The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Junior Kangaroos and Kiwis impress in under-20s Test

Expert
6th May, 2015
0

One of the games on the NRL’s representative weekend was the under-20s Test match between the Junior Kangaroos and the Junior Kiwis. It was won by the Kangaroos by two points but was a very high quality game and there were plenty of players that put their names out there.

First up, the future of Rugby League looks to be in both hands. None of the players looked to have been out there to make up the numbers.

Everyone played a part in their country’s game plan, which made for a free flowing entertaining game. Some of the skills on display were freakish.

Looking at the Australian team and let’s start with the halves. Neither Drew Hutchinson (St George Illawarra Dragons) or Ashley Taylor (Brisbane Broncos) have played first grade before but neither of them will be far away.

Hutchinson needs to work on certain elements of his decision making, but his passing game is exceptional. He has a very good long ball and can hit the short ball with the best of them. He takes on the line enough so if he can improve his kicking game he will be making his mark on the NRL very soon.

Taylor meanwhile has it all. Kicking game, passing game, decision making. From the Broncos point-of-view he is not a player they want to let slip through their grasp by not getting him a run in first grade.

He also has exceptional speed chasing down two intercepts from the Junior Kiwis when he was nowhere in sight as the intercept was made. He is a massive prospect for the future.

At fullback was Jackson Hastings of the Sydney Roosters. Apart from one mistake under the high ball that led to a try for the Kiwis he had an exceptional game.

Advertisement

He has big wraps from many and backed up a solid effort in the Auckland Nines with a good game on Saturday afternoon. He added spark in attack and apart from that single error was sound at the defensive end.

The Australian second row also was very impressive. We already know of the skill that Tepai Moeroa (Eels) possesses due to his games in first grade. He will be back there soon, no doubt about it after spending some time in New South Wales Cup recently due to a shoulder injury he sustained.

Two of the others in Coen Hess of the North Queensland Cowboys and Jai Arrow of the Brisbane Broncos performed incredibly well.

Both ran the ball hard and tackled hard. Arrow was particularly dominant in the games early exchanges after being brought into the starting side at the last minute. He made plenty of half breaks and had the New Zealand defence scrambling on a number of occasions.

Hess meanwhile runs the ball hard and created a number of opportunities with his passing and offloading game for the Kangaroos. It would seem that both have massive futures in the NRL ahead of them.

Moving onto look at the New Zealand team and let’s start with the halves.

Zach Dockar Clay is a little bit more well-known but his half partner was probably New Zealand’s best player.

Advertisement

Te Maire Martin of the Wests Tigers seems to be the real deal. He has the footwork, killer acceleration and speed, kicking game, ability to control a team and field vision that has been seen on few under-20s players.

Watch out for this name in a few years time, because he should be taking the NRL by storm. Unfortunately it would appear he will need to make a move away from the Tigers to get a crack at the big time because he is currently behind Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses in the halves.

Despite being placed on report another player that stood out for me was front rower Nelson Asofa Solomona. The front rower who is close to cracking first grade at the Melbourne Storm was epic for the Junior Kiwis making big run after big run and putting some big hits on in defence.

He is solid and has very good ball skills for a big man, so its only a matter of time before he makes his mark.

The other player who really stood out for the Junior Kiwis was their hooker Sione Katoa (Panthers). He was electric out of dummy half running the ball a lot but always picking the right time to run it making a lot of metres every single time. His defence was first class and decision making seemed to be right up there.

From a fans point of view, the future of the game is in safe hands in both Australia and New Zealand with so many young exciting players coming through the ranks. The junior test match really was one of the highlights of the NRL’s representative round.

Match Summary: Junior Kangaroos 22 (Tries: Brenko Lee, Robert Jennings, Valentine Holmes, Tepai Moeroa ; Goals: Jackson Hastings 2/3, Valentine Holmes 1/1, Ashley Taylor 0/1) defeat Junior Kiwis 20 (Tries: Joseph Manu, Te Maire Martin, Watson Heleta, Tony Tumusa ; Goals: Zach Dockar Clay 2/4)

Advertisement
close