RLO Newsletter 12/6: U19 Origin squads named
Also Schoolboys updates, Jersey Flegg, and Wes Naiqama gets sacked.
The men’s and women’s under-19 State of Origin squads were named yesterday (11 June) ahead of the games to be played at Leichhardt Oval on Thursday, 20 June.
For the men, New South Wales has gone with a fairly young side in their bid for three-straight wins, selecting six 18-year-olds to Queensland’s three.
Of the six, three have already played reserve grade this season - Casey McLean (who played alongside older brother Jesse) with six games for Penrith, Kaiden Lahrs with five games for the Northern Pride and Hayden Buchanan, who made his debut for the Dragons in Round 13.
Coby Black, of the Maroons’ 18-year-olds, made his Queensland Cup two weeks ago, kicking eight goals for Souths Logan in a 34-10 win over the PNG Hunters.
Jake Elliott will be the Blues’ senior half, partnering 18-year-old Mitchell Woods, who beat out another 18-year-old, Titans’ half Zane Harrison, for the spot. Harrison will come off the bench.
Two of the Blues’ 17 were involved in their victory last season - fullback Chevy Stewart and prop Sam Tuivaiti. Backrower Jermaine McEwen gets his chance in 2024 after being 18th man last year. McEwens’ younger sister Evah will play for the Blues’ women’s side earlier in the night.
The Maroons take a bit more experience in with five players backing up - winger Israel Leota, five-eighth Stanley Huen, prop Michael Waqa, second-rower Jamal Shibasaki and Mutua Brown, who started at fullback but will come off the bench this year. Lock Mason Kira, like McEwen, gets a start after 18th-man duties in 2023.
When it comes to first-grade experience, the Blues have a slight advantage. Three of their squad - Chevy Stewart, Jesse McLean and Blake Steep - have played NRL in 2024, compared to Queensland’s two: Cowboys’ duo Jaxon Purdue and Jamal Shibasaki. New South Wales also has the edge in reserve grade experience, with 11 players to Queensland’s nine.
As of writing this, Queensland has two (very slightly) different team lists out, with NRL.com showing Xavier Kerrisk and Prestyn Laine-Sietu as two of their reserves, while the QRL releases on social media have Reece Foley and Amare Milford instead.
Andrew Ryan will once again coach the men’s team, his third straight year in charge, while seven-time Maroon and current Redcliffe head coach Ben Te’o takes over the Queensland role.
On the women’s side, Queensland have named seven players from last year’s victorious team. That includes winger Ebony Raftstrand-Smith and Skyla Adams (who scored in the win), as well as forwards Matekino Kahukoti-Gray, Lily Peacock, Rilee Jorgensen, Shaylee Joseph and Malaela Su’a.
Surprisingly, last year’s fullback Destiny Mino-Sinapati has been named in the reserves. After two BMD Premiership games for Wynnum Manly earlier this year, the Titans announced she would miss the entire season with a knee injury.
Illawarra have been rewarded for their Tarsha Gale Cup win with 10 players included in the squad, six of those in the starting line-up. Centre Indie Bostock, younger sister of Dolphins’ winger Jack, scored twice in the Grand Final and was named best on ground.
Two of her teammates from that day, forwards Charlotte Basham and Ella Koster bring NRLW experience into the side, as does centre Lindsay Tui, who played three games for Parramatta in 2023. Peacock and Jorgensen are the two Maroons who played NRLW last season.
When it comes to state cup experience, all but two of Queensland’s 20-woman squad played in the BMD Premiership earlier this year. Peacock and Raftstand-Smith were part of Mackay’s winning side, with Peacock being named Player of the Match.
With the NSWRL moving their state competition to mid-season so as to lineup with the NRLW, very few of the Blues squad have played in the competition.
The head coaches remain the same as last year, with Kate Mullaly leading the Blues and Deanna Turner the Maroons.
I’ll have a full preview much like last year’s out before next week’s games.
Under-19 Men’s
NSW: 1 Chevy STEWART, 2 Jesse McLEAN, 3 Casey McLEAN, 4 Hayden BUCHANAN, 5 Michael GABRAEL, 6 Jake ELLIOTT, 7 Mitchell WOODS, 8 Loko PASIFIKI TONGA, 9 Matt ARTHUR, 10 Fanafou SEVE, 11 Jermaine McEWEN, 12 Noah MARTIN, 13 Blake STEEP. Int: 14 Zane HARRISON, 15 Jacob HALANGAHU, 16 Kaiden LAHRS, 17 Sam TUIVAITI, 18 Connor VOTANO, 19 Cody HOPWOOD, 20 Logan SPINKS. Coach: Andrew RYAN.
Qld: 1 Jaxon PURUDE, 2 Israel LEOTA, 3 LJ NONU, 4 Sam STEPHENSON, 5 Tyreece TAIT, 6 Stanley HUEN, 7 Coby BLACK, 8 Michael WAQA, 9 Cameron BUKOWSKI, 10 De La Salle VA’A, 11 Zac GARTON, 12 Jamal SHIBASAKI, 13 Mason KIRA. Int: 14 Mutua BROWN, 15 Beni ALLEN, 16 Lewis SYMONDS, 17 Harry ARMSTRONG, 18 Xavier KERRISK, 19 Cooper BAI, 20 Prestyn LAINE-SIETU. Coach: Ben TE’O.Under-19 Women’s
NSW: 1 Lilly-Ann WHITE, 2 Tia-Jordyn VASILOVSKI, 3 Indie BOSTOCK, 4 Lindsay TUI, 5 Maria PASEKA, 6 Evie JONES, 7 Kasey REH, 8 Manilita TAKAPAUTOLO, 9 Chelsea SAVILL, 10 Hope MILLARD, 11 Evah McEWEN, 12 Charlotte BASHAM, 13 Ryvrr-Lee ALO. Int: 14 Evie McGRATH, 15 Ella KOSTER, 16 Claudia BROWN, 17 Bronte WILSON, 18 Abby AROS, 19 Waimarie MARTIN, 20 Sienna YEO. Coach: Kate MULLALY.
Qld: 1 Montaya HUDSON, 2 Kiarah SIAUANE, 3 Mercedez TAULELEI-SIALA, 4 Mariah BROWN, 5 Ebony RAFTSTRAND-SMITH, 6 Caitlin TANNER, 7 Skyla ADAMS, 8 Matekino KAHUKOTI-GRAY, 9 Imogen HEI, 10 Lily PEACOCK, 11 Reegan HICKS, 12 Rilee JORGENSEN, 13 Tiresa LEASUASU. Int: 14 Shauna BARHAM, 15 Shaylee JOSEPH, 16 Malaela SU’A, 17 Relna HOSEA, 18 Paityne JOHNS, 19 Jaydan TOFAE, 20 Destiny MINO-SINAPATI. Coach: Deanna TURNER.
🏉 Silktails sack Naiqama
Timoci Duve will coach the Kaiviti Silktails for the remainder of the Jersey Flegg season after Wes Naiqama was released on last Tuesday (4 June). Naiqama has coached the side since June 2020, when he replaced Brandon Costin while the club competed in the Ron Massey Cup. In that competition, Naiqama won 19 of his 51 games in charge. After switching to the Jersey Flegg this year, the Silktails went 0-11 under Naiqama.
Duve was an assistant under Naiqama and is also the head of the club’s newly formed national Recruitment Model, announced last month.
🏉 Jersey Flegg – Round 14
Warriors 16 – 10 Kaiviti Silktails: Duve almost got off to a brilliant start with the Silktails, as they went close to their first win of the season. With four players on debut, they led 10-6 after 48 minutes before two Warriors tries in four minutes sunk them. That’s now three straight wins for the Warriors.
Canterbury 38 – 14 South Sydney: The Bulldogs remain in touch with first-placed Canberra after a big win over Souths. Mitchell Woods made his Flegg debut in the win, scoring a try and kicking five goals. They head to Fiji this weekend, naming seven potential debutants for the game. The Rabbitohs have lost three straight and face Canberra in Round 15.
Parramatta 20 – 16 St George Illawarra: In Merrylands, Parra held off a very late Dragons’ fightback to record their third consecutive victory. After seven losses to start 2024, the Eels have now won five of their last six.
Canberra 10 – 8 Wests Tigers: Capping off a week of low-scoring games, the Raiders held on for a disgusting 10-8 win in Lidcombe. Although low, 18 total points have been scored several times since Flegg returned in 2018. The lowest since then? A hideous 12-0 win by Cronulla over Newcastle in 2019. (The lowest-scoring NYC game happened in the fourth weekend of the competition’s history in 2008, the Dragons beating Cronulla 6-4. Ew.)
Cronulla 18 – 10 Sydney Roosters: The Sharks ended a three-game losing run with a very nice eight-point win over the Roosters. Winger Kristian Dixon scored 10 of this side’s points, taking his career Flegg tally to 200. He becomes the 10th player to crack 200 since the reintroduction and needs 16 points to break Corey Fenning’s record of 223.
Penrith 22 – 18 Melbourne: The Panthers moved into third thanks to their third-straight win, defeating the Storm in a rare Flegg game at AAMI Park. I just realised this was the Storm’s third home game at AAMI this year, with two more scheduled. So it’s not that rare. But still, kinda.
Newcastle 26 – 24 Manly: The Knights repelled a second-half comeback by Manly to move back into the top five. Fullback Connor Votano scored 14 of this team’s points, scoring two tries and kicking three goals. Their captain Jack Cullen played his 50th U21s game. A Cudgen junior, Cullen joined the Knights from the Titans in 2023 and won their Flegg Player of the Year award. The 2021 Australian Schoolboy played 18 Colts games for Tweed before he added 32 to his tally with Newcastle.
Ladder: 1 CANBERRA (22 pts), 2 CANTERBURY (20), 3 PENRITH (18), 4 WESTS TIGERS (16), 5 NEWCASTLE (17), 6 Sydney Roosters (16), 7 Manly (16), 8 South Sydney (15), 9 St George Illawarra (14), 10 Melbourne (14), 11 Warriors (13), 12 Parramatta (12), 13 Cronulla (11), 14 Kaiviti Silktails (2).
Top try scorers: 11 Matthew Hill (MEL); 11 Ben Rumble (SGI); 10 Nick Murphy (PEN); 10 Tea-Rani Woodman-Tuhoro (NEW); 8 Regan Carr (CAN); 8 Kristian Dixon (CRO); 8 Broden Konz (MAN); 8 Siulagi Pio (MEL); 8 Kane Rushton (CAN); 7 Cain Barnes (SGI).
Top point scorers: 108 Cassius Tia (CBY); 106 Ashton Ward (SGI); 88 Kristian Dixon (CRO); 78 Te Hurinui Twidle (PAR); 68 Zakauri Clarke (WST); 62 Josh Durkin (SYD); 60 Mitch Henderson (CAN); 48 Brent Hawkins (SOU); 48 Jirah Liddiard (PEN); 45 Kallum Weatherall Stacey (MAN).
Vibes Team of the Week: 1 Connor Votano (NEW), 2 Mohamed Alameddine (PAR), 3 Siale Faeamani (WAR), 4 Alton Naiyep (MAN), 5 Will Craig (WST), 6 Joseph Nohra (PEN), 7 Mitchell Woods (CBY), 8 Felix Faatili (CRO), 9 Ryley Smith (PAR), 10 Fanafou Seve (CBY), 11 Riley Wake (PEN), 12 Tane Kiriona (CAN), 13 Angus Hinchey (MEL).
Upcoming fixtures – Round 14
Thu Jun 13 - Cronulla vs. Melbourne, PointsBet Stadium, 5:35 pm
Sat Jun 15 - Kaiviti Silktails vs. Canterbury, Churchill Park, 12:00 pm
Sat Jun 15 - Wests Tigers vs. Warriors, Leichhardt Oval, 10:55 am
Sat Jun 15 - Parramatta vs. Sydney Roosters, New Era Stadium, 3:30 pm
Sun Jun 16 - Newcastle vs. Penrith, McDonald Jones Stadium, 11:40 am
Sun Jun 16 - Manly vs. St George Illawarra, 4 Pines Park, 11:45 am
Sun Jun 16 - Canberra vs. South Sydney, Raiders Belconnen, 2:00 pm
🏉 Schoolboys recap
A look at all four of the major Schoolboys competitions from last week.
Allan Langer Trophy (South East Queensland)
Ipswich State High’s Sam Martin was the hero in Round 2, scoring in the dying minutes to give his side a 22-21 win over Mabel Park. Trailing 21-16, his dummy half try kept his side atop the ladder.
Palm Beach Currumbin bounced back from their big Round 1 loss with a 20-12 win over Redcliffe State High. Wavell also got into the winners’ circle with a 24-12 victory over rivals Marsden. Keebra Park also remains undefeated after beating Caloundra State High 20-12.
Dolphins Cup (Central Queensland)
St Brendan’s prop Carter Ford, son of the late great Carl Webb, scored the try of the round in his side’s 26-4 win over Emmaus College. The length of the field effort was his second of the game.
Rockhampton Grammar, coming off a Round 1 bye, got their campaign started with an upset 20-6 win over Cathedral College. Capras’ Mal Meninga Cup backrower Cooper Broadhurst scored twice in the win.
Aaron Payne Cup (North Queensland)
St Augustine’s Cairns were the standouts in Round 2, thrashing Holy Spirit Mackay 80-0 in Townsville. They scored 14 tries, three to Cowboys-contracted hooker Ben Walker, with halfback Jesse Ziegler kicking 12 goals.
Kirwan State High remain on top of Pool A after a 10-point win over rivals Ignatius Park. St Patrick’s Mackay got their first win in the other Pool A contest, beating Trinity Bay 32-16. Broncos-contracted fullback Adam McSherry bagged a hat-trick.
The last game of the round saw Mackay State High defeat Mareeba State High 28-10. Mareeba is playing for no competition points this year after receiving an exemption to select players from neighbouring schools who aren’t in the competition. Seth Stein from Atherton State High (30 minutes south of Mareeba) is one player benefiting from the decision, playing two games for Mareeba.
Peter Mulholland Cup (NSW / ACT / Victoria)
Round 1 wrapped up last week, with big wins from Erindale College and Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown.
Erindale destroyed Illawarra Sports High, scoring 12 tries in a 66-6 rout. Centre Harry Hudson scored three, while fullback Yuri Hromow and centre Luke Tuialii grabbed doubles. Patrician Brothers opened their season in Blacktown with a 50-0 win over Matraville Sports High. They scored nine tries, with five-eighth Jared Haywood scoring two.
The final Round 1 game saw another of the former “seeded pool” go down, with Hunter Sports High defeating Hills Sports High 26-12.
One Round 2 was also played last week, with Central Coast Sports College continuing its strong start to 2024 with a 52-10 win over Farrer MAHS.
🏉 Porter, Sharpe debut in Round 14
Reuben Porter became the latest Holden Cup old boy to crack the NRL when he came off the bench in the Tigers’ loss to the Dragons. The 27-year-old Cook Islands international has spent the last eight seasons in reserve grade, playing for Wyong, Mounties, North Sydney, Tweed and Western Suburbs.
A Wellington junior, Porter came to Australia in 2014, joining the Roosters and won an SG Ball premiership with them that season. Two years later, he started at second-row in their NYC Grand Final win over the Panthers.
Fletcher Sharpe was a try scorer on debut for Newcastle in their loss to Melbourne at AAMI Park.
A Cessnock Goannas junior, he entered the Knights system in 2020, playing Harold Matthews. In 2022, after 10 tries in eight SG Ball games, he moved up to the Jersey Flegg where he scored 10 tries in nine games. He started at fullback and scored in the Knights’ Grand Final loss to Penrith that season.
Last season, he started the year in SG Ball, scoring 12 tries in 12 games and playing in their Grand Final loss to Parramatta, before once again moving up to Flegg. He played just two Flegg games this season, scoring four tries, and made six NSW Cup appearances before his NRL call-up.
Around the grounds
For more information on all games head to 18thman.com.
Jersey Flegg Cup – Round 14
Canterbury 38 (W Afualo, T Cochrane, R Moyle, F Seve, L Smith, L Spinks, M Woods tries; M Woods 5 goals) def. South Sydney 14 (H Mellars, S Taylor, D Towns tries; C Kaho goal) at Belmore Sports Ground. Ref: M Pitscheider. HT: CBY 16-4. Tackles: J Reardon 24 (CBY), L Grossemy 48 (SOU). Run metres: F Seve 148 (CBY), C Kaho 91 (SOU).
Warriors 16 (H Durbin, R Sio, G Tuilekutu tries; T Egan, S Faeamani goals) def. Kaiviti Silktails 10 (O Bari, T Wanisi tries; S Vunibola goal) at Churchill Park. Ref: P Eden. HT: WAR 6-0.
Parramatta 20 (B Newlands 2, D Neemia, D Vaivela tries; T Twidle 2 goals) def. St George Illawarra 16 (B Rumble, N Tsougranis, A Ward tries; A Ward 2 goals) at Eric Tweedale Stadium. Ref: G Miles. HT: PAR 10-4. Tackles: H Stewart 34 (SGI), R Smith 36 (PAR). Run metres: L Pasifiki Tonga 102 (SGI), M Alameddine 119 (PAR).
Canberra 10 (P Jenkins, D Wigmore tries; M Henderson goal) def. Wests Tigers 8 (N Willett 2 tries) at Lidcombe Oval. Ref: B Mani. HT: CAN 10-4. Tackles: S Vaihu 31 (WST), J Roddy 32 (CAN). Run metres: W Craig 156 (WST), T Kiriona 195 (CAN).
Cronulla 18 (K Dixon, F Faatili, M McCarthy tries; K Dixon 3 goals) def. Sydney Roosters 10 (H Barton, N Goodman tries; J Durkin goal) at PointsBet Stadium. Ref: L Matheson. HT: CRO 16-4. Tackles: C Jarvis 30 (CRO), J De Lisle 35 (SYD). Run metres: F Faatili 176 (CRO), C Hill 162 (SYD).
Penrith 22 (A Hotere-Papalii, J Liddiard, B Moran, J Nohra tries; J Liddiard 3 goals) def. Melbourne 18 (A Hinchey 2, M Amosa tries; J Berryman 2, D Perese goals) at AAMI Park. Ref: L Greenfield. HT: 8-all. Tackles: P Conn 30 (MEL), J Sagaga 31 (PEN). Run metres: H Peel 148 (MEL), R Wake 137 (PEN).
Newcastle 26 (C Votano 2, L Aoake, J McEwen, T Woodman-Tuhoro tries; C Votano 3 goals) def. Manly 24 (O Lawry, T May, A Naiyep, C Patu tries; K Weatherall-Stacey 4 goals) at Newcastle Centre of Excellence. Ref: B Hunt. HT: NEW 16-4. Tackles: M Martin 33 (NEW), B Konz 32 (MAN). Run metres: C Votano 130 (NEW), A Naiyep 152 (MAN).