TJRL players make their mark at 2024 Adrian Vowles Cup

Despite mid afternoon showers and hot temps, Toowoomba’s young league stars shone bright at the Adrian Vowles Cup. Here’s our look at the 30+ players who made their mark.

A Valleys Under-16 Boys player is wrapped up in a tackle during a 2024 Adrian Vowles Cup match. Picture: Deb Robinson

With a record number of teams lining up in the 11th annual Adrian Vowles Cup the standard of footy was always going to be high.

Toowoomba Junior Rugby League teams were in the thick of action with 16 teams making the long trip west to Charleville.

Souths (U14 Boys) and a combined Highfields-Stanley River U17 Girls side secured grand final wins and Valleys lost a golden point extra thriller to Redcliffe in the U16 Boys decider.

More than 20 TJRL players were also named in Dream Teams at the completion of the two day carnival.

With the carnival all wrapped up for another year here’s our look at the best forwards, backs and ‘surprise stars’ from the cup.

Noah Hayes (U14 Dalby, Best Forward): Played in a number of positions during the carnival but his best work was at hooker. His work ethic was second to none and he tackled hard.

Joe York (U14 Dalby, Best Back): A dynamic ball runner who took on the line and troubled defences.

Louie Machin (U14 Dalby, Surprise Packet): Rolled up his sleeves and did the hard work in very testing conditions. Machin has come along in leaps and bounds of late and will be one to watch this year.

Harry Pollard (U14 Valleys, Best Forward): Dropped into the second row after an unfortunate injury to a teammate Pollard, who normally plays centre, was immense all weekend. He worked tirelessly on both sides of the ball and earned a spot in the U14 Boys Dream Team.

Harper Clarke (U14 Valleys, Best Forward): His defence was outstanding over the two teams. Clarke never gave up on a play, often chasing down and tackling players who took offloads despite being part of the initial tackle. Clarke’s delivery to his halves was also top notch.

Cayleb O’Neill (U14 Valleys, Best Back): Racked up the metres every time he got the ball in his hands and found the try line. O’Neill’s outstanding play was acknowledged with a Dream Team spot.

Milton Reed (U14 Valleys, Best Back): The fullback did not take a backward step all carnival. Despite his diminutive size he welcomed contact and was brave in contact.

Andreas Hero (U14 Valleys, Best Back): Hero was exciting to watch during the two-day carnival. The young back found a way to use contact in tackles to create space for himself to run down field and get teams on the backfoot.

Jonah Oats (U14 Valleys, Surprise Packet): Oats’ confidence and willingness to back himself has risen dramatically compared to last season. He took his game to another level in Charleville – working hard in defence and to support his teammates.

Archie Weatherall (U14 Valleys, Surprise Packet): Worked relentlessly up the middle. Weatherall was always looking for contact and when he ‘grows into his physical style of play’ he will be unstoppable.

Mitch Clarke (U14 Brothers, Best Back): Clarke was immense in attack and defence and was always up for the fight. He made countless tackles with unrivalled efficiency and in attack, his poise and playmaking was superb.

Jessie Lee (U14 Brothers, Best Forward): Lee was a pure workhorse and never backed down throughout the carnival.

Valleys players Xavier Newtown (left) and Liam Marshall celebrate their 2024 Adrian Vowles Cup U16 Boys Dream Team selection.

Mason Stratton (U14 Brothers, Suprise Packet): Opposition players had no answer to Stratton’s explosive pace as he burst through gaps in the defence and left the opposition in his dust. His work in attack was breathtaking and he backed it up with strong work in defence.

Maison Egel (U16 Dalby, Best Forward): Played well above his weight – taking on the line at speed and running hard into the contact.

Jack Lewis (U16 Dalby, Best Forward): Like Egel, Lewis ran hard all weekend and worked tirelessly in defence.

Ronald Fing (U16 Dalby, Best Back): His kick returns were amazing and he controlled the game well from fullback.

Cooper Pott (U16 Dalby, Suprise Packet): The Diehards coaches couldn’t have asked for more from Pott. He 100% of himself in every minute of every game he played.

QRL boss Ben Ikin (back left) congratulates the players named in the 2024 Adrian Vowles U14 Boys Dream Team.

Lucas Clarke and Cooper Dolley (U16 Brothers, Best Backs): The pair made their presence felt and were heavily involved with everything that went well for Brothers.

Zane Schese, Brae Lennon and Calan Anderson (U16 Brothers, Best Forwards): Schese, Lennon and Anderson helped lay down the foundations for the backs to get to work in attack. The trio made massive gains in the middle with barnstorming runs and were inspiring leaders for the rest of the group. Defensively, they were rock-solid and refused to give up any easy metres to their opponents.

Brodie Martin (U16 Souths, Best Back): Had speed to burn all carnival and his continual improvement in the off-season points to potentially big year ahead for the young star.

Cillian Fitzgerald (U16 Souths, Best Forward): Worked tirelessly in defence tackling anything that moved and expertly steered his side around in attack.

Liam Sanson (U16 Souths, Surprise Packet): The prop forward had a great carnival leading his team forward in attack and working hard in defence.

Xavier Newton (U16 Valleys): His passion and commitment was acknowledged with a spot in the U16 Dream Team.

Liam Marshall (U16 Valleys): Marshall was a key man in his side’s run to the grand final finishing as Valleys top try scorer and earning himself a Dream Team jersey.