The 10 best NSW Cup players who are yet to make their NRL debuts
A late blooming halfback and one of the code’s best up and coming forwards are just two of the best young players in the NSW Cup.
Teams
Don't miss out on the headlines from Teams. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The NSW Cup is a proven breeding ground of elite talent with some of the games best players cutting their teeth in the competition before taking the NRL by storm.
Here’s the ten best players in reserve grade who are yet to make their first grade debut.
Adam Clune (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Age: 24
Position: Five-eighth/halfback
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 22
Clune was the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW halfback of the year after helping the Dragons to the minor premiership.
He has been in the Dragons system since 2015 and last season produced 28 try assists in his 22 Canterbury Cup NSW appearances.
The Albion Park-Oak Flats product was elevated to the Dragons NRL development player squad at the end of 2019 before earning a spot in the Red V’s top 30. He trained part-time with the club last year as he juggled work and university commitments.
Watch the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership on KAYO. Every game of every round LIVE & Ad-Break Free during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
Jayden Sullivan (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Age: 18
Position: Five-eighth/halfback
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 0
Sullivan, a Wests Devils junior, captained the Steelers’ UNE SG Ball team to premiership success over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles earlier in 2019 and was rewarded with an Under-18s New South Wales Origin jersey.
After playing UNE SG Ball and five-eighth for the St George Illawarra’s Under 20s Jersey Flegg team, Sullivan was signed on a three-year contract from 2020 and featured in the Dragons Nines campaign in February.
In just 11 appearances for the Steelers last year, he produced 10 tries, 13 try-assists, 10 line-breaks and 11 line-break assists, and put in a stunning performance in the Grand Final to ignite a thrilling second-half comeback over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
FOOTY TIPS! Join Australia’s best footy tipping competition for your chance to win big. Add our experts to your league and join now at TIPS.COM.AU.
Toby Rudolf (Newtown Jets/Cronulla Sharks)
Age: 24
Position: Prop
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 6
One day after he signed an NRL contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks with the hope of making his debut in 2019, Rudolf tore his ACL playing for Redcliffe in the State Championship game.
He made a comeback and featured in the last six games as the Newtown Jets went on a winning streak to clinch the Canterbury Cup NSW title from seventh place. He went on to earn Man of the Match honours when the Jets won a thrilling NRL State Championship against the Burleigh Bears.
In the six games Rudolf played for Newtown at the end of the season, he made 273 post-contact metres, 177 tackles and 799 running metres.
Rudolf has been named on the bench to make his debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
Max Bailey (North Sydney Bears/Sydney Roosters)
Age: 23
Position: Lock
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 24
Max Bailey proved to be one of the most consistent performers for the Bears in 2019. He was ranked fifth overall for total run metres (3129) and seventh for tackles (734).
A former Dragons Under 20s product, he got his first crack at playing at the top level in the NRL 9s tournament with the first grade Roosters squad in England for the World Club Challenge.
Bailey was rewarded for his form with selection in the 2019 Canterbury Cup NSW Team of the Year, and will take plenty of confidence into this year as he looks for an NRL debut.
Tex Hoy (Newcastle Knights)
Age: 20
Position: Fullback
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 16
Hoy was impressive throughout the pre-season and in the Perth Nines tournament where he scored a try in all three of the Knights games.
He made 16 appearances in the Knights 2019 Canterbury Cup side, scoring seven tries, making 72 tackle breaks, averaging 130 run metres per game and booting two goals.
In February, Hoy was promoted to the club’s top 30 NRL squad. Previously on a Development Contract, the promotion ensures Hoy is available for NRL selection from Round 1.
In only his second year as part of the fulltime training squad, he is contracted with the Knights until the end of season 2021.
Stefano Utoikamanu (Parramatta Eels)
Age: 19
Position: Prop
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 17
Utoikamanu, who stands at 191 centimetres and tips the scales at 115 kilograms, has been regarded as one the most promising young players in this year’s rookie class.
Wests Tigers have secured him from 2021 on one of the biggest contracts on record for a player yet to make his NRL debut, understood to be worth around $800,000 over three years.
The Australian Schoolboys representative played 17 games for the Wentworthville Magpies in 2019, making 604.8 post-contact metres, 35 tackle busts and 455 tackles.
In 2019 in the State of Origin Under 20s match, he came off the bench for NSW and made 149 metres from 11 hit-ups in the Blues 36-10 victory over Queensland.
New Zealand born Utoikamanu has been likened to the Bronco’s Payne Haas and will be expected to be a damaging ball runner when he makes his NRL debut.
Josh Schuster (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Age: 18
Position: Five-eighth
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 0
Schuster was a deserved winner of the UNE SG Ball Player of the Year in 2019 and went on to represent NSW in the Under 18s team alongside five of his Sea Eagles teammates where he played 42 minutes in the backrow.
Arguably the next big thing on Manly Warringah’s radar, Schuster continues to prove his capabilities in game management and as a damaging ball-runner - the kind of versatility often required at the top level.
Having now turned 18, the Sea Eagles Junior Representative Player of the Year could be a genuine chance to partner NRL captain Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves this season.
Keaon Koloamatangi (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Age: 21
Position: Prop
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 12
Koloamatangi was upgraded to top 30 status in 2020 after strong performances throughout the 2018 and 2019 seasons. His 2019 season was cut short through injury although he was selected for NSW Residents, on the back of strong form for Souths, where he scored a try and averaged eight hit-ups.
Koloamatangi, who emerged from Mascot Jets, has his heart set on running out in first grade with the Rabbitohs after climbing the ranks at the club and featuring in their Charity Shield match against the Dragons in Mudgee this year.
He was named on an extended bench for the Rabbitohs match against Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks on Saturday night showing an NRL debut may not be too far away.
Harley Smith-Shields (Mounties/Canberra Raiders)
Age: 20
Position: Centre/wing
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 7
Smith-Shields made a seamless transition from the Jersey Flegg Cup to the Canterbury Cup NSW last season and will provide invaluable depth for Ricky Stuart during the State of Origin period.
In his 17 appearances in Jersey Flegg Cup, he amassed 15 tries, 18 line-breaks and 148 tackle-breaks. He backed that form up in his seven Canterbury Cup NSW games with six tries, five line-breaks and 30 tackle-breaks.
Joshua Cook (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Age: 20
Position: Hooker
Canterbury Cup NSW games: 5
He may just have five Canterbury Cup NSW games to his name but Joshua Cook is well and truly in the frame for an NRL debut in 2020. He scored one try, had two try assists, made two line breaks and averaged 35 tackles.
He was even more impressive in his 17 games in the Jersey Flegg Cup after crossing for 11 tries, making 13 line-breaks and producing 11 try assists.
Cook was a core part of the premiership-winning Jersey Flegg Cup side in 2019 and has the perfect chance to craft his trade under NSW hooker, Damien Cook, after former No.9 Billy Brittain left for St George Illawarra Dragons.