GPS First XV rugby round 2 top 16 Players of the Week
GPS First XV: A BSHS boy on debut, halves from Grammar, Terrace and Churchie and the TGS No.15 shone to make our top 16 Players of the Week list from round 2. See the full list here.
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Four halves, a BSHS boy on debut and a Toowoomba Grammar School lock were among the first players picked in our GPS First XV rugby round 2 Players of the Week list.
Brisbane Grammar School halves Ryan Shaw (captain, No.10) and Ned Madden (halfback) directed their side to victory at a wind swept Northgate while Churchie’s No.9 Archie Wilson played a 9.5 out of 10 blinder against Ipswich Grammar School.
And at Nudgee, TGS lock George Griffiths (TGS) led a rousing effort by the Downs’ side who almost stole a draw with mighty Nudgee.
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OUR 20 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK FROM ROUND 1 LIST
Fullback: Kohen Briggs (IGS, fullback)
The classy Briggs is part of an exciting back division which will cause teams plenty of headaches this season. Tall and athletic, he competed with return kicks and with a dangerous running game.
Wing: Rhyder Ah Fook (BBC)
Ah fook looked in sharp form on Saturday. With a mix of speed and agility the left wing managed to make plenty of metres with almost every run.
He earned himself his first five-pointer of the season when slicing and dicing through the defence to score his team’s second and final try of the day.
With just a pinch of space, Ah Fook can be one of the competition’s more damaging wingers.
Wing: Samson Tuqiri (BBC)
Tuqiri joins wing partner Ah Fook on this list with more glimpses of sheer athletic ability and dazzling footwork.
What we didn’t know he had in his locker was a nifty kicking game. Tiquri set up a truly remarkable try to begin the proceedings on Saturday, dabbling a perfectly weighted grubber kick, off balance, for flying fullback Daniel Malum in pursuit.
Wing: Mac Kelley (Churchie)
Mac Kelley impressed with his effort and speed, but he entered the Players of the Week list for a crucial tackle on IGS Matt Barrow in the second half when he came from the other side of the field to shut the dangerous movement down.
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GPS PLAYERS TO WATCH IN SEASON 2022
Inside centre: Netani Lesimaikimatuku (BSHS)
Netani rose to the occasion on debut as BSHS challenged Brisbane Grammar in an fascinating round 2 clash at Northgate. He said with gusto and will be relieved to have that run under his belt.
Halves Ryan Shaw (fly half), Ned Madden (halfback) (Both Brisbane Grammar School)
In a game of cat and mouse, The Brisbane Grammar School halves kept their head when BSHS were coming to get their opponents. With the wind in their faces, they kept their motors warm as the cold set in late afternoon.
Halfback: Archie Wilson (Churchie)
Churchie halfback Wilson was here, there and everywhere on Saturday afternoon in a complete performance - garnished with a charge down try when he showed great desperation, and then by a second half runaway effort when IGS were pushing hard.
Halfback: Archie Xavier (Gregory Terrace)
Xavier is on fire to start the season. He makes it easy for his team with how brilliant he is with his service from the ruck and speed to the breakdown.
But, it’s his ability to snipe which direction to attack, when to feed the forwards and when to swing it to the backs that is so impressive.
Xavier was one of GT’s three tryscorers from Saturday’s nail biting win over BBC, diving in from close range with a sneaky pick up from the ruck.
No.8 Jack Gordon (BSHS)
Captain courageous rallied his troops who were well down at halftime, leading from the front as BSHS got as close as 21-17 before sliding to a 14 point loss to BGS.
No.8: Liam Le Blanc (Nudgee)
Le Blanc rolled his sleeves up with and without the ball to impact the match. When Nudgee’s wheels were spinning under pressure from TGS, Le Blanc was too the foe as TGS came hard at their tryline.
Flanker: Noah Clifford (Gregory Terrace)
Clifford was another piece of that destructive Terrace forward pack which managed to pull off the best win of the year yet.
Clifford worked, worked and kept working. With lock Xavier Grambower, Robinson and Charlie Cooke playing out of their skin as well, it was textbook rugby union at its finest.
But for schoolboys to come together like that makes it all the more impressive.
Lock: George Griffiths (TGS)
Griffiths and his second row partner, skipper Charlie Horn, helped inspire TGS to a morale victory over Nudgee at Nudgee.
Lock: Tom Robinson (Gregory Terrace)
It was a sight to see a bunch of towering blondes in the GT forward pack run riot at Tennyson on Saturday.
They all came together and their heart and pride for the crest on their jersey really showed.
Robinson reached in his bag of tricks to muster up one of the biggest runs of the day in the final five minutes when streaking away and scoring under the sticks to give his team the lead.
With their young core continuing to build confidence, this GT First XV team is going to be a real problem in the coming years.
Prop: Diamond Fifita (Churchie)
The athletic prop had a whale of a match around in an outstanding forward pack whose mobility and ball recycling was eye-catching against IGS.
Xavier Stiles (Gregory Terrace)
Wow Stiles was good — kind of like an unsung hero. He made it to every breakdown and continued to work tirelessly for the entire 70 minutes.
You could tell the sort of shift he put in to get GT over the line when putting his hands on his head and breathing in-and-out deeply after the full time siren.
He was an absolute work horse, on defence and when pick-and-driving.
ROUND 3
TSS v TGS
BGS v GT
ACGS v NC
IGS v BBC
BSHS bye
ROUND 4
BSHS v GT
TSS v Churchie
IGS v BGS
BBC v Nudgee
Bye: TGS