Author : canterburyrugbyleague.co.nz

Canberra Raiders juniors tour NZ

Canterbury’s and South Island’s most promising youth players will get a rare opportunity to test themselves against top-quality Australian opposition next month, courtesy of a short tour by Canberra Raiders’ under-18s team.

The Raiders’ squad – essentially the best talent coming through the club’s academy.

Including fringe SG Ball (under-19s) players from this year’s campaign and the players who will make up next season’s SG Ball line-up – will play two matches in four days in Christchurch.

First up, the Raiders will face the Canterbury 19s team on Thursday, July 13, followed by a clash with South Island Scorpions 18s on Sunday, July 16.

“There will be some very talented players in the Canberra team – many I’m sure who will go and eventually play in the NRL – so it’s very exciting,” Southern Zone Rugby League General Manager Liam Turner says.

Junior Raiders High Performance Program

“Dean Souter, who runs the Junior Raiders High Performance Program, got in touch to see if we were interested in organising a game and it went from there.”

The Scorpions 18s squad will be selected from the South Island youth tournament, which is being held the previous weekend in Oamaru.

“It’s a short turnaround and puts a bit of pressure on us, but it’s too good an opportunity to turn down and we’re excited by it,” Turner explains.

“It provides a great pathway for any 18s boys playing in our tournament to be selected in this team and is another great example that the pathway to the NRL is right at the doorstep of South Island-based players.”

Having any junior team affiliated with an NRL club playing matches in Canterbury is an obvious coup, but Canberra has a massive reputation as a breeding ground of elite rugby league talent.

All-time greats such as Bradley Clyde, Glenn Lazarus and Ricky Stuart came through the ACT junior system during the 1980s, while fellow icon Laurie Daley was developed by the Raiders after arriving from nearby Junee as a 17-year-old.

The local products helped form the nucleus of the famed ‘Green Machine’ that won premierships in 1989-90 and ’94.

NRL stars

More recent NRL stars such as Jarrod Croker, Josh Dugan, Josh Papalii, Anthony Milford, Jack Wighton and Hudson Young debuted for the Raiders after emerging through the club’s junior pathways and NYC (under-20s) team.

Canberra’s SG Ball team was one game away from the SG Ball grand final in the 2023 competition, which wrapped up in April.

Meanwhile, these upcoming fixtures in Christchurch provide another key chance for players to impress and potentially follow in the footsteps of the increasing number of South Island juniors who are progressing to the elite level.

“There’s so many players who have gone through our system and our pathways that have gone on to a higher level.

Right at the top in the NRL with the likes of Jordan Riki and Griffin Neame.

Also recent examples like Callum Donaldson from the West Coast going from the Scorpions earlier this year to a Melbourne Storm feeder club,” Turner enthuses.

“It highlights that even though we are seemingly a bit isolated down here, the opportunities for our boys and girls at the moment are right there for them and it’s really exciting.

“The Warriors have an under-17s (Harrold Matthews Cup) and under-21s (Jersey Flegg) entering the NSW competitions in 2024, to go with their recently reintroduced under-19s (SG Ball) team, so that’s also a big opportunity for our youth.”

Team line-ups in the 2023 Harold Matthews, SG Ball and Jersey Flegg competitions this season have peppered with tyros who have come directly from Halswell Hornets, Hornby Panthers, Linwood Keas and Northern Bulldogs, as well as Scorpions age-group teams.

Turner praises the dedication and hard work of coaches, volunteers and administrators.

Such as Canterbury’s and Eastern Eagles’ Archie Jacobs – for helping create the progressively clear pathway from junior club football, to South Island representative teams and eventually into the systems of NRL clubs.

Southern Zone

“Southern Zone may have limited resources compared to other regions, but it’s definitely a big focus for us.

“People like Archie Jacobs, who has been a big part of the Scorpions system – nearly all of those players who have gone on to Australian clubs or the Warriors have been coached by him – so a lot of credit to him, along with many others.

“It’s a small wee team that works hard to make sure these players get these opportunities.”

With the only three weeks until the South Island youth tournament, Turner is encouraging players to put themselves in the frame for Scorpions selection in Oamaru.

Canterbury’s youth teams for the trip south will be named later this week, but other teams are still looking to fill out their squads.

“Our smaller districts looking for extra numbers, hopefully that’s a push for some of those players to put their hand up – come and play in this tournament and give yourself a chance to have a crack at the Raiders,” Turner says.

Related Links

NZ Rugby League

Hills win last minute thriller 

(Action Photo’s The Hills SHS v Patrician Brothers Blacktown)

Patties add another half century

Caloundra SHS v Marsden SHS

Langer Trophy, Round 3

Langer Trophy Marsden v Keebra Park 

Langer trophy teams rated

Schoolboy Cup Rnd 1 double header

Erindale flex their muscle

NSWCHS selects u18 schoolboy / girls teams

Great day for Sydney schoolboy footy

NSWCHS u18 schoolgirls trials

Day 3 Action Photo’s

BOYS

Sydney GOLD v Presidents

Sydney RED v Southern

Northern V Western

GIRLS

Southern v Western

Sydney RED v Northern

Sydney GOLD v Western

NSWRLRA Junior Reps Presentation Night

2023 Sharks Jnr Rep Presentation Night

Panthers announces 2023 Junior Representative award winners

2023 Bulldogs Junior Representative Awards

City Under 16s overwhelm Country

City Under 18s chalk up three-peat over gallant Country

Representative teams named for Country v City

Country Women take early bragging rights

Eels able to outlast determined Knights

Roosters make history with back-to-back Tarsha Gale Cups

2023 Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final

Mounties win epic decider with historic scoreline
Monaro compile magnificent seven tries to down Knights

Action Photo Galleries

2023 Women’s Country Championship (Coming Soon)
2023 Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final
2023 SG Ball Cup Grand Final (Coming Soon)
2023 Tarsha Gale Cup  (Coming Soon)

NSWCHS u18 schoolgirls trials

2023 SG Ball Cup Grand Final team lists

2023 Tarsha Gale Cup Grand Final team lists

2023 Harold Matthews Cup Grand Final team lists

2023 HNWP Grand Final team lists

SG Ball finals six players to watch

2023 Harold Matthew Cup Elimination Finals Team Lists

2023 Tarsha Gale Cup Elimination Finals Team Lists

2023 SG Ball Cup Elimination Finals Team Lists

Action Photo Galleries

Semi Final Laurie Daley Cup Action Photo’s

More NSWRL Junior Rep’s news 

More Women’s Rugby League news 

Harold Matthews Cup Draw / Results

SG Ball Cup Draw / Results

Tarsha Gale Cup Draw / Results

HNWP Draw / Results

Andrew Johns Cup Draw / Results

Laurie Daley Cup Draw / Results

(QRL) Mal Meninga Cup Draw / Results

(QRL) Cyril Connell Challenge Draw / Results

The post Canberra Raiders juniors tour NZ appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : NZRL

De La Salle Crowned Nzrl Secondary Schools Champions

De La Salle Crowned NZRL Secondary Schools Champions (Photo : NZRL)

The NZRL Secondary Schools finals saw South Auckland’s De La Salle College crowned as Aotearoa’s champions, convincingly defeating Rotorua Boys 42-6.

De La Salle raced to an early lead through left centre Kaylise Fatialofa, who scored two quick tries in the opening minutes.

After finding success on the left edge, La Salle kept up the pressure which resulted in Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea scoring a double for himself as La Salle started to pile on the points.

In the second stanza, the right edge of Rotorua Boys led to points as MJ Sa’olele Tavae, and Haami Herbert-Loza found success down that channel.

A late consolation try for Rotorua Boys saw them on the score sheet as De La Salle scored 42-6 winners.

DE LA SALLE 42

TRIES: Haami Herbert-Loza, MJ Sa’olele Tavae X2, Kaylise Fatialofa X2, Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea X2, Jeshua Maa-Nelson

GOALS: Phranklyn Mano Lemamea

ROTORUA BOYS 6

TRIES: Darryl Walker

GOALS: Maraki Aumua

MVP – Kaylise Fatialofa

In the Girls Championship, Auckland Girls Grammar and Manurewa played out a nail-biter, with the South Auckland school holding on to win 8-4.

Tries from competition MVP Sharnyze Pihema and Team of the Tournament second rower June Westerland allowed Manurewa to get out to an 8-0 lead that they never relinquished.

Seriah Palepale scored for Auckland Girls to make it a game in the second half, but the Manurewa outfit held on to secure the Championship Title.

Manurewa High School 8

TRIES: Sharnyze Pihema, June Westerland

GOALS:

Auckland Girls Grammar 4

TRIES: Seriah Palepale

GOALS:

MVP – June Westerland

The Boys Championship saw a rematch of yesterday’s fixture as Manurewa high school took on Te Whanau a Noa.

The Composite side started quickly out of the blocks but their inability to turn pressure into points returned to haunt them.

Two quick tries from the South Auckland school saw them go up 10-0 towards the mid-point of the first half.

The second half saw much of the same as Manurewa were first to score and never let up their advantage, taking out the competition 18 points to four.

Manurewa High School 18

TRIES: Colwyn Kaumavae, Frankie Payne, Padilla Lemoe, Tiu Leilua Tamaleaoa

GOALS: Leon RICHARD x1

TE Whanau A Noa 4

TRIES: Callum Waed

GOALS:

MVP – Christian Auvaa

Related Links

NZ Rugby League

International Rugby League news

The post De La Salle NZRL Secondary Schools Champions appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : warriors.kiwi

Young players chasing the dream

Two elite development camps have given a host of promising under-16 and under-18 players an opportunity to impress as rugby league emerges from Covid’s lockdown grip.

The camps, co-hosted by the Auckland Rugby League and the Vodafone Warriors, brought together two registered playing groups for two-day clinics at Mount Smart Stadium.

The first on December 4 and 5 and the second last Saturday and Sunday.

The next camps will be staged in the New Year as the players prepare for mini preseason competitions for the under-16s (Shaun Johnson Shield) and under-18s (Dean Bell Cup) in March.

Sky Sport Future Warriors development and pathways manager Tony Iro said these age groups have missed out on a lot of opportunities to play representative football over the past two years due to Covid-19 restrictions and cancellations.

“This is the first chance for a long time that we’ve had an opportunity for these boys to play a really high standard of footy against the best kids in their age group across the North Island,” Iro said.

The under-16 and uncer-18 development camp playing groups are split up into four, based on region

Tamaki ki te Raki (north), Tamaki ki te Uru (west), Tamaki ki te Tonga sSouth) and Tamaki ki te Rawhiti (east).

Young players chasing the dream

The groups hosted in the first weekend were the under-16 regions of north, east and west and the under18 group for south.

Last weekend there were three under-18 groups for north, east and west and the under-16 group for south.

For each group, the day consisted of a health and wellbeing session before returning to the field for fitness and skill work ahead of the upcoming 2022 competitions.

It presented a unique opportunity to dive back into preseason training and rugby league drills following an extended break due to Auckland’s lockdown.

The development camps resume on the weekend of January 15-16, 2022

The development camps resume on the weekend of January 15-16, 2022.

Related Links

NZ WARRIORS

More International Junior Rugby League news

The post Young players chasing the dream appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : Scott Miller (theniche.com)

The 2020 Aotearoa Warriors SG Ball Team was really good

To start 2020, Aotearoa Warriors rolled out their first Under 18 team in New South Wales Rugby League’s SGB competition.

The Warriors played six games before the universe kicked up a pandemic fuss and that left the Warriors 3rd with a 4-2 record in NSW premier junior competition.

This was quickly flipped into the Redcliffe Dolphins connection, resulting in Warriors having Redcliffe teams to place their juniors in but without their own junior teams to cover all their bases.

The Warriors had their own SG Ball team for example, which then became a few players in Redcliffe’s U18 team. The Warriors and players had to suss out what was best for them.

This basically meant that the Warriors went from providing SG Ball level of competition for 20-ish players to cutting that down to invest in fewer players at Redcliffe.

Some players were better off staying in Aotearoa, while others went to Australian clubs to continue their development.

Let’s start with the 2020 NZ Warriors SGB players who played for Redcliffe this year and/or NRL.

Sharks v Warriors SG Ball playing the the NSWRL SG Ball Cup 2020 Rnd 4 at Shark Park, Cronulla Australia – (Photo : Steve Montgomery / OurFootyTeam)

They joy of the NSWRL competition is that it goes down prior to the NRL season, so Warriors could give their contracted juniors high level rugby league before they played 1st 15 for their respective schools.

That was the case with Viliami Vailea who went from SGB to Aorere College 1st 15 and then to Redcliffe U21s, Redcliffe Intrust Super Cup and NRL in just over 12 months.

Taniela Otukolo joins Vailea in playing SG Ball to start 2020, then NRL in 2021.

Related Links

theniche.com

History Made In NSWRL SG Ball Competition (2020)

NZ Juniors surge to second spot (2020)

NZRL National Youth Competition Results (2021)

The post 2020 Warriors SG Ball was really good appeared first on OurFootyTeam.

Author : NZRL

The Eagles Have Landed.

Counties-Manukau Rugby League has been delivering the game to its Asian community since 2013, creating opportunities and pathways for participants not usually renowned for playing rugby league,

As seen on ABS.CBN News

The Ethnic competition and encouraging diversity in the game have always been priorities for Counties-Manukau; therefore the affiliation between Pambansang Ragbi Liga Ng Pilipinasand Auckland based rugby league team, United Eagles, was a natural fit.

The Eagles are the first all-Asian based rugby league team endorsed by Counties Manukau Rugby League (CMRL) and the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) to compete in Auckland’s Ethnic Cup competition.

The team comprises 70% Filipino players with a mix of other players from Japan, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

The Ethnic Rugby League Competition was established in 2013 by NZRL’s Counties Manukau Rugby League General Manager Kasey King. The competition currently accommodates the following teams, the Counties Manukau Piranhas, Auckland Wasps, Onehunga Guardianz, the Eagles, and the Dragons.

It comprises groups of ethnicities, mainly from New Zealand’s increasing Asian community not renowned for playing rugby league. The players gain valuable rugby league experience through the competition each year, leading to players being selected to represent their country of origin through international matches.

The PNRL have longed to establish a partnership with the Eagles for some time now, with talks over the past week confirming the interest on both sides.

With this affiliation, the PNRL will assist in expanding the reach of rugby league to the New Zealand based Filipino players and increase Filipino participation in the six-week Ethnic Cup competition held yearly.

The affiliation will also provide pathway opportunities for players to represent the Philippines at a developmental or national level and provide access to national development programs.

Ex-Tamaraw player Odyssey Laderas and current player Carmilo Manuyag (Head Coach of Eagles) have been actively working with Asian based NZ players of all levels to provide a safe pathway for player representation into the Ethnic Cup competition.

Carmilo has also been the team’s driving force from the start, with a clear vision of where this group could go. He also ensured the transition from Eagles to Dragons to keep the reputational name of Eagles for future use as we had family sabbaticals during this time.

The PNRL will work closely with the pair to help increase their overall participation numbers with the goal of entering more development teams into the Ethnic Cup competition each year.

“The affiliation with the Philippines governing body for the sport of Rugby League (PNRL) will provide pathways for rugby league development and participation of NZ based Filipinos.

This will also ensure a healthy, active club and international membership. Built on family and brotherhood as its foundation, we encourage each other to excel in our talents and abilities with a focus on support at all aspects of the game, whether on or off the field,” says Eagles Manager.

“We look forward to working with Carmilo and Odyssey to promote and develop Philippine Rugby League and share our values to our fellow New Zealand based Filipinos.

We want to be part of the Eagles future successes and share these achievements with the rugby league community. We hope other rugby league associations will follow suit and provide the same opportunities for heritage players across the globe.

Rugby League is a game for everyone, regardless of size, skill, gender, or ethnicity,” PNRL President Reynaldo Nery states.

The Eagles Have Landed

Related Links

NZRL 

NZ national Youth Comp Results

NZRL National Youth Competition to begin in October

NZ Juniors surge to second spot

The post The Eagles Have Landed appeared first on OurFootyTeam.