Langer Trophy 2025 schoolboy rugby league special: Meet the captains from your school
Langer Trophy schoolboy special: Meet the captains from your school who will be leading the way when the elite rugby league competition starts.
Local sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The Langer Trophy will explode to life on June 3-4 when round one schoolboy rugby league matches kick off for the new season.
This publication and all News Corp Australia digital mastheads will again be your home of NRL National Schoolboy and Schoolgirl Cup rugby league competitions.
All games will be exclusively live streamed on Kommunity TV.
So who are the respective captains tasked with leading their schools into battle during the elite Brisbane Broncos-sponsored competition?
The captaincy ranks include top flight NRL prospects like Ipswich SHS’s Xzavier Timoteo (Roosters), Mabel Park SHS’s Dean Tauaa (Broncos) and Marsden SHS’s Tupou Francis (Broncos).
There is also a nice mix of true blue kids like Keebra Park SHS rake Cooper Murphy, Stretton State College’s Lewis Gardner and Redcliffe SHS junior Amare Wynyard who has aspirations to play NRL with his local side, the Dolphins.
Wavell SHS prop Hayden Polson, another Dolphins’ recruit, will captain the Warriors while dummyhalf Jai Bilish, the younger brother of 2024 premiership-winning prop Rocco, will captain the Palm Beach Currumbin Reds.
MEETING THE LANGER TROPHY CAPTAINS
Xzavier Timoteo (Ipswich SHS)
A 2024 and 2025 Queensland schoolboys selection, Timoteo is an explosive prop sure to be one of the more devastating players in the competition this season.
Signed by the Roosters, he comes onto the ball like he has been fired out of a cannon.
The Redbank local, who dabbled in rugby first at the Ipswich Rangers before finding his niche as a wrecking-ball prop, also has nice footwork and mobility at the line which adds a dimension to his impact.
A big fan of his mother Sharon’s lasagne and potato bake, Timoteo is a proud Ipswich SHS student who will do anything to give his side an edge.
Junior club: Souths Acacia Ridge Magpies.
NRL idol: Payne Haas.
Biggest influence and why: My mum (Sharon) and everyone who has helped me along the way.
Second favourite position: I have only ever known the front row to be honest, but I’d say lock.
Your favourite other sport: I am picking up a lot of golf lately, and I do enjoy tennis.
Dean Tauaa (Mabel Park SHS)
Signed by the Broncos, Tauaa is a rousing centre prospect who is coming off the best season of club football in his life.
Having benefited from training over the summer with the Broncos Academy, and then being coached by experienced Cup mentor Jon Buchanan at Wynnum Manly, Tauaa enters the Langer season at the top of his game.
Junior club: Logan Brothers.
NRL idol: Josh Papali’i. My cousin, he has been a big influence on my life and my family. He is the first one in our family to play NRL.
Biggest influence and why: My dad Tau. He has been there for me. He gets me to training, he gets me from A to B and pushes me. I owe it all to him and my mum especially.
Second favourite position: Lock. I used to be a forward until I transitioned into a centre because I love to run.
Your favourite other sport: Volleyball.
Jai Bilish (Palm Beach Currumbin SHS)
An outstanding under-age hooker who was a big part of PBC SHS’s national championship winning squad in 2024, quicksilver dummy half Bilish is just super sharp and has learned quickly after transitioning to the No. 9 role just three years ago.
When you consider the remarkable honour board of past PBC SHS captains, Bilish is in rare air — and he knows it.
He will relish a leadership role after being an apprentice in the best schoolboy system in the land.
Junior club: Mount Albert Lions.
NRL idol: Harry Grant. He plays with his head which makes him so special to me. I like the way he plays eyes up footy.
Biggest influence and why: My dad Ryan. He taught me about hard work. He moved his family over here (from New Zealand) which must have been pretty hard to do. He gets up very early every morning and goes to work. He is someone I try to be like every day.
Second favourite position: Lock or five-eight.
Your favourite other sport: Oztag and surfing (anywhere between Kirra and the Tweed border).
Cooper Murphy (Keebra Park SHS)
A Gold Coast boy through and through, dummyhalf Murphy is somewhat of a quiet achiever in what shapes up as an All-Star outfit.
Always sporting bright pink headgear, he tasted Langer Trophy last season but has been handed the greatest honour of his career by leading a Keebra Park SHS side into the esteemed competition.
Murphy represented South Coast at the recent QRSS championships in Gladstone.
Junior club: Helensvale Hornets. It has a great junior system and good coaches.
NRL idol: Blayke Brailey (Cronulla hooker). As a hooker, it is good to watch him and work my game around the way he plays.
Biggest influence and why: My mum Katie. She has sacrificed so much for me. It is beyond words what she has done for me. I just love her to death.
Second favourite position: Lock.
Your favourite other sport: I am not too good at it, but I like watching basketball.
Hayden Polson (Wavell SHS)
The Queensland City player of the match in its recent clash against the Country Under-17s at Langlands Park, mobile middle forward Polson has come through the year levels at Wavell SHS after attending primary school at Somerset Hills SS.
A Dolphins Academy forward, Polson is a fan of the back row but coaches tend to like his work rate and ability to play extended minutes in the middle.
He is coming off a ripper Connell Cup campaign for Norths.
Junior club: Wests Mitchelton and Norths Devils.
NRL idol: Liam Martin (Penrith) He is the ideal back rower who has it all. He’s fast, aggressive, mobile. He is someone I can really base my game off.
Biggest influence and why: My family. They put a lot of time into my footy. I am really grateful for the effort they have put into me. Also Wavell SHS has shaped me into the player and person that I am today.
Second favourite position: Second row.
Your favourite other sport: Golf.
Amare Wynyard (Redcliffe SHS)
A clever hooker signed by the Dolphins, Wynyard played some of this season’s Meninga Cup season as a running, ball playing No. 13.
Wynyard is footy smart and someone his teammates love to follow.
He has come through the Redcliffe Dolphins system alongside a host of talented Redcliffe SHS teammates like Cody Starr, Nate Berrigan, Jairus Suliasi, Kaleb Teu and Taufa Taulani.
Watch out for these Redcliffe Eagles.
Junior club: Redcliffe Dolphins.
NRL idol: Cameron Smith.
Biggest influence and why: My dad Andrew and Mr Murray who has been our coach for most of our schooling.
Second favourite position: Lock.
Your favourite other sport: Basketball.
Lewis Gardner (Stretton State College)
A Stretton State College junior from his shoelaces right to the top of his head, Gardner has come through the tough as teak club of Logan Brothers.
A prop, he’ll play his heart out game in, game out for the fledgling squad playing in its first season of Langer Trophy.
Junior club: Logan Brothers. I moved to the Waterford Demons for a small portion but then went back to Logan Brothers.
NRL idol: Growing up it was Johnathan Thurston. He was always the main one that I idolised.
Biggest influence and why: I’d say our coach Rhys Jacks. He has been a big influence on me along my whole high school journey. He has helped me become a better person and a better player.
He’s a good role model because he knows what we are going through because he has been there before.
Second favourite position: Centre. I played it last year.
Your favourite other sport: I love playing a bit of cricket. I played at Macgregor growing up. I’ve always loved playing it.
Tupou Francis (Marsden SHS)
Signed by the Brisbane Broncos, the hard running No. 13 is a natural captain who grew up a lot last season when lead an undermanned Marsden SHS admirably into battle.
He was such an inspiring character that he carried his school side all the way into an unexpected grand final berth against eventual winners Palm Beach Currumbin SHS.
Junior club: Beaudesert Kingfishers and the Hawks.
NRL idol: My brother Tony (Titans, NRL). He keeps me in check, keeps me humble and has shown me the best way to get to where he is now. I am sort of following in his footsteps.
Biggest influence and why: My dad Frank because of all the sacrifices he has made for me. He has put a lot of time and money into me.
Second favourite position: Back row.
Your favourite other sport: Golf.
Crystal ball: What the Qld Reds could look like later this decade
The Queensland Reds are closing in on Super Rugby finals, but what could they look like later this decade? Enjoy this crystal ball gaze into the future with potential Reds stars of tomorrow unveiled.
TAS First XV schoolboy rugby’s Rd 4 players of the week
TAS First XV rugby’s Round 4 players of the week have been named following an off the charts performance from St Columban’s centre Akeli Filipo. More here, including the best photos so far this season.