Gold Coast Cyclones Colts coach Shaun Cole runs the rule over his eight players most firmly in the frame for South Queensland.

Fresh off his young side’s triumphant South Queensland Championships run, a coach and former veteran Gold Coast player has called for a competition’s return to be “priority number one”.

Fresh off his young Cyclones triumphant South Queensland Championships campaign, coach Shaun Cole has called for the return of a Gold Coast Colts competition to be “priority number one” for rugby union in the region.

The under-19s representative side walked away from the carnival undefeated, with their 24-17 win over the Sunshine Coast followed by a 36-12 take-down of the Darling Downs.

Talent has rarely been an issue for Gold Coast’s youngest squads, with the under-14s and under-16s also making an impression at the Championships.

But Cole said now the time had come for the gap between junior and senior rugby to close, particularly given the decline of the first-grade season in 2022.

With three teams opting out of the Glitter Strip’s top tournament citing safety concerns in contested scrums, only five teams have remained in the Phil Temperton Trophy — including Cole’s Griffith Uni Colleges Knights.

Cole said a comeback of a Colts system, something he said had not been seen in years, would prove vital in retaining young talent in the 15-man code, rather than lose them to rival sports or to the Brisbane Premier Rugby.

He said the weekends results highlighted the talent was well and truly available, it was now a matter of providing with the proper environment to fully develop as players.

“It’s been a couple of years (since a Colts competition was held), I remember from Colleges the last time we had Colts was six years back and we had to take them to the Brisbane comp to play,” Cole said.

“If you’re 18 and not quite ready to go to senior footy or don’t have that confidence and see a pathway, they may go over and play in the 19s comp for league.

“Alternatively there’s also two Colts teams at Bond University, so if we lose them although they’re playing on the Gold Coast they’re not the Gold Coast comp and classed as Brisbane premier players.

“The sooner we get a Colts competition back on the Gold Coast and a really strong 18s comp the better. Obviously the more we can do to keep these young fellas interested and motivated to play footy on the Gold Coast it is going to be a benefit for those first-grade teams.

“It’s a big priority … I know gold coast rugby are doing their best to get that going and there’s some good people there. There’s no shortage of talent, and hopefully a really good competition can build from there … because a five team comp is not what anyone wants.”

Following the weekend’s championships on the Sunshine Coast, a South Queensland side will be selected in the coming days, with Cole throwing several Gold Coast candidates into the mix.

Among those young men he expected to be in the frame for higher honours was captain Mitchell McGreevy, who even lined up for the Open Men’s Cyclones side when injuries struck.

Cole said the emerging leader did not put a foot wrong in his 15 minute stint, and his ability to match it with far more seasoned opponents had a telling flow on effect once he was back in the Colts outfit.

“The Opens lost a few players so he played 10 or 15 minutes in the second Opens game and put a couple of big hits on,” he said of his star number eight.

“He was unreal all weekend, both games he played the full game at number eight and in the second row. His versatility there was on show and he was unbelievable in both games.

“He moved around to have other boys in their favoured positions, but you put him on anywhere and he’ll really thrive.

“We came away with no injuries as well, it left everyone in good stead to get picked in that South Queensland team and be available for it.”

McGreevy is just one of the young Cyclones who will go right into the frame for South Queensland honours. Who else is in line to enter the fold?

Tai Gordon (Griffith Knights)

Sometimes a player will have to create their own luck and run of momentum as the game threatens to go against their wishes.

That is exactly what fly-half Tai Gordon did.

In the Cyclones win over the Darling Downs, Cole said the tide felt well and truly against his troops.

But with each rival attacking raid, there was Gordon charging out of the line in a bid to put on a big hit.

While the sharp number 10 picked up a minor rib injury late in the clash, Cole said by that point his star had already worked his magic.

“He’s one who’s a really quiet kid, but I’ve had a bit to do with him now and he’s got so much skill about him,” he said.

“In the first half of the second game he was coming out of the line trying to put shots on in defence, and the minute it swung around in the second half he just took off.

“He made a big break down the sideline and put Noah Fielding away. After that he set up the next try immediately after that.

“I think he just loves having the ball in hand, when you don’t have the ball in hand continuously it’s hard to get in the game for a fly half.

“But he was really trying to spark us with big shots in defence and with that confidence from there when we got the ball he was carving up.”

Richie Fatafehi (Surfers Paradise)

When Cole was selecting his squad he noted that versatility would be a huge factor in the players picked.

They were about to take on a carnival format, so injury cover was always going to be needed.

Which is why choosing an out and out centre in Richie Fatafehi came with the knowledge that he did not need him to play multiple roles. He simply needed him where he was best.

The damaging ball runner scored three tries in the two matches, denting the defensive line with each carry.

Cole said the way in which Fatafehi hit his opposing defenders completely defied his softly spoken nature off the field. Once he crossed that white line, he embodied a different persona.

“We only took two specialised centres there and he’s a stocky guy but has really good power, he’s hard to bring down. When he’s in defence and getting up hard off the line and has that line speed, not too any many want to run at him,” he said.

“He’s a really nice kid and he’s quiet guy, but when he’s on the field he opens up and was enormous for us.”

Jarred Lahrs (Palm Beach Currumbin)

For his side’s second win of the carnival, Cole said Jarred Lahrs was a clear front runner for man of the match.

The Cyclones second row forward had already shown his class and strength with ball in hand, however it was his ability to win line outs against the throw that stood out.

As Darling Downs attempted to regain momentum in the contest, Lahrs continuously thwarted those plans whenever he had the chance.

While he played limited minutes in the Sunshine Coast clash having just played for Kings College in a schoolboys final, Cole said Lahrs provided the small but crucial plays to keep the contest in their favour against their western rivals.

“In the second game he was near man of the match, really tough carries and was unreal in the lineouts. In the lineouts he was stealing the ball back for us when we weren’t getting much of it,” Cole said.

“It was really big for us.”

Tyler Maxwell (Helensvale)

His longstanding combination with Gordon throughout the junior ranks showed its worth on the weekend, and Tyler Maxwell does not appear finished with yet.

The Helensvale halfback was lauded by Cole for his all around game — from his crafty kicking game to his vision in general play.

Not only has Maxwell’s own form impressed enough to have him on the selection radar, but his partnership with Gordon could well be the final push that ignites an all Gold Coast halves unit for the best that South Queensland has to offer.

Fletcher Bleakley (Bond)

A talented fullback at his best, Fletcher Bleakley’s adaptability was on full show across the two games.

In the second clash Cole even moved him into the centres, continuing to prove he belonged at the top of the region’s code.

Fresh off his try scoring first-grade debut with Bond Pirates, Bleakley scored in the Cyclones triumph over Darling Downs while also posing a constant threat to the Stingrays defensive line.

And Cole believes the teenager’s versatility could thrust him into South Queensland calculations.

“He was really good at fullback and on the wing, we even through him into the centres in the second game – he can play anywhere and looked a class above,” Cole said.

Xavier Collins (Eagles)

The sole member from Gold Coast Eagles in the Cyclones Colts outfit may have also done enough to announce himself as a South Queensland bookend.

Xavier Collins was praised by Cole as a stand out in both games, with the prop proving to be an imposing match up for his opposing bookends.

Given a core reason for the first-grade competition’s plight in 2022 has been a dearth of capable forwards to safely perform a contested scrum, keeping the likes of Collins engaged with opportunities to further himself will be crucial to the sport’s prosperity in the region.

For now, he is very much on the cusp of having his development accelerated in the representative arena, such was the calibre of his weekend efforts.

“With all of our forward, we had a solid line up in both games and plenty of reserves coming off the bench,” Cole said.

“The scrums was a real feature putting a lot of pressure on them, and any time we had one in our favour Mitch McGreevy and Xavier were so hard to handle at number eight.”

Dane Mason (Helensvale/Surfers Paradise) — So impressed was Cole with his young forward, Dane Mason, that he considers him almost a certain lock for the South Queensland side.

Whether that eventuates or not will not be known until at least Tuesday, however based on his performances at the championships it is a fair punt to take.

Mason was lauded as “enormous” by Cole, making metres and significant inroads each time he carried the ball.

His tenacity up front up pave the way for the unbeaten carnival. Now he will await to see if Cole’s prediction proves true.