NRL Prospects: Young guns to watch Jersey Flegg finals as Karl Oloapu spearhead Canterbury’s campaign
Rising star Karl Oloapu is spearheading Canterbury’s push for a Jersey Flegg title. Check out the other NRL prospects to watch in week two of the Jersey Flegg finals series.
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Canterbury are going all-in in the pursuit of a Jersey Flegg premiership with teenage NRL rookie Karl Oloapu spearheading the Bulldogs’ under-21s title campaign.
After Canterbury’s NRL season imploded, a glimmer of hope for the future at Belmore has emerged in the club’s Flegg outfit, which finished the season second on the ladder.
Oloapu, the teen sensation that came with a $500,000 transfer fee from Brisbane, has again been named at five-eighth in Saturday’s major semi-final against the Sydney Roosters at Leichhardt Oval.
The highly touted 18-year-old made his NRL debut in round nine and played seven games before missing six weeks with a neck injury.
The Bulldogs brought him back in round 25 in a stacked Jersey Flegg side featuring Joash Papalii, the star fullback who dropped back from NSW Cup six weeks ago despite being one of the side’s best performers.
Canterbury have already won this season’s Harold Matthews Cup competition (under-17s) as football boss Phil Gould continues to rebuild their pathways system.
At Parramatta, Ethan Sanders is one of seven rising stars from their SG Ball premiership-winning side who have been elevated into the Flegg team for the Eels’ do-or-die minor-semi-final clash with the Cronulla Sharks.
We take a look at the rising stars and NRL prospects to watch in week two of the Jersey Flegg finals series.
Sam Stonestreet
Club: Sharks
Age: 21
Position: Winger
The rangy finisher packs plenty of pace and was used mostly in NSW Cup this year but is eligible for Flegg and called into the side to help give Cronulla an edge in the finals series. A local product locked in until the end of 2025, Stonestreet is poised for an NRL debut in 2024 after being named 18th man earlier this year.
Lachlan Crouch
Club: Sharks
Age: 20
Position: Prop/Lock
A hardworking forward that is hard to stop close to the line with a big motor and capable of playing big minutes in the middle. A strong Flegg finals campaign and NRL pre-season is likely to turn Crouch a run in the NRL trials in early 2024 as he edges closer to a debut. The rising forward was also the club’s SG Ball Player of the Year in 2022.
Blaize Talagi
Age: 19
Club: Eels
Position: Centre/five-eighth
Talagi came through as a five-eighth but has spent the year at centre where his ball playing and ability to create has helped the youngster excel on the edge. Not only does Talagi have silky skills, he’s also a solid defender. Was one of the top schoolboy prospects last year and part of Parramatta’s title-winning SG Ball outfit in 2023.
Ethan Sanders
Age: 19
Club: Eels
Position: Halfback
Player of the match in Parramatta’s SG Ball title win, Sanders has since been enlisted to help the Eels nab another junior title in Jersey Flegg. One of the best prospects coming out of Parramatta’s rejuvenated pathways system, the under-19’s NSW halfback is already a classy halfback with a well-developed kicking game.
Braith Alexander
Age: 20
Club: Roosters
Position: Halfback
The son of Penrith legend Greg Alexander, Braith was snapped up from the Panthers’ rich junior pathways earlier this year. Alexander is playing halfback for the Roosters’ Flegg side but can also slot into the spine at five-eighth or dummy half. Like his father, the youngster already has an astute football brain and is a game manager with a good kicking game.
Max McCathie
Age: 20
Club: Roosters
Position: Back row
McCathie was crowned as the Jersey Flegg Player of the Year at Monday’s Brad Fittler Medal awards. The second rower is a strong ball runner and just as physical in defence. Like Angus Crichton and Billy Smith, McCathie is also a product of the prestigious The Scots College.
Joash Papalii
Age: 18
Club: Bulldogs
Position: Fullback
Canterbury’s roster overhaul has Papalii poised to stake a claim for an NRL debut in 2024. A standout in the first week of the finals series, the fullback is a key cog in the Bulldogs’ title push. A St Johns Eagles junior, Papalii has explosive speed off the mark, a decent passing game and killer left foot step.
Originally published as NRL Prospects: Young guns to watch Jersey Flegg finals as Karl Oloapu spearhead Canterbury’s campaign
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