoolboys (2021)
Mozer has been instrumental from dummy half for Souths Logan this season, who are first in the Queensland Cup after 17 rounds. A member of the Broncos’ Top 30 squad, Mozer has six tries and eight try assists in 14 games this year and may feature in first grade before the year is out.
10 Benjamin Te Kura (Souths Logan / Brisbane Broncos)
Rep Honours: Queensland U19 (2022), Queensland City U17 (2021)
The 205cm Te Kura has been a standout alongside Mozer for the Magpies. The Redcliffe junior played Meninga, Colts and Cup for Norths last season before being shifted to Souths Logan. In 2023, he’s played 15 Cup games starting 11 of them, averaging 119 run metres as a starter. He scored in four consecutive games earlier in the year.
11 Wil Sullivan (Townsville / North Queensland Cowboys)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2021)
Yet another Ipswich Grammar Old Boy, Sullivan joined the Blackhawks last year after signing with North Queensland. He played just three Colts games before being moved up to Cup, playing six games so far in 2023. A big body able to play middle or edge, he ran for 170 metres in Townsville’s Round 10 loss to Norths.
12 Angus Hinchey (Melbourne Storm)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2021)
Hinchey became a regular for Norths’ Colts side in 2022 after the Meninga Cup season ended, playing 11 games. He joined Melbourne this year on a three-year contract and has played 14 games for their Flegg side, splitting his time between second row and lock. His dad James Hinchey played nine games for South Sydney and Parramatta and won two Queensland Cup titles with Redcliffe in the 90s.
13 Damon Marshall (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2021)
A Western Lions junior, Marshall overcame nerve damage in his neck to feature in two Mal Meninga Cup Grand Finals for Townsville, captaining the side in the 2022 final. A middle who plays well above his size, The former Ignatius Park student joined the Bulldogs this season, starting in SG Ball before making the move up to Flegg, where he’s played seven games.
14 Gabriel Satrick (Melbourne Storm)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolboys (2022)
Satrick burst onto the scene in 2022, winning the Schoolboys title with Ipswich State High and Australian Schoolboy honours. The dangerous dummy half won the Peter Sterling Medal for Player of the Competition and earned a Storm contract in the process. The Yarrabah product has played 12 Flegg games this season, scoring three tries.
15 Chris Faagutu (Wests Tigers)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolboys (2022)
2022 was a big season for Faagutu, winning the Mal Meninga Cup with Souths Logan, being named an Australian Schoolboy and making his Queensland Cup debut, in which he scored a try. In 2023, he joined the Wests Tigers, where he’s risen from SG Ball to Flegg to NSW Cup.
16 Michael Waqa (Redcliffe / Dolphins)
Rep Honours: Queensland City U17 (2022)
Waqa captained Redcliffe’s victorious Mal Meninga Cup side in April, scoring a try in their Grand Final win over Townsville. After a handful of Colts games, the Albany Creek junior was called up to Cup, playing two games off the bench. The front rower is contracted to the Dolphins until 2025.
17 Jamal Shibasaki (Townsville / North Queensland Cowboys)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2022)
The younger brother of current Cowboy Gehamat Shibasaki, Jamal played Queensland Cup before making his Colts debut after the Meninga Cup season ended. A middle forward in the lower grades, Shibasaki has spent time on the edge in his four Cup games this season.
18 Mason Kira (Sunshine Coast / North Queensland Cowboys)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2022)
Formerly with the Storm, Kira signed with the Cowboys this year after standout performances in the Mal Meninga Cup for the Falcons. A massive middle forward, the Kawana junior made his under-21s debut at just 17 in 2022.
19 Kai Simon (Mackay / North Queensland Cowboys)
Rep Honours: Queensland Country U17 (2022)
A tall outside back, Simon was the standout for Mackay’s Mal Meninga Cup side earlier this year. Predominately a centre, Simon has played four Colts games this season, scoring three tries and kicking 10 goals.
New South Wales
1 Chevy Stewart (Canberra Raiders)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2022), Australian Schoolboys (2022)
Recruited from Cronulla’s Harold Matthews team in 2022, Stewart has quickly risen through the Raiders’ SG Ball and Flegg sides this year, becoming a regular in their NSW Cup team. The Kurnell junior has played nine games, scoring four tries, and is averaging 121 running metres per game.
2 Savelio Tamale (St George Illawarra Dragons)
A Schoolboy Union star, Tamale was signed by the Dragons this season and scored a try in their pre-season trial against St Helens. He scored five tries in five Flegg games after promotion from the SG Ball and is now a starting centre in the club’s NSW Cup team. He played his junior rugby league for Cromer and Narrabeen.
3 Ethan Strange (Canberra Raiders)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2022)
A Central Coast junior, Strange joined Canberra from the Roosters halfway through last season. Usually a five-eighth, Strange will line up in the centres on Thursday night, a position he’s started in twice for the Raiders’ NSW Cup team in 2023.
4 Josh Feledy (Wests Tigers)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2022)
Feledy has been a try-scoring machine in his rise through the grades. The Beacon Hill junior scored a ridiculous 20 tries in 10 games for Manly’s Harold Matts team in 2021 and then bagged nine in seven for their SG Ball side a year later. He made a mid-season move to the Tigers in 2022 and has scored 10 tries in 13 Flegg games this year.
5 Ethan Ferguson (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolboys (2022), NSW City U18 (2022)
An Australian Schoolboy while attending Lambton High, Ferguson played 13 Flegg games for the Knights in 2022 after the SG Ball season ended. Earlier this season he made his NSW Cup debut for Newcastle while playing SG Ball and made a switch to South Sydney after the under-19 season ended. A Taree junior, he’s made four Flegg and one NSW Cup appearance for the Rabbitohs this year.
6 Latu Fainu (Manly Sea Eagles)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2023), NSW City U16 (2021)
Fainu made his NSW Cup debut for Blacktown at just 17 earlier this year, playing six games in the competition so far. He signed a four-year deal with Manly after turning 16 but may be at another club in 2024 if recent reports are to be believed. A Guildford junior, he’ll play alongside his older brother Samuela on Thursday.
7 Ethan Sanders (Parramatta Eels)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2021-22)
A Hills District junior, Sanders played a full season of Flegg last year for Parramatta as an 18-year-old. In 2023, he started the season in SG Ball and helped lead the Eels’ to the premiership, where he was named the best on ground.
8 Jake Clydsdale (Canberra Raiders)
The younger brother of former NRL player Adam Clydsdale, Jake is in his first season with the Raiders after being recruited from the Greater Northern region. The Scone junior played eight SG Ball games before moving up to Flegg, where he’s played eight games so far in 2023.
9 Billy Scott (Penrith Panthers)
A St Marys junior, Scott came off the bench in Penrith’s SG Ball and Jersey Flegg Grand Final wins in 2022. He returns to the hooker role on Thursday night, a position he played in for much of his juniors, after spending the majority of 2023 as a middle forward for the Panthers’ Flegg side.
10 Samuela Fainu (Manly Sea Eagles)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2021-22)
The only player on either side with NRL experience, Fainu made his first-grade debut for Manly in Round 8 this year and has played four more games since. Standing at 194cm, 109kg, Fainu bypassed Flegg in 2023, spending the majority of his time in NSW Cup. Usually an edge, he’ll play in the middle on Thursday.
11 Charlie Guymer (Parramatta Eels)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2022)
Recruited by the Eels from Temora as a 16-year-old, Guymer has been a regular in Parramatta’s junior team lists since 2020. The hard-working backrower made his Flegg debut in 2022 and captained the Eels’ SG Ball side to the premiership this past May.
12 Harrison Hassett (Penrith Panthers)
Rep Honours: Australian Schoolboys (2022), NSW City U18 (2022)
A member of Penrith’s SG Ball-winning side in 2022, Hassett bypassed the competition this year, moving straight into Jersey Flegg. The captain of the Australian Schoolboys side that toured Fiji last year, he’s played four games off the bench for Penrith’s NSW Cup side in 2023.
13 Myles Martin (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2022)
A Bathurst junior, Martin came through Parramatta’s Harold Matthews system before being signed by Newcastle in 2022. A member of the club’s NRL squad, Martin made his Flegg debut last year, returning to the competition in 2023 after the SG Ball season ended, in which he captained the Knights in their Grand Final loss to the Eels.
14 Joash Papalii (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2022), Australian Schoolboys (2022)
An electric fullback who will spend time at hooker on Thursday night, Papalii was moved straight into the Bulldogs’ NSW Cup team in 2023 after a season in SG Ball and Flegg. The St Johns junior has played 15 games in the competition, tallying seven try assists and averaging 116 running meters per game.
15 Nicholas Tsougranis (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Recently re-signed with the Dragons, Tsougranis has pushed his way into their NSW Cup side in recent weeks, playing four games. The Arncliffe junior started the year in SG Ball, before moving up to start nine Jersey Flegg games at second row.
16 Sam Tuivaiti (Parramatta Eels)
Rep Honours: NSW City U18 (2023), Australian Schoolboys (2022), NSW City U16 (2021)
A premiership winner in his first season of SG Ball, Tuivaiti has since moved up to the Jersey Flegg, playing nine games for the Eels. The powerful front-rower is a Wentworthville junior and represented the Australian Schoolboys while at Westfields Sports High in 2022.
17 Luron Patea (Penrith Panthers)
The New Zealand-born Patea toured Japan with the Australian Schoolboys rugby union side in 2022 and was previously a member of the Brumbies and Waratahs academies. He’s been in the Panthers system since 2019 and moved up to Jersey Flegg this season after an SG Ball season in which he scored eight tries in 10 games.
18 Kyle McCarthy (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: NSW Country U18 (2022)
A tall outside back, McCarthy was plucked from Illawarra’s Laurie Daley Cup side by the Knights in 2023. It’s proven to be an astute pickup by Newcastle, with the Gerringong junior going from SG Ball to Flegg to NSW Cup in three months.
19 Jermaine McEwen (Newcastle Knights)
Rep Honours: NSW City U16 (2021)
A St Marys junior, McEwen was signed by the Knights from Penrith last season and was an important member of their SG Ball runners-up side in 2023, playing 11 games. The back-rower currently plays for their Jersey Flegg team, starting his last four games in the back row.
Other eventual Maroons who represented NSW U19 under residency rules include Casey McGuire, Clinton O’Brien, Robbie Ross, Mat Rogers, Ben Ross and Willie Tonga.
Bradman’s dad, Roger, represented Queensland under-17 in 1991, then New South Wales under-19 in 1993 while playing for Manly.
U16: NSW 8 wins, Qld 3. U17: NSW 12, Qld 6, 1 draw. U18: NSW 9, Qld 3. U19: NSW 17, Qld 6. U20: NSW 7, Qld 1. In the under-16 Koori vs Murri games, the Qld Murris actually lead the count with 9 wins to 8 (with 4 draws) since 2004.