City v Country: Regional rugby league young guns eye off rep opportunities

The best junior rugby league prospects from the bush will playing for more than just pride when they line up in the annual City-Country clash this weekend.

Monaro prop Alex Hardy will represent Country in the under-18s. Picture: Sue Graham

Some of the most talented junior rugby league prospects from the bush will be on centre stage this Saturday when the junior Country sides head to Sydney to take on City.

Both under-16 and under-18 Country men’s teams will take part in a huge weekend of representative football between the rivals that features the open men’s, women’s under-17s and under-19s, physical disability and wheelchair matches.

“It’s a privilege to represent Country and pull on those Country guernseys, and it’s a reward for all their effort they’ve put in over the last couple of months,” said Country under-18s coach Brendan Bradley, who made it clear that his young chargers will be playing for more than just pride.

“It’s also about opportunities. Probably not everyone’s tied in with an NRL club, there might be some that aren’t, so there might be an opportunity to push their case for further representative guernseys.”

Indeed, with NRL clubs and scouts set to keep a close eye on the fixtures, the games will act as an audition for some of the talented young players to secure their junior rep futures for next season.

Central Coast Roosters representative Koby Houghton has been selected in the City under-16s squad. Picture: Sue Graham

“That’s what the concept is about: some recognition for their work and an opportunity to showcase their talents,” said Bradley.

“They’re pretty excited and know they’re up against a pretty hot side, but at the end of the day they’re all under-18s,” said the coach.

The Country side will be out to reverse a recent trend that has seen City take out the junior men’s fixtures in recent years, with the Sydney boys prevailing 30-0 and 30-10 in last year’s under-16s and under-18s fixtures.

The recent one-sided nature of the contests has been somewhat attributed to the selection criteria for the teams.

The Country teams are selected from players who took part in this year’s junior regional representative competitions, known as the Andrew Johns Cup (under-16s) and Laurie Daley Cup (under-18s), while the City sides are selected from the age-appropriate players who turned out in the NSWRL Harold Matthews (under-17s) and SG Ball (under-19s) competitions.

Xavier Cacciotti playing for Country in last year’s under-18 clash. Picture: NRL Photos/Gregg Porteous.

This means that the likes of Gerringong centre Hayden Buchanan and Newcastle trio Jack Hilliar, Cody Hopwood and Connor Votano will all turn out in City colours rather than Country in the under-18s clash, on account of the fact that the Steelers and Knights play in the Harold Matts and SG Ball competitions.

“We’re playing in a regional comp so we’re classed as Country and they’re playing in a NSWRL comp so they’re seen as City, but I’m sure there’s a few of them (from the country in the City side),” said Bradley.

And while they will be facing up against strong City teams, Bradley said his young guns will be up for the challenge.

“A lot of them are playing Jersey Flegg and a few are playing NSW Cup already. But we’ll be right, the boys will have a crack.”

The under-16s play at Saturday at 11am, followed by the under-18s at 12:35pm.

Country under-16s: Chase Butler (Newcastle Maitland Region Knights), Kalen Cashin (Central Coast Roosters), Logan Coombes (Western Rams), Jack Dean-Potaka (Central Coast Roosters), Jake Gaffney (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Duncan Gatt-Smith (Central Coast Roosters), Koby Houghton (Central Coast Roosters), Taj Jordan (Western Rams), Semi Leweniqila (Central Coast Roosters), Billy Mulheran (Northern Rivers Titans), Curtis Mulherin (Newcastle Maitland Region Knights), Kye Penfold (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Kemp Riches (Western Rams), Triston Ross (Western Rams), Andrew Sio (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Mitchell Sleigh (Illawarra South Coast Dragons), Alexander Stephenson (Central Coast Roosters), Chip Valentish (Newcastle Maitland Region Knights). Coach: Shaun Davison

Country under-18s: Jonah Anderson (Monaro Colts), Cooper Black (Western Rams), Mitchell Brophy (Monaro Colts), Billy Brown (Central Coast Roosters), James Croker (Monaro Colts), Archie Duncombe (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Joseph Elton (Monaro Colts), Josiah Fesolai (Central Coast Roosters), Saint Fuatimau (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Jordan Hamlin (Northern Tigers), Alex Hardy (Monaro Colts), Harry Hudson (Monaro Colts), Reece Josephson (Northern Tigers), Kohan Lewis (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Jesse Milin (Monaro Colts), Dylan Smith (Macarthur Wests Tigers), Zechariah Taufa (Illawarra South Coast Dragons), Luke Tuialii (Monaro Colts). Coach: Brendan Bradley