Shute Shield rugby 2020: Top young players to watch are revealed
As the Shute Shield competition reaches its halfway point, a new generation of rugby stars is emerging, mesmerising fans with their speed, skill and aggression. Find out who made our list of the top youngsters to watch.
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The Shute Shield is loaded with promising young rugby union talent, mesmerising all with their speed, skill, power and aggression at suburban footy grounds across Sydney.
Find out who are the top youngsters showcasing their wares in the Shute Shield competition in season 2020.
Nick Champion de Crespigny (Sydney University Football Club)
A hard hitting tackler who frequently gets under the skin of opposition players, the 24-year-old flanker has been a shining light of Sydney University Football Club’s recent success.
A product of Canberra Grammar School, Champion de Crespigny is strong at the breakdown.
Joined the club in 2015 and was a feature of premiership campaigns in 2018 and 2019.
Tim Clements (Sydney University Football Club)
The 23-year-old fullback joined Sydney University in 2015 and is a vocal member of the outfit, leading the team’s attacking play.
The product of St Joseph’s College in Hunters Hill, Clements is known for his strong contact and wide-ranging skill set.
A member of the club’s back-to-back premiership campaigns in 2018 and 2019.
Zac Crowley, 19 (Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union)
Crowley is a promising young fullback who has been playing Premier Rugby in Newcastle for two years.
He is elusive, quick, and skilful, and electric on the counter attack, but his biggest asset is his knowledge of the game.
Crowley has played for the NSW Combined High Schools, the Hawthorn Academy under-20s 7s, the NSW Waratahs under-20s 7s, and the Hunter Wildfires in an exhibition match against the Western Force.
Max Douglas (Manly Rugby Football Club)
Douglas has established himself in first grade this year in the second row, after debuting in last year’s Shute Shield.
Still only 20, Douglas is a Manly local who came through the juniors and played in St Augustine’s First XV as well as the Australian Schoolboys squad.
He was involved in the Australian under-20s set up last year and is contracted to the NSW Waratahs.
He is tall and athletic with a fantastic knowledge of the game and coaching staff said he is an excellent lineout jumper, and doesn’t mind hitting hard without the ball.
Tane Edmed (Eastwood Rugby Club)
A product of the NSW Waratahs Academy, young fly half Edmed made his Shute Shield debut this season and is already making his mark on the elite competition.
Edmed joined Eastwood this season and has got the backline firing and impressed all with his pinpoint goalkicking.
Brandon Fa’avae-Eli (Gordon Rugby Club)
Fa’avae-Eli is a 22-year-old loose-head prop who was a key part of Gordon’s second-grade team that won the minor premiership in 2019.
He’s now playing first grade and finds himself at the forefront of one of the best scrums in the Shute Shield.
His coach told us he add a “skilful attacking game and strong presence on the ball in defence to his developing set-piece game”.
Archer Holz (Easts Rugby Club)
Holz previously played in the King’s School first XV, and has played in both the NSW and Australian Schoolboys squads.
He has now established himself in Easts first XV this year as a prop.
Michael Icely (Eastwood Rugby Club)
One of the most exciting young players in the Shute Shield competition, Icely was crowned the 2019 Sydney Rugby rookie of the year.
Known as ‘Ice’, the fast, aggressive and creative attacking flanker came through the Eastwood Colts and has the complete skill set of a modern flanker.
Josh Nercessian (Gordon Rugby Club)
Nercessian grew up on the Central Coast and was part of Barker College’s First XV.
This is his first year out of Colts, and he’s equally comfortable at the 12 or 13, with a full bag of skills.
His coach told us he was “really showing his physical side as he steps up to first grade, will learn his trade this year and go on to have a long first-grade career and hopefully higher”.
Tim Ryan (Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union)
Ryan started playing with the Hunter Wildfires at the tender age of 17 and continues to impress at his position at tighthead prop.
He has represented NSW Country and NSWCCC several times and was selected for NSW Waratahs Gen Blue in 2019.
Tom Silk (Gordon Rugby Club)
Silk made a name for himself as a key member of Gordon’s grand final Colts team in 2018.
An alumni of Riverview College, he is a hybrid backrower who is comfortable in three positions.
He has a good all around game and is described as a “tough competitor”.
Lachlan Shelley (Eastwood Rugby Club)
Hailing from the Central Coast, Shelley has been one of the surprise packets of the competition since his Shute Shield debut earlier this year.
Coming through the Eastwood Colts to make the 2020 NSW Waratahs Academy, Shelley is said to have confidence beyond his years.
His attacking style of being fast and dangerous, while being cool under pressure, means Shelley is certainly one to watch.
Rory Sutor (Warringah Rugby Club)
A former Australian schoolboy representative, the true Warringah local was born and raised in Avalon.
A product of Sydney Church of England Grammar School, or Shore, the talented athlete has been a force for the Rats as a starting flanker.
Mick Taylor (Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union)
Taylor is renowned for his defence up north, and has consistently been one of the club’s best on field despite playing in several different positions thus far.
He has previously represented the Wildfires at State and Country Championships, and was picked to play for NSW Country.
Solomone Vosaicake (Western Sydney Two Blues)
Strong under-20s performances have seen Solomone called up to second grade with a standout performance v Southern Districts playing lock.
He has a big future ahead of him and is a future first grader at the Two Blues if he continues his trajectory of hard work.
Jeremy Williams (Easts Rugby Club)
An alumni of The Scots College First XV, Williams has also played for both the NSW and Australian Schoolboys squads as well as featuring for NSW Waratahs A.
An extremely promising lock, Williams was included in Rugby Australia’s list of “20 boys under 20 who shape as the next big stars of Aussie rugby”.
Jordan Williams (Western Sydney Two Blues)
Jordan has family history at the Two Blues as his grandfather represented the club.
Jordan, from King’s School, has joined the Two Blues and has secured himself an Aussie 7s contract.
He made his first-grade debut in round three against Randwick, and shapes as a big, powerful, and fast winger who will be hard to handle in open space.
Yool Yool (Manly Rugby Football Club)
Yool is Manly’s first-grade winner, but can play anywhere in the back three.
He’s a product of St Stanislaus College in Bathurst, and was part of the Gen Blue set up last year.
Yool was born in Sudan, and moved to Australia when he was four years old via Egypt.
He started playing rugby in Orange when he was 12.
His coach told us he is an “elusive runner with footwork and speed to burn”.
Michael Zakhia (Western Sydney Two Blues)
Michael is a Two Blue junior who came through the Colts program before making his first-grade debut in 2018.
Known as “The Shark”, he cemented himself in the first team last year, and started 2020 strong before an injury.
He’s an incisive ball returner with the ability to open up a defensive line.
