Club rugby Colts 1: 25+ Quiet achievers unearthed
Who were the quiet achievers moving mountains for their side in the Colts 1 club rugby competition? Over 25 highlighted here ahead of round two of the season.
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Before the second round of games begin, we reveal the quiet achievers moving mountains for their respective Colts 1 club rugby side.
They are the unsung toilers that make their teams tick, which follows previous stories highlighting the best new faces and speed demons of the competition.
AIC FIRST XV RUGBY ROUND 9 TEAM OF THE WEEK
FAST FACTS
Premiership table
Souths 35
Wests 31
Brothers 26
University 26
GPS 19
Bond University 19
Norths 17
Easts 14
Sunnybank 7
Round 10
Easts host GPS
Sunnybank welcome Bond University
Wests play away at University
Souths travel to Norths
COLTS 1 CLUB RUGBY QUIET ACHIEVERS
Byron Murphy (Easts)
Murphy was taught how to be a damaging close quarters prop at St Laurence’s College and has maintained the rage with Easts this season.
A prolific tryscorer, Murphy knows how to get it done near the opposition tryline and is on the scoresheet more often than most.
Tom Twaddell (Easts)
The towering lock has been a loyal servant at Tigerland over the last three seasons and despite being banged up, he will put in 110 per cent till the final whistle. The Villanova old boy wins lineouts, defends fearlessly and is a staple of consistency among injury turmoil at Easts.
Tane Hetaraka (Easts)
One of the form players of the competition, big man Hetaraka has come out firing to begin his third season of Colts 1 rugby.
An Iona old boy who played three years of Firsts before joining the Colts 1 side as a Year 12, Hetaraka has had plenty of energy this season and has crashed over for plenty of tries.
He lifts in the lineout, carries the ball a ton and rarely misses a game.
Jodeci Letalu (Easts)
Sporting bright pink headgear and pink boots, Letalu stands out.
The speedy fullback has not missed a game yet for Easts, has a big boot and is safe under the high ball with a bit of flare about him.
Born in New Zealand and an old boy of rugby league finishing school Marsden, Letalu can be a second playmaker as well.
Mitch Ross (Brothers)
The big and tall lock out of Padua just toils and toils until he can no more.
If Brothers could clone a bloke like Ross they would because all the dirty work needed for success would get done so efficiently.
Ben Pula-Fatu (Brothers)
The bullocking Ipswich Grammar alumni bolsters a ripping front row of Rory Beech, Jeremiah Sialau at the tight-head position.
His workrate and overall skill for a prop is impressive.
Moe Koroi and Dan Christodoulou (University)
There are countless Red Heavies worthy of a mention here like versatile forward Xander Iosefo and backrower Jack Henry but these two front rowers were hard to go past.
St Peters old boy Koroi and New South Wales newcomer Christodoulou have spearheaded a dominant University scrum and are willing ball carriers.
Jack Henry (University)
Canterbury College’s school captain and rugby captain last year, Henry has taken to the elite Colts 1 competition with vigour, starting every game as a utility forward capable of playing positions 4-8.
Country boy Henry has plenty of pace and has been a key cog in University’s lineouts and rolling maul efforts this season.
Harry Gould (GPS)
There’s little wonder by bulldozing loose-head Gould, an Ashgrove local, was handed a Hospital Cup debut in round six.
Gould just knows rugby and he knows what is required from his position.
He is a young veteran capable of a very long playing career in GPS’ first grade side.
George Griffiths (GPS)
The Gallopers captain isn’t quiet that is for sure. In fact, he is one of the loudest, always barking orders, instilling confidence in teammates and getting them up for battle.
But it is that ever present leadership which makes him somewhat of an unsung hero, a brave backrower who wins lineouts for breakfast.
James Prole (GPS)
For a kid that didn’t play First XV rugby at Ashgrove, Prole quickly made the No.9 jersey his own, knuckling down on the core skills and performing on game day.
A whiz on the track, Prole could go all day and has provided his fly half Spencer Alcock great service all season, while also taking a dart here and there when he sees a gap.
Can often be seen putting in extras at Yoku road outside of training hours.
Will Pascoe (Wests)
The Bulldogs forward pack was in safe hands with Townsville boy Pascoe, a big boy, manning the pumps at lock.
Pascoe is a metre-eater and a player of potential who is quietly having a strong season at the Kennel.
Rory Bliss (Wests)
He was the forward mastermind behind Churchie’s lineouts last season and this year at Sylvan road he has continued his development as one of the premier lineout disrupters in the competition.
18-year-old lock Bliss, also an elite rower, wins lineouts for fun.
Liam McGregor (Wests)
Is he a quiet achiever? His campaign so far suggests not, but his improvement has been tremendous.
A Brisbane Grammar old boy (2022), McGregor played Colts 1 last season but has come out of his shell this year to prove a real handful running the ball from the back of the scrum.
Big, strong and protected by a layer of muscle, No.8 prime mover McGregor has gone to another level under coach Phil Mooney.
Harry Raff (Souths)
Souths fly half Will Nason has had a great season thus far and he would be the first to thank halfback Harry Raff for his deeds.
The scheming scrumhalf played for the Dragons last season after graduating from St Peter’s College, South Australia in 2022 and has taken his game up a level this season at Souths.
An Old Collegians rugby club product from down south, Raff has a turn of pace, first class service and high rugby IQ and touches the ball more than anyone in the first seeded Magpies side.
Te Ohorei Totorewa (Souths)
Te Ohorei Totorewa, a Sunnybank junior, has quietly staved off fierce internal competition to claim the No.14 jersey and keep it.
A leader, Totorewa knows the game better than anyone - when to jam on defence and when to stay on his wing.
He is classy.
Cadell Rees and Matthew Robertson (Souths)
Hardworking locks Cadell Rees and Matt Robertson lay the platform for which the Souths backs can thrive off.
Both BBC old boys, Rees and Robertson are toilers, players that give 110 per cent at the breakdown and on defence and they consistently answer the call against quality forward packs across the competition.
Dian Minnie (Souths)
The openside flanker is never far from the action. He is always near.
Very effective over the ball and in close quarter battle, Ipswich Grammar product Minnie has a v8 engine.
Tane Gregory (Sunnybank)
Sunnybank’s blindside flanker is a workhorse, someone who started in Colts 2 but has proved a key cog in the side’s forward pack.
A quiet, high achieving forward, Tane Gregory goes about his work at a high standard both in the gym and on the field and does extras only those close to him notice.
A 2006 boy, young gun Gregory’s point of difference is his immense work ethic and hunger to improve.
Oscar Lane (Sunnybank)
Gregory’s openside flanker, Oscar Lane would have to be getting closer and closer to a Hospital Cup call-up.
Mr Consistent, Lane’s biggest strength is turnover ball at the ruck, having rescued the Dragons a few times on their goal line.
Always working hard and constantly looking for feedback, Lane is the ambitious type who is destined for higher honours.
Junior Sitia Malupo (Sunnybank)
Think raw talent.
Junior Sitia Malupo, Sunnybank’s underage right wing who earlier this year was running rampant in the Under-18 Lightning Series.
The quietly spoken defensive menace is an instinctual player, someone who can create off the whim.
Despite being one of the babies of the competition, Malupo’s good form has seen him cement a spot in the club’s Under-20s side.
Tyron Fanueli (Norths)
Marsden SHS old boy Tyron Fanueli, a Brisbane Tigers middle forward giant now plying his trade under Norths coach Bart Ritchie, was a wonderful addition to the side.
Tall, mobile and a damaging ball runner, Fanueli has had a strong start to the season but is primed for a bigger second half of the season after learning on the job in the first nine rounds.
Ben Kluck (Norths)
Norths junior and Nudgee old boy player Kluck has had a cracking campaign thus far, disrupting lineouts and paving the way with his work rate on the field.
Stuck behind some good ones at Nudgee (Hugo Hart, Noah Rauluni), Kluck has come into his own in club land as is as good as any openside in the competition.
Maclean Hermann (Norths)
The definition of toiler.
Herman, the Padua old boy and Norths junior, throws his hand up, does a job and does it with no complaints.
He goes about his work quietly and effectively.
Hunter Robinson (Bond University)
The Auckland winger has hit the ground running in Colts 1 after moving from New Zealand earlier in the year.
Fast with soft hands, Robinson has scored plenty of tries this year - his best five pointer coming against Easts when he caught a cross field kick and scored the match winner.
Oliver Barrett (Bond University)
Powerful Nudgee old boy Oliver Barrett has had a strong start to his club career, representing the club’s Colts 1 and Hospital Cup sides.
A prolific tryscorer, Barrett has spearheaded the Bullsharks scrum and been improving each week at the set piece where he is most damaging.
Originally published as Club rugby Colts 1: 25+ Quiet achievers unearthed
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