Mustangs set to blood new talent with Mal Meninga Cup squad

RUGBY LEAGUE: The first piece of the puzzle for the Western Mustangs 2021 charge has been solved.

Rueben Tatow. Picture: Kevin Farmer

More than 70 aspiring talents were put through their paces at Glenholme Park at the weekend, all striving to earn a spot in the U18s Mal Meninga Cup squad.

Despite many having interrupted preparations and some having not played in 2020 due to the cancellation of competitions, Mustangs officials were impressed at the level of talent in front of them.

It’s what made deciding on the 36-man squad so tough for coach Brendan Wilson, who is optimistic for the season ahead.

“There was a good turnout and a strong quality of players. It was hard to narrow the squad down,” Wilson said.

“Considering a lot of them haven’t played football this year and were thrown into teams, they really excelled in a few areas.

“We’ll starting testing on Saturday at The Fit Lab before getting training underway on Tuesday.

“We’ll try to build them into a good team, and I think we’ve got the talent.”

Despite a high turnover among the playing group from this year’s team that won its only game of the season, Wilson believes they have the personnel to compete at a high level.

“Out of the starting 17 we had this year, only four are there,” he said.

“There are plenty that were on the borderline that are in the squad this year, and we’re hoping some of these guys stand up. Some have moved up to U21s while six have moved to Brisbane.”

U18s SQUAD

Ben Morris, Chad Lebsanft, Clancy McPherson, Clayton Andrews, Darcy Carswell, Dean Mauch, Declan Ryan, Domenic Whittingham, Dominic Jones-Pincombe, Isaac Jones, Jaycob Mudge, Jayden Thurston, Joel Thorne-Saffy, Joseph Currie, Joshua Truscott, Jovyn Johnston, Kaleb Stanton, Kelly Shadlow, Kooper Diment, Lachlan Fanning, Lachlan Taylor, Matt Wilson, Matt York, Mitch Berg, Morgan Byrne, Nathaneal Ganly, Noah Dwyer, Noah Shepley, Oliver Chaffey, Reily Land, Riley Wockner, Rueben Tatow, Ryan Gill, Will Brady, Xavier Va’a, Zachary Beckwith

Originally published as Mustangs set to blood new talent with Mal Meninga Cup squad