RLO Newsletter 5/9: 11 debut in Round 27

Colts finals, Flegg finals, Schools finals and a look at the NZ Schools scene.

The NRL regular season is over and it ended with 11 players getting their first taste of first grade, by far the most in any round this year.

While the usual suspects complained all week about teams resting players before the finals, I don’t think coaches went far enough. Ivan Cleary should have rested all of his rep players. It was complete negligence to risk all of his players in a (basically) meaningless game, one week out from the finals. He should’ve taken the week off as well. I’m not mad.

Anyway, I think players debuting is cool and good and we got to see a lot of them in Round 27. From reserve-grade grafters and farmers to junior rep stars and Victorians. There were some great stories surrounding all 11 players.

Josh Rogers: One of the aforementioned grafters, Rogers is a Perth junior who played SG Ball for the Pirates before moving to the Gold Coast to join Burleigh’s Colts side in 2015. After a year with the Bears, he was called up to the Titans’ under-20 side, where he played 21 games. He returned to Burleigh in 2017, playing 66 Queensland Cup games over five seasons and winning a premiership in 2019. The competition’s five-eighth of the year in 2022, he joined the Broncos on a development contract this year and moved over to Wynnum Manly before making his NRL debut at 27 years old.

Blake Mozer: The most hyped dummy half prospect in years, Mozer played 24 minutes in his debut for the Broncos last Friday. A Runaway Bay junior, he won back-to-back Mal Meninga Cup Grand Finals with Tweed and Souths Logan in 2021-2022. After a pitstop in the Colts, he was promoted to Cup last year and became a regular at Souths Logan in 2023. A two-time Queensland under-19 rep and an Australian Schoolboy in 2021, he re-signed with the Broncos until the end of 2025 last season.

Jack Howarth: A long-awaited debut despite still being just 20, Howarth earned a five-year contract with the Storm after just five Cup games. A Rockhampton junior, he played MM Cup for Easts while attending Brisbane Boys’ College. In 2019, he represented Queensland under-18 and the Australian Schoolboys alongside the likes of Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow. He spent most of 2022 playing centre for the Sunshine Coast before moving back to his preferred position of second-row this year. He debuted on the edge last Friday, making 31 tackles in 65 minutes.

Sualauvi Faalogo: Faalogo made the biggest mark of any debutant in Round 27, scoring a ridiculous try with his first touch against the Broncos. A true Victorian junior, Faalogo attended Craigieburn Secondary while progressing through the Thunderbolts system. He played 19 Jersey Flegg games before playing a handful of Cup games for the Sunshine Coast last year. In 2023, he became a regular despite still being Flegg-eligible, scoring 13 tries in 18 games.

Joe Chan: A debutant but no rookie, Chan played 26 Super League games before joining the Storm in 2023. A middle forward like his dad Alex, the pair became the Storm’s first father-son duo when Joe debuted last Friday. A St Clair junior, he played one Flegg game this year before spending the rest of the season with the Tigers in the Q Cup.

Josh Feledy: Feledy first came to my attention when he scored 20 tries in 10 Harold Matthews games for Manly in 2021. A Beacon Hill junior, Feledy moved to the Wests Tigers halfway through the 2022 season. He started 2023 in SG Ball before moving back up to Flegg, scoring 11 tries in 16 games and representing New South Wales under-19 in July. After two tries in two NSW Cup games for the Magpies, he earned his NRL call-up.

Kit Laulili’i: Laulili’i made his NRL debut a year after leading the Magpies to a Harold Matthews premiership in 2022. The Liverpool junior began the year in SG Ball, again captaining the Magpies, before moving on to Flegg, where he played eight games. The lock played just three NSW Cup games in recent weeks before getting the first-grade call. His younger brother Luke was selected for the Australian Schoolboys side in July.

Kalani Going: Another who made it to first grade the hard way, Going was plucked out of Whangarei by Canberra as a 16-year-old and spent six years in the Raiders’ system. After 33 NYC games, he moved up to the NSW Cup with the Mounties before making a move to Tweed, where he spent two seasons. He returned home in 2020 and spent three years playing local rugby union and working on his family’s farm before trialling with the Warriors’ NSW Cup side in pre-season. Fast forward 10 months and the backrower is the captain of the side, playing 22 games, and making his NRL debut at 26.

Paul Roache: Roache followed a similar path to first grade as his teammate Going. He joined Canberra as a teenager out of Mount Albert Grammar, spending two years in their under-20 system and representing the Junior Kiwis before returning to Auckland to play union. The 24-year-old returned to rugby league with the Warriors’ NSW Cup team this year and played 13 games at dummy half. His older brother Nathaniel played 27 NRL games, and his younger sister Abigail is currently with the Knights’ NRLW side.

Riley Jones: A Central Coast junior, Jones played in all four grades for the Knights before making his NRL debut last Saturday. After progressing through Matts and Ball, he made his NSW Cup debut back in 2021 before playing Flegg in 2022. Predominately a hooker, he played all over in the Knights’ run to the Grand Final last year, spending time at fullback, five-eighth, halfback and second-row.

Hohepa Puru: Puru captained Penrith and was named Player of the Match in last year’s Flegg Grand Final win over the Knights. The lock played 32 games over two seasons in the under-21s before moving down to Canberra in 2023. The Windsor junior earned a much-deserved debut last Sunday after 22 games in the Raiders’ NSW Cup side. His twin brother Niwhai is currently contracted to the Sharks.

🏉 Colts marches on towards its inevitable demise

Townsville and Redcliffe both progressed through to the prelims with pretty comfortable wins in Week 2 of the finals.

Up in Townsville, after a tight first half in which they led the Falcons 18-12, the Blackhawks showed their class in the second, scoring five tries to lead 42-18 inside the final eight minutes. In typical Colts fashion, they conceded two tries within two minutes to make the score closer than it should’ve been. Blackhawks winger Jesse Yallop scored another hat trick and is now just one try away from 50 in the competition.

On the Gold Coast, the Dolphins led Burleigh 20-0 at halftime before letting the Bears back into it late. They were up 28-6 with 15 left before the home side got within 12 inside the final four minutes. Two tries in four minutes is nothing in Colts, so a Brenton Baira field goal was needed to put the game to bed with two minutes remaining. Burleigh, who went on a nine-game winning run during the regular season, ended their year with four straight defeats.

Townsville will face Tweed this weekend in the first prelim. The two sides played way back in Round 1 with Tweed blowing them out 34-6. In the second prelim, Redcliffe will play the Tigers. When the sides met in Round 8, the Tigers took it 22-16.

My predictions for this weekend are: lots of points are scored and the Seagulls and Tigers win.

Redcliffe’s James Walsh was named QRL’s “Heavy Lifter” this week. You can watch his highlights here.

🏉 Penrith vanquished in Flegg

Parramatta overcame an early deficit to eliminate reigning premiers Penrith in the opening week of finals, while Canterbury put 44 points past Cronulla.

Despite being in poor form in the lead-up, it looked like the Panthers would do Panthers things and turn it on when it mattered. They led 12-0 after 20 minutes but went into the break 18-12 down after a Matthew Arthur-led comeback by the Eels. Parramatta led 30-16 inside the final 10 and a late try gave Penrith a chance but the Eels held on, defeating their rivals for the second week in a row.

Canterbury moved into this weekend’s Grand Final qualifier with a 44-22 win over Cronulla last Sunday. The Bulldogs led 30-12 at the break but the Sharks got back into in the second, reducing the margin to 10 with 20 minutes to play. Canterbury regained control inside the final 10 minutes, scoring two more tries to push the margin back to 22. The Bulldogs have been bolstered by the addition of Joash Papalii and Karl Oloapu and look to be a real contender for the title.

The Dogs will now meet the Roosters for the first spot in the Grand Final, while Cronulla head into an elimination game against Parramatta. My predictions are: the Eels’ hot form continues and the Roosters stumble after the week off and Canterbury moves onto the decider.

🏉 McCathie named Flegg’s best

Roosters backrower Max McCathie was named Jersey Flegg Player of the Year at the Brad Fittler Medal Awards night on Monday. McCathie, who made his Flegg debut in a preliminary final last year, played 19 games for the Tricolours in 2023 as they took out the minor premiership. Previous winners include Beau Fermor (2018), Charlie Staines (2019) and Jack Cole (2022).

🏉 Rankin to coach Eels U21s in ‘24
Something I missed last week, with Jordan Rankin being been appointed as Parramatta’s Jersey Flegg coach for 2024. The 31 year old, who only retired last week, already has some solid coaching experience under his belt. He captain-coached the Eels’ NSW Cup side for half of last season and was an assistant for the club’s SG Ball Cup winning side in May. Before becoming the third youngest debutant in NSWRL/ARL/NRL history in 2008, Rankin was a star junior on the Gold Coast. He played four seasons in the NYC, represented Queensland under-18 twice and was an Australian Schoolboy twice.

🏉 National Schools Finals set

Palm Beach Currumbin are Queensland Schoolboys champions for the 11th time after a dominant 28-0 win over St Patrick’s College Mackay in Townsville. The Reds led 10-0 at halftime but a try to Baylen Donald, set up by a great break from Ray Puru after halftime was too much for St Pat’s. A Pat’s sin bin in the final 10 minutes was followed by two more PBC tries to cap the victory. It was a disappointing end for the Mackay school, who were undefeated until meeting a tough PBC side.

Earlier in the day, Mabel Park State High became the inaugural Queensland Schoolgirls champions when they shut out Kirwan State High 38-0. It was a star performance by Titans’ contracted five-eighth Malaela Su’a, who scored twice and looked a class above. Su’a represented Queensland under-19 earlier this year and played for the Reds Super W side as a 16-year-old in 2022.

In New South Wales, Westfields Sports High took out the Peter Mulholland Cup, defeating Patrician Brothers’ College Blacktown 18-17 in Campbelltown. Westfields never led in the game until a try in the final minutes to centre Roy Quiroz-Mapusua. Just a minute earlier, their five-eighth Lachlan Galvin dropped the game-winning try and then was sin-binned. Westfields were awarded the penalty, however, and Quiroz-Mapusua barged over from close range in the ensuing set.

The inaugural Schoolgirls final was won by Hills Sports High, who defeated Erindale College 20-14. Hills led 20-4 shortly after halftime with doubles to Manua Moleka and Esther Tuipulotu. Erindale mounted a fightback to cut the lead to six but it wasn’t to be.

The National Finals will be played on Wednesday, September 13 at Allianz Stadium. Mabel Park-Hills Sports kicks off at 11:30am (local), followed by Palm Beach Currumbin-Westfields Sports at 1pm.

🏉 More Colts thoughts

A week on from the decision to drop the Colts competition in 2024, I have changed my feeling from last week’s “I don’t care either way” to “this is probably not good”.

Having spoken to some people (who know a lot more than I do) and reading some other comments here and there, the general feeling is that the Colts, while not great, is still a much better place for players to develop than the alternative. Players in the Colts system have access to their Queensland Cup side’s coaches and facilities and get training and development they won’t get a their local park footy club. This will especially hurt the current 19/20-year-olds in the competition, who either aren’t contracted to NRL clubs, aren’t yet ready for Cup or simply miss out due to limited spots.

When the Warriors ditched their Jersey Flegg side at the end of 2019 we saw a lot of their players who weren’t ready for the NSW Cup move over to the Colts and into other Flegg teams. I think we’ll see something similar with the ex-Colts players next year.

I do like moving the ages up in the Mal Meninga Cup and Cyril Connell Challenge to align with the NSW junior reps. Hopefully, the Connell Challenge season will also be expanded, finals will be added, and we see a return of the National Finals between the NSW and Queensland winners. The addition of the girls under-17 comp is also a positive but like the CC Challenge, we need more games and finals for the girls in the 17s and 19s.

Like I said, probably not good but not catastrophic either. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. I think having some sort of competition between 19s and seniors is better than park footy. In saying all that, the QRL loves to chop and change the pathway competitions (it’s a miracle the Mal Meninga Cup has existed untouched since 2009) so who knows, we’ll probably see another Colts competition in 2026.

🏉 NZ Secondary Schools Champions crowned

St Thomas of Canterbury College claimed their first ever New Zealand Secondary Schools premiership, defeating St Paul’s College Auckland 12-6 in the final last Sunday. It’s the first time since the year 2000 that a South Island school has won the competition. St. Thomas prop Jason Salalilo was named MVP of the final, while St Paul’s fullback Sio Kali was named MVP of the tournament.

Auckland Girls Grammar took out the girls premiership, defeating Southern Cross Campus 30-12. Auckland Grammar’s Sariah Palepale was named tournament MVP.

In the lower grades, Aorere College defeated Wesley College 16-12 in the championship final and St Paul’s defeated Western Heights High 26-10 in the under-15 boys final.

Following the tournament, the NZRL Secondary Schools Boys and Girls squads were named.

2023 NZRL National Secondary Schools Boys Squad
1 Sio Kali (St Paul’s College)
2 Maretino Kaloudau (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
3 Sheldon Heywood (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
4 Jackson Stewart (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
5 Malakai Cama (Rotorua Boys’ High)
6 Quiann Feterikamafoe (St Paul’s College)
7 Meihana Pullen (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
8 Malakai Filippo (St Paul’s College)
9 Noah Harmer Campbell (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
10 Jason Salalilo (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
11 Tepatasi Laumalila (De La Salle College)
12 Mikaele Ilaiu (Rotorua Boys’ High)
13 Junior Sikuvea (De La Salle College)
14 Sosaia Latu (Otahuhu College)
15 Kalani P. Donaldson (De La Salle College)
16 Jeriko Fillipi Talisau (St Paul’s College)
17 Zeke Faga-Iti (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
18 Ezikele Paulo (St Thomas of Canterbury College)
19 Lenox Tuiloma (St Thomas of Canterbury College)

2023 NZRL National Secondary Schools Girls Squad:
1 Billy Va’a (St Mary’s College)
2 Shafenior Lui (Southern Cross Campus)
3 Faith Tevita (Auckland Girls Grammar)
4 Jemma Tonu’u (McAuley High)
5 Shanthie Lui (Southern Cross Campus)
6 Paea Uilou (Auckland Girls Grammar)
7 Danii-Nicole Gray (Auckland Girls Grammar)
8 Sariah Palepale (Auckland Girls Grammar)
9 Evelyn Roberts (McAuley High)
10 Indiana Russell-Lia (St Mary’s College)
11 Te Raukura Leafe (St Mary’s College)
12 Riley Fruean-Otineru (McAuley High)
13 Alianna Tonu’u (McAuley High)
14 Ivana Lauitiiti (McAuley High)
15 Josinah Filisi Tauliili (Southern Cross Campus)
16 Latesha Mitchener (Auckland Girls Grammar)
17 Luca-Bella Ngatuere Ongley (St Mary’s College)
18 Tonga Toutai (Southern Cross Campus)
19 Giovanna Siani (Auckland Girls Grammar)

🏉 NRLW Graduates – Round 7

While we didn’t quite reach the heights of the NRL, four more products of the QRL and NSWRL junior rep systems graduated to the NRLW this past weekend.

Lily Peacock came off the bench for the Cowboys in their significant loss to the Dragons. A Proserpine junior, Peacock played three BMD games for Mackay after the under-19 season ended. In July, she was one of the standouts for Queensland under-19 in their win over New South Wales, running for over 100 metres off the bench.

Camden’s Madison Mulhall was on the winning side of that Cowboys-Dragons game, starting at second-row and scoring a try on her debut in the Red V. Mulhall played 15 games over the last two seasons for St George’s Tarsha Gale Cup side.

Brooke Talataina and Bianca Bennetts became the Wests Tigers’ 9th and 10th graduates in their side’s loss to the Titans last Sunday. Talataina, who started at halfback, scored the winning try for the Roosters in May’s Tarsha Gale Grand Final. A New Zealand-born Penrith junior, she played for the Panthers’ Tarsha Gale side in 2022 and represented New South Wales under-19 earlier this year. Bennetts is a local Eagle Vale St Andrews junior who has spent the last two seasons in the club’s NSWRL Women’s Premiership side. She played two seasons in the Tarsha Gale Cup for the Tigers, playing 18 games in 2018-19.

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Around the grounds

For more information on all games head to 18thman.com.

Jersey Flegg Cup – Finals Week 1
Parramatta 30 (M Komolafe, B Parker, E Sanders, B Talagi, S Tuivaiti tries; E Sanders 5 goals) def. Penrith 20 (H Hassett, S Lane, P Taateo, R Wake tries; T Sielaff-Burns 2 goals) at North Sydney Oval. Referee: D Brady. Halftime: PAR 18-12. Tackles: Z Lipowicz 32 (PEN), M Arthur 40 (PAR). Run metres: P Taateo 139 (PEN), B Talagi 172 (PAR).

Canterbury 44 (T Johannssen 2, W Afualo, E Clark, J Papalii, L Smith, F Toilalo tries; J Papalii 8 goals) def. Cronulla 22 (S Taukamo 2, K Dixon, B Hosking tries; K Dixon 3 goals) at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. Referee: J Sutherland. Halftime: CRO 30-12. Tackles: D Marshall 32 (CBY), S Healey 42 (CRO). Run metres: J Todd 236 (CBY), S Stonestreet 159 (CRO).

Hastings Deering Colts – Finals Week 2
Townsville 44 (J Yallop 3, J Shibasaki 2, M Hunter, L Lerch, E Suavai tries; R Wavik 6 goals) def. Sunshine Coast 30 (E Smethills 2, H Dwyer, P McGinn, J Taufa tries; J Chappell 5 goals) at Jack Manski Oval. Referee: C Kwik. Halftime: TSV 18-12. Tackles: L Jack 24 (TSV), B Woodford 37 (SCF). Run metres: J Yallop 162 (TSV), T Couper 138 (SCF).

Redcliffe 33 (J Walsh 3, B Baira, W Starling, C Thomas tries; B Baira 4 goals, field goal) def. Burleigh 20 (C Lasike 2, A Christensen, Z Munn tries; B Tagg 2 goals) at UAA Park. Referee: M Gannon. Halftime: RED 20-0. Tackles: S McIntyre 37 (BUR), B Major 34 (RED). Run metres: A Christensen 258 (BUR), J Walsh 175 (RED).

NRL Schoolboy Cup
Phil Hall Cup final
Palm Beach Currumbin SHS 28 (B McConnell 2, B Donald, J Jackson, S Stephenson tries; Z Harrison 4 goals) def. St Patrick’s College Mackay 0 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Peter Mulholland Cup final
Westfields Sports High 18 (B Anae-Roberts, R Quiroz-Mapusua, D Waqa tries; R Quiroz-Mapusua 3 goals) def. Patrician Brothers’ Blacktown 17 (W De Courcey, A Kebourian, J Nicholas tries; J Sydir 2 goals, field goal) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

NRL Schoolgirl Cup
Queensland final
Mabel Park SHS 38 (S Asomua 2, M Su’a 2, K Siauane, D Tutakangahau, N Waaka-Rhind, H Walker tries; M Su’a 2, N Waaka-Rhind goals) def. Kirwan SHS 0 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

New South Wales final
Hills Sports High 20 (M Moleka 2, E Tuipulotu 2 tries; O Vaalele 2 goals) def. Erindale College 14 (E Kelly 2, U Uatisone Poka tries; M McGlynn goal) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium.

NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament
Boys Premiership Final
St Thomas of Canterbury College 12 (Donte Tahuhu-Wilson, Lennox Tuiloma tries; Meihana Pauling 2 goals) def. St Paul’s College Auckland 6 (Waka Tate try; Sio Kali goal) at Pulman Park.