PLAYER NEWS: Talented teens headline seven North Queensland Cowboys elevated to NRL squad

The 2024 Cowboys have taken shape with seven players promoted to the top 30 and NRL squads for next year. Find out how they will help North Queensland charge back into NRL finals.

QLD player Kaiden Lahrs Qld Vs NSWCCC in the ASSRL national championships in Redcliffe. Saturday July 1, 2023. Picture, John Gass

Five players have taken a huge step towards their NRL debuts while two more hope to cement their place in first grade after seven Cowboys pathway players were elevated to the top 30 and NRL squads for 2024.

Schoolboy sensation Kaiden Lahrs, 17, and 18-year-old Jamal Shibasaki are perhaps the brightest new prospects to be promoted into the NRL squad alongside Wil Sullivan and Emarly Bitungane

Mia Pua’avase joins 2023 Cowboys debutants Robert Derby and Zac Laybutt in the top 30 for 2024.

KAIDEN LAHRS and JAMAL SHIBASAKI

After graduating from Ignatius Park College last year, Shibasaki was named Mal Meninga Cup Player of the Year, won the Hastings Deering Colts premiership with the Townsville Blackhawks and made four Hostplus Cup appearances with the senior Blackhawks side.

Michael Luck believes Shibasaki is ready for the NRL. “Physically it’s not a problem, he’s plenty tough enough and he can handle the contact,” he said. Picture: Evan Morgan

Australian Schoolboys player Lahrs has not yet graduated from year 12 at Kirwan High.

Cowboys general manager of football Michael Luck said that while he wasn’t expecting any of the elevated players to play 25 NRL games in 2024, it was an opportunity for them to continue their rapid growth.

“That’s the premise of our club, to give young players from this region the opportunity to play in the NRL without having to go too far from home,” Luck said.

“The next few years for those guys is about learning what it takes to be a professional athlete, learning what the NRL is all about, and having to get yourself up day after day for nine months, start to finish.”

Luck said that Shibasaki’s ability to handle each step up with ease gave him confidence he would be ready for the NRL.

“There’s a big jump between playing schoolboy footy and Hostplus Cup in the space of seven months,” Luck said.

“Physically it’s not a problem, he’s plenty tough enough and he can handle the contact, but it was about knowing when to inject himself into games and staying competitive defensively for long stints and to his credit he worked hard on that space and was pretty good, the whole year long.

17-year-old Kaiden Lahrs has earned a spot in the Cowboys NRL squad straight out of high school. Picture: Shae Beplate.

“These guys have absolutely shown something a little bit extra. Kaiden in particular, he’s obviously got a fair pedigree behind him but he’s the same – every level that he’s taken he’s handled fairly comfortably.

“It’s very rare that a guy can come straight out of school and handle that, so there’s no pressure on (Lahrs) to play NRL this year.

“This is about him developing slowly – we’re not really concerned how good Kaiden is when he’s 18, we’re concerned how good he is when he’s 24, 25, and this is the first step on that journey for him.”

“I thought (Derby) was just about the Blackhawks’ best as the year went on,” Michael Luck said. (Photo by Emily Barker/Getty Images)

ROBERT DERBY and ZAC LAYBUTT

Luck said Derby and Laybutt had both taken leaps in their development this season.

“They had tremendous years. I thought (Derby) was just about the Blackhawks’ best as the year went on,” he said.

“I think they’ve both been really good for PNG. They’re contributing and they’re go-to guys for the team so it’s been great to see.”

EMARLY BITUNGANE

Bitungane pulled on Cowboys colours for an NRL trial match against the Dolphins at the start of 2023, going on to make nine appearances for the Townsville Blackhawks before a season-ending hip injury.

MIA PUA’AVASE and WIL SULLIVAN

Pua’avase, 20, also featured in the trial game against the Dolphins after graduating from Kirwan high in the same class as Jeremiah Nanai, while Sullivan is a promising Queensland under-19s representative who broke into senior first grade for six Queensland Cup games.

Originally published as PLAYER NEWS: Talented teens headline seven North Queensland Cowboys elevated to NRL squad