NRL 2024 Round 1 team, SuperCoach news: Valynce Te Whare to make Dolphins return, Titans suffer injury blow
The battle for Brisbane’s coveted No.9 jumper is heating up, with the Broncos set to unleash teen sensation Blake Mozer in their season-opening trial. See the latest Queensland NRL team news.
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The four-way battle for Brisbane’s coveted No.9 jumper is hotting up with the Broncos ready to unleash teenage hooking sensation Blake Mozer in their season-opening trial on Saturday night.
The Queensland under-19s young gun will begin his quest for regular NRL action this season when he starts in the No.9 jumper in Brisbane’s clash against Wynnum Manly at Kougari Oval.
Brisbane’s big guns have been rested for the Seagulls hitout, opening the door for emerging stars such as Mozer, Xavier Willison, Ben Te Kura and Deine Mariner to impress Broncos coach Kevin Walters.
The Broncos’ hooking spot was regarded as Brisbane’s weakest link until Billy Walters superbly rose to the occasion last season, producing the finest form of his career to take a stranglehold on the No.9 jumper.
But the Broncos have been grooming Mozer for stardom for the past two years and such is their regard for the clever rake, he was invited to train with Brisbane’s NRL squad as a 17-year-old.
While Walters only needs to stay fit to start as Brisbane’s hooker for their premiership opener against the Roosters in Las Vegas, Mozer has a golden chance to leapfrog fellow rakes Tyson Smoothy and Cory Paix.
His 2024 campaign begins on Saturday night and former Broncos skipper Corey Parker says it’s time for Mozer to showcase his class after two years in Brisbane’s football program.
“Brisbane have high hopes for Blake Mozer and this can be his breakout year,” said 347-game Brisbane legend Parker.
“Blake has huge wraps as a prospect, so this is his chance to do everything he can to take his opportunity and his first big test comes on Saturday night in the trial game against Wynnum Manly.
“He’s still only 19, so he has a lot of time on his side. Mozer has done a couple of pre-seasons at the Broncos and would feel comfortable around the group, so I would love to see him take his opportunity this season.
“There’s no doubt Billy Walters deserves to be Brisbane’s starting nine, but it only takes one injury and suddenly they are down a hooker.
“This is Mozer’s chance to make a statement and potentially grab that No.14 jumper this season.”
A product of Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast, Mozer made his NRL debut in the final round of the regular season last year when Brisbane rested a host of top liners against Melbourne on the eve of the finals.
At 183cm, Mozer is tall for a hooker and was named man-of-the-match in Souths Logan’s grand-final victory in the Mal Meninga Cup two years ago, prompting the Broncos to sign him until the end of 2025.
Mozer continued his progression with 18 games for Brisbane’s feeder club Souths Logan in the Hostplus Cup last season and will be hungry for more NRL action this season.
With his cool head and creative thrust out of dummy half, Mozer has been likened to a young Cameron Smith, but Broncos assistant coach Matt Ballin says comparisons to the code’s greatest hooker are unfair.
“Blake is going really well but I really don’t like it when people compare him to Cameron Smith because Cameron was one of the best players in our game … ever,” said Ballin, himself a former NRL hooker.
“I just say to Blakey, ‘be yourself at training and work hard’. That’s as simple as I keep it for him.
“Blake has played one game of NRL.
“His trajectory will be based on effort and ability to stay focused on what Blake Mozer does well.
“We have got a heap of good hookers here at the Broncos. There is a lot of competition, but Blake has a bright future ahead.”
Smoothy was a utility back-up to Walters in last year’s NRL grand final, but Parker says Mozer has youth on his side to become Brisbane’s long-term hooker.
“There was a bit of a cloud over the hooking role at the Broncos,” Parker said.
“When Billy Walters was given the No.9 jumper, a lot of people weren’t sure, but he did a brilliant job last year and he is a walk-up start for the No.9.
“The Broncos have given Cory Paix permission to talk to other clubs and Tyson Smoothy did a good job last year off the bench.
“Billy can’t play 80 minutes, so that’s where Blake Mozer can step up and be a real super sub for the Broncos this year.
“Blake has been in the Queensland under-19s set up for the past two years, so this is his time to take his chance and take the next step.”
CULT HERO TAKES NEXT STEP TO REDEMPTION
—Travis Meyn
Dolphins cult hero Valynce Te Whare will take the next step towards saving his NRL career when Wayne Bennett unveils a junior NSW Origin prodigy in Redcliffe colours.
Te Whare will be the headline act when the Dolphins kick off their pre-season trials campaign against the CQ Capras in Rockhampton on Saturday night.
The Kiwi fan favourite was banished from Dolphins training before Christmas after reporting in poor shape and given an ultimatum to lose weight if he wanted to play in the NRL again.
Te Whare did just that and will take the next step towards redemption when he suits up in a Dolphins team of mostly fringe first graders and emerging talent against the Hostplus Cup’s Capras.
Bennett will keep star recruits Herbie Farnworth, Tom Flegler and Jake Averillo on ice until the NRL Pre-season Challenge.
Among this weekend’s players will be Oryn Keeley – the former Newcastle dynamo who fought back from the brink of retirement in his teenage years to pull on the sky blue of NSW.
Keeley, 21, suffered a fractured neck when he was 16 and was told he may never play rugby league again.
He missed nearly three years of footy due to the neck injury, Covid and a knee issue, but made his NRL debut for the Knights in 2022, the year he featured in the NSW under-19s Origin team, and played his second first grade game last year.
Joining the Dolphins this season on a three-year contract, Keeley has been a standout at training and will present his case for a spot in the second row.
“When I was 16 I fractured my neck,” Keeley said.
“I was out for about two-and-a-half years and went through a tough time.
“I thought ‘be patient and I’ll get there’. That’s what I lived off.
“I played an NRL game when I was 19 then only got to play another one last year.
“This pre-season’s been a lot better for myself and I’m only going to get better.”
Keeley has some stiff competition for a spot in the back row with the likes of Felise Kaufusi, Tom Gilbert and Connelly Lemuelu at the Dolphins.
However the Dolphins have high hopes for him and he could feature in the NRL as the year progresses.
“I was pretty shocked (when the Dolphins offered me a three-year contract),” Keeley said.
“I didn’t even second guess, I just said ‘yep, I want to go’.
“I was a big fan of Wayne and the bunch of boys here. I knew they were a good group and I wanted to be part of that.
“There’s a great pack here and I want to learn off them every day.
“If I train hard and put my best foot forward, I can’t control what Wayne does.”
The Capras match is an unofficial trial, with the Dolphins to play NRL Pre-season Challenge matches against the Titans (February 18) and Warriors (February 24).
TITANS’ DOUBLE ROUND 1 BLOW
—Travis Meyn
Des Hasler is facing a double blow in his bid to resurrect the Titans with star duo David Fifita and Jayden Campbell racing the clock for the start of the 2024 NRL premiership.
With only a month until the Hasler era of the Titans kicks off, Fifita and Campbell have been on restricted training programs as they recover from surgery.
Fifita, the reigning Dally M second rower of the year, suffered a torn pectoral muscle during a training incident in early December.
The injury generally takes at least three months to recover from, which meant Fifita was treading a tightrope to feature in Gold Coast’s season-opening fixture against the Dragons on March 9.
However the Maroons Origin star is still yet to re-join his teammates in contact training and will be pushing to prove his fitness for the start of the season given he is unlikely to feature in any trial matches.
First-choice fullback Campbell is also behind the Eight ball after undergoing knee surgery last August.
Campbell suffered a dislocated patella late last season and has also been training away from the main squad.
With Maroons fullback A.J. Brimson shifting to the centres, young gun Keano Kini has been tearing up the training paddock in Campbell’s absence and is in line for a round 1 start in the No.1 jersey.
Hasler said Fifita and Campbell were progressing in their rehabilitation, but couldn’t put a date on their availability.
“David is progressing well, hopefully he gets cleared in a week or two and can start the heavy training,” he said.
“It will depend on the next diagnosis.
“(Campbell) is going okay and recuperating pretty well. He is getting better and is pending his next medical check-up with the surgeon.”
The absence of Fifita and Campbell early in the season would be a blow to Hasler in his first season in charge of the Titans after taking over the club from Justin Holbrook following back-to-back bottom four finishes.
Another issue is the fact the duo will have little pre-season training behind them when they do return to the team.
Fifita, who turns 24 later this month, is coming off a career-best season and Titans captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui said he was an important part of the team.
“He’s a special player and if you want to win he’s definitely that player to do something special,” he said.
“He’s tracking well. He’s starting to do more running and that’s exciting.
“He’s been locked up in rehab and it’s been pretty tough for him. It’s good to see him out here running and he’s got a smile on his face.”
The Titans will be boosted by the return of Maroons aspirant Beau Fermor, who missed the entire 2023 season due to a knee injury, in the back row and recruitment of Keenan Palasia from the Broncos, who has impressed during the pre-season.
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