Having read through the forum post-game, I couldn't agree more that
Laban has stepped up (including on D, which was something he struggled a bit with last year in Cup / NZA) and he is definitely an exciting prospect on our edges. However, I was surprised to see that there was only a few comments on
Halasima - who I thought was outstanding, albeit mostly against Cup players.
I am not going to go into, and nor do I think it is fair to go into, who is the
most exciting prospect - but I thought
Leka showed real promise yesterday given he is still only 18 years old... the bloke can still play SG Ball! I thought his carries were excellent (as some noted, he just moves differently - his strength / centre of balance is uncanny for his age) and his technique on D was pretty on point. That being said, he is only 18yo, so they should keep him away from FG this year with a view to giving him a full year in Cup to further hone his craft before unleashing him in 2025 - unless, of course, he carves up in Cup for the first half of the season (i.e., at least 8-9 exceptional games).
Exciting times for this year and beyond with a very talented crop of juniors coming through. Looking forward to seeing what the second trial brings as the excitement for round 1 builds!