Thank You, Next
Alright, so I enjoyed writing the last article more than I thought and I noticed that people liked the insights into the Canterbury Cup so I thought I’d provide a bit more detail on some of the players standing out.
There are a handful of players in Reserve Grade who are killing it, who given the opportunity could score big on the NRLCEO front. A lot of them are next-in-line, so following an injury, transfer or a player being dropped, could make their way into First Grade.
Not all are foreign to the NRL landscape – some players can be susceptible to being too good for ISP but not good enough for NRL.
*All stats are used from what’s provided. Stats exclude games where no stats are available so may not be 100% accurate.
Billy Brittain | Hooker | STH
Games: 7
Tries: 3
Workhorses: 11
Try Assists: 5
First drop at hooker for South Sydney is Billy Brittain. I’m not sure where Souths keep pulling these hookers out of, but he looks like a near mould of Damien Cook. He scores tries, sets them up, runs a ton and makes plenty of tackles. Cook isn’t going anywhere based on form, but if injury strikes then Brittain is one to take note of.
Jai Field | Five Eighth / Kicker | STG
Recent Games: 2
Tries: 0
Try Assists: 6
Goals: 10/13
Jai Field seems like he’s too good to be playing Canterbury Cup and with the Dragons spine all but set for the rest of this year and next, it looks like it could be difficult to come into the frame. That said though, the Dragons aren’t afraid of a collapse which could see Field get an opportunity.
Bevan French | Fullback / Wing / Five Eighth | PAR
Games: 5
Tries: 5
Try Assists: 5
French is no stranger to first grade and has managed to find himself in the reserve grade wilderness. Yes, I know we don’t all know French in the halves, but he has been playing in the #6 jumper for Wenty.
The writing seems to be on the wall with Josh Hoffman getting the nod over French for the next winger in line, but with stats like these, it’s hard to imagine he will be out of the frame for the rest of the year.
Bailey Simonsson | Winger / Fullback | CAN
Games: 5
Tries: 8
Try Assists: 4
Simonsson was given a start in round 1 and I think many expected him to play quite a bit to start the season, before Rapana’s miraculous recovery in Round 2. We didn’t get to see much of him in that game, but he still managed to score a try. In the monsoonal weather that the game was played in, it was an impressive start.
Simonsson has been named to replace Rapana who is expected to be out for 2-3 weeks so if you want 3-4 tries in that time, he’s your man to sign.
Andre Niko | Winger / Kicker | CAN
Games: 4
Tries 6
Try Assists: 2
Goals: 22/28
Souths produce hookers and Canberra produce outside backs. Niko was only brought into the side in Round 4 and hasn’t wasted any time scoring an average of 17 points per game. Those aren’t NRLCEO points – they are actual points scored! The Raiders back five seems pretty set. You’d think there would need to be two or three injuries for Niko to get a start, but these are figures you can’t ignore for the future.
There’s another player who I’ll be keeping an eye on this week who I can’t reveal just yet because I can’t risk someone in my competition snapping him up. Pending how he performs, I’ll let everyone know in the coming weeks.
Simon Molnar
Latest posts by Simon Molnar (see all)
- Thank You, Next - May 1, 2019
- Introducing Captain Hindsight - April 24, 2019
