Emerging junior rugby league superstars Xavier Cacciotti and Jack Talbott claim top honours at Brad Fittler Medal night
A couple of names to remember. Meet the two emerging junior rugby league superstars who were awarded top individual honours at the Brad Fittler Medal night.
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Two rising junior rugby league stars have been recognised for tremendous individual representative seasons in 2023 with top honours at the Brad Fittler Medal night.
Taking out the Tom Nelson Medal for the Laurie Daley Cup Player of the Year was emerging Canberra superstar Xavier Cacciotti.
The hooker made a name for himself in this year’s Laurie Daley Cup competition where he scored a whopping 12 tries in five games, including all four tries for the Monaro Colts in their grand final loss to the Illawarra South Coast Dragons.
“I’m just feeling very grateful,” Cacciotti said.
“Lots of doors have been opened for me this year, I owe a lot of that to playing with Monaro.”
Cacciotti has been on the up for a couple of years now and is starting to “really take off” according to his Monaro Colts coach Brendan Bradley.
“Off the field he’s a bit of a character, but on the field he’s fairly quiet and he leads through his actions,” Bradley said.
“His ability to read the game, knowing the right times to pass and the right times to run.
“We were a different team when he was on the park this year, he brought so much.
“Sometimes I don’t give him instructions at all I just let him do his thing, that’s the kind of talent he is.”
Cacciotti will be looking to play SG Ball rep footy with the Raiders next season, having already impressed enough to make a couple of appearances off the bench this season.
The young star continued his fine form throughout the whole of 2023, representing the Country U18s side, as well as being one of the competition’s form players for Erindale in the Peter Mulholland Cup.
When he hasn’t been bogged down in representative duties, Cacciotti plays his club footy for the Woden Valley Rams U19s who are in their grand final this weekend.
The young gun will unfortunately be unavailable for this final though due to Australian Schoolboys U18s duties in Papua New Guinea, another achievement to add to his growing resume.
A kid who just loves playing footy, Cacciotti is taking great strides as he chases an NRL dream in the future.
When asked what he thought the best attribute of his game right now was, Cacciotti said it was his “hunger for the game”.
“I’m just trying to play the best footy I can,” Cacciotti said.
“I’ve got the Australian Schoolboys coming up then a bit of break before Raiders pre-season … I’ll just be keeping fit, healthy and happy.”
Receiving the Ron Lanesbury Medal for the Andrew Johns Cup best player was Illawarra South Coast Dragons gun fullback Jack Talbott.
Impressively, Talbott received the award despite his team not making the finals series, a testament to the performances he made during the regular season.
“He’s a bit of a freak, a real X-factor,” said Illawarra South Coast Dragons coach Jason Hooper.
“You give him a sniff and he’ll break you down, he can create something out of nothing.”
Talbott scored twice and was the joint highest point scorer in the Andrew Johns Cup this season.
He has a relatively small frame but possesses lightning fast speed, as well as a great aerial ability gained from an AFL background.
“He’s safe under the high ball and has a terrific long kicking game,” Hooper said.
“He’s always been good at scoring individual tries, but lately he’s been developing his game and has turned into a great provider for his teammates.
“Don’t get me wrong though, he still loves going over the line himself.”
Hooper has coached Talbott at the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles since U10s, with Hooper hoping Talbott can inspire his current U16s side to grand final glory this weekend.
Talbott was fullback for the U16s Country side this year and was also one of nine inductees into the Dragons Junior Academy this season.
He’ll be one to keep an eye on in the Harold Matthews Cup next season.
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