Queensland junior representative rugby league round 5: Wednesday night wonders named
Qld junior reps round 4: A Broncos junior signing scored the matchwinner for Wynnum while a slick Bears fullback scored on the hooter against the competition’s best side. See who else starred in Wednesday’s clashes league here.
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Broncos young gun Barry Taukolo was a round 4 wonder on Wednesday night as catch-up matches across the Queensland junior representative rugby league competitions unfolded.
Fullback Taukolo, who last year was signed by Brisbane as a schoolboy in New Zealand, was key in Wynnum Manly’s frantic 12-6 win over Tweed in a midweek thriller which was rescheduled after cyclone Alfred.
HARVEY U17, 19 TEAM OF THE WEEK LATEST
MENINGA CUP, CONNELL TEAM OF THE WEEK LATEST
Taukolo, an underaged player in the elite under-17s competition, gave Wynnum his all returning the ball from fullback and scoring one of just three tries scored by either team.
It was an important 53rd minute four-pointer which broke a 6-all deadlock and gave the visitors a leg-up heading into crunch time.
In what coach Jon Buchanan described as Wynnum’s toughest test yet, the busy and effective Nudgee College student played a big part in his team escaping Tweed Heads with two points.
“He’s a classy player,” Buchanan said.
“He has those silky skills and just trains the house down.
“He’s going to be a fair athlete.”
So who else shone in four make-up matches on Wednesday? Some of the finest are highlighted below.
THE SCORES:
Tweed 18 def Wynnum Manly 12 (Meninga Cup)
Wynnum Manly 12 defeat Tweed 6 (Connell Cup)
Easts 46 def Burleigh 16 (Harvey 17s)
Easts and Burleigh drew 22-all (Harvey 19s)
WEDNESDAY NIGHT WONDERS
Enah Desic (Tigers U17s)
Dummyhalf Desic was so good that she was granted an early mark for her deeds orchestrating the attack.
A class act, Desic was quick to pounce under lights at Burleigh. In the first set of the match the quick-thinking rake dabbed a grubber into the in-goal and she was the first in and best dressed.
It was something few players could pull off but Desic, with X-ray vision, seems to produce magic moments like these regularly.
Desic was involved in her team’s second try which was scored by prop Charity Faalogo and the fourth when she set Charlize Duncan up with a deft grubber.
Tiahna Kanawi (Tigers 17s)
Kanawi was Desic’s partner in crime during the first half, displaying an array of skills to give the Tigers an unassailable lead.
The scheming No. 7 shaped to pass right and then pounced from the ruck base for her first of four tries. She did not make a mistake across the match and in the second half twisted the knife with three more tries.
Her most dangerous asset was a show-and-go which delivered three of her tries. The other came from a simple but effective run from close range.
It’s worth noting Kanawi’s carnage was a by-product of Riley-Jay Henry-Purcell, Charity Faalago and Carayanidis Ta’Akimoeaka-Pulu’s grunt work.
Charlize Duncan (Tigers 17s)
While Kanawi stole the show with her four-try barrage, Duncan was also a superb performer whose instincts and positioning helped pile on two tries.
She was smart to park up next to Desic midway through the first half and pounce on a grubber kick to score. Then, with 12 minutes to go, Duncan pinned the ears back and scored in the left corner after a crisp right-to-left cut out pass from Kanawi presented open pastures.
Genesis Tupa’i (Burleigh 17s)
No team could have withstood the pressure inflicted by the Tigers in the early stages of Wednesday’s match. But, to Burleigh’s credit, they rallied, piled on three tries and held their heads high when there seemed no way through.
The encouragement and attacking prowess of left centre Genesis Tupa’i went a long way in making sure of this.
Tupa’i jinked her way past a few defenders when she ran the ball and held down her edge very well. Just three days ago she made 157 run metres and busted seven tackles in a 24-nil win over Wynnum Manly.
Olivia Filikitonga (Burleigh 17s)
Bears prop Filikitonga went hammer and tongs with the Tigers’ middle forwards and was effective.
Especially in the first half she was a forward leader, throwing counterpunch after counterpunch in a bid to give her side front foot ball.
The skilful middle forward had been excellent up to this point, consistently milking post contact metres.
Jayda Collins (Burleigh 17s)
Dummyhalves did their best work in round 4. Going above and beyond was the small but strong Jayda Collins.
Collins came up trumps late in the match when she scooted away for a superb 25m solo try but before that she impressed with defiant defence.
She did not shy away from fronting up against a Tigers pack with a size advantage.
Seth Coe (Tweed 17s)
The Tweed fullback was safe as houses at the back and in a close game, his reliability cannot be discounted.
He caught every highball, returned the steden with venom and applied pressure both chasing kicks and passing to his outside men.
Jai Bilish (Tweed 17s)
Bilish, Tweed’s hooker and captain, was a great leader of his troops and tenacious tackler.
One of the Seagulls’ most influential this season, Bilish brought his best on the defensive end where he often made multiple tackles in one set. When mistakes were made and Wynnum errors were forced, the brilliant Bilish was among the first to get around his teammates and re-centre the group’s focus.
Jyah White (Tweed 17s)
The Seagulls edge forward put in a tradesman like performance.
Against a hungry Wynnum pack, he laid down the law with tough carries and brick wall defence.
He was heavily involved on both sides of the ball.
Barry Taukolo (Wynnum Manly 17s)
The smooth moving Seagulls fullback forged a hole to the tryline to land the winning blow for his side as the clock dwindled down.
Taukolo exploded off his left and zigzagged back inside to break a 6-all deadlock which stayed intact for 40 minutes.
Before rising to the occasion to land the dagger, he got stuck in running the ball like a middle forward.
Jordan Hotere (Wynnum Manly 17s)
Hotere had a steady hand in his team’s frantic six-point triumph. He made no mistakes, defended well when he needed to and straightened up the attack nicely before releasing a pass out back which resulted in Taukolo’s late try.
He is a raw talent but when he is firing, he can be a big difference-maker.
Koby McGarrity and Franck Iraguha (Wynnum Manly 17s)
The Seagulls’ bookends brought their A game to Tweed.
Iraguha started and finished strongly while the reliable McGarrity was an ironman, a start to finish performner whose consistency was a feature.
The prop pairing gave depth and time for the halves to do their thing.
Zali Bettridge (Burleigh 19s)
The Bears were lucky to have such a natural playmaker in Zali Bettridge.
A product of the prolific Keebra Park girls rugby league academy, Bettridge’s playmaking was key in her team’s toughest challenge of the season.
She was a calculated and composed customer in the face of rushing Tigers defence. In the final 10 minutes, twice Bettridge held up a pass to create gaps for her teammates to slice through.
The first beneficiary of her craftiness was centre Brianna Toopi and then the slippery Bella Thompson on the stroke of full time.
Nadia Windleborn (Burleigh 19s)
Burleigh wouldn’t have been within a cooee were it not for the repeat and tireless efforts of their passionate dummyhalf Nadia Windleborn.
A tough cookie originally from the Robina Raptors before developing her craft at Burleigh, Windleborn wore her heart on her sleeve. She also served up terrific service.
But it was her tireless defence, general presence and measured play under duress which gave the Tigers a real run for their money.
Bella Thompson and Brianna Toopi (Burleigh 19s)
The usual suspects were front and centre again for Burleigh.
Left centre Toopi and gutsy fullback Thompson rose to the occasion of playing the competition’s fiercest and finest team. Their efforts went a long way in Burleigh snaring a draw.
Thompson looked the most likely to penetrate Easts’ defensive wall. Toopi also made inroads on the left edge and scored the try which made it 22-18 and ultimately gave the Bears a genuine winning chance in the final five minutes.
It was none other than Thompson who found a way through to score the equaliser on the final play.
Lishainah Ulugia (Tigers 19s)
Not many players can do what Ulugia does with ease.
More often than not Ulugia is a middle forward or lock whose hard runs give Easts a lovely platform to thrive off of. On Wednesday, she pulled the strings from five-eight and was in her element.
A proud Ipswich State High product, Ulugia importantly slotted three of her four shots at goal and challenged Burleigh’s defence with short passes at the line.
Kayleen Takai and Orianna Clark (Tigers 19s)
The Tigers forward pairing put Burleigh’s defence to the test in the first half.
Their powerful carries wore down the opposition defence so that the likes of Liliele Vaitolo, Zerenity Tuala, Ulugia and Namoe Gesa could capitalise with tries.
Around the thunderous Clark and Takai, props Porche John, Lorren Leli and interchange forward Sky-Yvette Faimalie were to the fore.
Ray Puru (Tweed 19s)
Are we looking at the Meninga Cup’s best fullback?
Puru was a ball of energy again in Wednesday’s tight encounter with Wynnum, which followed a string of top notch performances from the livewire No.1.
He has attacked this under-19s season with vigour and was so important in keeping Tweed’s undefeated streak alive with his ruck runs, intuitiveness and uncanny ability to spin away from defenders and propel forward.
Bodhi Sharpley (Tweed 19s)
The Toowoomba talent has been an all-or-nothing performer for Tweed through the first five rounds and in the closest game yet, his dependability was a godsend.
He was tough as nails, inflicting pain with his defence and then influencing Tweed’s attack with his carries through the middle.
There’s little wonder why the Titans have invested in the tall, blue-collar working middle forward who knows no bounds.
Tom Morcom (Wynnum Manly 19s)
Right centre Tom Morcom gave Wynnum extra punch on his edge and was asking questions of Tweed’s defence from the outset.
A two-try terror in a low scoring affair, Morcom displayed plenty of strength, off the mark speed and decisiveness leading the way in attack.
A product of Shalom College in Bundaberg, Morcom has moved mountains to make up for lost time. He missed last year’s junior representative season before making his return in the BRL under-21s competition for Beenleigh.
Preston Cassidy (Wynnum Manly 19s)
Cassidy had an impressive game and had to be mentioned after pulling off a stunning solo try in the third minute of the match.
Cassidy, who was off balance, rolled the dice with a grubber kick into the in-goal and beat everyone to it. With an acrobatic dive he then planted the ball just before it rolled dead.
For the next 67 minutes he had a steady hand at halfback and was solid defensively.
Originally published as Queensland junior representative rugby league round 5: Wednesday night wonders named
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