Junior Reps 2025

[Just a Mug Fan]

It seems to me at this rate if they keep getting better, even by just a bit each week, going to have to give them the trophy 4 or 5 months early.
Lets see what the other clubs have to offer before handing them the premiership just yet.

Not really sure what you are talking about, I've never said they would win, in fact I've haven't even said they are favourites, just pointing out there are players to come back into the side.

As for giving them the Trophy 4 or 5 months early the comp is over in 3 months.

 

[Ryan]

Canberra SG ball next week will be the toughest test for the Steelers so far, their forward pack is dominant and our smaller pack might struggle to go with theirs. Should be a great game though.
Expecting Steelers Matt’s to win relatively comfortably

One thing I think we can all agree on is that it's good to see the junior development system at St. George and Illawarra working again. There was a few years there where Melbourne and Roosters were dominating. So incompetent fools at the Dragons thought recruiting is the right strategy. Penriths success has proved that to be false.

I think St. George Illawarra will be big winners from Penriths success.

 

[Ryan]

Not really sure what you are talking about, I've never said they would win, in fact I've haven't even said they are favourites, just pointing out there are players to come back into the side.

As for giving them the Trophy 4 or 5 months early the comp is over in 3 months.

I'm not sure what you said about them. I'm just getting exited about the talent this years U19s Steelers side have. I think a lot of talent but as I said, not sure about other teams yet. Canberra are usually good in the lower grades.

 

[Ryan]

As for giving them the Trophy 4 or 5 months early the comp is over in 3 months.

If they keep getting better, give them the trophy 3 months early. I hope so anyway. I'm sure Penrith, Tigers, Canberra teams are also strong. Maybe others.

 

[TheRev]

Good wrap up again Rev.
As I've said Matts will get better each game, they really cruelled themselves in the last ten minutes.
Phoenix has added some class.

SGB there's a side in there somewhere as evident by those 18 points at the end.
The changes helped Cy to middle Hale to edge.
Would still like to see Terrell to start edge and Zac to FB
Viliami Hikila killed us with his PTB penalties. He has been poor both weeks and should be dropped. Rissie one of our best forwards again.

o I will say that Hikila is an absolute weapon for us in his 2nd year.. so big and so fast... looks a class above... but ive heard journos talking about the play the ball crackdown for many weeks... and its going to be a hard habit to undo, he was struggling to fix it later in the game, it wasnt natural for him to do.. esp under fatigue and at speed.

o Smythe has really impressed me, this must be his last year in SG, so itll be tough to get into that JF squad.. but lets how it pans out, hes one of the few legit Dragons Juniors I believe.. which I do love... he could absolutely do a job from the bench though.. I can only assume from his fitness this year that hes giving it a real crack.

o The kid I want to know more about though is Antonio Okusitino, I rly liked the cut of his jib today.. its funny that we have almost no centre depth in NSW Cup and only a couple in Flegg.. but there is a sea of teenagers coming through now, im not sure if Antonio can cut it with names like Heidke & Timmins next year.. plus Afu if hes still there.. Buchanan would surely be in NSW Cup by 2026.. Tomo maybe a 2nd year in SG.. ive probably forgotten some blokes too.

The boys were better for that run last week where they we underdone.
Drew back in a few week will help with size in the middle

o Who is Drew, is that Langdon? Hes going to fit in there with Daniel and Leeroy.. god id love to see a fully fit team...

o Big SG game next week against Canberra who are undefeated also.. shame its not the week after when we start getting some big names back.. but the side is rolling pretty well.. they will put up a good fight.

o Heidke ive been watching closely, there is precision in the way he attacks the line.. its different to the others.. but he also doesnt run 'over' players as well as most of our other centres.. I mean Timmins carried a man on his back without slowing down ffs.. if Buchanan does drop back, it will be interesting to compare them.. it looks like we will make a real effort to load this team to try and go deep this year.. and the addition of Phillips and Saifiti is a big part of that.. that said I thought the stand in 2nd and 3rd string hookers did fine today.. there must be a lot of depth in that Steelers system...

o Fitzgibbon also seems to have that big boot that every fan wants.. I just dont see how theyr'e all gonna fit moving forward.. but I guess lets see.. a lot to play out yet with Hammoud, LKT.. I thought Boyle was good today.. Ah Kee maybe coming in a year or 2 behind them.

o Taufa is the other one.. he seems like the real deal.. proper big dog alpha prop... but we have so many middles.. gonna keep an eye on him this year, not sure if we can keep them all though.

 

[RedVHeartbeat]

Smythe has really impressed me, this must be his last year in SG, so itll be tough to get into that JF squad.. but lets how it pans out, hes one of the few legit Dragons Juniors I believe.. which I do love... he could absolutely do a job from the bench though.. I can only assume from his fitness this year that hes giving it a real crack.

Impressed me in first game too, one of few that did.
Same here, Saints juniors seems to be treated by this club like poor cousins compared to Steeler juniors. Just my opinion.
Agree about Viliami Hikila , silly mistakes have cost us in both games. Will watch the Saints replays after brekkie.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Wouldn’t be surprised if Millard makes a move for Matthew Barakat from Canterbury. Had an outstanding season with Mason Phillips in Harold Matt’s last year and now been left in the lurch not playing Reps at all.
Would be stunned if other clubs don’t make a move for him, big time talent at Halfback

 

[TheRev]

the dogs are drowning in talents 7's.. Gould is cut-throat though, he will offload the ones hes not going to use.

 

[Eric]

the dogs are drowning in talents 7's.. Gould is cut-throat though, he will offload the ones hes not going to use.

Dragons are too. At least in 7s and 6s. Ilias and Flanagan signed for a couple of years. Atkinson coming. LKT on a supplementary contract. Reed and Fitzgibbon impressing in the U19s. The young halfback signed from QLD. I think coming down next year.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

LKT hasn’t Extended and we haven’t even seen Reed play Flegg let alone Reserve grade. You can never have too many Talented halves coming through.

Fitzgibbon isn’t good enough btw, elite clubs sign Barakat and let the young halves battle it out to see who’s best

 

[Eric]

LKT hasn’t Extended and we haven’t even seen Reed play Flegg let alone Reserve grade. You can never have too many Talented halves coming through.

Fitzgibbon isn’t good enough btw, elite clubs sign Barakat and let the young halves battle it out to see who’s best

Fitzgibbon probably isn't good enough? I thought there had been big wraps on him for a while.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Because of his last name, not because he merits it. Harsh but true

 

[Eric]

Because of his last name, not because he merits it. Harsh but true

It's good to have a lot of options either way.

 

[TheRev]

Dragons are too. At least in 7s and 6s. Ilias and Flanagan signed for a couple of years. Atkinson coming. LKT on a supplementary contract. Reed and Fitzgibbon impressing in the U19s. The young halfback signed from QLD. I think coming down next year.

Naa not even comparable.. we have Reed and thats it.. we did let 2 go that were comparable in Rodwell and another I forget.. we have extended Glover (who we also bought from the dogs btw) to play NSW Cup, tenacious kid, but hes just keeping the seat warm. And as a 5/8... LKT maybe... but so much to prove still imo.. if indeed he stays.

At one point I started looking through the dogs roster, apart from Burton/Sexton... they have Oloapu who they paid a 500k transfer for, to Woods the current young gun, Tia who just led them to a JF premiership last year, O'Neill their captain & 7 in NSW Cup (no idea who he is though, but cant be too bad if hes captain), and ive never heard of Barakat.. Gus doesnt just buy first graders.. hes wheeling and dealing at all levels.. and the dogs r probably the highest achieving team in lower grades currently (if you look across the grades), JF win and SG runners up, HM semis.

 

[TheRev]

As for Fitzy, I dunno if hes not good enough as such.. looking forward to seeing more of him in his 2nd year in SG Ball, the problem is the rubber hits the road hard when we have to smash 2xSG Ball teams into an existing JF squad.. good players will be left behind... as we have to make numerous tough calls.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Naa not even comparable.. we have Reed and thats it.. we did let 2 go that were comparable in Rodwell and another I forget.. we have extended Glover (who we also bought from the dogs btw) to play NSW Cup, tenacious kid, but hes just keeping the seat warm. And as a 5/8... LKT maybe... but so much to prove still imo.. if indeed he stays.

At one point I started looking through the dogs roster, apart from Burton/Sexton... they have Oloapu who they paid a 500k transfer for, to Woods the current young gun, Tia who just led them to a JF premiership last year, O'Neill their captain & 7 in NSW Cup (no idea who he is though, but cant be too bad if hes captain), and ive never heard of Barakat.. Gus doesnt just buy first graders.. hes wheeling and dealing at all levels.. and the dogs r probably the highest achieving team in lower grades currently (if you look across the grades), JF win and SG runners up, HM semis

Couldn't have put it better myself, it would be negligent to put all our eggs in the LKT and Reed basket.
I do have high hopes for LKT this year though, very keen to see how he goes in cup and when he gets another chance in first grade.

I’d argue he was the best player in NSW cup for a 7-8 week span last year at 19 years old

 

[Eric]

Naa not even comparable.. we have Reed and thats it.. we did let 2 go that were comparable in Rodwell and another I forget.. we have extended Glover (who we also bought from the dogs btw) to play NSW Cup, tenacious kid, but hes just keeping the seat warm. And as a 5/8... LKT maybe... but so much to prove still imo.. if indeed he stays.

At one point I started looking through the dogs roster, apart from Burton/Sexton... they have Oloapu who they paid a 500k transfer for, to Woods the current young gun, Tia who just led them to a JF premiership last year, O'Neill their captain & 7 in NSW Cup (no idea who he is though, but cant be too bad if hes captain), and ive never heard of Barakat.. Gus doesnt just buy first graders.. hes wheeling and dealing at all levels.. and the dogs r probably the highest achieving team in lower grades currently (if you look across the grades), JF win and SG runners up, HM semis.

A lot of people don't seem very enthusiastic about LKT. Maybe right but he went from SG Ball to first grade in a year. And didn't embarrass himself in his starting first grade game. Far from it actually.

 

[Eric]

As for Fitzy, I dunno if hes not good enough as such.. looking forward to seeing more of him in his 2nd year in SG Ball, the problem is the rubber hits the road hard when we have to smash 2xSG Ball teams into an existing JF squad.. good players will be left behind... as we have to make numerous tough calls.

Do you know who is going to be Flegg halves? Is Reed going to move up? And Mohammad 5/8? I presume LKT will be in Cup.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Do you know who is going to be Flegg halves? Is Reed going to move up? And Mohammad 5/8? I presume LKT will be in Cup.

I thought it would be Reed/Hammoud in the halves for majority of the season.

 

[TheRev]

Do you know who is going to be Flegg halves? Is Reed going to move up? And Mohammad 5/8? I presume LKT will be in Cup.

Good question.. and injuries willing im not sure who will start @7 while the SG season is running.. but yah Reed to take over afterwards you'd assume.

Hammoud hopefully @6, I was rly high on him.. Justa has talked him up on here also... I think his acceleration might be a bit sharper than LKT... but that really unfortunate leg injury would have set him back a long way..... but i try not to get my hopes up lol.. so many seem like absolute specials but fall away for various reasons..