Queensland Maroons U19 State of Origin squad announced: Who’s who in the zoo?
Queensland Maroons U19 State of Origin next generation male and females players revealed here. See who made the elite emerging squads from your NRL club.
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Queensland Maroons next generation players can be glimpsed following the announcement of the U19 State of Origin male and female squads.
Queensland clubs have a majority of players in the squads.
Out of the male squad, the Dolphins have eight players, the Broncos six, the Titans seven and North Queensland two following the announcement of the Queensland Maroons U19 emerging State of Origin male squad.
Former Broncos and Dragons champion Darius Boyd will be the head coach of a squad. Read in to see who’s who in the zoo of Queensland’s finest junior rugby league teens.
Redcliffe Dolphins
Braelan Marsh: The son of a gun - his dad BJ was a State of Origin series winning hooker. Braelan Marsh hails from Central Queensland and was an early signing by the Dolphins.
Brian Pouniu: One of the first juniors signed by the Dolphins, the North Lakes Kangaroos edge player is a fine prospect with a big motor. He spearheaded the Dolphins’ Connell Cup squads to top billing in both 2023 and 2024.
Carter Ford: Another son of a gun - his dad is the late Carl Webb, a Maroons State of Origin hero - Ford went to rugby league finishing school St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon.
Charlie Dickson: The Langer Trophy Player of the Season last year (alongside Titans’ Zane Harrison), Dickson is an elite No.13 prospect who hails from the Moreton Bay Raiders.
Elijah McKay: A tall, rangy centre from Mackay, Central Queensland, McKay played his way into the Queensland schoolboys last season as a centre. He has plenty of potential, and is awfully sharp in the air.
Jac Finigan: A late signing by the Dolphins last year, Finigan is a two-time Langer Trophy premiership winning second rower from PBC SHS. He is an outstanding defender who hits and sticks.
Kilarney Lavendar: Lavender is a wildcard talent, a big outside back with enormous upside. He attends TSS and has been named on the bench for the Dolphins NRL side in their upcoming clash with affiliate club the Capras.
He is still in school and only 12 months ago made a startling return to footy after sustaining an ACL injury.
Zac Garton: Garton, a Caloundra SHS old boy, will play NRL one day.
The Gympie Devils junior was an Australian Schoolboy edge forward and is outstanding with the ball and in defence.
Titans
Bodhi Sharpley: One of the best big men in his age group is this edge forward from St Mary’s College. He is tall, mobile and hardworking.
Cooper Bai: The son of former Storm premiership winning winger Marcus, No.13 Bai hits like a freight train in defence and has a high work rate. He is a Marymount past student who does not look out of place training with the Titans NRL squad.
Harrison Hill: Hill was a class act for the Storm last season in the SG Ball Cup, but the hooker was squeezed out of the club which is Gold Coast’s good fortune.
He is a Wavell SHS past student who gets his team moving up the field quickly.
Javon Andrews:A five-eighth who has made a miracle recovery from a broken neck, Andrew was “millimetres” from never walking again after fracturing his C4 and C5 vertebrae during a football accident in 2021. He is a thrilling No.6 prospect who kicks goals as good as any.
Sam Stephenson: A 2024 Australian schoolboy, Stephenson comes from the championship winning PBC SHS side and will play centre. He started at centre last year as a schoolboy.
Sunny Kama: Kama is a reliable finisher who excelled at =PBC SHS, earning Queensland schoolboys selection last season on the wing. There are few better in the air in this age group than Kama. Just watch.
Ray Puru: Puru has a flash of x-factor about him. A Tweed Seagulls junior from PBC SHS, Puru can score a try with his own individual spark running down the middle, or from a clever pass and a fine finish.
Blink and you may miss him.
Brisbane Broncos
Coby Black: Impressive halfback Black is getting better with age, having recovered from a modest Meninga Cup campaign last season to finish strongly playing Queensland Cup for Souths Logan Magpies. The 18-year-old Marsden SHS product produced a man of the match performance in his debut and will is back for seconds with the Queensland Under-19s team this year as halfback.
Jett Bryce: Like Black, Bryce was steady in his age group last year, but shone strongly playing first grade against the men later in the season.
He is an elite back row prospect from Keebra Park SHS.
Dirhys Sefo: A towering presence at prop, Sefo was outstanding in the under-19s for the Souths Logan Magpies last season and deserves his selection. 2024 was a big year for the ginormous Brisbane State High old boy.
Jared Horne: Horne remains a high class No.13 prospect from Wavell SHS, a hard worker and tremendous team man who has long been a standout in his age group.
He has the hands and feet of an inside back which makes him such a handful at lock.
Phillip Coates: The brother of Xavier Coates, Phil is a big bodied edge forward who is just Powerful with a capital P. Watch this space.
Saxon Innes: Innes’ point of difference is his pace. Slightly built, he is electric and a project player for the future. He is a Marsden SHS past student with twinkle toes.
Cowboys
Maddox Goodwin: There should be no surprises here. Goodwin is a tenacious forward leader, Wavell SHS’s Langer Trophy captain last year. He has the build and ticker to be a prop in the NRL.
Zac Herdegen: The Cowboys already have a handful of NRL-ready halves and before long Bribie Island ace Herdegen could join that contingent. He is classy, with an impressive kicking skill set.
The rest of the squad:
Amare Milford: The Storm have locked down this man mountain from the Coast. He was once a Queensland Reds Under-18s rugby representative but quickly left an impression in the Meninga Cup last year for Burleigh to get on the radar of NRL clubs.
David Leota (Canterbury): His athletic brother Israel could well be a Bronco but don’t sleep on David. He is a skilful middle forward with a big engine.
Jai Bowden (Storm): What a weapon. Dummyhalf Bowden was masterful in his first SG Ball Cup hit out with the Storm last weekend. The Mountain Creek SHS product has something special about him.
Lui Lee (Roosters): Marsden SHS senior Lui Lee missed the 2024 school season but selectors know what he is all about. The naturally gifted outside back played in the Langer Trophy with distinction as a Year 10 student.
Prestyn Laine-Sietu (Sharks): The Sharks have snared the signature of Laine-Sietu, a Nudgee College product who has shone in both GPS First XV rugby and club rugby league for Redcliffe.
He sure knows how to find the tryline, and hold up his end of the bargain on defence.
Sam Hyne (Raiders): Laine-Sietu’s 2023 GPS First XV premiership winning teammate at Nudgee College, Hyne was a Norths Devil before the Raiders found a liking to the rough and tumble middle forward.
Xzavier Timoteo (Roosters): Originally a rugby junior from Ipswich, Timoteo knows no bounds. He is a physical Ipswich State High product who comes to life when the going gets tough.
Women’s Harvey Norman U19 emerging Origin squad, coached by Maia Tua-Davidson, is:
Chloe Pallisier: She is a special talent, a halve with vision you cannot teach. She is an x-factor prospect.
Ella Cronin-Flanagan: She was one of the finest, unsung forwards in club land last year and selection here is a tremendous reward for the prime moving Mackay Cutter.
India Seeto: The powerful Seeto can play halves or lock and is very good - no matter what position. She is just a footballer, who could put others into space with her eyes closed.
Jen Kimber: An elite centre prospect, Kimber stole the show in the Harvey under-19s grand final win last season for Cutters.
Keira Rangi: A second rower or No.13 who created history when she made the Queensland Under-12 boys league side - the only female to do so - because there was no representative teams for girls at the time. That was some time ago and now Rangi, a Wavell SHS product, has plenty of strings to her bow.
Lila Parr: Coming from a touch football background, Parr has shown tremendous hands and quick feet - but importantly is tenacious in defence. The Sunshine Coast Falcon is still relatively new to league but has made up for lost time over the past 24 months.
Deleni Paitai: A second rower from the Pine Central Holy Spirit Hornets catchment, Paitai is a high class edge player who would be at home in various positions.
A Queensland schoolgirlsselection last season, Deleni runs consistently effective lines to get her team onto the front foot.
Memory Paitai: Deleni’s sister, Memory was one of Redcliffe’s most reliable players in 2024, rising to the occasion as captain of the side. Now a year older, the No.13 or half will be wiser and more physically prepared for this club season.
Amanii Misa: This time last year Misa was gearing up for the inaugural Harvey Norman Under-17s competition for Souths Logan. Fast forward a year and Mabel Park SHS’s Girls Player of the Year is signed by the Broncos and a genuine NRLW prospect.
She is versatile, capable of playing in the halves, at lock and even as a middle forward.
Caitlin Tanner: Tanner was a revelation in 2024. She was a Ms Reliable in the halves for Wynnum-Manly’s under-19s and quickly the Cowboys took note.
Caydence Fouracre: Fouracre first made headlines as an 11-year-old bull rider from Fracemere, a rural town in the Rockhampton region. This time, it is her rugby league skills which could have her name up in lights.
The five-eighth can play.
Ella-Jaye Harrison-Leaunoa: Harrison-Leaunoa flies slightly under the radar and yet is one of the top playmakers going around in her age group. The gutsy pivot or centre, if required, is a great communicator who possesses a running and passing game that often brings the best out of teammates.
She was influential in Ipswich SHS’s Schoolgirls Cup premiership last year.
Eva Steers: A tone-setter from Norths, Steers was a Queensland Country under-17s selection from the Caboolture Snakes. She is set for a big season in the Harvey under-19s.
Fleur Ginn: Rugby and or rugby 7s would be lucky to keep Ginn in the code although the Stretton State College sporting wonder is a rugby league girl through and through.
A fine performer on the 7s stage for various teams such as Wests and Australia (Youth Commonwealth Games), Ginn first caught the eye as a Year 10 student in the 2022 Queensland Schoolgirls squad. She has gotten better and better, with the timing of her runs, brutality and sheer speed standout aspects of her game.
Harlem Walker: A Souths Logan Magpies young gun, Walker made the Queensland City Under-17s last year after starring for the Dolphins under-19s. The likes of Rangi, Olomalii, the Paitai’s and Hicks were all a part of that Redcliffe squad bristling with starpower.
Hayley Bush: Bush, a Redlands junior, has been Brilliant with a capital B for the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls under-19s for the past two seasons. Her selection here is a testament to her consistency, reliability and ability as a No.13, or even elsewhere.
Mackenzie Stephens: An Atherton Roosters junior, Stephens grew up playing family footy against her brothers and then advanced her career playing against the women in FNQ.
A prop or No.13, she had been on the up for quiet some time having made the 2023 under-17 Country side.
Mariah Brown: With a lion’s heart and sheer defensive intensity, Brown influenced the Queensland Schoolgirls’ grand final heave against the NSW Combined High School at last year’s National Championships in Coffs Harbour. They won and she was arguably the best on ground.
A highfields product from the Darling Downs region, Brown has the skillset to play anywhere in the backline. She is a big signing.
Mercedes Taulelai-Siala: She was a starter for last year’s team and in 2025 the centre position is hers to lose.
The Marist Ryze product, who represented the Queensland Reds Super W, has a nose for the tryline.
Mhia Mackey-Taylor: A Gold Coast product now with the Roosters Indigenous Academy contesting the Tarsha Gale Cup. She is a proud Keebra Park SHS product and edge forward battleship.
Nadia Windleborn: Burleigh has a young veteran in Windleborn and her selection here was expected. She was one of the best dummyhalves in the under-19s competition last year.
She is just smart, a good leader and always looming in support like all good hookers.
Natalia Vaeau: A dynamic fullback, Vaeau is one of the babies of the squad but you wouldn’t pick it. Watch for the awesome foursome of Zali Bettridge (halfback), Vaeau (centre), Nadia Windleborn (hooker) and Bella Thompson (fullback) in Burleigh’s first under-19s game this Saturday against Ipswich.
Nazlyn Wakka-Rind: Wakka-Rind was a big time player for Mabel Park’s opens girls team last year and for Canterbury’s junior representative sides. She oozes potential.
Oriana Clark: Clark comes from rugby league heartland in Ipswich where, for Ipswich SHS, she was a wrecking ball forward who knew no bounds. She would not look out of place on an edge when the under-19 State of Origin clash rolls around.
Pauline To’o: To’o is another proud Ipswich SHS alumni who had her hand in helping the school take out the Schoolgirls Cup title. A dangerous outside back, To’o has been a loyal servant to the Ipswich Jets club.
Raewyn Olomalii: The Marsden State High alumni was an Australian Schoolgirls selection last year and has both the passing game, running game, and defensive game to make every post a winner in the code.
Reegan Hicks: The former Beerwah Bulldogs and Stanley River Wolves junior will play for the NRLW Broncos this winter. Impressively, it will be her first season out of school having only graduated two months ago.
The tall, Australian Christian College product just has it.
Shalom Sauaso: Are we looking at the best schoolgirl rugby and league player of this decade? The Ipswich State High product is a serious sporting wonder. A trailblazer who, this year, will do what none have done before when she plays for the Queensland Reds while being a Broncos contracted 17-year-old waiting for her 18th birthday to play for Brisbane a few short months later.
Takoda Thompson: A gem from the Sunshine Coast, Thompson rose to every occasion during the Harvey Norman under-19s competition last year.
Her actions to all the talking.
Zoe Robson: Robson has something you can’t teach and that is speed. But she also has the stepping game down pat.
Seriously potent in attack.
Originally published as Queensland Maroons U19 State of Origin squad announced: Who’s who in the zoo?
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