NRL 2024: Which Queensland club has best talent 23 and under?

NRL coaches voted Tino Fa’asuamaleaui as the player 23 and under they would build a team around. We take a look, and rate, the best young talent on the rosters of Queensland NRL clubs.

Tino Fa'asuamaleaui. Picture: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

He was voted the best young player NRL coaches want to build a team around, and Gold Coast captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is adamant the Titans’ emerging group of talent is ready to challenge for an elusive premiership.

“One hundred per cent. We have the team to do it and we have the forward pack to do it,” Fa’asuamaleaui said of the Titans’ 2024 title chances.

But which Queensland club is really home to the best crop of young talent?

Fa’asuamaleaui and back-rower David Fifita, who both turn 24 before the season begins, lead a youth charge on the Gold Coast. Reece Walsh, Ezra Mam and Selwyn Cobbo helped drive Brisbane to within a whisker of beating Penrith in last year’s grand final. Tom Dearden has signed on to carry North Queensland’s hopes for the remainder of the decade. And the Dolphins have Maroons Origin stars Tom Dearden and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow underpinning their second season in the NRL.

The majority of NRL coaches picked Tino to build a hypothetical team around.

However, Fa’asuamaleaui believes the Titans are building towards not only return to the finals, but establishing themselves as genuine contenders.

“It’s probably the best pre-season I have been a part of, the boys are ripping in and competing,” he said.

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“We are creating an identity but we have to put the actions in. When it comes to games is when we need to really step up.”

In a huge boost for the Titans ahead of their season opener against St George Illawarra on March 9, Fa’asuamaleaui revealed Fifita was on track to make his return from a pectoral injury.

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“Yeah, hopefully. He’s a special player. If we want to win then he’s the player to do stuff, something special,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.

“He’s tracking well and started to do some running. It’s exciting. He’s been locked up in rehab so it’s good to see he is out here running. He’s got a smile on his face.”

We rate the players, 23 and under, at all four Queensland clubs.

BRISBANE BRONCOS

While Brisbane’s list might not be as long as their Queensland counterparts, the calibre of talent is undeniable. Superstar fullback Reece Walsh headlines Brisbane’s outstanding young stock. Walsh announced his status as an elite fullback in 2023 and his star is on the rise, and will take Selwyn Cobbo along with him. With Walsh at fullback, nine of Cobbo’s 17 tries in 2023 had a final pass or kick from Walsh.

With Walsh at fullback, Ezra Mam at five-eighth, and hooker Blake Mozer in the mix, Brisbane’s spine is young but lethal. Mam signed a long-term deal with the club after an attempted raid by the Dolphins. While Mozer, who made his debut in 2023 and is considered the country’s best hooking prospect, will be given more NRL game time.

Walsh, Cobbo, Mozer and Xavier Willison are all off contract at the end of next season and the Broncos are working on ways to ward off rivals and secure the youngsters long term.

Brendan Piakura has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Kurt Capewell on Brisbane’s left edge in round one following a forwards exodus at Red Hill.

Deine Mariner is also vying for a wing spot for the Broncos’ historic Las Vegas season opener.

Keep an eye out for teenage forward Benjamin Te Kura, which won’t be hard to do at 122kg and 205cm. After being elevated into the top-30 squad, Te Kura will get his chance to further press his NRL claims in Brisbane’s pre-season trials. U23 TALENT RATING: A

GOLD COAST TITANS

Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and David Fifita are already Origin stars, while Alofiana Khan-Pereira (22), Jayden Campbell (23) and Keano Kini (19) are among the club’s best youngsters.

Khan-Pereira had a breakout rookie season with 20 tries in 2023.

Campbell is expected to win the fullback spot in round one but is facing stiff competition from Kini, who is regarded as the best young prospect in the top 30. Kini will get a final audition for the fullback spot in the trial against the Dolphins and Parramatta.

There’s pressure on halfback Tanah Boyd to take his game to the next level in 2024 with Tom Weaver breathing down his neck.

Young forwards Josiah Pahulu has been elevated into the top-30 squad this year and is edging closer to an NRL debut. The hulking 19-year-old prop is expected to feature in the trials series.

Fifita (shoulder), Campbell (knee), Boyd (shoulder) and Jojo Fifita (ankle) have been on modified training programs in the pre-season but will be available for selection in round one. U23 TALENT RATING: B +

NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS 

Cowboys coach Todd Payten has some of the best young forwards in the game at his disposal in Jeremiah Nanai, Helium Luki, Griffin Neame and boom rookie Kulikefu Finefeuiaki. Keeping Finefeuiaki might prove too hard for the Cowboys with the cashed-up Dragons making a play for the powerful backrower. Luki will also put a squeeze on the club’s salary cap as the club looks to extend the highly regarded young forward, whose career has been dotted with injury (ACL, facial fracture).

Dearden has been anointed as the side’s general and will lead the halves – and spine – into the future after signing until the end of season 2029. His future partner in the halves will be Tom Duffy, who has long been earmarked as Chad Townsend’s replacement in the No.7 jumper. With the Cowboys looking to the future, Duffy is expected to get a run in the trials against the Broncos and Raiders.

One of the Cowboys’ best young prospects, Robert Derby, is putting heat on established wingers Kyle Feldt and Semi Valemei. U23 TALENT RATING: B –

DOLPHINS

Tom Gilbert and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow provide Origin pedigree, while rising playmaker Isaiya Katoa already has 22 NRL games and six internationals for Tonga to his name, while still a teenager.

Newcomer Jake Averillo goes into his fifth NRL season with all upside. Versatile, fast and powerful, he can play anywhere across the backline.

Hooker Max Plath emerged as the fittest player in Dolphins pre-season training and is in the mix for a bench utility role behind first-choice No.9 Jeremy Marshall-King.

Valynce Te Whare and Mason Teague, who played seven games in 2023, are works in progress and unlikely to feature in the early rounds of the season.

Former under-19s NSW Blues captain Oryn Keeley was poached from the Knights on a three-year deal. The edge backrower goes straight into the top 30 and will feature in the trials. U23 TALENT RATING: C

Originally published as NRL 2024: Which Queensland club has best talent 23 and under?