NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg, 2025

[redv13]

NSW Cup Notes (28-18 Win):

• Had to watch most of it on replay due to first grade.. very windy and raining conditions... was quite a tense final 20mins, mirrored first grade in some ways.. coming back from a half time 4-12 deficit, which ended up with a little bit of back and forth on the scoreboard in the final 20mins of the game.. protecting a 4pt lead.. but we managed to keep that lead... scoring right at end to go up by 10 and close it out.
• Bears fullback Jake Toby injured in warm-up.... good for us as he destroyed us last year, he looked first grade ready last year imo and wasted in reserves.. I wondered if we might try to sign him given they had Faalago (before we went and got gutho).
• The difference between our 1st grade and NSW Cup squad is quite noticeable... i.e. our NSW Cup squad is genuinely good for this level of football.. the pack is up for it with any other pack.. and plenty of speed out of Ramsey, Glover, Buchanan means were always a threat, in addition to the physical stuff from Nic, Halangahu, Finau etc.. defensively as well.. we can be a real brick wall for extended periods when we are on... and this is without a bunch of their regular players who are up in 1st grade... they just seem to adapt... next man up.
• Ref was very dubious... I wonder if the western bears news is causing some ref hype.. one of the penalties late in the game was against us for feeding a scrum normally ... the bears got a bit silly and struck really deep at it.. but nothing happened, the ball still rolled out normally.. next minute we copped the penalty.. was crazy stuff.
• Rumble although im still not sure if hes a future first grader (dropped an awful bomb... and doesnt seem to create much himself), but he finished 3 tries rly well today, flying put downs right in the corner.. was the difference really.. Allan, CT or Sloan were not scoring those tries... we need some real wingers in this squad at some point... dunno if this is our man.. but good effort anyway.
• Glover missed the first goal from left touchline (bounced off the posts) in heavy wind, but went on to nail the next 4 including 3 curling in from the right touchline (one in off the post).. like hes had such a good day with the boot let alone in crap conditions... was crucial today....
• Glover in general.. look I dunno if he would get run over in first grade, but I got to admit hes an energiser bunny this year.. maybe he could play 1sts.. hes prob not in our Top30 for next year though.. be a huge call to keep him.... maybe he could be.. fark i dunno.. its a big step up.
• Couple of other individual comments.. RFM I get confused with Liu with his short hair.. hes been good tbh.. did miss i think a 1on1 tackle for a try though it was probably unfair to blame him, but hes nice and intense and has really settled into his role in nsw cup.. really fights for every metre.. its just that we have Nick and Jacob, both of which were also rly good today.. Nick had a 30m run that comes to mind and scored the final try to win with another barn storming run.. still seems close to giving away penalties though, he will be baited in first grade im sure.
• I rly want Ilias to be good to give us a first grade 7 option.. but hes rly getting it wrong over and over again.. so many dud kicks today.. such a shame... was made worse by the skinny ingoals.... but I mean hes a first grader.. and none of the kicks were the right call.. combined with his lack of pace..

Cheers Rev, good summary. I hope the club re sign Nick T ASAP. Be an absolute bottle job if they don’t or someone else swoops in. Not sure what the club is waiting for, kid has been really good in cup this year, scored 5 tries in 9 games plus he finished 2024 in cup for the last 8 games or so. With some dead wood being cleared at the end of the season the kid in my opinion should be upgraded to the top 30 squad for 2026

 

[Dave03]

Cheers Rev, good summary. I hope the club re sign Nick T ASAP. Be an absolute bottle job if they don’t or someone else swoops in. Not sure what the club is waiting for, kid has been really good in cup this year, scored 5 tries in 9 games plus he finished 2024 in cup for the last 8 games or so. With some dead wood being cleared at the end of the season the kid in my opinion should be upgraded to the top 30 squad for 2026

He's a local junior & bleeds for the club. Has to be re-signed, he's showing his versatility too. If we're going to take a punt on re-signings, I'd rather it be our juniors than outsiders. I think he should be playing more 2rf if he's going to get a game in the nrl soon.

 

[Justadragon]

He's a local junior & bleeds for the club. Has to be re-signed, he's showing his versatility too. If we're going to take a punt on re-signings, I'd rather it be our juniors than outsiders. I think he should be playing more 2rf if he's going to get a game in the nrl soon.

Totally agree, I think he should replace Egan.

 

[Eric]

Totally agree, I think he should replace Egan.

I wasn't happy all of last year at how Egan hadn't been given a chance. I mean to say, I really rated Egan then and still do now. But I think Nick T might turn out to be even better. They probably compliment each other well. Egan is the hard worker who runs good lines and doesn't stop going. Nick T has the speed and leg speed to bust a lot of tackles. But they won't be in the backrow together IMO because Halangahu might be better than both.

 

[Eric]

NSW Cup vs Canberra​	Jersey Flegg vs Canberra​
Cody Ramsey Ben Rumble Nicholas Tsougranis Hayden Buchanan Sione Finau Jonah Glover Lachlan Ilias Viliami Fifita Connor Muhleisen Hame Sele Jacob Halangahu Raymond Faitala-Mariner Finau Latu Haele Finau Ben Murdoch-Masila Jett Liu Jacob Webster	Wesley Pring Lyric Craft-Te Moananui David Afu Charles Heidke Saifiti Junior Saifiti Tyler Peckham-Harris Kade Reed Campbell Rubie Isaiah Fagalilo Ryan Hutchinson Jarrah Gaia Treweek Drew Langdon Daniel Meafou Blake Metcalfe Viliami Hikila Jared Johnson Leeroy Weatherall Tobias Miller
Having these veterans in the squad has turned into a blessing. If they weren't there, with the injuries to Egan and Couchman, god knows who they'd have to call up. A Flegg before he is ready I guess. In other news, they just keep winning. I saw someone make a "next man up" comment in regard to this team. I think that describes it well. Nick T still in the centres. I guess that means he won't get called up to replace Egan. RFM probably deserves it anyway. He's been flying under the radar with everyone talking about the young blokes but has been playing well. Fifta is injured again or ....... ?	Very decent backline on paper. Fullback is a bit of a concern or might be just a work in progress. Without going back and checking (maybe need a new thread for each round for the lower grades?) I thought Williams was back from injury 2 weeks ago but now he's gone again? I don't know much about #8 or #9 but #10~13 are very decent too. This team isn't traveling very well but as I've said before, with the number of Flegg eligible players they have in NSW Cup or NRL or injured, any win is a very good win.

 

[Dave03]

NSW Cup vs Canberra​	Jersey Flegg vs Canberra​
Cody Ramsey Ben Rumble Nicholas Tsougranis Hayden Buchanan Sione Finau Jonah Glover Lachlan Ilias Viliami Fifita Connor Muhleisen Hame Sele Jacob Halangahu Raymond Faitala-Mariner Finau Latu Haele Finau Ben Murdoch-Masila Jett Liu Jacob Webster	Wesley Pring Lyric Craft-Te Moananui David Afu Charles Heidke Saifiti Junior Saifiti Tyler Peckham-Harris Kade Reed Campbell Rubie Isaiah Fagalilo Ryan Hutchinson Jarrah Gaia Treweek Drew Langdon Daniel Meafou Blake Metcalfe Viliami Hikila Jared Johnson Leeroy Weatherall Tobias Miller
Having these veterans in the squad has turned into a blessing. If they weren't there, with the injuries to Egan and Couchman, god knows who they'd have to call up. A Flegg before he is ready I guess. In other news, they just keep winning. I saw someone make a "next man up" comment in regard to this team. I think that describes it well. Nick T still in the centres. I guess that means he won't get called up to replace Egan. RFM probably deserves it anyway. He's been flying under the radar with everyone talking about the young blokes but has been playing well. Fifta is injured again or ....... ?	Very decent backline on paper. Fullback is a bit of a concern or might be just a work in progress. Without going back and checking (maybe need a new thread for each round for the lower grades?) I thought Williams was back from injury 2 weeks ago but now he's gone again? I don't know much about #8 or #9 but #10~13 are very decent too. This team isn't traveling very well but as I've said before, with the number of Flegg eligible players they have in NSW Cup or NRL or injured, any win is a very good win.

Fifita named at 8. I think you're right about RFM. Also surely Lawson replaces Rumble who would drop to 18th man imo. Lawson needs games, no point sitting him. I thought it was dumb he travelled to brisbane rather than playing nsw cup when he wasn't selected in the 17. We need to be smarter & control the controllables imo.

 

[Dave03]

NSW Cup vs Canberra​	Jersey Flegg vs Canberra​
Cody Ramsey Ben Rumble Nicholas Tsougranis Hayden Buchanan Sione Finau Jonah Glover Lachlan Ilias Viliami Fifita Connor Muhleisen Hame Sele Jacob Halangahu Raymond Faitala-Mariner Finau Latu Haele Finau Ben Murdoch-Masila Jett Liu Jacob Webster	Wesley Pring Lyric Craft-Te Moananui David Afu Charles Heidke Saifiti Junior Saifiti Tyler Peckham-Harris Kade Reed Campbell Rubie Isaiah Fagalilo Ryan Hutchinson Jarrah Gaia Treweek Drew Langdon Daniel Meafou Blake Metcalfe Viliami Hikila Jared Johnson Leeroy Weatherall Tobias Miller
Having these veterans in the squad has turned into a blessing. If they weren't there, with the injuries to Egan and Couchman, god knows who they'd have to call up. A Flegg before he is ready I guess. In other news, they just keep winning. I saw someone make a "next man up" comment in regard to this team. I think that describes it well. Nick T still in the centres. I guess that means he won't get called up to replace Egan. RFM probably deserves it anyway. He's been flying under the radar with everyone talking about the young blokes but has been playing well. Fifta is injured again or ....... ?	Very decent backline on paper. Fullback is a bit of a concern or might be just a work in progress. Without going back and checking (maybe need a new thread for each round for the lower grades?) I thought Williams was back from injury 2 weeks ago but now he's gone again? I don't know much about #8 or #9 but #10~13 are very decent too. This team isn't traveling very well but as I've said before, with the number of Flegg eligible players they have in NSW Cup or NRL or injured, any win is a very good win.

Leeroy first game back?

 

[Eric]

Fifita named at 8. I think you're right about RFM. Also surely Lawson replaces Rumble who would drop to 18th man imo. Lawson needs games, no point sitting him. I thought it was dumb he travelled to brisbane rather than playing nsw cup when he wasn't selected in the 17. We need to be smarter & control the controllables imo.

Thanks. Missed that.

 

[Mug Fan]

NSW Cup vs Canberra​	Jersey Flegg vs Canberra​
Cody Ramsey Ben Rumble Nicholas Tsougranis Hayden Buchanan Sione Finau Jonah Glover Lachlan Ilias Viliami Fifita Connor Muhleisen Hame Sele Jacob Halangahu Raymond Faitala-Mariner Finau Latu Haele Finau Ben Murdoch-Masila Jett Liu Jacob Webster	Wesley Pring Lyric Craft-Te Moananui David Afu Charles Heidke Saifiti Junior Saifiti Tyler Peckham-Harris Kade Reed Campbell Rubie Isaiah Fagalilo Ryan Hutchinson Jarrah Gaia Treweek Drew Langdon Daniel Meafou Blake Metcalfe Viliami Hikila Jared Johnson Leeroy Weatherall Tobias Miller
Having these veterans in the squad has turned into a blessing. If they weren't there, with the injuries to Egan and Couchman, god knows who they'd have to call up. A Flegg before he is ready I guess. In other news, they just keep winning. I saw someone make a "next man up" comment in regard to this team. I think that describes it well. Nick T still in the centres. I guess that means he won't get called up to replace Egan. RFM probably deserves it anyway. He's been flying under the radar with everyone talking about the young blokes but has been playing well. Fifta is injured again or ....... ?	Very decent backline on paper. Fullback is a bit of a concern or might be just a work in progress. Without going back and checking (maybe need a new thread for each round for the lower grades?) I thought Williams was back from injury 2 weeks ago but now he's gone again? I don't know much about #8 or #9 but #10~13 are very decent too. This team isn't traveling very well but as I've said before, with the number of Flegg eligible players they have in NSW Cup or NRL or injured, any win is a very good win.

That won't be the cup team that runs out, I expected Molo and Lawson to play.

Campbell Rubie is a country boy, playing well.
Jesse should be back next week.

 

[Mug Fan]

Leeroy first game back?

Leeroy debut, still only 17

 

[TheRev]

Leeroy is 17? Hasnt he been in U19's for 2yrs?

And Rubie I havent watched him closely and wondered where he had come from, but I felt like it wasnt a coincidence that the JF team has rly turned around with the improved pack + reed&heidke.

 

[Mug Fan]

Leeroy is 17? Hasnt he been in U19's for 2yrs?

And Rubie I havent watched him closely and wondered where he had come from, but I felt like it wasnt a coincidence that the JF team has rly turned around with the improved pack + reed&heidke.

Leeroy is 18 in a few months, played SGB last year but had to get permission from NSWRL.
He made FG debut for Devils a couple of weeks ago.

 

[TheRev]

thats is cool.. somehow I hadnt done the maths on that one.. I wouldnt say Leeroy has really stood out at SG level but considering his injuries and now realising his age.. its pretty impressive.

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

He is one i wanted to keep an eye on , i think he has the aggression / enforcer in him, interesting to see how he goes over the next couple of years

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Weatherall hasn’t really kicked on in SG ball like I expected him too, think he might end up a little bit like Ackers

Uber talented but think other kids have caught up to him

Daniel Meafou is the one

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

Weatherall hasn’t really kicked on in SG ball like I expected him too, think he might end up a little bit like Ackers

Uber talented but think other kids have caught up to him

Daniel Meafou is the one

Fair enough, but thats why i think the next couple of years will tell us more, also with Egan, Stewart, LPT debuting this year i think it will spur on a lot of these guys, that they can see a pathway..

 

[TheRev]

Now that I know Weatherall is playing 1 or 2 yrs young.. that gives him some time for me.. on top of his injuries preseason and midseason.. but.. I do agree because I thought he was going to lead us deep into SG Finals but he was sort of just one of the boys really... and I think he has a Top30 position for 27 or 28? Maybe that was just a projected thing, cause it made no sense to me that it would be 'locked in' that early.. even though im sure a lot of these boys have player managers pushing this stuff with us.. particularly if we are fighting off other clubs.

DMeafou I have to admit hasnt smashed the Flegg door down like id hoped.. I actually have to remind myself to look for him, as I dont actually notice his runs, hes just steady/consistent.. I dont have flegg stats either to compare.... obviously im rly hopeful though.. him and his brother.

The other young kid I rly liked this year was Mace Scofield, again I cant be sure someone in Under 17s will continue but to me he looks interchangeable with Weatherall.. same haircut, both lean but athletic props, Scofield busts the line regularly, early days but hes my fave of that generation.

 

[Mug Fan]

Weatherall hasn’t really kicked on in SG ball like I expected him too, think he might end up a little bit like Ackers

Uber talented but think other kids have caught up to him

Daniel Meafou is the one

Only played 4 games after missing 6 suspended. He struggled with match fitness and adapting to the 10kg he put on in NRL pre-season.
I wouldn't be so hasty to judge him.
Let's give him the rest of Flegg and another season of SG before writing him off.

 

[Mailroomsgi]

Well he’s got a deal that goes til 2028 now so we can’t write him off even if he merits that

 

[Mug Fan]

think he has a Top30 position for 27 or 28? Maybe that was just a projected thing, cause it made no sense to me that it would be 'locked in' that early

The same was said about Stewart, I remember many saying it was a nepotism signing.
Where is he today...

The other young kid I rly liked this year was Mace Scofield, again I cant be sure someone in Under 17s will continue but to me he looks interchangeable with Weatherall.. same haircut, both lean but athletic props, Scofield busts the line regularly, early days but hes my fave of that generation.

Mace is very lazy and slow in D he needs to work on it.
Mason Andrews was the standout forward for me.