Cutters products Jaxon Purdue, Sean Mullany made impressive NRL cases in Cowboys trial

An NRL trial match was placed on our doorstep, but the local connection ran far deeper. Find out how Mackay’s very own performed, and what they had to say about the opportunity.

Mackay pair Jaxon Purdue and Sean Mullany pictured after representing their first game in Cowboys colours. Picture: Mitch Bourke.

BB Print Stadium stood still.

He couldn’t, could he?

Disbelieving breaths were drawn. Eyes fixated. Mouths aghast. Tentatively, then resoundingly, cheers began to erupt.

At just 18 years of age, local boy Jaxon Purdue, stationed at full back, plucked Tristain Sailor’s grubber and stepped out of his path. As he brought the bobbling footy under control he would dash at the open Broncos line and fail to look back, running the length of the field for a try as memorable as they come.

“I was juggling the ball around and I thought I was going to get whacked,” Purdue recalled of the memorable moment.

“I was just going full flight, got the ball and I looked up and just saw open space.

“I heard the crowd fully behind me. I was just thinking in my head ‘surely I score, I hope I get there.’

“It’s something I’ll remember for a long time.”

Jaxon Purdue in action for his schoolboy’s footy side, St Pat’s, he graduate no less than six months ago. Picture: Matthew Elkerton

The try may not have had any bearing on the result, with an undermanned Cowboys falling 46-20 to a close-to-full-strength Broncos in the NRL trial, but it was a moment that reinforced the rising star’s immunity to the ceilings that are expectations.

Arguably as impressive, was the fact that Purdue’s eye-catching 50-minute cameo came at fullback. It’s a position he had never played, but one he had been familiarising himself with when he trained with the Cowboys senior squad.

“It’s good to learn a new position, half’s a lot different to fullback,” he said.

“Today I did a lot more running than a half. The gamespeed was crazy and not what I was used to but I loved it.

“The collision as well, there were some big hits and it’s hard to win a tackle against them big boys.”

Understandably, the teen had to pinch himself a few times throughout the course of the match.

“I got the ball at fullback and I looked up and I had Payne Haas and a few other big names to run at,” Purdue said.

“ I had to pick who to run at and I was like ‘oh geez, what am I doing?’ I think I picked the dummy half, the smallest bloke on the field.”

Cutter captain Sean Mullany - who has been with the Mackay club since 2021 - also figured in the pre-season clash and wove and cut through the Broncos defence from dummy half for a try of his own in the first half.

Sean Mullany in action for the Cowboys. Picture: Michaela Harlow

“It was a cool moment,” Mullany reflected.

“Tom Chester had a great run and gave me a quick play-the-ball. To capitalise on that is probably something I’ll look back on when all the adrenaline’s gone.

“It was a pretty special moment for me even if it was only a trial. It’s pretty cool to have your family watching that and be proud of you as well.”

A natural hooker, the versatile Mullany has spent the bulk of his Cutters career at lock, but if an opportunity is to present with the Cowboys it’ll likely be in around the ruck.

He was candid in response to which position he prefers.

“It probably changes when I play, I play at hooker I think I’m a hooker, I play at lock I think I’m a lock,” he said.

“I’ve played at half and then I think I’m a half, which I’m definitely not.”

A concreter by trade, Mullany relished the opportunity to lay off the tools throughout his pre-Christmas training block with the Cowboys, and again in the week leading up to Sunday’s match

“It’s pretty full on, it was good to do a pre-season this year and rest the body on the tools,” Mullany said after the game.

“Coming back to Cutters training and working you can definitely feel the difference.

“I’ll probably have to ring the boss up and tell him I won’t be able to work tomorrow.”

Analysis

Jaxon Purdue

Mere selection in an NRL trial match at just 18 years of age - let alone 50 minutes on the park - is a testament to how highly Purdue is regarded at the Cowboys; particularly when you couple with that how Payten was willing to give him his opportunity out of position at fullback.

As is to be expected with any player of his age getting their first taste at that level, there were several minor blips in Purdue’s performance, such as an overzealous offload that led to a turnover or being out-jumped to get first hands on a flighted kick that resulted in a try.

These moments aren’t cause for concern, and were far outweighed by the many positives of Purdue’s performance.

His composure under the highball was particularly impressive, avoiding a single fumble despite the numerous instances he had a forward pack spearheaded by Payne Haas bearing down on him, and he also made some good carries.

One of the most notable aspects of his performance was a willingness to marshall the troops and bark orders from fullback. It isn't easy for a player of that age and inexperience to do, and it’s a quality Payten would appreciate greatly.

Jaxon Purdue makes a dash with the footy stowed safely. Picture: Michaela Harlow

Despite his slight build that saw him occasionally outmuscled defensively, Purdue finished the match with a flurry of pivotal defensive moments in a matter of minutes. First came a try-saving holdup in the in-goal, which was quickly followed by a some solid sweeping to stop a dangerous grubber being converted into points, before a lunging handful of jersey was enough to prevent Deine Mariner from skipping through the backfield.

And who could forget that try? He picked the holes in the Broncos defence perfectly and showcased an impressive turn of foot as he hit clear space in the backfield.

The dash also saw the youngster finish with the a match-high 203 run metres to go with six tackle breaks. You suspect it won’t be the last time we see him in a Cowboys jersey.

Mullany is held up. Picture: Michaela Harlow

Sean Mullany

Mullany was clinical in what was a golden opportunity to start at hooker for the Cowboys. He barely misstepped throughout the entire match and lay the more tackles than anyone on the park with 42.

Had a notable moment early in the clash when he rushed off his line and toppled Pat Carrigan with a desperate low hit.

Mullany’s biggest highlight was no doubt his try in the 33rd minute, it was a sharp piece of awareness to bolt out of dummy half and he finished clinically, slicing and splitting through the Broncos defence from close-range

The performance could well have cemented his standing as the man to fill the void that will be left when Jake Granville retires.