Canterbury Bulldogs sign Queensland schoolboy David Leota
The NRL’s latest Queensland schoolboy signing has been named, as our round 3 Meninga Cup and Connell Challenge teams of the week are revealed.
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Boom Ipswich Jets prop David Leota has been snapped by Sydney-based NRL club Canterbury Bulldogs.
The 2021, 14-15 years Queensland schoolboy selection has started the season on fire playing front row for the Jets in the Connell Challenge.
He is originally from Forest Lake SHS but now attends Ipswich Grammar School.
He won state selection last year after an outstanding performance for Met West in the grand final at the QRSSL state carnival.
Leota helped Ipswich to victory in round 3 action of the Connell Challenge on Saturday and as a result, he makes our Connell Team of the Week for the second successive week.
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TEAM OF THE WEEK
MENINGA CUP
Fullback: Tim Sielaff-Burns (Souths Logan)
The long striding, Broncos signed Sielaff-Burns used his pace to position himself to carry back Wynnum Manly clearing kicks, and also to contribute to Souths Logan’s white hot attacking formation.
Wing: Kallum Weatherall-Stacey (Norths Devils)
The now you see him, now you don’t Weatherall-Stacey was in his element in a high scoring Devils win over Burleigh.
Centre: Bailey Nash (Clydesdales)
The classy Clydesdales’ centre scored three tries and was a popular choice as Player’ Player of the Match.
Centre: Devonte Vaivela (Souths Logan): Centre Vaivela, who scored three tries, is having the time of his life outside Jye Gray and behind a winning forward pack. Norths Devil’s Poutoa Hotere-Papalii was also considered for a centre berth.
Wing: Jayden Alefaio (Redcliffe)
Alefaio scored two tries and was a powerful ball carrier in the Dolphins victory over Tigers although Wide Bay Bulls winger Connor Yeats was also under the selection microscope.
Halves: Zack Lamont (Blackhawks) and Jye Gray (Souths Logan)
Lamont, the Blackhawks halve, brought a killer kicking game to the party at the weekend. Gray, a Burleigh Bears junior now with the Souths courtesy of his Broncos’ contract, feasted on front foot ball by his Souths Logan forwards whose up-tempo game and distribution from Blake Mozer gave him room to display his pace, or put his centre Devonte
Vaivela away for tries. Special mention to Clydesdales No. 7 Wil Brady who earned high praise from his coach Brendan Wilson.
No. 13: Cameron Nelson (Northern Pride)
Nelson was brave to the core playing 70 minutes in his team’s break through win of the season. In a beaten side, Wide Bay Bulls middle forward Kyle Knight was seriously considered for this position.
Second row: Mason Kira (Sunshine Coast)
Kira and Jayden Smith hit the line together as the Sunshine Coast’s best players. We’ll name one in the first XIII, and another on the bench. Kira’s goal kicking in a tight match also helped the Falcons past the winners post.
William Lewis (Capras)
Lewis and his forward mates Bailey Cavanough and Jaiden Green took Capras to the brink of victory in an exciting match against Northern Pride.
Prop: Josiah Pahulu (Burleigh Bears)
The imposing 2021 Langer Trophy team of the year prop maintained a high standard which aided the Bears recovery to challenge the Devils after slipping well behind against Norths.
Hooker: Blake Mozer (Souths Logan): Like the very good ones, dummy half Mozer seems to have time as he cleverly gets the Magpies rolling from the ruck.
Prop: Darcy Turner (Norths Devils)
When you have fire power like the backs Norths possess, you need a platform and Turner
delivered in spades for his teammates against the Burleigh Bears.
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Reserves
Tajshon Santo-Messa (Blackhawks)
Tajshon Santo-Messa was outstanding in triggering the Blackhawks attack, but a special mention to Santo-Massa’s opposite Xavier Kerrisk who was the Cutters Player’ Player award winner.
Jayden Smith (Sunshine Coast)
Smith was again outstanding on the edge for the Falcons who surged from behind to topple Ipswich Jets late on Saturday.
Ah Mani Leilua (Souths Logan): The Souths Logan backline is following at the moment but it all starts upfront where Leilua is leader of the pack.
Drew Timms (Redcliffe): Timms is the Mr Fix-it of the Dolphins pack whose high rate is worth one and a half players.
Trent Veukiso (Brisbane Tigers): The Tigers captain and front rower lead his team by example against Redcliffe.
Brock Salecich (Northern Pride): The big fella helped get Pride over the line by giving his outfit energy in the second half.
Lachlan Togia (Ipswich Jets): Togia put his hand up with some great carries coming off the bench.
Henry Teutau (Blackhawks): The Townsville prop did the hard yards – again – in the heat to give his team a platform from which to launch.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
CONNELL CHALLENGE
Fullback: Harlyn Westlake (Ipswich Jets)
In a winning side, Westlake took the Players Player award for his performance against Sunshine Coast.
Wing: Seth Carpenter (Capras)
Carpenter is the Capras fullback but makes our team on the wing to ensure we get two of the best players of round 3 – Westlake and Carpenter – into our top 13. Carpenter was an unlucky omission last week but is straight into the side this week.
Centre: Cody Gillespie (Ipswich Jets)
That Ipswich were able to restrict Sunshine Coast to just 10 points was in no small way due to Jets centre Gillespie jamming in defence.
Centre: Tom Morcom (Wide Bay Bulls)
Morcom was one of his team’s top players in a narrow defeat to Clydesdales.
Wing: Logan Atkinson (Mackay Cutters)
In a team which lost three middle players, winger Atkinson did his bit to rally his team with some good shots and threatening runs. Matt Waters (Clydesdales) was also considered.
Halves: Kynan Purdy (Townsville Blackhawks) and Isaac Walker (Capras).
It was a round when we were spoiled for choice in the halves as Chase Sheppard (Pride), Ellyjah Birve (Sunshine Coast) and Dawson Hess (Wide Bay Bulls) all shone in losing efforts, with Hess “playing a blinder”. But helped by his team improving its ball control and pressure in defence, Capras half Walker produced a great kicking game while Purdy was again elite for the competition benchmark – Blackhawks.
No. 13:Dominic Punivalu (Wynnum Manly)
Punivalu makes our 13 with his teammate Cooper Day on the bench after the pair did everything in their power to topple Souths Logan in the summer heat. But special mention to Noah Laws who was strongly considered from another narrowly beaten side – Wide Bay
Second row: Elijah-Shane Tapau (Townsville Blackhawks)
Tapau combined well with his halfback Kynan Purdy in a match which was closer than the scoreline indicated.
Second row: Duquan Talaepa (Souths Logan)
Talaepa would have had the Wynnum edge runners peeping out the corner of their eye, so effective were his defensive reads.
Prop: Magpies’ front rowers Fa’apale Feaunati
The big fella got through a mountain of work and his late footwork was also noted. It is no coincidence Souths played their best football when Feaunati and his front row mate Dirhys Sefo were on the field.
Hooker: Cory Pearse (Souths Logan)
Pearse played tough and smart in Souths after the siren win against the Seagulls.
Prop: David Leota (Ipswich Jets)
The stats sheet says he scored two tries, but around those points he was typically powerful across the match.
Reserves:
Lachlan Coburn (Ipswich Jets)
Coburn is the son of club legend Danny and produced a typical Coburn type performance. He must have made upward of 50 tackles from No. 13 for the Jets.
Kale Oliver (Mackay Cutters)
Edge backrower Oliver was forced into the middle after Mackay lost two front rowers and their No. 13.
Baylee Meilland (Capras)
Prop forward Meilland was outstanding in the middle for Capras in their victory over Pride, but high praise also to Saxon Vizard (Northern Pride).
Presley Folau (Norths Devils)
Folau gave the Norths Devils plenty of thrust in their loss to the Bears, and he clinches a reserves berth just ahead of teammate, lock Maddox Goodwin
Cooper Day (Wynnum Manly)
It was a day for serious toil as Wynnum’s injury woes mounted and Day rolled up his sleeves and got the job done in a very competitive match at Davies Park.
Joshua Siulepa (Bears)
In a grinding match Siulepa hung tough as Burleigh wriggled free of Norths to record a 20-10 win.
Paddy Muir (Clydesdales)
Middle forward Muir was outstanding in leading his side to victory over Wide Bay.
Originally published as Canterbury Bulldogs sign Queensland schoolboy David Leota
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