Promising Juniors Thread.

[Just a Mug Fan]

Leeroy Weatherall 17 years old has signed a 4 year deal.
T@T Sup then top 30
Plays backrow amd made and appearance for Steelers SGB early this year.

 

[GCRV]

Leeroy Weatherall 17 years old has signed a 4 year deal.
T@T Sup then top 30
Plays backrow amd made and appearance for Steelers SGB early this year.

Train and trial next year as a 17 or 18 year-old? Must be a big 17 year-old!

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

Leeroy Weatherall 17 years old has signed a 4 year deal.
T@T Sup then top 30
Plays backrow amd made and appearance for Steelers SGB early this year.

That's great news, heard alot of good things about him, can play front row as well or exclusive backrow?

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

Not Dragons related BUT...

SEA EAGLES BUILD CASTLE IN UK
Manly Sea Eagles have set up a revolutionary amalgamation with UK Super League club Castleford Tigers to attract the best young rugby league players from the north of England to Brookvale.
Under a unique pathways agreement, Manly will get access from 17,000km away to rising stars who will be given the opportunity to break into the NRL via the Sea Eagles.
Manly already has a rich history with Castleford, the club that produced legendary premiership -winning forwards Malcolm Reilly and Kevin Ward for the Sea Eagles.
Manly chairman Scott Penn and CEO Tony Mestrov have been working behind the scenes for several months to establish the connection with the famous old English club in a first-of-its-kind arrangement for an NRL club.
“We’ve been talking to them around talent in junior and senior levels,” Penn said.
“It’s about trying to attract the best youngsters from the UK. Castleford are creating great talent, kids who are potentially looking for an alternative pathway.
“A lot of their best juniors get poached by some of the bigger Super League clubs.
“I think we can do some pretty special things by setting up an exclusive pathway to the NRL.”
The bonus for Castleford is it believes the best young players in England will want to join the Tigers because of the link to the Sea Eagles and the NRL.
Manly is also looking at an exchange program where its best local youngsters will be offered opportunities to develop their game in England.
There’s also talk of an under-19s match between the two clubs each year.
Recruitment is everything these days in rugby league.
Manly has also worked hard in recent times on its own junior league. The club now has 70 per cent of their Harold Matts and SG Ball players coming from clubs on the northern peninsula.
There is, however, work to be done with its feeder club Blacktown Workers, where relationships have become strained in recent times.
The team has leaked 158 points in the past three weeks in NSW Cup.

 

[TheRev]

What are Manly providing to the feeder club? Cash? Seems like they will end up losing all their best players in this process.. especially if a few other NRL clubs do something similar.

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

What are Manly providing to the feeder club? Cash? Seems like they will end up losing all their best players in this process.. especially if a few other NRL clubs do something similar.

No i think, you would possibly see players, who aren't quite ready for 1st grade, possibly have a season in England and then come back, probably players like circa 2022 Gordon Chan Kum Tong and Jamie Humphreys, i think its a great idea, there was talk we were looking at doing something similar with a New Zealand High School just recently, i think we also have an agreement with Ipswich High School and back in the St George Dragon days we had an agreement with Brothers in QLD and also tried to do something in Fiji around 2008-2012.

​

 

[RedV01]

Not Dragons related BUT...

SEA EAGLES BUILD CASTLE IN UK
Manly Sea Eagles have set up a revolutionary amalgamation with UK Super League club Castleford Tigers to attract the best young rugby league players from the north of England to Brookvale.
Under a unique pathways agreement, Manly will get access from 17,000km away to rising stars who will be given the opportunity to break into the NRL via the Sea Eagles.
Manly already has a rich history with Castleford, the club that produced legendary premiership -winning forwards Malcolm Reilly and Kevin Ward for the Sea Eagles.
Manly chairman Scott Penn and CEO Tony Mestrov have been working behind the scenes for several months to establish the connection with the famous old English club in a first-of-its-kind arrangement for an NRL club.
“We’ve been talking to them around talent in junior and senior levels,” Penn said.
“It’s about trying to attract the best youngsters from the UK. Castleford are creating great talent, kids who are potentially looking for an alternative pathway.
“A lot of their best juniors get poached by some of the bigger Super League clubs.
“I think we can do some pretty special things by setting up an exclusive pathway to the NRL.”
The bonus for Castleford is it believes the best young players in England will want to join the Tigers because of the link to the Sea Eagles and the NRL.
Manly is also looking at an exchange program where its best local youngsters will be offered opportunities to develop their game in England.
There’s also talk of an under-19s match between the two clubs each year.
Recruitment is everything these days in rugby league.
Manly has also worked hard in recent times on its own junior league. The club now has 70 per cent of their Harold Matts and SG Ball players coming from clubs on the northern peninsula.
There is, however, work to be done with its feeder club Blacktown Workers, where relationships have become strained in recent times.
The team has leaked 158 points in the past three weeks in NSW Cup.

Good idea for sure but sure but how much will it cost? Penn's are notoriously tight billionaires. I guess it isn't costing them too much but in that case, why hasn't it been done already?

 

[AyiosYiorgos]

Good idea for sure but sure but how much will it cost? Penn's are notoriously tight billionaires. I guess it isn't costing them too much but in that case, why hasn't it been done already?

costs them flights thats about it... Probably because alot of people in the NRL clubs are not forward thinkers..

 

[Just a Mug Fan]

PATHWAY PLAYERS

Jake Halangahu T&T 25, SL 26 Top 30, 27 Height 183 Weight 108

Cyrus Stanley-Traill T&T 25, SL 26 Top 30, 27 Height 188 weight 104

Nick Tsougranis SL, 25 top 30, 26 Height 182 Weight 100

Corey Ackers SL, 25 Height ... Weight 100kg

Hayden Buchanan T&T 25, SL 26.

Kade Reed T&T 25, SL 26

Leeroy Weatherall T&T 25 SL 26, 27 Top 30, 28 Height 187 Weight 100kg

Tom Kirk T&T 25, 26, SL 27. Height 196 Weight 100kg

 

[Just a Mug Fan]

Went to Schoolboys finals today.
Endeavour beat Erindale.

Dragons junior half Lewis Sargent Wilson did well to control the second half to steer Endeavour back from 14 nil down to win 16-14.

Patties Blacktown beat Central Coast in extra time despite CC having 14 players on the field for all the extra time.

Dragons juniors Alex Futialo has put on some size and had impact off the bench.
Jasais Ah Kee was dangerous at 6 and will form a great combination with Jake next SG season.
Jake H, what can I say the kid just keeps coming up with big plays in big games.

 

[TheRev]

Alex Futialo ive heard in another forum, another exciting young prop in the production line, will be an interesting SG Ball next year, I do wonder whether we might have our talent split a bit more evenly.. maybe even in the Steelers favour?

 

[Ryan]

PATHWAY PLAYERS

Jake Halangahu T&T 25, SL 26 Top 30, 27 Height 183 Weight 108

Cyrus Stanley-Traill T&T 25, SL 26 Top 30, 27 Height 188 weight 104

Nick Tsougranis SL, 25 top 30, 26 Height 182 Weight 100

Corey Ackers SL, 25 Height ... Weight 100kg

Hayden Buchanan T&T 25, SL 26.

Kade Reed T&T 25, SL 26

Leeroy Weatherall T&T 25 SL 26, 27 Top 30, 28 Height 187 Weight 100kg

Tom Kirk T&T 25, 26, SL 27. Height 196 Weight 100kg

Train and trail means they are a decent chance of making the top 30, 1 in 100 or no chance at all?

 

[Just a Mug Fan]

Train and trail means they are a decent chance of making the top 30, 1 in 100 or no chance at all?

Half of those listed already have top 30 contracts, the rest will into SL contract from that i think about 50% chance

 

[Chris M]

Half of those listed already have top 30 contracts, the rest will into SL contract from that i think about 50% chance

So I have to think if Saifiti or RCG is signed, no more forwards will be recruited or re-signed. i.e. Eisenhuth won't be re-signed. Nothing against him but just seems we are stacked with young forwards meaning veteran journeymen aren't needed. BMM won't be re-signed. Simple as that.

 

[TheRev]

Train and trail means they are a decent chance of making the top 30, 1 in 100 or no chance at all?

We do seem to have quite a few T&T's coming, seems to be a way of keeping those promising juniors happy and paid while we figure out which ones to sign for longer-term, but even looking at our 6 Development/Supplementary players for:

o 2024: Ackers, Coric, Egan, Muhleisen, Shereb. Stewart.

2 of those are in our Top30 next year, Ackers is development again in 2025, the other 3 will move on.

Its quite a puzzle though.. we havent had any young backs as development players, but I suspect there will be 2or3 of them next year, including King-Togia.. but its important you pick as many right as you can, because we will probably lose the ones that dont get promoted.

And whats interesting from the list justa made.. we have almost locked in our 2026 development players, 2 years out:

o 2026: Halangahu, Cyrus, Buchanan, Reed, Weatherall, <1 more>

Half of those listed already have top 30 contracts, the rest will into SL contract from that i think about 50% chance

I think the wording might confuse people too, NRL Development contracts were renamed to "Supplementary List (SL)" but same meaning and still a max of 6 of them.

It looks to me like the age of players in the NRL is coming down and making securing young players more difficult.. so the best prospects (at that age) and their managers are making sure they get their pathway laid out with T&T > SL contract > and potentially Top30 already mapped out.. its something Sullivan did years ago and at the time it was a bit outrageous, but now it seems more common place... but I suppose even if it didnt work out, we could always part ways early if something changed over that 3-4 years and they wanted to go elsewhere.

So I have to think if Saifiti or RCG is signed, no more forwards will be recruited or re-signed. i.e. Eisenhuth won't be re-signed. Nothing against him but just seems we are stacked with young forwards meaning veteran journeymen aren't needed. BMM won't be re-signed. Simple as that.

Eisenhuth/Max are still possibilities, I think the coach would like both, but the reality is, can we move on enough players to make room.. we still need to clear a spot for the halves cover (which I posted in another thread, looks like may be Volkman).

 

[Just a Mug Fan]

I think the wording might confuse people too, NRL Development contracts were renamed to "Supplementary List (SL)" but same meaning and still a max of 6 of them.

It looks to me like the age of players in the NRL is coming down and making securing young players more difficult.. so the best prospects (at that age) and their managers are making sure they get their pathway laid out with T&T > SL contract > and potentially Top30 already mapped out.. its something Sullivan did years ago and at the time it was a bit outrageous, but now it seems more common place... but I suppose even if it didnt work out, we could always part ways early if something changed over that 3-4 years and they wanted to go elsewhere.

The pathways contracts have always existed just not talked about as much.
2 years ago no clubs were listing T&T contracts before that hardly any talk of Dev contracts.

You are right with a lot of younger players in grade the focus is now on them and now the need for clubs to be locking up 16, 17 year olds.

 

[GCRV]

We do seem to have quite a few T&T's coming, seems to be a way of keeping those promising juniors happy and paid while we figure out which ones to sign for longer-term, but even looking at our 6 Development/Supplementary players for:

o 2024: Ackers, Coric, Egan, Muhleisen, Shereb. Stewart.

2 of those are in our Top30 next year, Ackers is development again in 2025, the other 3 will move on.

Its quite a puzzle though.. we havent had any young backs as development players, but I suspect there will be 2or3 of them next year, including King-Togia.. but its important you pick as many right as you can, because we will probably lose the ones that dont get promoted.

And whats interesting from the list justa made.. we have almost locked in our 2026 development players, 2 years out:

o 2026: Halangahu, Cyrus, Buchanan, Reed, Weatherall, <1 more>


I think the wording might confuse people too, NRL Development contracts were renamed to "Supplementary List (SL)" but same meaning and still a max of 6 of them.

It looks to me like the age of players in the NRL is coming down and making securing young players more difficult.. so the best prospects (at that age) and their managers are making sure they get their pathway laid out with T&T > SL contract > and potentially Top30 already mapped out.. its something Sullivan did years ago and at the time it was a bit outrageous, but now it seems more common place... but I suppose even if it didnt work out, we could always part ways early if something changed over that 3-4 years and they wanted to go elsewhere.


Eisenhuth/Max are still possibilities, I think the coach would like both, but the reality is, can we move on enough players to make room.. we still need to clear a spot for the halves cover (which I posted in another thread, looks like may be Volkman).

I think Max might come in more handy than Eisenhuth if it's one or the other.

 

[Chris M]

We do seem to have quite a few T&T's coming, seems to be a way of keeping those promising juniors happy and paid while we figure out which ones to sign for longer-term, but even looking at our 6 Development/Supplementary players for:

o 2024: Ackers, Coric, Egan, Muhleisen, Shereb. Stewart.

2 of those are in our Top30 next year, Ackers is development again in 2025, the other 3 will move on.

Its quite a puzzle though.. we havent had any young backs as development players, but I suspect there will be 2or3 of them next year, including King-Togia.. but its important you pick as many right as you can, because we will probably lose the ones that dont get promoted.

And whats interesting from the list justa made.. we have almost locked in our 2026 development players, 2 years out:

o 2026: Halangahu, Cyrus, Buchanan, Reed, Weatherall, <1 more>


I think the wording might confuse people too, NRL Development contracts were renamed to "Supplementary List (SL)" but same meaning and still a max of 6 of them.

It looks to me like the age of players in the NRL is coming down and making securing young players more difficult.. so the best prospects (at that age) and their managers are making sure they get their pathway laid out with T&T > SL contract > and potentially Top30 already mapped out.. its something Sullivan did years ago and at the time it was a bit outrageous, but now it seems more common place... but I suppose even if it didnt work out, we could always part ways early if something changed over that 3-4 years and they wanted to go elsewhere.


Eisenhuth/Max are still possibilities, I think the coach would like both, but the reality is, can we move on enough players to make room.. we still need to clear a spot for the halves cover (which I posted in another thread, looks like may be Volkman).

I hope King-Togia might be on a top 30 contract next year. To be the No.1 5/8 at the club.

 

[Just a Mug Fan]

I hope King-Togia might be on a top 30 contract next year. To be the No.1 5/8 at the club.

There are no spots available atm, but he can play from round 1 on an SL contract just ike Connor did this year.

 

[Just a Mug Fan]

Been catching up on some junior games with players of interest.
Kiama v West Devils u16

Kiama centre Phoenix Johns centre
Played Matts this season has a lot of talent but really needs to up his efforts and injected himself into the game.

Kiama half Jett Brookfield played Andrew Johns Cup this season.
Much like his sister Koffi (who at 17 is playing HNWP) he his a great talent with vision and organisation on the field. A leader who barks orders and gets in the referees ear.
One major drawback the kid is 4 foot tall he makes TPH look like a giant.

Devils middle Api Amone, the youngest of the brothers and talented, a talker on the field but just like the older brothers he is a hot head.

Devils edge CJ Meafou, my player to watch. Played Matts this season and will again next season. Just as talent as his older brothers. He was in devastating form, runs hard on the edge and comes into the middle for hard yards too.
Has grown since i last seen him and has more growth still. 6"³ 191cm and 93kg at 16yo.