BULLDOGS PARTNERSHIP PROVIDING NSWRL PATHWAY FOR CRL JUNIORS

BULLDOGS PARTNERSHIP PROVIDING NSWRL PATHWAY FOR CRL JUNIORS

The NSWRL’s SG Ball Cup (under-19s) and Harold Matthews Cup (under-17s) competitions get underway this weekend – and 15 Canterbury juniors have been named to play in Round 1.

Tuesday’s line-up drop provided striking evidence of the value in Canterbury Rugby League’s development and pathways partnership with Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, which was formally established 18 months ago.

Sydenham Swans junior and Canterbury age-group rep Evander Tafua is set to make his Harold Matthews Cup debut off the bench against Canberra Raiders on Saturday.

Tafua was the first player to sign for the club following the partnership with CRL becoming official, having been identified at the Bulldogs’ clinics at Ngā Puna Wai in November 2023.

BULLS/DOGS ACADEMY AND CRL DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY LAUNCHED AT NGĀ PUNA WAI

Meanwhile, a trio of local products will feature in the Bulldogs’ SG Ball opener against the Raiders in Canberra.

Hornby Panthers’ Sosaia Alatani was a tryscoring machine in the second-row in the team’s charge to the 2024 grand final and remains eligible for SG Ball. Northern Bulldogs junior Bronson Reuben will feature at five-eighth and Genesis Ah Kam Sherlock, from Linwood Keas and a NZ Clubs 18s Boys rep in 2024, has been named in the centres.

Alatini and Reuben were teammates in the Bulldogs’ 2023 Harold Matthews triumph and got a taste of Jersey Flegg Cup (under-21s) together last season.

Elsewhere in this week’s NSWRL team lists, Riccarton Knights junior Jairo Senio – who was wearing the red-and-black jersey as far back as 2019 in the 10s age-group – is part of Sydney Roosters’ interchange contingent to take on North Sydney Bears in the Harold Matthews Cup.

Hornby Panthers’ Jackson Stewart, who won NZ Secondary Schools 18s selection in 2023-24 after playing in St Thomas’ of Canterbury College’s back-to-back NZSST victories, has broken through for an SG Ball debut in the centres for the Roosters against the Bears.

Another Hornby and St Thomas’ star, Ezekiel Faga-Ieti, earns his SG Ball spurs off the bench for Newcastle Knights against Parramatta Eels on Saturday. Halswell Hornets’ and St Thomas’ Xavier Lynch is in the Knights’ squad for the season ahead.

RESILIENCE UNDERPINS ST THOMAS’ BACK-TO-BACK NZSST SUCCESS

A long-time Canterbury age-group rep and a NZ Secondary Schools 18s selection from St Thomas’ in 2023, Papanui Tigers junior Ezekiel Paulo will take the field in Manly Sea Eagles’ second-row against the Warriors at 4 Pines Park.

There will be some familiar faces in the Warriors SG Ball line-up for Paulo, with St Thomas’ teammates Meihana Pauling (Halswell Hornets) named at fullback and Isaiah Savea (Hornby Panthers) at hooker for Sunday’s clash.

Savea was part of the Warriors’ remarkable 2024 Harold Matthews Cup success, alongside outstanding prospect Lennox Tuiloma (Linwood Keas, St Thomas’), who was player of the match in the grand final but has been ruled out of taking the step up to SG Ball this year by injury. Micah Sula (Hornby Panthers, St Thomas’) and Rico Lemalie (Linwood Keas, Christ’s College) are also part of the Warriors’ 2025 SG Ball squad and will be vying for a call-up during the campaign.

The Warriors’ SG Ball side will be coached by incoming Shannon Rushworth, the former Halswell Hornets player who steered the Bulldogs to Harold Matthews Cup glory in 2023.

A huge contingent of Canterbury juniors will help the Warriors kick off their Harold Matts title defence on Sydney’s northern beaches.

Calieb Fidow (Celebration Lions, St Thomas’) will line up on the wing, Bishop Neal (Hornby Panthers, St Thomas’) teams up with Aoraki product Dougal Grant (Hornby Panthers, Christchurch Boys’ High School) in the second-row, and Kenny Lafituanai (Sydenham Swans, St Thomas’) and Amasio Tiatia (Celebration Lions, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o te Māori Whānau Tahi) are slated to come off the bench against the Sea Eagles.

Riccarton Knights pair Hoani-Manuera Kahukiwa (Te Kura Whakapūmau i te Reo Tūturu ki Waitaha) and Christiano Elia (St Thomas’) are also in the Warriors’ 2025 Harold Matthews Cup squad.

With Canterbury returning to the National Youth Tournament as a standalone district for the first time in 15 years in 2024, Sherlock, Stewart, Lynch, Pauling, Savea, Sula and Lemalie represented Canterbury 18s, and Fidow, Tiatia, Neal, Elia and Lafituanai were part of the Canterbury 16s squad in the Rotorua-hosted event last October – which will be staged at Ngā Puna Wai in 2025.

As revealed in recent weeks, five Canterbury juniors will take part in the 2025 NSWRL Tarsha Gale Cup (women’s under-19s) and Lisa Fiaola Cup (women’s under-17s) competitions.

Of that contingent, Hornby’s Kyra-Lee Westland and Linwood’s Dejah Tuliau will debut for Penrith Panthers on Saturday against Cronulla Sharks, at halfback and centre, respectively.

CANTERBURY PLAYERS TO FEATURE IN NSWRL’S JUNIOR WOMEN’S COMPS

sosaiaalatinierase
Share this

Posted in