Every year a new crop of talented rugby league players claw their way to the top and finally make their long-awaited debut in the first grade, a moment they’ve been working towards for many, many years.
Some are lucky enough to grab their opportunity with both hands, gain a foothold on the slippery ladder of success and get their careers underway, while others have only a brief moment in the sun before the realities of professional sport kick in to limit their time in the top grade.
Here’s a team made up of who I think were the best players to crack first grade in 2022.
Details in brackets are the debutant’s club and the number of first-grade games they played in 2022.
1. Sunia Turuva (Penrith Panthers, three matches)
By all reports Turuva is the next big thing at Penrith. He’s already played five games for Fiji and impressed enough at the World Cup to be named in the team of the tournament. Where do Penrith keep finding these gems?
2. Jacob Kiraz (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, 15 matches)
Kiraz represented Lebanon for three years before finally getting his first-grade opportunity last year, and he hasn’t disappointed. The Bulldogs look like they’re onto a winner with this one.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
3. Isaiah Tass (South Sydney Rabbitohs, 16 matches)
Originally from Queensland, Tass has made the Souths left centre position his own since debuting off the bench in Round 6. He must be doing something right, as star wingman Alex Johnston scored 19 tries while playing outside Tass last year.
4. Krystian Mapapalangi (Newcastle Knights, two matches)
It’s only early days yet for this 20-year-old, but the signs are good. He has some good ball skills that may see him finish up closer to the action as he gains experience, and he runs the ball well.
5. Sosefo Fifita (Gold Coast Titans, eight matches)
Keep your eyes on this young flyer. The Titans left side attack should be working to get Jojo into space as often as possible, as there’s no catching him once he gets away.
6. Ezra Mam (Brisbane Broncos, 13 matches)
Mam has been a long-term development project for the Broncos, and it looks like they’ve got this one right as. For a 19-year-old last season, he showed a lot of maturity in his 13 outings for the club. If he gets away to a good start this year, he and Adam Reynolds could forge a very powerful halves combination.
7. Tyran Wishart (Melbourne Storm, 15 matches)
Wishart is a versatile player who can do a job anywhere in the spine. He’s another one who slipped through the Dragons’ fingers.
8. Michael Molo (St George Illawarra Dragons, eight matches)
Molo followed older brother Francis Molo to the Dragons after impressing in the Brisbane competition, and he hasn’t let anyone down. He loves the tough carries.
9. Zac Woolford (Canberra Raiders, 17 matches)
Son of Canberra legend Simon Woolford, the late bloomer has been preferred to the more experienced Tom Starling since making his first-grade debut in Round 10 of 2022.
10. Fonua Pole (Wests Tigers, ten matches)
After debuting as a 20-year-old in 2022, the big fellow hasn’t missed a game for the Tigers, and he won their rookie of the year award in 2022. He’s one player who should benefit from the influx of quality forwards to the club this year.
11. Harrison Edwards (Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, four matches)
One of the few debutant second rowers in 2022, Edwards looked a likely customer in his handful of games for the Dogs towards the end of last season.
12. Zac Hosking (Brisbane Broncos, four matches)
Another son of a gun and a late developer, Hosking put in a couple of good performances when he got his chance with Brisbane. Ivan Cleary also must have liked what he saw, as he brought Hosking to the Panthers this season.
13. Leo Thompson (Newcastle Knights, 16 matches)
The big Kiwi has made a real impression at the Knights since coming off the bench in Round 1 last year, so much so that they have now signed him until the end of 2025. He is both tough and skilful and has impressed in both defence and attack.
14. Soni Luke (Penrith Panthers, four matches)
At 26, the Penrith junior is no spring chicken but has shown enough in his limited starts for the Panthers and his five games for Tonga at the World Cup to suggest that he’ll be a key player in filling the gap left in the Panthers squad following the departure of by Api Koroisau.
(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for RLWC)
15. Lachlan Miller (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, seven matches)
A versatile outside back with speed to burn, Miller has made a strong impression since switching from the dark side. Now off to Newcastle in 2023, he should get his chance to prove himself.
16. Austin Dias (Wests Tigers, eight matches)
Dias is a young giant who tasted victory only once in his eight starts with the Tigers and will be hoping for a better result with his new club Manly in 2023.
17. Alec MacDonald (Melbourne Storm, 12)
MacDonald is a hardworking forward from the Wynnum Manly Seagulls who turned a train-and-trial opportunity last year into a contract to the end of the 2025 season.
So there they are, the 17 young guns who all got their start in 2022 and so far have just 162 games between them.
How will they kick on in 2023?
Panthers
Guest
I would hate to see Penrith get Momirovski or another player like him back to Penrith. As they need to make room for Turuva , Jenkins, Iongi . Then McLean , Hassett , Cole , Ryley Smith etc in the future. I’d rather them get their opportunities at the Panthers, than becoming stars at some other clubs. Even if they have to lose some first graders to achieve that. That’s one thing that I do admire about what Brisbane does with many of the young players. It may not have paid off big time recently, but they don’t mind a player turnover to give new talented players a chance.
Tony
Roar Guru
Cheers mate
jammel
Roar Rookie
Clever article; sound thoughts. Thanks for this
Redcap
Roar Guru
Unless the Storm's had somebody new come through, Wests have the same number of Melbourne juniors in their squad.
Ed Gein
Roar Rookie
Nah, clearly that's in Queensland.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
Fonua Pole. A New Zealand born Tongan who grew up in Melbourne. Can see Freddie getting his NSW eligibility documents deadlined by April.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
With NSWRL taking over country football and the scaling back of some country footballers coming to Sydney and getting in the system can take a long while . Another good example is Isaah Yeo . Some choose to go to Newcastle, Illawarra and Canberra as those areas tend to dominate country football at Senior level . It's that or go to Brisbane where there are less teams and the opportunities slimmer . I'm not sure what the opportunities are like there with feeder clubs but I'm sure someone will know .
Riddler
Guest
Let's hope that the added pressure on NRL talent scouts, imposed by the addition of the Dolphin's leads to some innovative thinking when it comes to scouting and recruiting new playing talent to the game.
Tony
Roar Guru
I'm with you. There's plenty of players just looking for an opportunity
Riddler
Guest
This is why I'm a firm believer in expansion. The naysayers who claim we've got too many teams and not enough players, fail to take into account the number of young talents that for whatever reason fail to shine during their formulative years. But with persistence and opportunities later develop into fantastic first grade players, the prime example is South Sydney Five Eight - Cody Walker who made his first-grade debut at the age of 26. To think how many potential Cody Walkers gave the game away when rejected by talent scouts only looking for the next young 18–20-year-old star.
Tony
Roar Guru
Exactly. If you look through the history of some of these guys they've had to go through multiple clubs just to get an opportunity. So much harder to play first grade these days than say the 1970's, when guys I played with were just plucked from juniors into thirds, and then went all the way to firsts in a year or so.
Nat
Roar Guru
What I like most about this list is the guys who are not ‘young guns’. Woodford, Molo & Luke have kept the dream alive before earning their start. It’s good to see the clubs are looking beyond the u20s to fill their lists.