LEAGUE ELITE: THE BULLETIN’S LOOK AT THE INTRUST SUPER CUP’S TOP 30 PLAYERS
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1. PAT POLITONI
Club: Burleigh
Position: Hooker. Age :27
This may be a surprise top choice to some, but Politoni brings assets every team would want in a player – experience from three NRL clubs, leadership, fitness, defensive solidity, creativity out of dummy-half and a useful kicking game. Easily led the competition in both try assists and tackles in 2018.
2. NATHANIEL NEALE
Club: Ipswich
Position: Prop. Age :30
A captain and 80-minute prop, Neale was nothing but inspirational in a 2018 campaign where he carried the Jets to the finals and won the Civoniceva Medal. His statistics last season included an average of 31 tackles and 147m, plus a total of nine tries, 93 tackle breaks and 61 offloads.
3. JAMAL FOGARTY
Club: Burleigh
Position: Halfback. Age :25
ISC commentator Scott Sattler regards Fogarty as the competition’s premier player and many scratch their heads over how he has only two NRL games to his name. A superb general, Fogarty gets his team around the park better than any other No.7 and is a top kicking – and goalkicking – option to boot.
4. JOSH CLEELAND
Club: Ipswich
Position: Five-eighth. Age :27 There is considerable excitement in the land of the Jets surrounding the return of their 2015 premiership-winning playmaker. Unlucky to not get a NRL shot with the Bulldogs, who he guided to Intrust Super Championship glory last year, Cleeland is back where it all began and destined to make an impact.
5. JOSH CHUDLEIGH
Club: Townsville
Position: Hooker. Age :24
The tireless rake has had a horror injury run since being crowned the ISC’s best player in 2016, lining up in just three matches since. But even in those rare outings, Chudleigh showed he was still as classy as ever. With a bit of health luck, he will be back in the spotlight.
6. SAM SCARLETT
Club: Wynnum Manly
Position: Halfback. Age :24 Wynnum have struggled in the halves department the past few seasons but have found their answer in ex-Magpie Scarlett, whose organisational skills and playmaking ability have long made him one of the competition’s best players.
7. RICHIE KENNAR
Club: Wynnum Manly
Position: Wing. Age :24 Kennar’s path has taken a few twists and turns in the past 12 months. The powerful ball-runner suffered a serious ankle injury and was released from his Rabbitohs contract to complete a two-year Mormon mission, which he subsequently backflipped on and joined the Seagulls. Last week he penned a one-year deal with the Broncos.
8. LUKE PAGE
Club: Burleigh
Position: Prop. Age :28 Regularly a top-five vote-getter by the end of each season, the front-rower brings energy and leadership in spades every time he steps on the field. Page is far from the biggest prop in the game but is fearless with every carry.
9. JONATHON REUBEN
Club: Sunshine Coast
Position: Wing. Age :25
If you give this guy any space, you’ll live to regret it. The speedster has been the competition’s most prolific try-scorer since joining Townsville in 2015, chalking up 70 four-pointers in 68 games. Has switched to the Falcons with the hope of finally cracking the NRL.
10. TODD MURPHY
Club: Sunshine Coast
Position: Halfback. Age :28 Former Devils stalwart Murphy is another who has moved to the Sunshine Coast. He came close to a Broncos call-up last year but once again it eluded him. Nonetheless, Murphy has consistently been a stellar ISC performer and will instantly lift the Falcons’ stocks.
11. JAMIL HOPOATE
Club: Redcliffe
Position: Lock. Age :24
The brother of Bulldogs fullback Will has a huge role to play as one of the few star players returning after Redcliffe’s title triumph. Hopoate is the reigning lock of the year and has spoken of his mission to turn his life around since doing jail time for a 2014 assault.
12. MICHAEL PURCELL
Club: Ipswich
Position: Fullback. Age :25
The competition’s true excitement machine, Purcell is a nightmare for opposition defences if given just the smallest window of opportunity. He scored 22 tries in 19 matches last year. The flyer is known as ‘the kangaroo catcher’, having reportedly once run down a kangaroo in the outback.
13. PAT TEMPLEMAN
Club: Wynnum Manly
Position: Fullback. Age :26
The 2015 player of the competition has stayed with the Seagulls through thick and thin during the club’s three-year finals absence. Missed the entire 2017 season through injury. Templeman has a knack of creating tries for himself and teammates and can slot into the halves and kick goals if needed.
14. GUY HAMILTON
Club: Souths Logan
Position: Five-eighth. Age :23 A versatile playmaker and an excellent goalkicker, Hamilton is set to lift his game to the next level as the Magpies’ dominant half. Watch out for him and superstar-in-the-making Tanah Boyd to form a dynamic halves pairing.
15. MATTHEW WRIGHT
Club: Central Queensland
Position: Fullback/wing. Age :28 Wright chalked up 143 first-grade appearances across a decade at Cronulla, North Queensland and Manly, covering fullback, wing, centre, five-eighth and hooker. Still only 28 years of age, the five-time Samoan international will make a huge difference to the Capras’ roster.
16. JOHN PALAVI
Club: Tweed Heads
Position: Lock. Age :26
With five NRL games at the Warriors to his name, Palavi captained Norths last year. A marquee signing for Tweed Heads, Palavi trained and trialled with the Titans this summer and averaged upwards of 30 tackles and 100 running metres last year. Capable of playing the full 80 minutes in the middle.
17. MITCHELL FREI
Club: Souths Logan
Position: Lock/second row. Age :27 After a decorated stint at Wynnum Manly – interrupted in 2016 by seven NRL outings for the Sydney Roosters – Frei has reunited with former coach Jon Buchanan at Souths Logan. Adding size and experience, he is the club’s star signing.
18. PATRICK CARRIGAN
Club: Wynnum Manly
Position: Second row/prop. Age :21 The youngest player to make the list, Carrigan has a huge future at the Broncos. He reportedly knocked back a seven-figure offer from Canterbury. The physiotherapy student doubles as a hard-working forward on the field. Captained Queensland to under-20 State of Origin victory last year.
19. JAYDEN HODGES
Club: Mackay
Position: Hooker. Age :25
The cousin of Bronco great Justin Hodges, the tackling machine was derailed by long-term injuries in 2016 and 2017. Having managed 21 matches for the Cutters last year, Hodges no longer has competition from Josh Chudleigh for the No.9 role – meaning the path is clear for the 25-year-old to shine.
20. KYLE LAYBUTT
Club: Townsville
Position: Five-eighth/halfback. Age :23 Back in Blackhawks colours after a one-year stint at Mackay that was disrupted by a torn pectoral. Having made two NRL appearances in 2017, t Laybutt has a point to prove after dropping out of the race to succeed Johnathan Thurston in the North Queensland halves.
21. MARION SEVE
Club: Easts
Position: Centre. Age :23
Seve has forever been a highly-regarded talent on the brink of making a name for himself. On Melbourne’s books since the middle of last season, the cancer survivor played under 20s for Wests Tigers in 2015 and joined the Broncos squad in 2016. Scored 17 tries for Easts last year, including a finals hat-trick against his former club Ipswich.
22. WILL BUGDEN
Club: Northern Pride
Position: Prop. Age :25
The hard-hitting bulldozer is a bona fide leader in the Pride’s engine room. Seventy-three games into a career that started at Tweed Heads in 2015, he has increased his workload and is expected to bounce back from his below-par defensive effort of last season.
23. KURTIS ROWE
Club: Burleigh
Position: Fullback. Age :25
A former Australian Schoolboys and Junior Kiwis representative, Rowe has accumulated 42 tries in 66 games for the Bears. More importantly, he is an instrumental figure in the side’s backline movements, running testing angles and able to deliver the last pass for a try or use his agility to go himself.
24. JAKE MARKETO
Club: Townsville
Position: Second row. Age :30 Marketo played 51 games for St George Illawarra between 2010 and 2017 and represented NSW City in his last season there. After a brief stint playing rugby union in Romania, Marketo linked with Townsville and proved himself one of the competition’s most reliable 80-minute forwards.
25. JACK AHEARN
Club: Norths
Position: Fullback. Age :26 Having won the Devils’ best-and-fairest award last year in his first season at the club, Ahearn again shapes as a key figure in 2019. A ball-playing fullback with an excellent support game, he came through the Canberra Raiders’ system.
26. CHEYNE WHITELAW
Club: Tweed Heads
Position: Lock/prop. Age :23 Whitelaw managed only 10 games in his maiden ISC season but what an impression he made. Tipping the scales at just 100kg, the workhorse averaged 32 tackles and 132 running metres before tearing his ACL in June. Is highly respected within the Tweed organisation.
27. AARON WHITCHURCH
Club: Redcliffe
Position: Second row/centre. Age :26 Although from Western Australia, Whitchurch is a second-generation Dolphin – his father Duncan also played for the club. At 97kg, Whitchurch has transitioned from a try-scoring centre to a lightweight forward who poses an ever-present threat on the edge.
28. GAIRO KAPANA
Club: Papua New Guinea
Position: Wing. Age :22
Kapana is one of the exciting names in a new-look Hunters list, having made the switch across from a rugby sevens career that included playing at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. He has the backing of coach Michael Marum, who says of the young winger: “He’s strong and fast and has the size to match big players in the ISC competition”.
29. JAELEN FEENEY
Club: Townsville
Position: Halfback. Age :24 Feeney was meant to be one of Newcastle’s next big things but it didn’t quite work out and he joined Townsville after just 13 NRL games in which he covered fullback, centre, hooker and the halves. He proved a livewire in the No.7 for the Blackhawks last year, scoring 15 tries and setting up another 12.
30. LAMAR LIOLEVAVE
Club: Tweed Heads
Position: Centre/second row. Age :23 The one-time Wests Tigers player has flown under the radar since joining the Seagulls two years ago, but has been a consistently strong performer on the left edge. Tweed’s coaching staff believe a shift to the centres this year will unlock even more talents, in an ominous warning for rivals.
Note: Cameron Cullen (Redcliffe) wasn’t considered due to a season-ending injury suffered last month, nor was Blake Leary (Burleigh). He will miss the first half of the year while away playing in France.