Roosters sign schoolboy; Meninga Cup, Connell, U19s Teams of the Week
Junior league latest: Roosters sign boom Logan schoolboy from Queensland Origin bloodlines; Plus our Meninga Cup, Cyril Connell and 19s Women Teams of the Week revealed here.
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The Sydney Roosters have signed an exciting Marsden SHS edge player who would have been more than handy for Souths Logan in last Saturday’s Connell Challenge under 16 season opener.
Lui Lee, the brother of Brenko and the cousin of Edrick, is a 2022 Queensland schoolboy representative (14-15 years) who plays centre and who has a big step just like his older brother.
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He has been snapped up by the astute Roosters talent scouts who have a small, but elite array of Queensland talent which includes North Lakes Kangaroos junior Rob Toia, Mabel Park SHS prop Alex Leapai, Matua Robinson (Townsville Blackhawks) and St Mary’s College old boys Xavier and De La Salle Va’a, among others.
Lee is only a baby - he is entering Year 10 - and would have been a welcomed addition to the promising Magpies Connell side that lost narrowly to Redcliffe Dolphins yesterday.
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However because the Roosters like to fly their Queensland schoolboy talent to Sydney each weekend to play in their junior system, Lee is not available for the start of the Connell Challenge.
Ironically one of the Magpies’ Connell Challenge best players yesterday was a centre - Jose Ito, who along with lively dummy half Ezra Leota made our Connell Team of the Week (see below).
But the best player in that match won by Redcliffe was Dolphins middle forward Nate Berrigan, a Queensland rep teammate of Lui Lee’s last season.
There is a lot of water to go under the bridge, but Dolphins NRL coach Wayne Bennett must be thinking he is watching his former champion Broncos lock Kevin Campion reincarnated through Berrigan.
He is a rip and tear mobile middle player who must be great to play alongside and it is no surprise he is on a junior development contract with the new NRL club.
Meninga Cup first round winners Redcliffe, Wynnum-Manly and Norths were well represented in our Meninga Cup Round 1 Team of the Week we feature in this story.
Prestyn Laine-Sietu (Redcliffe) is back on home soil and will be the first to say he benefited from a brilliant start by his forward pack. But he was great on the edge for the Dolphins after last playing with the club two seasons ago as a mobile middle forward.
Like Laine-Sietu, Redcliffe junior Amos Tuialii is a past Wavell SHS student but he has gone the other way - from centre to the forwards. Big and mobile in the middle on Saturday, we name him centre below here because he just had to be in our Meninga Cup squad of the week.
Tauave Leofa (Redcliffe) and his halves mate Jahrel Iselin-Jansen were fabulous, using the front foot ball provided by their forwards to challenge with their running game before moving possession on.
You seriously could have named all the Redcliffe pack in our Team of the Week, but Michael Waqa and Jayden Butt shone, with Butt a pillar player on which the Redcliffe’s foundation was constructed upon. Spare a thought for his starting prop partner Aholoka Toia who was going so well until he sustained a head knock.
North’s captain Loto Salei makes our Team of the Week. He is a No. 13 but also watch for his edge running game this season, something he developed nicely with Wavell SHS last season.
At John Frederick Park, there was no shortage of players to get excited about.
In the Connell Challenge, 14-year-old fullback Tawa-dean Simpkins impressed in the Wynnum-Manly colours, returning the ball with great direction, speed and power. Around him was centre Jedidiah Mulitalo who stood out with his aggression into contact, and his intensity in both attack and defence.
Bench reinforcement Fononga Tu’Itahi was another who shone brightly, one that teams will have a hard time containing when the interchange unleashes with his hit-ups.
Tu’Itahi was just one cog in an overwhelming Seagulls forward pack, which was bolstered by the likes of Cooper Young and Chaev Kolone.
For the Burleigh Bears, tall second rower Nelson Makaafi was excellent. The athletic workhorse went about his business, making plenty of huge defensive plays.
Perhaps the most exciting prospect glimpsed in the clash was Bears winger David Bryenton, a speedy customer who has come from New Zealand for an opportunity.
In 2022, Bryenton represented the Auckland Under-15 rugby league representative side on a number of occasions, including in a late season match against a New Zealand Warriors Under-15 selection as well as in Region of Origin matches.
Bryenton played for the well known Ellerslie Eagles in the Auckland U15 Rugby League competition and also played schoolboy rugby, operating primarily at inside centre for his school where he was a prolific try scorer.
With limited ball in round 1, Bryenton still had onlookers gasping with his ability to run laps around edge defenders. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
In the Meninga Cup clash, John Paul College alumni Beni Allen excelled in the middle with his relentless ball-carrying, with Second rower Jett Bryce backing him up with more than a smattering of energy.
In the backline, Villanova’s Cameron Bukowski and Marsden SHS’ Coby Black blew away their rivals with their chemistry at hooker and halfback.
Bukowski was as match fit as anyone, while Black looked like a polished first grade player with his silky ball playing.
For the Bears, five-eighth Rider Williams and prop Zac Kumbamong kept their team in the fight, asking questions of the Seagull defence.
In the Harvey Norman U19s, it was hard to take your eyes of Seagulls centre Gloria Seumalii, a one of a kind carrier of the footy with an unmatched hunger for contact.
Behind her was fullback Destiny Mino-Sinapati, who dazzled in the first half with her eyes up running and kick returns. She had no trouble evading her first defender and at times, she stepped her way past multiple.
Halfback Sienna Lofipo led her side around superbly, while winger Charlotte Wells, and prop Fuatino Ah-Him earned the praise of coach Steve Casey, who after their 22-10 victory said the two of them really stood up.
For the Bears, gutsy hooker Lily-Rose Kolc never stopped toiling, nor did centre Mhia Taylor who looked dangerous with ball in hand.
TEAM OF THE WEEK:
MENINGA CUP:
Fullback: Zyroam Tarewa-Helihy (Burleigh)
Wing: John-Paul Donevski (Redcliffe)
Centre: Prestyn Laine-Sietu (Redcliffe)
Centre: Amos Tuialii (Redcliffe)
Wing: Jayden Alefaio (Redcliffe)
Five-eight: Tauave Leofa (Redcliffe)
Halfback: Coby Black (Wynnum)
No. 13: Jayden Butt (Redcliffe)
Edge: Loto Salei (Norths)
Edge: Jett Bryce (Wynnum)
Prop: Nazareth Taua (Norths)
Hooker: Cameron Bukowski (Wynnum)
Prop: Michael Waqa (Redcliffe)
Interchange: Alex Leapai (Magpies)
Jaocb Tinsley (Magpies)
Mitch Rogers (Redcliffe)
Lincoln Cliffe (Tigers)
PJ Su’a (Tigers)
Harrison Hill (Norths)
Zac Herdegen (Norths)
CONNELL CHALLENGE:
Fullback: Tawa-Dean Simpkins (Wynnum)
Wing: David Bryenton (Bears)
Centre: Jose Ito (Souths)
Centre: Jedidiah Mulitalo (Wynnum)
Wing: Seth Gundry (Bears)
Five-eight: Keyarn Pene (Norths)
Halfback: Timahna Tandy (Norths)
No. 13: Nate Berrigan (Redcliffe)
Edge: Brian Pouniu (Redcliffe) and Nelson Makaafi (Burleigh)
Edge: Jarah Chaseling (Norths) and Cooper Young (Wynnum)
Prop: Chaev Kolone (Wynnum)
Hooker: Amare Wynyard (Redcliffe)
Prop: Christian Rivers (Wynnum)
Interchange
Fononga Tu’Itahi (Wynnum)
Ezra Leota (Magpies)
Dom Ireome (Tigers)
Henry Sologinkin (Redcliffe)
Fononga Tu’itahi (Wynnum)
Daniel Rakena (Bears)
Cooper Benvenuti (Tigers)
HARVEY NORMAN U19S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Fullback Aspen Nakao (Redcliffe)
Fullback: Destiny Mino-Sinapati (Wynnum)
Winger Malu-Sianne Auda (Redcliffe)
Winger: Charlotte Wells (Wynnum)
Centre: Mhia Taylor (Burleigh)
Centre: Gloria Seumalii (Wynnum)
Centre: Mia Davies (Devils)
Five-eight and captain: Mackenzie Baty-Karauria (Magpies)
Halfback: India Seeto (Tigers)
Halfback: Sienna Lofipo (Wynnum)
Lock: Adriarne Cracknell (Magpies)
Redcliffe middles: Lenniece Wright, Eden Utatao and Armarni-Lea Auvae
Hooker: Diantee Savage (Dolphins)
Hooker: Lily-Rose Kolc (Burleigh)
Hooker: Savannah Symon (Magpies)
Footnote: Watch each weekend for our coverage of the competition.
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Originally published as Roosters sign schoolboy; Meninga Cup, Connell, U19s Teams of the Week
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