The best juniors since 2000

[roopy]

I've been following the juniors closely since 2000, and I was just thinking how this year's crop fits in with the best we have had in that time. Here are the best as I rate them.

Hinton
Uate
Callan Richardson
Kurt Gidley
Anthony Quinn/Jermaine Ale (can't split them)
Mullen
Luke Walsh (just ahead of Tyrie)
Trent Esatheo
Michael Ennis
Kade Snowden
Cory Paterson
Jacob Ling
Riley Brown

Anthony Tupou
Adam Woolnough
Josh Perry
Todd Lowrie

 

[aqua_duck]

Greg Bird perhaps or Dane Tilse?

 

[Frederick]

Poor Estatheo - couldn't catch a break

 

[strewth_mate]

Poor Estatheo - couldn't catch a break

Or maybe he caught too many ;-)

How did you rate guys like Leigh Abel and James Wynne? Also some others like Andrew Johnson, Gavin Quinn and Kurt Rudder?

Actually while I think of it, I was recently watching an old game of us vs. Balmain from back in '99 or so, and there were a couple of names: Mandelidis and Brock Mueller. Do you know the story of those two? They didn't play many in the top grade.

 

[CJKnight]

With the extended signings of Mullen, Kidley, Uate, Tighe, Hinton, and Brown. This is a sign of the future for Newcastle IMO. Brian Smith has been very proactive in getting these juniors' names down on contacts for the seasons to come. Just think of our lineup in the next two years:

1. Hinton (our future #1 IMO)
2. Uate (being called "the next Tiquiri")
3. Tighe (guarunteed 1st center spot by Smith)
4. Kidley (looks better at center after Doogs retires)
5. Polglase (is still young and can play many positions)
6. Thiaday (already plays 5/8 role in attack for us now)
7. Mullen (our future half and NSW rep)
8. Perry (has the size to be our version of O'Meley)
9. Buderus (should still be soldiering on at 30)
10. Woolnough (starting has only improved his game)
11. Simpson (our version of Kennedy)
12. Newton (contunues to make the yards for us)
13. Reynoldson (tackles and runs like a steamtrain IMO)

14. Tolar (both Smith and Davico will be retired in 2 years)
15. Abraham (could almost be subbed for Prop!)
16. Brown (our future Utility/Impact benchie)
17. Bailey (my pick but could be any one of our other promising juniors)

 

[roopy]

Dane Tilse would go very close - but not in front of any of the other props - and i named one prop too many anyway.

Bird I only saw in a few games of SG Ball and he really didn't catch my eye.

Leigh Abel is a guy I rated very highly - but Richardson is a real standout, as was Kurt Gidley.

James Wynne wasn't one of our juniors - we bought him from a Sydney club to play PL - and he was the worst ball hog I've ever seen.

Andrew Johnson looked fantastic at Flegg level - but never grew enough to make it in the seniors.

Brock and Blake Mueller both had fantastic work ethics and were great team men - but they were both a little short of firstgrade standard in size and athletic ability. Both were inspirational juniors.

 

[roopy]

Hinton - in his Flegg year he was the top player by a mile
Uate - has made the seniors after around 20 games of juniors - from zero to hero in a season.
Callan Richardson - only 17 and already scored a try a game for 3 seasons and is our best back in a star studded Flegg side.
Kurt Gidley - tore Flegg to bits for half a season - then tore PL to bits for the other half.
Anthony Quinn/Jermaine Ale (can't split them) - both were unstoppable wrecking balls.
Mullen - our best player when we won the Ball title and our most capped junior rep - and a firstgrade star while still a junior.
Luke Walsh (just ahead of Tyrie) - both have fantastic football brains - Walsh is a better defender.
Trent Esatheo - Inspirational captain and leader of the pack - looked great in firstgrade till he did his knee in his second game and never recovered.
Michael Ennis - at 18 he was scoring a try a game as a hooker in PL
Kade Snowden - the forward with everything
Cory Paterson - killing it in PL
Jacob Ling - our Mark O'Meley
Riley Brown - in his Flegg year he scored at better than a try a game from lock

Anthony Tupou - big and fat, but strong as a bull. He only played 20 minute stints - but smashed everyone in sight when he was on. He could turn a game around in ten minutes.
Adam Woolnough - similar to Tupou in the juniors. A benchie behind Esatheo and Matt Kennedy.
Josh Perry - didn't see him play a junior game, but was deadly in PL at 18.
Todd Lowrie - injured a lot - but had great form in the few games i saw.

 

[K-Man]

I hadn't tought about Estatheo in a while, do you know if he's playing at all, or did he pretty much just retire?

He looked like a real first grader in the few chances he had, I was really disappointed things went the way they did for him.

Did Jarrod O'Doherty come up through the juniors, or was he plucked from the Real NRL? I can still remember an hilarious match when Rabs kept on confusing O'Doherty with Josh Perry on every single hit up, he just couldn't tell the difference (must've been the rough build and haircut, because it couldn't have been the impact of the run)

 

[roopy]

O'Doherty went through our juniors, but before 2000.
He went back to the local comp after an injury, and faught back to be country player of the year - and Hagan picked him up in 2002 I think it was.

 

[roopy]

Other guys I rated - Tighe, Mercer, the Wallace brothers, the Dureau brothers, Berry, Andriessen, Frize, Natusch, Michael Young, Ryan Milligan - I'm sure there were a dozen others who i can't recall now.

 

[CJKnight]

Too bad we are losing Quinn, Lowrie, Vaughn, and Worth next season. They had alot of potential. However, Smith has shown his value by already signing alot of our promising juniors to contracts early.

I forgot to mention Snowden as yet another up-and-coming prop for use along with Dan Tolar. In fact I think both will start off the bench when Smith retires next year and Davico probably the year after.

 

[Bring it home Knights]

estatheo was a stand out in his short career. I remember thinking we may have another paul harragon coming through. But as far as I know he had to retire. Is that a fact?

 

[bluesbreaker]

Wish Kade would hurry up and make a big splash in first grade. Been waiting for years for it.

 

[roopy]

estatheo was a stand out in his short career. I remember thinking we may have another paul harragon coming through. But as far as I know he had to retire. Is that a fact?

he damaged his knee in about his third game of firstgrade and took a whole year to comeback - and did the same knee again in the first tackle he made in a PL game - that was the last we saw of him.

 

[roopy]

2nd best side.

Wooden
Ale
Mercer
Abel
Andrew Johnson
Tighe
Tyrie
Tilse
Berry
Natusch
Lucas Miller
Tanner
Blake Mueller

Damian Frize
Nick Andriessen
Matt Kennedy
Luke Grant

 

[Frederick]

Is Tyrie still running around in the local comp, roops? Or has he given up on league altogether?

 

[roopy]

Is Tyrie still running around in the local comp, roops? Or has he given up on league altogether?

Tony says he has given it away.
I've always thought he should be a coach. He had a great brain for footy and was a uni student - so should be smart enough to handle other aspects of being a coach.

 

[Frederick]

Tony says he has given it away.
I've always thought he should be a coach. He had a great brain for footy and was a uni student - so should be smart enough to handle other aspects of being a coach.

It's a damn shame - that kid was talented. I mean, if a midget like Kimmorley can make it in First Grade, then Tyrie should've been a superstar

 

[Flange]

Johnie Topou is another Knights junior that plays all day and well above his size. JT played NSW U/19s this year along with other knight juniors i.e. Mullo, Walshy, Lingy, Pato, Uate & Cooper. JT (along with Mullo, Walshy, Lingy, Hardman & Schillo) have played together through West Rosellas, Newcastle Rep teams and Knights junior development squads. Keep an eye on him!

 

[Frederick]

Speaking of juniors, I read that Willie Tupou will be back at the club next year, so we'll have 3 of the 4 Tupou boys playing for us...all that's left now is to lure Anthony back, and we'll have the whole family