NRL & NSW Cup Team
So for the purpose of this blog I am going to assume our full strength NRL and NSW Cup side is something like this.
Firstly, before I name the Jersey Flegg team the following players; Sam Tuivita (20), Joash Papalii (21), Richie Penisni(20) and Charlie Guymer(21) are the only 4 from these two lineups that could play in Jersey Flegg. Obviously with injuries many more players under 21 have/will be given the chance to play NSW Cup. Twiddle, Lewis, Nanva, Hunter, & Lokeni have all played a few games of cup this year already. Alamadine, Lynn, Brown, Neemia, De Stradis & Spence have played NSW Cup last year or played one game this year.
Jersey Flegg Team
The Jersey Flegg team is very hard to pick. The coaches have a key decision to make on developing vs winning the competition. The players listed beyond 18 are ordered by position and pecking order if spots become vacant in Jersey Flegg due to injuries/suspensions/promotions of first choice players. So this also gives you a good idea of players pushing to be a part of the playing 17 in their relevant position. However this was difficult to order 100% accurately as the team has been rotated around a lot due to injuries/suspension/form/giving younger players a go. I tried making the extended team list as small as possible so I refrained from adding any SG Ball players who have not made their Jersey Flegg debut.
Player Analysis
As you can see there is an influx of talent coming through the grades. Lot of these players are 21 years old so will not be eligible for Jersey Flegg next year. It is a make or break year for many of these players if they want to have a future at this club. So I hope the club has a strong focus on this development by pushing these players through the grades and giving them more chances in the NSW cup. This means players who have already reached their ceiling need to be moved on whilst having experienced heads to guide these players on their journey in becoming better players. In the current Jersey Flegg team the 21 year olds that we should persist with are Twiddle, Lewis, Nanva, Hunter, Brown, Neemia and De Stradis. Give them an NRL pre-season on train and trial contracts so they can fight for a spot in NSW Cup. Need to remember that there are 30 players on Top 30 contracts and 6 on development contracts. Thats 36 players and only 34 spots in NSW cup and NRL playing 17. Obviously injuries and suspensions happen but the main point is that there is not much space in developing players over 21 years old when there is no guarantee of them being good enough for the NRL. So it is critical that we choose the players to develop as some of the names listed above in this paragraph actually have good potential.
Replies
@ EA this is has to be the blog of the year. Unbelievable write up.
Out of all the players, who are your top 3 ?
I've seen a few players play.
what do you think of Lincoln Fletcher? I've seen him play, I thought he looks very good. Could be Moses replacement.
Thanks mate.
Very touch decision. I recon Lorenzo, Talagi, Bamblett.
Twiddle, Richie, Petrus and Popo would be up there as well. Funa-Luta as well when used as a middle.
Fletcher could well and truely be our Moses successor. He is only 18 and still in school. Aussie school boy last year that covered fullback, centre and halfback. But main position is halfback. He is currently injured which meant he hasn't played school footy and thus not available for Australian school boy team. He still has to build into his frame a lot
Well done EA great work i like to know bit about our juniors because i dont see them play each week
Who's the better prospect out of Teacum Brown and Damascus? Or are they the same but different styles?
Thanks
Yea different players.
Damascus Neemia is in Spencer Leniu / Moses Leota. Pure leg speed and aggression. So he can bust a few tackles with ease. An alright defender and decent motor.
Teacum Brown is tall, more lanky with good footwork for someone his size. Not as destructive as Neemia but still bends the line. Great motor and solid defender so better than Neemia off the ball. He is like a more athletic version of RCG. I think the club rate him more as he played in the NRL trial game to start the year. However he is currently injured. Saw him in a leg brace but not sure of the extent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il8_UbgBo34
If anyone wants to see some of our top prospects from HM, watch this under16's union game. Polley (6), Risati (10), Sorovi (11) and Bloomfield (13) are in this team. All will be 18 years old next year and in SG ball. All 4 could have massive futures in our team.
I know Risati has big wraps but very impressed with Sorovi....what's his background....your preface had u/16's but the You Tube had it as u/19's ??
Is Sorovi(nationality of origin) a sprinter (competition athlete) as well by any chance because he has skills apart from his pace.
It was under 16s. Not sure why YouTube said u19s.
No idea Poppa. But hopefully he is our next Radradra. He only played 35min of HM this season in round 1 due to injury. Was a real shame wasnt able to see him play more. The SG ball backline next year is going to be so elite
Brillant work EA and I agree with most if not all of your comments. The smokey for me is Chris PETRUS. Only scrapped into SG ball this year due to his age and a little bit of unknowns what he actually was, a back/forward etc. Defensively has the best front on defense in SG Ball. He has a great technique that simply folds players. He is great for dominating tackles 1 & 2. His attacking game is also very strong. Great lines, score two tries in GF including an absolute pearler off a kick. Big motor and is quite disciplined despite being such a physical imposing defender. Given he will only be 18 in December and is already playing FLEGG Ithink this guy is NRL . Further, he is at St Pats Blacktown where all the real good ones go and develop. Natural body development and continued training with better quality players will have a very, very good prospect in a few years time. MO must lock him up long term with PNG and PERTH looking for great young players that wont break the bank.
Lorenzo is a GUN and deserved the SG Ball player of the year award. Despite losing the GF in heartbreaking circumstances - lorenzo was a class above everyone including Top 30 Roosters Player Toby RODWELL. The ability to play eyes up footy as high speed is reserved for the only real good ones.
Max POPO is another destined for the NRL. Injured in GF , he was the leader of the pack, leader of line speed, leader oof transition plays. Not a big player by any nature, his motor and ability to be in the right spot at the right time is a valuable asset. His footy IQ is high and I think he is on the ' right path '.
I cannot believe Petrus was a winger for South's in HM last year. He has developed so well into a gun backrow playing JF at only 18 years old. He is killing it in the school boy competition as well right now and could earn himself an Aussie School boy jersey along with Bamblett and Polley. Even Johansson is a chance.
Renzo hopefully gets a taste of nsw cup this year before pre-season. Will probably start the year in JF again next year.
Yep Popo was elite. Unlucky he got injured because he earned himself an u19 blues jumper on the back of that season.
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