Meet the Queensland White and Maroon U18s rugby schoolboys competing at the ASRU national championships
The ASRU national championships are only a few sleeps away. Read an insight into every member of the two top-flight Queensland Schoolboys rugby outfits who can run riot on the Sunshine Coast.
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Both sides were outdone by their Southern rivals in 2024 but the new look teams are eager to flip the script at this year’s Australian Schoolboy rugby championships.
Two top-flight Queensland Maroon and White outfits have been assembled and are in camp at Mt Maria College testing combinations that can set the Sunshine Coast alight when the tournament starts on Monday.
For context, Queensland White (Qld II) finished fourth last year and Queensland Maroon (Qld I) finished fifth. NSW II came first, NSW Juniors came second and NSW I finished third.
Following a highly competitive state championships in Townsville, Queensland I head coach Benedict Cameron said his side is ready to wrestle back the momentum.
“We hope to play the game in the right areas of the field so that the boys can apply as much pressure as possible,” he said.
Cameron coached the Met East side to victory at the state championships while also running his eye over those worthy of Queensland selection.
“We’ve got a good forward pack and some exciting players in the backs so we hope to play an expensive brand of rugby,” he said.
Both Cameron and Queensland Schoolboys II coach Andrew Rye have the cavalry to make nationals, starting on July 7, a memorable one.
Enjoy this deep dive into who’s who in the schoolboy rugby zoo.
Get to know the 17-18 Years Boys Queensland Schoolboys I
Dermott Arthy (Sunshine Coast)
He is a Redcliffe SHS flyer originally from Western Australia. Watch him weasel his way out of tackles.
Tannar Baker (Metropolitan West)
Queensland Maroon are covered for attacking prowess in Arthy and defensive spirit and efficiency in Tannar Baker.
A Mr versatile, Baker has played lock, flanker and No. 8 with distinction in his fledgling career.
Picked as a lock in this team, Baker played flanker for Ipswich Grammar’s First XV in 2024 and will play No. 8 when round 1 takes flight on July 19.
To put it simply, Baker doesn’t miss tackles. He makes plenty of them too.
Jeremiah Patea (Metropolitan East)
A Brothers junior, Patea has come through the ranks quietly before making a huge ruccus in his senior year at Brisbane State High.
Patea was a fresh new face in Redcliffe’s successful Mal Meninga Cup outfit and will feature at inside centre for Queensland.
He was classy playing out of position at flyhalf during the state championships.
Max Bolton (Metropolitan East)
An impressive new face on the scene in AIC First XV rugby this year for Iona.
Bolton is a flexible back whose best footy was produced at fullback during the school season. He is a smart footballer with skill, a big kick and toughness.
He wasn’t able to play at the state championships due to concussion protocols but made the team anyway.
That says plenty.
Elijah Breen (Metropolitan North)
Breen, also a capable flyhalf, made his GPS First XV rugby debut as a Year 10 student back in 2023 and has a deft right boot which can make a difference for Queensland.
He has the territorial kicking game down pat, and then when it is on he can create tries with his short kicking game.
All this from a bloke with feet quick enough to unravel the best defensive units.
Brock Coombes (Metropolitan West)
Originally a Sunshine Coast lad, Coombes has been making every post a winner at Ipswich Grammar School where the versatile outside back has proven his wares multiple times.
A Reds Under-16s winger in 2023, Coombes is older and wiser now in Year 12 and capable of covering various backline positions and beating first defenders on the regular.
The chatty Reds Academy outside back is a smart footballer, with speed, spidey-senses and better communication than most.
Lane Edmonds (Metropolitan West)
Here’s another reason why the Queensland I side can win it all.
Edmonds, an exceptional leader, has height, size, muscle and skill. He is a very well respected student at Ipswich Grammar.
A player the Reds must find a spot for in its academy, Edmonds can play all three backrow positions and should feel bulletproof after a dashing debut season in the Connell Cup for Ipswich.
Tyrece Herniman (Metropolitan East)
A ripping raw talent with plenty of potential.
Herniman has a thirst for contact and good wheels too for a prop.
He can excel anywhere on the field for Queensland and won’t die wondering when battle begins on the Sunshine Coast.
Koby Kelland (Sunshine Coast)
Watching scrumhalf supremo Koby Kelland will be worth the admission price alone.
He is a cracking No. 9 with no fear. He is just fun to watch.
Electric and exciting, Kelland also has a very good pass on him.
Junior Latu (Metropolitan East)
Queensland will have plenty of punch through the midfield with Brisbane State High No. 12 Junior Latu lacing up the boots.
He was a reliable performer in all eight rounds of last year’s rugby competition for the GPS First XV runners up and is starting to construct a considerable rugby resume.
Watch this space.
Rohan Nichol (Sunshine Coast)
A natural footballer, Nichol has long been a leading player in his age group and on the Sunshine Coast.
The Noosa Dolphin was once fending off defenders left and right and he has continued to do so as a crash running midfielder or playmaker at Sunshine Coast Grammar.
His dedication is clear because, to play rugby against greater opposition, he played for Brothers in last year’s under-16s BJRU competition.
Kobi Nouanrasy (South Coast)
Queensland have a wonderful one-two halfback punch in the form of Kelland and Nouanrasy.
Nouanrasy, from Kings Christian College on the Gold Coast, has plenty of strings to his bow.
His biggest weapon is a big and effective kicking game.
The Bond Uni Bull Shark reads the game very well.
Tremayne Patelesio (South Coast)
Patelesio will be chomping at the bit to make an immediate back-row impact after a somewhat quiet state championships showing.
A terrific talent who made the side last year, Patelesio is both abrasive and quick which make him a go-to attacking option from No.8.
Oliver Rauchle (Metropolitan North)
Rauchle is the best forward to emerge out of the St Paul’s School in the past two years, maybe even this decade.
It is high praise and it is warranted.
The flexible forward even played centre in a TAS rugby competition where he stood out.
He will be tested against high-quality opposition next week but those within the walls of St Paul’s and in Queensland camp will be backing him in until the cows come home.
Denzel Savelino (Metropolitan North)
Prop Saevlino is coming off a stellar AIC First XV rugby competition where, as captain of St Patrick’s, he led from the front and ensured they were never out of the fight.
The Paddies prop has improved tremendously over the past 12 months and teammates will sleep well at night knowing Savelino is packing down the scrum.
Cyrus Suniula (Metropolitan East)
Suniula was a standout at the state championships. Can he repeat the dose on the Sunny Coast?
The answer is yes.
Aggressive, physical and mobile for a front-rower, Suniula is as good as it gets when it comes to a schoolboy hooker.
He has great pedigree, both his parents accomplished rugby players.
Angus Tagicakibau (Metropolitan East)
Another Brisbane State High senior of good pedigree, Tagicakibau has Fijian flair from the tip of his head down to his toes.
Angus’ father George was the 1996 Queensland Schoolboys winger out of Nudgee College.
Indeed George has passed down plenty of his attacking prowess that those from the rugby-mad Fijian village of Namatakula seem to possess.
Think Lote and Samson Tuqiri, Nemani Nadolo and dual-code star Noa Nadruku (Fiji and Canberra Raiders).
Luke Thornton (Metropolitan East)
Thornton is as reliable as a rock is hard at the lineout.
A good operator, Thornton does his job well and with no fuss. He will play in the second row for Queensland I.
Quinn Timperon (Metropolitan East)
The 17-year-old journeyman had been here, there and everywhere before himself and his family settled at Coomera and decided Mabel Park SHS was the best fit.
Originally a Marsden SHS student, winger or outside centre Timperon just thought ‘why not’ when deciding to trial for this team.
He was an instant hit.
Due to move south to Manly later this year, Sea Eagles-signee Timperon has a hard edge to his game but also has finesse and speed to get on the outside of his opponent and pounce.
Gavin Wilson-Tyers (Darling Downs)
Wilson-Tyers, a front-row powerhouse from Gladstone, didn’t even have to play at the state championships to earn a call up in the Queensland I side.
That’s how highly thought of he is.
A destructive Downlands College prospect, Wilston-Tyers is elite when he imposes himself in a game.
The key for him is finding the perfect balance between quality involvements and the quantity of them.
Owen Heathwood (Sunshine Coast)
Heathwood might be stuck behind some good ones for a starting prop position but he can be trusted as a starter or finisher.
A strong scrummager who plays his core role well, Heathwood hails from the Sunshine Coast Grammar stable where he is developing nicely alongside representative hooker Adrian de Klerk.
Malaki Lemalu (Metropolitan East)
The Springfield sensation is a Mr Versatile who could feature at hooker or flanker and do a good job.
A Souths Junior Colt, Lemalu is only in Year 11 so his selection here says plenty about his ability.
Tadhg Lyons (Metropolitan East)
Like Lemalu, Lyons is part of an exciting crop of young Brisbane State High forwards coming through the ranks.
Also a Souths Junior Colt, Lyons is the prototypical lock-backrow hybrid who is equally at home in both positions.
Jesse Maugatai (Metropolitan East)
A young beast from Brisbane State High, Maugatai is forging a path of his own after his older brother Matthias held the lantern as a Brisbane State High First XV forward earlier this decade.
Jesse, who like Matthias is a backrower, will either play No. 8 or blindside flanker where his power game is confronting and unrelenting attitude infectious.
Get to know the 17-18 Years Boys Queensland Schoolboys I (White)
Samu Afoa (Met West)
The Ipswich Grammar student will play in the centres for Queensland where his straight and hard ballrunning can get his team over the gain line and onto the front foot.
Last year Afoa made the Rebels Under-16s team but has moved from Victoria to Queensland where in a short time he has fit right in.
Earlier this year he played for the Ipswich Jets in the Cyril Connell Cup.
Malakaih Beals (Metropolitan East)
Beals can add finesse and toughness to this outstanding Queensland Schoolboys outfit.
He has had a ripper 12 months.
Last year he was a staple on the wing for the Reds Under-16s. In the summer he was a regular in Souths Logan’s Cyril Connell Cup team.
Once this is all over, the speedy Beals will line up for Brisbane Statte High’s First XV and contest the GPS rugby premiership.
Daniel Braney (Northern)
Braney can play loosehead prop or hooker for Queensland and will just be everywhere all at once when he is given a chance.
His work rate is his point of difference. It has been developed playing as a rugby league middle forward for the Centrals Tigers in Townsville.
Harry Cohen (Metropolitan West)
Cohen has come along way and he has plenty of leadership qualities to help Queensland put wins on the board.
Originally a University of Queensland rugby junior from St Peters Lutheran College, Cohen is now at Ipswich Grammar where he will be vice-captain of its First XV this winter.
He will play flanker.
Isaac Fidock (South Coast)
A livewire outside back, Fidock can finish tries and create them himself at this tournament.
The Burleigh Bears speedster is a tremendous rugby winger or fullback and league winger or half.
He improved with every game during the recent Cyril Connell Cup competition.
Just give him the ball and watch him go. The Somerset College kid is lightning.
Malachi Figota (Metropolitan West)
One half of a dynamic brotherly duo also featuring winger Micah.
Malachi however is the No. 8 forward enforcer, a Redbank local with the power and skill to get excited about.
An Ipswich SHS student, Figota is dominant on both sides of the ball.
If an opponent is tackled by the physical Figota, they’ll now it all right.
Micah Figota (Metropolitan West)
Figota too has aggression and physically in his game.
Also a quality outside centre, winger Figota was a key cog in Brothers Rugby Club’s premiership-winning Junior Colts (under-18s) squad earlier this year.
More recently the smart ballrunner has been gaining confidence and form in the Langer Reserves competition playing wing for Ipswich SHS.
He knows when to run in support, stay in the field of play or take on the line.
Marcus Harris-Pomare (Sunshine Coast)
Big Harris-Pomare won’t just scrum hard and call it a day.
The big-bodied Redcliffe SHS forward will be a wonderful ballrunning option for Queensland who can and will bend the defensive line.
He is in good touch. For the last month he has been increasing his match fitness playing as a middle for Redcliffe’s Langer Reserves team.
Oliver Kennedy (Metropolitan West)
Year 11 inside centre Kennedy has been specialising as a secondary playmaker but is also at home playing flyhalf or fullback.
A good goalkicker, Kennedy has developed a ball carrying aspect to his game, along with his territorial kicking, makes him a triple threat.
Originally from All Saints Anglican School in Merrimac, Gold Coast Cyclones junior Kennedy is now coming through the ranks at Ipswich Grammar.
Tyler Riddell (Metropolitan West)
Riddell’s selection here is a superb one because the abrasive front-row forward had played B’s football at Ipswich Grammar before last year making the 15As.
That was when his rugby starting to take off.
An Ipswich local, Riddell is versatile in that he can play all three front-row positions.
The hard working Year 11 student is dynamic and abrasive in all he does and if he gets through contact, he has enough speed to scurry down field.
Cooper Knowles (Metropolitan North)
An unheralded back from Fortitude Valley State Secondary College, Knowles plays his club footy for Brothers where he has excelled.
A proud Brothers product, the versatile Knowles has warmed his engines for the championships by playing Colts 2 at Crosby Park.
Kafoa Maile (Metropolitan East)
A tighthead terror from Brisbane State High, Maile has all the tools to be a driving force for the side.
Strong and mobile, Maile leads with his actions and words too.
He is a great communicator.
Owen Myers (Northern)
Another Ignatius Park College kid, Myers will be a man among boys who towers over his opposition.
An ankle injury meant Myers couldn’t play at the state championships but he is a genuine lock with a big frame who his coaching staff just needed.
He’s about 204cm tall.
Atapana Noa (South Coast)
Softly spoken off the field but loud with his actions on it, Noa has been Somerset College’s loosehead prop over its two premiership seasons of 2024 and 2025.
The gentle giant will hold his own at the scrum.
David Nunn (Darling Downs)
A Downlands College playmaker, Nunn will feature at flyhalf or inside centre where his chat and leadership will be welcomed by those on his left and right.
A leader.
Lincoln Payne (Sunshine Coast)
Payne has been putting it on in Sunshine Coast A-Grade football for Maroochydore and this week at Mt Maria College he has been impressive during Queensland’s camp preparations.
A hooker or loosehead prop, Payne has the toughness all St John’s College (Nambour) rugby products seem to possess.
Robert Piutau (Metropolitan East)
An athletic Brisbane State High backrower, Piutau moves well across the ground and is a dangerous operator in the wider channels.
He played his junior rugby at Sunnybank.
Harvey Kachel (Peninsula)
The sole returning player from last year’s outfit, Cairns scrumhalf Kachel is back a year older and much wiser.
He is a sharp customer, someone who will get the job done with snappy and accurate service and also threaten with his runs when the time is right.
Queensland’s No. 9 general and skipper hails from the JCU Mariners Rugby Club.
Indygo Keir (Northern)
Keir, who was picked as a flyhalf, adds great backline depth with his ability to play halfback and even fullback.
A student of Ignatius Park College in Townsville, Keir has a booming left foot kick that will be put to good use in the windy conditions on the Sunshine Coast.
He can control tempo nicely with his kicking and communication.
Flynn Corbett (Metropolitan East)
The finest utility in the team.
Corbett will likely start at outside centre, but if needed could play wing, No. 12 and even fullback.
His communication is top notch and the lines he runs in attack ask questions at a good clip.
Patrick Edwards (Sunshine Coast)
A rangy second rower from St John’s College in Nambour, Edwards is a lighter lock who can control a lineout.
Edwards will be versed playing at this level. He has been enhancing his reputation as Maroochydore’s A-Grade lineout jumper in the Sunshine Coast competition.
Ryker Smith (Sunshine Coast)
The baby of the squad, Smith is a 16-year-old Year 11 backrower who was brilliant at the state championships.
A good lineout option, Smith is strong over the ball and plucky.
His father George Smith, a Wallaby great, won the Australian Schools Championship in 1988 — a feat which Queensland are hoping to achieve.
Olliver Sharpe (Darling Downs)
A Downlands College senior, Sharpe will play lock for Queensland where his height and long arms can ensure a nice set-piece platform off the lineouts.
Originally published as Meet the Queensland White and Maroon U18s rugby schoolboys competing at the ASRU national championships
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