Confraternity Carnival: Top league rookies to watch
Revealed: Key Players to Watch at the time-honoured Confraternity Carnival schoolboy and schoolgirl rugby league competition next week at Iona College.
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Who will be some key Players to Watch at the time-honoured Confraternity Carnival schoolboy and schoolgirl rugby league competition next week.
Hundreds of players from around the state - including for the first time schoolgirl teams - will be hosted by Iona College next Monday to Friday.
The competition has seen some of Queensland’s greatest players emerge from the carnival, including Johnathan Thurston, Matthew Scott, Matthew Bowen, Bob Lindner, Wendell Sailor, Daly Cherry-Evans, Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster.
So who are some of the young guns taking part in this year’s carnival?
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jai Hansen (The Cathedral College, Rockhampton) made the Queensland team of the year in 2020 from his work in the Aaron Payne Cup. Likened to Cameron Smith for his build, his football smarts and his ability to drive his forward pack.
Hansen simply makes players around him better. Lethal on lazy marker defence, Hansen is contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys.
He is one of several Queensland players in the TCC rank and is coming off a grand campaign for the Capras Meninga Cup side which made the sem-finals and went within a whisker of a shock entry into the grand final.
Marist College Ashgrove is well known as a rugby breeding ground, but it also has a rich league history.
This season’s carnival campaign will be spearheaded by three indigenous boarders - Ky Rashleigh, Dwayne Ludwick and Hayden Lammon who have plenty of league experience.
Ludwick is related to Matt Bowen while Rasleigh comes from the rugby league rich Darling Downs. Under experienced BRL and Intrust Super League coach Wayne Treleaven, it will also be interesting to see how rugby fullback Patrick Tierney takes to league. Nick Harper and Will Andreas are proven performers upfront and will transition to league nicely after impressive rugby seasons.
Ethan Cocco of St Patrick’s College, Mackay is a real forward leader of one of Confro’s heavyweight teams. Coco has been a part of St Pat’s, Mackay throughout his secondary schooling. Known for his big heart, fast feet and strong legs, Coco is the leader of the pack.
He burst through the Kirwan defensive line last week to lead St Pat’s to a stunning upset of Queensland league champs Kirwan State High. His performance can help St Pat’s control the middle of the field and provide a key plank in their quest to claim their first Confraternity Shield title in 18 years. That was unheard of in 2003 when St Pat’s had won eight of the past 16 Confros.
An excellent outside back, Jeremy Trappett(Iona College) is coming off playing Connell Cup for Wynnum Manly and AIC First XV rugby for Iona College where he was named in the AIC Team of the Season. He is one of several exciting league players from Iona this season.
One of the form players coming into the carnival will be St Patrick’s College Shorncliffe centre Tim Ryan. A later bloomer, centre Ryan was arguably the player of the recent AIC First XV rugby season where he had rugby talent scouts scurrying to make contact with him.
St Edmund’s College’s campaign will be led by prop Larry Siala, halfback Zane Kaatz and centre Hayden Molkentien who was one of the rookies of the recent AIC First XV rugby season.
Fresh from helping his team win last night’s Titans Schools League Div 1 boys grand final, Marymount College’s half and hooker combination of Jacob Gillett and Fletcher Bulkeley will be front and centre. Gillett was named man of the match in the grand final victory, while the goal kicking Bulkeley is a big halfback who is prepared to straighten the attack and take the line on.
St Laurence’s premiership winning centre and AIC Team of the Season selection Mikael Ibrahim is also a rugby league young gun. Earlier in the season he was named Brisbane Tigers (Easts) player of the Connell Challenge under 16 competition. A strapping lad, he can play centre or edge forward.
Rugby league rich Padua College has a who’s who of old boys who have excelled, including David Stagg, Lindsay Collins, Paul Vautin, Paul McCabe and David Shillington, to name a few. So who will be leading Padu’s charge next week?
Ryan Trimble halfback plays club league at Wests and is a great runner of the ball and support player. Dan Healy is a forward middle who can also play on an edge.
He is very aggressive in defence and a good communicator who was named in the AIC First XV rugby team of the season.
Matthew Hill (St Brendan’s College, Yeppoon) is one of the most elusive backs in Queensland schoolboy footy, Hill is explosive at fullback for the St Brendan’s powerhouse. He featured in the Capras’ Under 18 team that reached the semi-finals of the Mal Meninga Cup. The Broncos recognised Hill’s talent last year when they signed him to a two-year development contract. Hill has a knack for knowing when to inject himself into the backline. Hill will be instrumental in St Brendan’s hopes of ending its longest Confraternity Shield drought since 1996.
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Chisholm Catholic College’s Dylan Trauntner will be a Player to Watch throughout this year’s carnival. Dylan will captain the team and will be playing halfback. He is a great athlete, with a lot of speed and a good defensive game.
The Clairvaux MacKillop College campaign will be headed by a quality foursome - Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Zane Ford, Dylan Gibb and Jesse White
Tom Duffy (Ignatius Park College, Townsville) is one of the smartest halfbacks in Queensland schoolboy football. He has an excellent kicking game and is a very good organiser of a powerful Iggy Park backline. The Cowboys-contracted Duffy is a Townsville product who understands the depth of history in the Confraternity Shield. He featured in the Townsville Blackhawks’ Mal Meninga Cup team this season, scoring a try and kicking two goals in a narrow grand final loss to Tweed Seagulls.
St Thomas More’s Caleb Missi is a quietly spoken back who lets his actions speak louder than his words. He loves dominating the contact zone, and creating second phase play. He will be complemented by Matt Grigg, an industrious, hardworking middle forward. Watch out for his powerful carries, and his surprisingly long kick offs.
Another player to watch from St Thomas More is Mataio Tuigamala-Tovine, a powerful edge forward who possesses an accurate offload and who is strong one-on-one in defence. St Thomas More’s captain will be Cooper Gough, a middle forward, with the ability to tip on at the line. He leads through example and never goes missing in defence. The foursome will be looking to follow in the footsteps of old boys, Titans boom young gun forward Darius Farmer and Jaiyden Hunt who made his NRL debut recently with the Dragons.
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