NRL Schoolboys Cup: North Queensland Cowboys like what they see in Mason Barber
It was the tackle-busting try that set the ASSRL Nationals alight, but the Cowboys know schoolboy recruit Mason Barber is more than just his highlight reel. Find out more.
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Mason Barber exploded into the rugby league spotlight with a run that will be hard to forget.
In the semi-final of the Australia Secondary Schools Rugby League, Barber collected the ball in his own in-goal, powered his way through eight attempted tackles and planted it down at the other end.
The Keebra Park and Australian Schoolboys fullback announced himself as a future NRL talent in that moment.
But for the good judges at the Cowboys, his future prospects are something they have been acutely aware of for a number of years.
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The Gold Coast prospect will relocate to Townsville in November to start in the club’s Young Guns program, an offshoot of their development pathways for 18-21 year old athletes.
Cowboys head of pathways Glenn Hall is adamant it is just a small step on a massive journey for the livewire fullback which could have him involved in sessions alongside Scott Drinkwater and Kangaroos five-eighth Tommy Dearden before Christmas.
“He will move to Townsville for a full pre-season with the Young Guns and he will do some NRL sessions here and there,” Hall said.
“I think depending on how that goes, we might put him up there more regularly after Christmas. He did a bit of work with the Young Guns during last year’s pre-season as a bit of a soft launch, he did really well then, so we expect him to handle himself this year.
“Physically he moves really well and is quite fit. He is a well-mannered young man and fits everything we like in a footballer.
“He had a successful footy season at both the Queensland league level and schoolboys’ level.”
Barber is one of the most exciting prospects coming out of the schoolboys system this year among a class that includes Patrician Brothers College and Dragons boom backrower Jacob Halangahu, Bulldogs playmaker Mitchell Woods and Palm Beach Currumbin national champion Sam Stephenson.
He isn’t the only Cowboys contracted kid making the transition to the Young Guns ranks from the Langer Trophy either with fellow Queensland schoolboys teammate and Wavell backrower Maddox Goodwin making the move up the Bruce Highway.
The Young Guns program has a proven track record in developing NRL talent with recent graduates Tom Chester, Tom Gilbert, Jaxson Purdue and Zac Laybutt all getting a taste at the top level.
Barber will be hoping he can follow in a similar direction.
“He is an exciting footballer,” Hall said. “He has obvious attacking skills, you can see that in the way he moves and the highlight plays this season.
“He has a great fend, good speed, good vision and can pass and kick the ball. He has great attacking flair.
“Defensively we saw there was a bit of work for him to do. We are excited to get him here and entrench him in the Cowboys thinking and build up all the correct habits (defensively). For him to climb the ranks quickly, that is an element he needs to buy into quickly.
“He has a very high ceiling; most people can see the obvious talent he has. The hurdles that come out of transitioning from schoolboys to that next level, there is still a bit of work to go, but I have no dramas that he will be willing to do the work.”
Inside Halangahu’s rise from Mount Druitt to the big time
Patrician Brothers College powerhouse Jacob Halangahu is the latest player in a long line of NRL talent to emerge from the mean streets of Mount Druitt.
The backrower, who is about to kick-start a brutal NRL pre-season campaign under Shane Flanagan at the Dragons, was a revelation on the schoolboys league stage this season.
He spearheaded NSW Combined Catholic Colleges to back-to-back ASSRL national titles, winning grand final MVP and an Australian Schoolboys jersey in the process, before taking Patrician Brothers College to within a whisker of the school’s first national title in nearly a decade.
He is also now a clear frontrunner in KommunityTV’s race to crown the best NRL Schoolboys Cup team of the year.
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While his raw ability is undeniable and his work ethic unquestionable, there is an element of his humble upbringing in Western Sydney – the eldest of seven kids – that is unmistakable in his work.
The 2770 postcode has been at the heart of the Penrith Panthers’ four-peat NRL dynasty with star premiership players Jerome Luai, Brian To’o and Stephen Crichton all proudly flying the Mount Druitt flag on the big stage.
When the Panthers made it to the big dance in 2020, the first of five-straight grand final appearances, there was six players from the Mount Druitt area in their side – a clear inspiration for a then 12-year-old Halangahu.
The teenage tearaway is carving out a path of his own onto the big stage, one which has taken him and half of his family out of Western Sydney and into Wollongong, but he will also remain true to his roots.
Patrician Brothers College coach Noah Meares said there was an undeniable toughness bred into kids who grew up in Western Sydney.
“They are proud of where they come from,” Meares said.
“I think that has been the case for a lot of the boys who came through that system at Penrith, they are proud of being from Western Sydney, they are proud of being from Mount Druitt.
“The way they grow up can be tougher than other places. It makes them tougher and more resilient, and they bring that into their footy. The way they play the game and the physicality that they play with is clear.
“They are tough kids.”
Meares said the effect Halangahu has had on the Patrician Brothers College program and the players around him was tangible.
“He has a presence about him which helps everyone,” he said.
“He has that internal drive to make himself the best he possibly can be. That presence, and his confidence on the field, lifts everyone around him.
“As much as he is a great individual player, he makes the teams around him great.”
How NRL club snub landed young gun in team of the year
The heartbreak of being left out of the Canberra Raiders junior representative squads was the spark that lit the fuse of exciting young gun Yuri Hromow.
The utility back, who was overlooked by the Raiders junior coaches at the start of the season, turned his pain into motivation for a big year on the football fields which included a Laurie Daley Cup premiership with Monaro, an ASSRL Nationals call-up and a spot in The Daily Telegraph’s Peter Mulholland Cup team of the year.
CHECK OUT THE PMC TEAM OF THE YEAR
But it was a mid-season switch from fullback to the backrow which truly unlocked Hromow’s ability.
Erindale College coach Ash Barnes said Hromow proved his ability to play multiple roles during ACT’s charge at the ASSRL National Championships, and with injuries in the back half of the season, they leaned on him to plug the gaps.
“His preferred position is fullback and that is where we started him in the pool games,” Barnes said.
“He is a very versatile player, being able to play the majority of positions.
“We picked up numerous injuries which saw four backrow options ruled out before we were to play finals. We needed to get our best players on the field, and the move to the backrow for Yuri allowed us to put our strongest team on the field.
“He had a really strong performance against Hills Sports, where he defended strongly and produced some big plays in attack to influence the result.”
It’s unsurprising Hromow has found a home in the forwards, with older brother Owen a star lock forward and leader in the Raiders SG Ball and Jersey Flegg Cup sides.
The unsigned utility is expected to trial for the Raiders SG Ball Cup side in the off-season in a number of positions, and his school coach was adamant whatever role they needed filled, Hromow would be the man for the job.
His versatility and raw ability were two big reasons why Hromow was picked in The Daily Telegraph’s Peter Mulholland Cup team of the season alongside Patrician Brothers College powerhouse Jacob Halangahu in the backrow.
Originally published as NRL Schoolboys Cup: North Queensland Cowboys like what they see in Mason Barber
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