My last 2 questions to
@Forty20 are below and a bit tough
1) Players to watch in GF
2) Most likely to play 1st grade.
@Obscene Assassin, who has a spent a huge amount of time watching 16s/18s/20s with me over the years did a damn good job detailing answers to both questions but I will add what I can.
The players that jump immediately to mind for the first question are Leleisiuao, D. Aukafolau, Brown, Mahoney, Faingaa and Stone.
It is hard to imagine a Parra fan that hasn't heard of Leleisiuao at this point given how prolific he has been this season. Both he and Dane Aukafolau are just physically superior to the vast majority of NYC players. So when you factor in that they are also both good footballers (and not just athletes) it means they can blow games open at the drop of a hat.
Faingaa and especially Stone are defensive tone setters. Stone is an animal through the middle. While he isn't a huge lock forward, he thrives on contact. Faingaa on the other hand is a hulking edge forward who can play equally with power and finesse.
Dylan Brown and Reed Mahoney are the game-breakers in our spine, as opposed to the steady factors that are Anthony Layoun and Dean Matterson. We will probably turn the 'Dylan Brown is only 17' into the new 'Latrell Mitchell is only 19' by the time I am done but his step up into the NYC has been phenomenal.
He can ruck, kick and pass and is one of the smoothest players you will see.
How about a mind-blowing stat? Through 8 games, Brown has completed 144 tackles and missed just 5.
FIVE! That is insane for any NYC player, let alone a halfback that is barely 17 years of age.
As for Reed, he is equal parts tireless defender and fiendish schemer. To steal a line from my blog today, he is a heads-up player. As in literally. He always has his head up at from dummy half and is constantly evaluating the markers and defensive line. It is why he is such a threat to the opposition.
Most likely to play first grade? You will see a bit of overlap from the young men named above.
Physically, Leleisiuao and D. Aukafolau are right there. They just need more time training with the NRL squad to see how they respond to the speed and pressure of that environment. Stone is a NRL player in everything but size. He has the temperament and intangibles to walk into the NRL but is a smidgen undersized at ~180cm. Still the NRL is seeing a resurgence in smaller but gritty and intense locks so there is real hope for Stone.
Faingaa stands to gain massively from a proper preseason. He, Leleisiuao and Stone all missed out on one for this season due to pre-existing injuries. He has a great work rate for a big boy and has the frame to be effective on the edge or in the middle.
I think Mahoney needs a good preseason from a physical standpoint and from there just a bit more time. Dylan is a bit further off given his youthfulness and the fact we can afford to build him up a bit slower with a settled NRL halves pairing ahead of him.
From there you are starting to dabble in extreme projections because there is just so much we
don't know about this young team. John Fonua, Noel Aukafolau and Oregon Kaufusi only turned 18 this year and have huge amounts of growth ahead of them. Ditto for Tui Afualo who was one of our most devastating players before succumbing to a long-term injury.
Heck, the scary (good) thing about this team is the talent that
isn't in it. There are some kids that will earn selection in 2018 that will almost certainly elevate that talent level in this roster. Who goes on to push for NRL duties will be obviously be the key thing to monitor but this is seriously the best positioned we have been in a long, long time.
