PNG Kumuls star Morea Morea headlines 11 North Queensland Cowboys NRL train and trialists
A Papua New Guinea Kumuls speed machine will join the North Queensland Cowboys for a train and trial deal ahead of the 2025 season. Read about the 11 Cowboys prospects taking their shot at an NRL deal this pre-season.
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Papua New Guinea speed machine Morea Morea will join the North Queensland Cowboys for a train and trial deal ahead of the 2025 NRL season.
The PNG Hunters fullback debuted for the Kumuls during this year’s Pacific Bowl after representing the PNG PM’s XIII for the last two years.
Cowboys recruitment manager Dane Campbell confirmed the 23-year-old outside back was heading to Townsville.
“He’s electric and 2024 was a disrupted year for him unfortunately, coming off the back of injury from last year’s PM’s XIII game up there in PNG,” Campbell said.
“In 2023 he was electric for the Hunters and deservedly rookie of the year in the QRL, so he’s a guy that we’ve always kept an eye on and we knew he had a bucketload of talent.
Morea will have until Christmas to prove to North Queensland’s coaching staff that he is capable of making the step up into a fully professional environment.
He will join four players each from the Northern Pride and Mackay Cutters, as well as Manly Sea Eagles Jersey Flegg 2024 captain Nicholas Lenaz for the Cowboys pre-season.
Campbell said it was standard practise for the club to provide training block deals to players without affiliate state-level clubs before deciding what type of contract they potentially offer.
“Morea is one of those, hence why he didn’t show up on either the Pride or the Cutters list, and there’s another young boy from Manly coming up, his name is Nic Lenaz,” Campbell said.
“They’re the two other boys that will get a pre-season with us. In Morea’s case, it will go until Christmas and then we’ll make a determination.
“Talent-wise he’s of a very high position, we just need to make sure he can acclimatise to the professional training load and a few of those little things before we determine what level of contract we’ll offer him, if any.”
NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS TRAIN AND TRIALISTS
MOREA MOREA
Fullback
A genuine speedster with talent in spades, Morea has the potential to set the NRL alight if he can remain injury free and piece together some consistent football.
NICHOLAS LENAZ
Lock / hooker
Lenaz captained Manly’s Jersey Flegg (under-21s) team in 2024 and was crowned the side’s player of the year after earning the same honour at Parramatta in 2023.
While the 21-year-old forward is yet to dip his toes into the NRL arena, Lenaz played two internationals for Italy in 2023, starting at lock in big wins over Malta and South Africa in a team that included breakout Cronulla rookie Daniel Atkinson at fullback.
A young kid with plenty of go.
JARRETT SUBLOO
Halfback / five-eighth
The Innisfail junior returns to North Queensland after five years south of the border, most recently playing two seasons for South Sydney in the NSW Cup.
Subloo made his NRL debut in 2020 with the Canberra Raiders, coming off the bench in a 38-28 victory over Cronulla, however that proved to be his only appearance in first grade to date.
The 24-year-old has joined the Northern Pride for the 2025 season.
ADRIAN TREVILYAN
Hooker / utility
Another local kid hoping for a fairytale homecoming, Trevilyan is an ex-Kirwan Bears star who was the Peter Sterling medallist when they won the national schoolboys title in 2019.
The 23-year-old joins the Pride for the upcoming season after four years in Canberra playing NSW Cup, as well as making three NRL appearances for the Raiders.
RICCO FALANIKO
Winger
Falaniko is a huge 24-year-old winger from New Zealand who has joined the Northern Pride after a season with the Brisbane Tigers where he scored six tries in just four appearances.
The 195cm, 100kg Kiwi will enjoy a selection battle with Robert Derby as the Cowboys’ best options for a tall winger.
ESOM IOKA
Fullback / winger
Ioka recently played for the Cook Islands during the Pacific Championships after making his international debut in 2023.
The New Zealand-born 21-year-old averaged three tackle busts per game this season with the Western Clydesdales.
CAMPBELL DUFFY
Front row / lock
A North Queensland junior who won the 2024 NRL State Championship with Norths Devils.
Duffy made his Queensland Cup debut with the Townsville Blackhawks in 2019 before three seasons on the Sunshine Coast. He will be allocated to the Northern Pride in 2025.
JOHN RADEL
Front row / lock
Radel is coming into his second pre-season opportunity with the Cowboys.
A great young middle forward from the tiny town of Taroom in the Shire of Banana who was crowned player of the year at the Mackay Cutters in his first year of Cup.
JIMMY NGUTLIK
Winger
Ngutlik burst onto the international stage in 2022 playing for Papua New Guinea at the Rugby League World Cup before a knee injury stalled his career.
The talented winger has joined the Mackay Cutters after coming up from Wests Tigers where he failed to crack first grade.
The 24-year-old was born in PNG and grew up in Cairns.
TEMPLE KALEPO
Hooker / lock
Will join the Cowboys for a mid-season training block – potentially during the State of Origin period when Reece Robson is likely to be in NSW camp.
Kalepo has been in the Newcastle Knights system for the last two years after being in the New Zealand Warriors system as a junior.
He played hooker for Tonga A in 2023 alongside Cowboys centre Viliami Vailea.
ASSARIAH ‘AZZIE’ LENOY
Centre / outside back
Palm Island sensation Lenoy will complete a six-week pre-season with the Cowboys before moving to Mackay to play for the Cutters in 2025.
A talented outside back with plenty of potential, the Cowboys see Lenoy as a centre of the future.
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Originally published as PNG Kumuls star Morea Morea headlines 11 North Queensland Cowboys NRL train and trialists
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