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http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2008/11/19/23211_cowboys.html
THE next crop of young Cowboys have officially started their pre-season training with a handy blend of youth and experience being put through their paces under new coach Kristian Woolf.
A sizeable chunk of last year's Toyota Cup team have returned to Dairy Farmers Stadium this year including Sam Bowie, Obe Geia, Dane Hogan, Chippie Korostchuk, Shaun Maloney, Tyson Martin and Ray Thompson.
Joining them are some bright young talents including Australian Schoolboys representative and former Palm Beach Currumbin student Ron Alovili.
And they will also be joined by a host of new faces from throughout North Queensland, many of whom have cut their teeth in the Townsville competition.
Woolf said he was excited to be working with the young players, many of whom he had coached at junior North Queensland and Queensland levels and in the Confraternity Shield in his time as a teacher at Ignatius Park College.
"I'm very excited, obviously I've had the opportunity to work with a few of these boys in the past so I'm very excited to be able to link up with them again and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to coach this year," he said.
"We've got a few local boys that have come out of local schools whether that be Kirwan High or Ignatius Park.
"And we've got some guys who have come in from Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton as well so the majority of our squad is going to be locals which is really exciting and that's obviously what we're about here."
Marquee signing Alovili is expected to start training this week after linking with the team from the Rugby League World Cup where he trained as a development player for Tonga.
And Woolf said he was a key signing for North Queensland with the hard-running prop also in a number of other clubs' sights.
"Ronnie's had a good year this year playing front row for the Australian Schoolboys and also being picked more as a development player of the Tongan World Cup side," Woolf said.
"We certainly have looked outside our area a little bit for a couple of key positions and he was one of those."
While the Cowboys under-20s finished their first year in the competition at the bottom of the ladder in 2008, there were a lot of positives to come out of it with many of the players never having played together at an elite level before.
Those players will be a bonus for the new recruits in terms of mentoring roles and easing them into the pressures of playing in a national competition at such a young age.
"We do have a lot of guys who are just finishing school so this is going to be their first crack at a national youth competition so it's going to be a big learning curve for them," Woolf said.
"There are guys who did that this year so I'm certainly hoping they can help the younger guys out a little bit and talk to them and mentor them."
And the introduction of the new junior Queensland Rugby League competition will be an added bonus with fringe players to gain valuable experience in leagues that are hoped to rival the New South Wales SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions in the future.
"I think it's a good initiative, it certainly allows for a stronger level of competition for the better players and certainly we've got some 17, turning 18-year-old guys coming into our under-20s squad," Woolf said.
"Some of those might not be ready to play straight away so it gives us a very good competition to put our players back to.
"Hopefully by the end of that competition which finishes in April they'll be a bit closer to playing in the 20s."
Preliminary Toyota Cup squad (subject to change): Ron Alovili, Noel Barnes, Sam Bowie, Jared Cockburn, Jack Cooper, Ben Cronin, Aidan Day, Steve Eliott, Chris Faust, Obe Geia, Ben Henaway, Sam Hoare, Dane Hogan, Jared Huston, Chippie Korostchuk, Ryan Mahoney, Shaun Maloney, Tyson Martin, Joel McCrea, Chris McLean, Ben Morgan, Moses Pangai, James Segeyaro, Dylan Smith, Songhie Tatipata, Ray Thompson, Darren Tonihi, Troyden Watene, Mitchell Zornig.
****
Some good signings including Alovili, Mosese Pangai from Balmain, Ben Cronin from the Roosters, Aidan Day from Illawarra, James Segeyaro from Souths and Troyden Watene from Brisbane.
I think they will be a much improved squad next season. If they have a fair run with injuries I think they will avoid the spoon. However I still don't see them making the top-8.
girvie's top-17:
1 Sam Bowie,
2 Obe Geia,
3 Moses Pangai,
4 Tyson Martin,
5 Chippie Korostchuk,
6 Ray Thompson,
7 Ben Cronin,
8 Shaun Maloney,
9 James Segeyaro,
10 Ron Alovili,
11 Chris Faust,
12 Troyden Watene,
13 Jack Cooper,
14 Aidan Day,
15 Dane Hogan,
16 Joel McCrea,
17 Darren Tonihi,
THE next crop of young Cowboys have officially started their pre-season training with a handy blend of youth and experience being put through their paces under new coach Kristian Woolf.
A sizeable chunk of last year's Toyota Cup team have returned to Dairy Farmers Stadium this year including Sam Bowie, Obe Geia, Dane Hogan, Chippie Korostchuk, Shaun Maloney, Tyson Martin and Ray Thompson.
Joining them are some bright young talents including Australian Schoolboys representative and former Palm Beach Currumbin student Ron Alovili.
And they will also be joined by a host of new faces from throughout North Queensland, many of whom have cut their teeth in the Townsville competition.
Woolf said he was excited to be working with the young players, many of whom he had coached at junior North Queensland and Queensland levels and in the Confraternity Shield in his time as a teacher at Ignatius Park College.
"I'm very excited, obviously I've had the opportunity to work with a few of these boys in the past so I'm very excited to be able to link up with them again and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to coach this year," he said.
"We've got a few local boys that have come out of local schools whether that be Kirwan High or Ignatius Park.
"And we've got some guys who have come in from Cairns, Mackay and Rockhampton as well so the majority of our squad is going to be locals which is really exciting and that's obviously what we're about here."
Marquee signing Alovili is expected to start training this week after linking with the team from the Rugby League World Cup where he trained as a development player for Tonga.
And Woolf said he was a key signing for North Queensland with the hard-running prop also in a number of other clubs' sights.
"Ronnie's had a good year this year playing front row for the Australian Schoolboys and also being picked more as a development player of the Tongan World Cup side," Woolf said.
"We certainly have looked outside our area a little bit for a couple of key positions and he was one of those."
While the Cowboys under-20s finished their first year in the competition at the bottom of the ladder in 2008, there were a lot of positives to come out of it with many of the players never having played together at an elite level before.
Those players will be a bonus for the new recruits in terms of mentoring roles and easing them into the pressures of playing in a national competition at such a young age.
"We do have a lot of guys who are just finishing school so this is going to be their first crack at a national youth competition so it's going to be a big learning curve for them," Woolf said.
"There are guys who did that this year so I'm certainly hoping they can help the younger guys out a little bit and talk to them and mentor them."
And the introduction of the new junior Queensland Rugby League competition will be an added bonus with fringe players to gain valuable experience in leagues that are hoped to rival the New South Wales SG Ball and Harold Matthews competitions in the future.
"I think it's a good initiative, it certainly allows for a stronger level of competition for the better players and certainly we've got some 17, turning 18-year-old guys coming into our under-20s squad," Woolf said.
"Some of those might not be ready to play straight away so it gives us a very good competition to put our players back to.
"Hopefully by the end of that competition which finishes in April they'll be a bit closer to playing in the 20s."
Preliminary Toyota Cup squad (subject to change): Ron Alovili, Noel Barnes, Sam Bowie, Jared Cockburn, Jack Cooper, Ben Cronin, Aidan Day, Steve Eliott, Chris Faust, Obe Geia, Ben Henaway, Sam Hoare, Dane Hogan, Jared Huston, Chippie Korostchuk, Ryan Mahoney, Shaun Maloney, Tyson Martin, Joel McCrea, Chris McLean, Ben Morgan, Moses Pangai, James Segeyaro, Dylan Smith, Songhie Tatipata, Ray Thompson, Darren Tonihi, Troyden Watene, Mitchell Zornig.
****
Some good signings including Alovili, Mosese Pangai from Balmain, Ben Cronin from the Roosters, Aidan Day from Illawarra, James Segeyaro from Souths and Troyden Watene from Brisbane.
I think they will be a much improved squad next season. If they have a fair run with injuries I think they will avoid the spoon. However I still don't see them making the top-8.
girvie's top-17:
1 Sam Bowie,
2 Obe Geia,
3 Moses Pangai,
4 Tyson Martin,
5 Chippie Korostchuk,
6 Ray Thompson,
7 Ben Cronin,
8 Shaun Maloney,
9 James Segeyaro,
10 Ron Alovili,
11 Chris Faust,
12 Troyden Watene,
13 Jack Cooper,
14 Aidan Day,
15 Dane Hogan,
16 Joel McCrea,
17 Darren Tonihi,
