Juniors - Pathways General Discussion

[Tiger Stripes]

was training with firsts a few weeks back.

he's been earmarked by the club for higher honours.

Thanks for that info. Thought I was the only one watching him.
We are desperate for quality forwards coming though the lower grades, especially front rowers

 

[jrtiger]

Thanks for that info. Thought I was the only one watching him.
We are desperate for quality forwards coming though the lower grades, especially front rowers

Godinet and Duncombe are our brightest back row talents, and with Havea and Taai we have two lock forwards that will only improve with time.

you’re right about front rowers though. it’s dire at the minute. losing Maddax Fui to Souths was pretty disappointing. Moors is the pick of the bunch. there’s a couple of reasonable prospects but nothing that jumps out like Christian.

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Its all starting to make sense.

 

[Vicious]

Following on from the Pathways story in the DT yesterday, here is a list of our U17s to U19s who seem to be high on the Club's pathway list.

Those who have progressed to Flegg (from SG Ball or Matts this season) or have been noticed training with the Top 30 squad during the season at times.

I'm also going off those mentioned in the DT article & a previous one on our pathways in the DT by Fatima Kdouh who seems to be fed some good pathways info from Betsey & Gallant.

Jersey Flegg in 2024 (promoted from junior reps)
Marc Tannous (18) half
Maxwell Taotua (19) wing/centre
Will Craig (19) centre/wing
Mitchell Taotua (19) backrow
Navren Willett (19) wing/fullback
Heith Pritchard (19) five-eighth/hooker
Archie Duncombe (18) backrow
Cameron Kanaan (19) fullback
Xavier Tauaifaiga (18) centre/wing
Jared Haywood (18) hooker/half
Haemasi Makasini (17) centre/wing
Onitoni Large (17) half/centre

Additional players to note
Pheonix Godinet (17) backrow - did some training with top 30
Jeremiah Leatigaga (19) lock/backrow - mentioned in DT article
Ewan Xuereb (19) prop - mentioned in DT article
Alex Isdale (17) half - mentioned in earlier DT article
Kobie Wilson (20) hooker - mentioned in earlier DT article, now signed to T&T contract
Lachlan Broederlow (20) backrow - mentioned in earlier DT article, now signed to T&T contract
Vaka Aho (21) - progressed to Cup, now signed to T&T contract
Cayne Nicholas (21) lock, prop, hooker - mentioned in earlier DT article, progressed to Cup

Out of the above, it has been reported on the forum or media that Craig, Willett & Isdale are moving to other clubs.

A few who have dropped off the radar in recent times who previously were highly regarded are:

-Riley Oitmann
-Keenan Lawandos
-Bailey Hodges
-Herman Tofaenono

I think Oitmann (18) will stay in the system & move to top-age Ball next season. Hodges & Tofaeono are ??? as they will be too old for Flegg next season and Kobie Wilson and Vaka Aho respectively seem to be rated higher. Lawandos was a T&T during pre-season & wasn't overly impressive for Balmain in Ball this season.

Thoughts from those who watch a lot of lower grades?

Surely Bailey Hodges will be kept as he was rated higher and always promoted ahead of Kobe Wilson this season.
From what I have season, Kobe is also a talented young player, but Bailey is unique in being a bigger body with the capacity to progress and be someone who could fill an NRL bench spot with the versatility of playing hooker or back row.
Big Herman is another one worth keeping as he runs the ball of the back fence and scatters defenders, just needs to work on his fitness and lateral movement.
The other one I’m really hoping we keep is Caine Nicholas as he is also versatile enough to play anywhere in the forward pack including hooker and looks to be a player who will continue to improve.
It is understandable that we can’t keep them all, but it is very important we get the retention of these young fringe players right and don’t let ones who could be late bloomers slip away.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

was training with firsts a few weeks back.

he's been earmarked by the club for higher honours.

That's great to know JR. Thanks for updating about Taupau-Moors.

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Surely Bailey Hodges will be kept as he was rated higher and always promoted ahead of Kobe Wilson this season.
From what I have season, Kobe is also a talented young player, but Bailey is unique in being a bigger body with the capacity to progress and be someone who could fill an NRL bench spot with the versatility of playing hooker or back row.
Big Herman is another one worth keeping as he runs the ball of the back fence and scatters defenders, just needs to work on his fitness and lateral movement.
The other one I’m really hoping we keep is Caine Nicholas as he is also versatile enough to play anywhere in the forward pack including hooker and looks to be a player who will continue to improve.
It is understandable that we can’t keep them all, but it is very important we get the retention of these young fringe players right and don’t let ones who could be late bloomers slip away.

I'm with you on all of those @Vicious . I love the way Bailey Hodges goes about it & Tofaeono could be a future Royce Hunt. Hope we offer them NSW Cup/T&T contracts & I reckon Cayne possibly a Dev deal.

 

[Dino]

Godinet and Duncombe are our brightest back row talents, and with Havea and Taai we have two lock forwards that will only improve with time.

you’re right about front rowers though. it’s dire at the minute. losing Maddax Fui to Souths was pretty disappointing. Moors is the pick of the bunch. there’s a couple of reasonable prospects but nothing that jumps out like Christian.

How's jordan miller progressing? It's hard to get a read on him when he plays first grade other than the fact he needs to up his fitness

 

[boonboon]

How's jordan miller progressing? It's hard to get a read on him when he plays first grade other than the fact he needs to up his fitness

When Hunt finishes up he will be 22 which is a good time for a prop to start looking good at NRL level.

 

[tiger_one]

 

[finnzo]

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Hopefully the club is putting some work into improving the Balmain side of things

If we had 2 strong Matt’s and ball sides it’s only going to benefit us

 

[bigdon1234]

For anyone that has seen Miller play, what are his attributes? From what I've seen, he seems to be a handful as a ball carrier because of his height and weight, but always chasing the game in defence. He doesn't seem to have a change in speed, just moves at the same pace which is not good enough for higher levels of the game.

From what I saw in schoolboys and Harold Matts, he has an underrated ball-playing skill. Hasn't seen much in Sg Ball and NSW Cup.

 

[balmain boy]

For anyone that has seen Miller play, what are his attributes? From what I've seen, he seems to be a handful as a ball carrier because of his height and weight, but always chasing the game in defence. He doesn't seem to have a change in speed, just moves at the same pace which is not good enough for higher levels of the game.

He has a good offload, he has some ball skills (able to catch and pass quickly etc - not necessarily throw 30m cut out passes). He has a good engine which is getting better. He once played a full match in Matts (yes a low standard against smaller opponents, but still he was running and tackling all match). He can run off the back fence off a kick-off, but he doesn't have the stamina yet to keep doing that for extended periods. But he's only a kid out of school playing against seasoned men, so this difference is heightened. If he was playing Flegg all year he'd have looked the best forward in the comp, Taumololo style.
As he drops some excess kilos and gets fitter he'll become even more of a handful. Not many 19 year old forwards come straight out of school and play a full season of NSW Cup. Once he gets down to say 115-118kgs he'll be a monster.

 

[just old magpie]

He has a good offload, he has some ball skills (able to catch and pass quickly etc - not necessarily throw 30m cut out passes). He has a good engine which is getting better. He once played a full match in Matts (yes a low standard against smaller opponents, but still he was running and tackling all match). He can run off the back fence off a kick-off, but he doesn't have the stamina yet to keep doing that for extended periods. But he's only a kid out of school playing against seasoned men, so this difference is heightened. If he was playing Flegg all year he'd have looked the best forward in the comp, Taumololo style.
As he drops some excess kilos and gets fitter he'll become even more of a handful. Not many 19 year old forwards come straight out of school and play a full season of NSW Cup. Once he gets down to say 118kgs he'll be a monster.

Thankyou BB people ready to write him off at 19 in 2 years time heil be our no 1 prop in my opinion

 

[Suzie-Q]

Thankyou BB people ready to write him off at 19 in 2 years time heil be our no 1 prop in my opinion

It seems a lot of people forget that 19 year old boys still have 2 -3 years of growing to do. I haven't seen much of Miller yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing him mature as a player.

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Be patient Suzie. Look at Stef.

 

[Buttface]

It seems a lot of people forget that 19 year old boys still have 2 -3 years of growing to do. I haven't seen much of Miller yet, but I'm really looking forward to seeing him mature as a player.

You can add another two years to that bcoz he’s a prop.

 

[Suzie-Q]

Be patient Suzie. Look at Stef.

I'm hoping he's much more than Stef!

 

[AmericanHistoryX]

Which Stef? The Wests tigers version or Melbourne version?

 

[tiger_one]

It's on Wednesday, 11 September (Sydney time) @ 12pm till 2pm

NRL Schoolboy Cup - Palm Beach Currumin vs Patrician Brothers Blacktown

TV Channel 9 GEM Sydney

 

[BlackWhiteGold]

Pic from the DT today in the Haemasi Makasini story on making the Wallabies U18 squad. It's from about a month ago but begs the questions why these 5 specifically were organised for a pic in WT training gear. Here's hoping!