Queensland under-16s, 19s selection highlights: Reds set to unleash Fijian phenom Trevor King in Brumbies blockbuster
Queensland Reds Academy teams: Player selection highlights from the under-16s, under-19s teams ready to rumble in the Super Rugby tournament on Saturday. See what exciting youngsters are lining up here and get an insight.
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The Queensland Reds will unleash one of its finest academy talents on Saturday when round two of the Super Rugby under-16s and under-19s tournament unfolds.
Fijian powerhouse Trevor King, 19, has been named at tighthead prop for Queensland’s under-19s who play their first match against the Brumbies at Viking Park after a round 1 bye.
King is the young gun front rower on track for playing in an impressive three Under-20 World Cup tournaments after being a part of the Australian team that toured South Africa in 2023 and 2024.
King was just 18 years of age on the first tour last year and just 17 when he first made his first grade StoreLocal Hospital Cup debut for Souths at the start of 2023.
The proud Downlands College product will make his long-awaited appearance in Maroon on Saturday after a hamstring injury starved him of an opportunity to represent the Reds in the under-18s and under-19s academy matches last year.
Since leaving school in 2022, the powerful front rower has been ticking boxes left and right but playing in a Queensland jersey is the accomplishment he has been working towards.
Now fully fit and ready to rumble, King and his band of under-19s teammates have the chance to make a statement in the elite Super Rugby under-19s competition.
“He (King) has certainly shown a lot of resilience,” coach Dale Roberson praised.
“To go through a significant injury at a young age and work hard to get himself right to make the junior World Cup (in 2024).
“That’s probably how well thought of he is. He went to an under-20s World Cup as an under-18. He can play three years.
“As a tighthead that is pretty rare.”
The Reds under-19s will be without returning playmaker Will Nason (fractured jaw) who was the standout flyhalf of Colts 1 club rugby this season.
Nason played through a fractured foot to be an influential figure in the Reds’ campaign last season.
“Will fractured his foot and he played with it last year and still did really well for us. For him to not get a chance to play this year is pretty heartbreaking for him,” Roberson said.
“He had a great season for Souths.”
It opens the door for Sunnybank Dragons ace Brody McLaren to leave his mark in the No. 10 jersey.
Utility back McLaren featured in first grade this season in his first year out of school.
“We’ve got a good replacement there,” Roberson said.
Fullback, centre or flyhalf McLaren was good enough to start in a different position but will play flyhalf in Nason’s absence.
Australian under-18s selects Tom Robinson (flanker), John Grenfell (hooker) and Kingsley Uys (prop) will feature at some point for the Reds upon their return from the New Zealand tour.
Read on for an insight on the full under-16s and under-19s teams.
REDS UNDER-16S
The Reds will unleash a brigade of young guns capable of making plenty of noise in this competition.
Running out at loosehead prop will be scrum-time machine Ritchie Bourne, a Good Shepherd Lutheran College student from Noosaville.
At hooker will be Year 10 Toowoomba Grammar student Ruben Kruger, a neat player whose older brothers Ewald (Australian under-18s) and Wihan Kruger (Waratahs under-19s, 2023) have both played in this competition before.
At tighthead prop will be Brisbane State High Year 11 Tyrece Herniman, a mobile prop with a knack for scoring tries.
He was key in his school’s successful First XV season over the winter.
The Reds will be in safe hands in the second row.
Innisfail mountain man Jack Calleja has been named at lock. That jersey had his name written all over it after a cracking Emerging Reds Cup campaign at Ballymore in September.
His locking partner is Toowoomba Grammar’s Rupeni Baravilala, a utility forward of Fijian heritage who runs a mini-marathon each game such is his work rate.
At blindside flanker will be mobile big man Manasa Vunibola, a versatile forward from Souths.
He and Keegan Cook, another Toowoomba Grammar youngster, offer the best of both worlds.
Watch for Cook’s running game.
At No. 8 and leading the side as captain will be Gold Coast rookie Agapetos Lote-Felo.
He is somewhat of a silent assassin. His dogged defence and powerful ball carrying can set the tone for his Queenslanders.
The scrumhalf position was hotly contested with Alfie Bowman, Isaac Kefu and Kobi Nouanrasy picked in the squad.
Academy talent Bowman, a Churchie student with great service, gets his start here with ball-running halfback Nouanrasy named on the bench.
Both boys have a productive box kick in their arsenal.
There was never any doubt Rohan Nichol, a Sunshine Coast Grammar student, would be named at flyhalf.
He was the standout player in that position throughout the Emerging Reds Cup and his supreme passing on both sides and explosive running are trademarks of his game.
His older brother Zac is a part of the Australian Schoolboys side touring Fiji.
Lurking on the left wing will be Somerset College Year 10 student Isaac Fidock.
He has lit up matches for Southeast Queensland and the Reds under-16s in games played over the past month.
Watch for his instinctive attacking game.
In the midfield the Reds will have two promising types who could go head-to-head in GPS First XV rugby next season.
Named at inside centre is elite Nudgee College Year 10 Pierre Poluleuligaga, the son of former Samoan international Tino Junior.
You will see what the fuss is about.
At outside centre, Year 11 Brisbane Boys’ College Tai Taka has been selected.
The high class utility back gets quicker and quicker as he moves and adds a bit of size to this slick backline division.
On the right wing is Brisbane State High’s Malakaih Beals. He can create for himself and others this kid.
The Best Back at the Emerging Reds Cup, Dylan Terblanche, will return the ball from fullback.
He is a workaholic who can kick goals too.
The Reds have plenty of punch off the bench in reserve front rowers Aiden Luke (Nudgee College hooker), Harrison Asi (Brisbane Boys’ College prop) and Sio Kite (Churchie prop).
Luke scored four tries in one half of action in a highlight performance at the Emerging Reds Cup last month while Asi and Kite are young giants.
All three are highly skilled.
Jack Burton, a tall timber from Nudgee College, gets his chance to make a difference in the lineouts and in general play off the bench at lock.
Brisbane Grammar School Year 11 Dyer Akauola, an explosive backrower capable of playing inside centre, will wear jersey No. 20.
Akauola has been a revelation in both codes of rugby this year playing for the Norths Devils rugby league under-17s before spearheading Brisbane grammar’s First XV from No. 8
The Reds have great cover in utility backs Angus Underwood (No. 22) and Hemi Rakuita (No. 23).
Watch for Underwood’s tactical and territorial kicking and Rakuita’s sharp footwork and speed.
REDS UNDER-19S
The under-19s look primed to challenge for the title again after near misses in 2022 and 2023.
Unsung St Laurence’s College product Byron Murphy has been rewarded for a fine Colts 1 campaign with Easts by being handed the No. 1 jersey.
Murphy moves mountains in close quarter battle and knows his role back to front. His form in club rugby demanded a spot here.
At tighthead prop will be Fijian powerhouse Trevor King, a 19-year-old who was a latecomer to rugby.
You wouldn’t pick it based off how destructive he can be on his day.
Finlay King has completed an impressive 12 month turnaround to be named the starting hooker in this clash.
Last year a thumb injury and Oliver Barrett (Force under-19s) prevented King from earning regular minutes in Nudgee College’s premiership winning First XV team.
A hungry King had a vengeance about him in this year’s Colts 1 competition that saw him quickly announce himself as the premier hooker.
The pesky No. 2’s rolling maul precision and accuracy at lineout time were standouts of his game.
Athletic Bond University lock Fergus Gillan, a former Australian under-18s select, will be joined by his club captain Charles McCauley in the second row.
With McCauley setting a high standard as captain, Gillan and his Bull Sharks took eventual premiers Souths all the way in a thrilling semi-final bout at GPS in August.
Country enforcer Charles Brosnan, a Brothers boy from Thallon, will make his return from injury at blindside flanker.
Brosnan, 19, is raring to go after his rehabilitation from the dislocated hip he suffered in the Brothers-Randwick Australian Club Championship match in March.
The 196cm utility forward featured in this tournament last season and would have featured for Brothers in first grade this year.
The discovery player of the Colts 1 competition, impressive Wests breakaway Charlie Cooke, has been named at openside flanker.
Cooke’s sheer strength, turn of foot and uncanny ability to make willing plays sent a ripple across the competition for big improvers Wests.
Rounding out the pack will be highly skilled No. 8 Vaiuta Latu, arguably the Brethren’s most valuable Colts 1 player this season.
The offloading Latu was a part of the Reds under-18s squad last season but really took his game up a notch this year at The Butchery.
Watch for the up-tempo game of Wests talent James Martens at scrumhalf.
Canberra product Martens has been on a tear over the past 12 months since making his First XV rugby debut for Brisbane Boys’ College in round seven of the 2023 season.
A multisport athlete who also excelled as a schoolboy in cricket, Martens was at home in the Hospital Cup this season for grand finalists Wests and when he dropped back into Colts 1 he made a difference.
Another youngster who played in the Hospital Cup in his first year out of school was St Laurence’s College old boy Brody McLaren, a utility back from Sunnybank.
The versatile McLaren will play at flyhalf. Last year he was an outside centre in the St Laurence’s AIC rugby premiership winning team and played flyhalf at times this season under first grade coach Rob Roiri.
Fijian flyer Samu Tuisau will be glimpsed in Maroon for the first time after making the move up from Sydney earlier this year.
Tuisau was a standout for University in Colts 1 to begin the club season and was promptly elevated into Elton Berrange’s first grade side where he made an instant impression with his sizzling speed and power.
The 19-year-old utility will be stationed on the left wing.
Two-time Nudgee College First XV premiership winner (2022,2023) Maddox Maclean has been named at inside centre.
He is an extra flyhalf capable of making a dent in the defensive line with his crash runs.
He is also a stoic defender whose presence in Souths’ finals charge was felt.
His Souths teammate Xavier Rubens, somewhat of a schoolboy prodigy from BBC, will play outside centre.
An elite rower, Rubens played plenty of first grade this year for fourth placed Souths and made a telling impact in the Colts 1 grand final at Ballymore.
Watch for their connection in the backline.
Prolific right wing Dan Malum has been rewarded for a first rate Colts 1 season at Sunnybank with the No. 14 jersey for Saturday’s clash.
Malum quickly made an impression for the Dragons with his fend, speed and instinctual defence.
Few deserved a starting spot more than the BBC old boy who played Second XV last year.
At fullback will be Souths’ attacking weapon Dre-dyn Laban.
His vision, deft kicking game and footwork gave the Magpies an extra dimension this season.
Front row reinforcements will come in the form of BBC duo Cooper Hoare and Jacob Job, both Souths boys.
Another Souths front rower, Slater Galloway, is with the Brumbies for this tournament.
Big bodied Norths Eagles prime mover Jovid Aveau, a Gregory terrace old boy, will also add the finishing touches off the bench.
Lineout technician Rory Bliss, an elite rower from Churchie, will wear jersey No. 19 after a top notch Colts 1 campaign with grand finalists Wests.
Noah Rauluni, a prolific flanker, will wear No. 20.
He is the son of former Reds scrumhalf Jacob and he has that Fijian flare, great instincts, speed and soft hands.
The athletic Nudgee College alumni made a telling difference for Easts in Colts 1.
Souths Magpies backrower Joel Broderick has also been included and will wear jersey No. 21.
The Brisbane State High product spearheaded Souths’ Colts 2 premiership pursuit and has an unrivalled work ethic.
The heart and soul of the Norths Eagles Colts 1 side, Callum Reidy, is the reserve scrumhalf.
Reidy has the full package and used it to gain parity against his rivals throughout the season.
He had a starring role in Norths’ resurgent season that saw them beat premiers Souths and break a 13-year curse against Brothers.
Named at No. 23 is Rockhampton Grammar School (RGS) product Dom Kallquist. The 19-year-old has been Mr Consistent for Wests over the past two seasons.
His younger brother Henry, a student at RGS, has been signed by the Gold Coast Titans.
Originally published as Queensland under-16s, 19s selection highlights: Reds set to unleash Fijian phenom Trevor King in Brumbies blockbuster
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