Live stream: The 2012 Harold Matthews Cup players who have become NRL stars
We take a trip down NSWRL memory lane and look back to the Harold Matthew Cup class of 2012 to see which up-and-comers went on to become genuine top grade NRL stars.
Rugby League Live Stream
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby League Live Stream. Followed categories will be added to My News.
With the NSWRL junior representative matches washed out for the weekend, we’re taking a walk down memory lane and looking at the best players to come out of the Harold Matthews Cup from a decade ago.
The Parramatta Eels won the Harold Matthews grand final in 2012, beating the Newcastle Knights 39-32 at St Marys Stadium in Sydney’s west.
Eels fullback Dillon Khoury was named player of the match after scoring two tries and kicking five goals, while on the other side a future Australian international, Sione Mata‘utia, bagged a hat-trick.
A big CONGRATS to the mighty Parra Eels U16 side, Grand Final winners over Newcastle! 2012 Harold Matthews Premiers!
— Parramatta Eels (@TheParraEels) May 5, 2012
Surprisingly only two players from that Eels premiership outfit have gone on to have sustained success in the NRL, while there was a host of top tier talent scattered across the league.
Check out our top-17 2012 Harold Matthews Cup players that went on to be rugby league stars.
1. TOM TRBOJEVIC
MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Tommy Turbo, have you heard of him?
Trbojevic made his NRL debut for Manly just three years after playing for the club‘s under-16s and a decade on he is already regarded as one of the best players the game has seen.
The Sea Eagles and the 15-year-old Trbojevic finished 10th that season.
2. SIONE MATA’UTIA
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
Sione Mata’utia had a meteoric rise from that Harold Matthews grand final with the versatile back debuting for the Knights two years later.
In the same year, Mata’utia became Australia’s youngest ever Test player when he played against England, aged 18 years and 129 days, eclipsing Israel Folau’s seven-year-old record by 65 days.
Mata‘utia now plies his trade in the back row for St Helens in the English Super League.
3. PAUL MOMIROVSKI
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Paul Momirovski is fast becoming the NRL’s I’ve been everywhere man, playing 38 games across four clubs.
None of those clubs were the Bunnies who he played at five-eighth for in the Harold Matthews Cup some 10 years ago.
Momirovski ended up becoming a regular at centre for Penrith in 2021, where he scored six tries in 19 games and bagged himself a premiership ring.
4. REIMIS SMITH
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Reimis Smith was turning it on in the centres for South Sydney’s Harold Matthews outfit 10 years ago.
The Mascot Jets junior was signed by Parramatta in 2013 before joining Canterbury in 2015 where he would debut the following year.
The son of former New Zealand Kiwi Tyran Smith, and nephew of league star-turned-boxer Anthony Mundine, has scored 39 tries in 75 matches for the Dogs and Storm.
5. ROBERT JENNINGS
PENRITH PANTHERS
Robert Jennings, the brother of Michael and George, was running up and down the wing for the Panthers’ Harold Matthews side 10 years ago.
Three years later he made his debut for the Mountain Men and since he has scored 33 tries in 65 games at Penrith, South Sydney and the Tigers.
6. NICHO HYNES
MANLY-WARRINGAH SEA EAGLES
Nicho Hynes was playing five-eighth with Trobojevic back in the day, but unlike the Blues star, he didn’t get an NRL guernsey until 2019.
Hynes was playing in the Queensland Cup for Mackay Cutters and then the Sunshine Coast Falcons before the Melbourne Storm gave him his opportunity.
The Gosford product played 36 times for the Storm before earning a three-year deal with the Sharks worth $1.8 million.
Don’t give up, kids.
7. JACKSON HASTINGS
ILLAWARRA STEELERS
Jackson Hastings, the son of Eastern Suburbs great Kevin Hastings, was captaining the Illawarra Harold Matthews team in 2012.
Hasting played his first NRL game two years later with the Roosters before joining Manly where he was unceremoniously dismissed after a feud with the club captain Daly Cherry-Evans.
Hastings resuscitated his career in the English Super League with spells at Salford and Wigan, winning the competition’s Man of Steel in 2019.
Hastings has earnt another chance in the NRL with the 26-year-old set to partner Luke Brooks in the halves at the Tigers.
8. DANIEL SAIFITI
CENTRAL COAST CENTURIONS
NRL big bopper Daniel Saifiti was playing in the back row for the Central Coast Centurions (known now as the Central Coast Roosters) 10 years back.
Saifiti joined the Knights in 2015, debuting a year later and going on to play more than 100 games since. He was also named co-captain of Newcastle in 2021.
The 195cm and 121kg giant has also established himself in the NSW Blues.
9. JAYDEN BRAILEY
CRONULLA SHARKS
Saifiti’s co-captain partner at the Knights is Sharks product Jayden Brailey.
Brailey had to bide his time until the retirement of Michael Ennis, finally debuting for Cronulla in 2017 and going on to play 70 games for the club before joining Newcastle.
Brailey would be in with a shout for a Blues jersey if Damien Cook was to become unavailable.
10. TEVITA PANGAI JNR
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
NRL fans either love him or hate him, but a decade ago Tevita Pangai Jr Junior was lining up in the second row for Newcastle’s Harold Matthews side.
Pangai joined the Broncos via Canberra in 2016 and gained a reputation as one of the game’s biggest bruisers.
He played 96 games for Brisbane before joining Penrith in mid 2021 where he ended up winning a premiership ring.
The 117kg forward is now one of the key cogs in Phil Gould’s Bulldogs rebuild.
11. LUCIANO LEILUA
ST GEORGE DRAGONS
There was plenty of chatter about Luciano Leilua when he was coming through at St George, but it would take until 2016 for the back rower to run on for the joint venture club in the NRL.
The rangy Samoan international has played 87 games since for the Dragons and West Tigers, becoming known for his freakish offloading ability.
Leilua will join the Cowboys in 2023 on a three-year deal worth $2.1 millions.
12. NAT BUTCHER
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Nat Butcher is one of countless juniors the Roosters have pinched off the Bunnies over the years.
The mobile forward switched to the Tri Colours in 2015 before debuting in the final round of 2016.
Butcher has proved a reliable asset for Trent Robinson’s, playing 76 games, including the 2019 grand final, in the five seasons since.
13. ALEX TWAL
PARRAMATTA EELS
Alex Twal played in the front row for the Eels under-16s back in 2012, but he would have to leave the club to get a first-grade gig.
Twal joined the Wests Tigers in 2017 and has been one of their most consistent players since. He has played 89 games for the joint venture, though he is yet to pick up a four-pointer.
The Parramatta City Titans junior has represented Lebanon on four occasions.
14. CONNOR WATSON
CENTRAL COAST CENTURIONS
Connor Watson wore the no.1 for the Centurions in the Harold Matthews Cup in 2012 and in the years since he’s played almost every other position across 104 games with the Roosters and the Knights.
15. JACOB SAIFITI
CENTRAL COAST CENTURIONS
Daniel’s identical brother Jacob Saifiti captained the Central Coast under-16s and while he hasn’t received the same plaudits as the NSW enforcer, Jacob is a couple games shy of 100 appearances for Newcastle.
16. JACOB HOST
ST GEORGE DRAGONS
The Renown United junior debuted for the Dragons in 2016 before being picked up by Wayne Bennett’s Bunnies last season where he played in the grand final.
17. SIOSIFA TALAKAI
SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Siosifa Talakai has only played 36 games since debuting for the Rabbitohs in 2016 with the now-Shark suffering to multiple injuries and suspensions.
Originally published as Live stream: The 2012 Harold Matthews Cup players who have become NRL stars
REPLAYS: Dubbo, Tuggerah Lakes crowned NRL Trophy champions
An 850km round trip proved profitable for the Dubbo girls, while the team with the shortest distance to travel turned on a brilliant attacking display to take the boys title. Catch up on both the REPLAYS.
Watch replay: Sauaso star turn inspires Ipswich national success
The Shalom Sauaso-Kaiah Hansell one-two punch proved too hot for Hill Sports to handle as Ipswich SHS turned on the style to storm to the national NRL Schoolgirls title. Catch up on the REPLAY.