General Warriors Harold Matthews 2025

[Leon Black]

Do you have concern about Bishops work rate? He's an absolute weapon, but I'm not sure if his style of play as it is now will be enough as he goes up the grades. He just seems to lack something, i can't quite put my finger on it, but it ain't physical size or ability.

He’s played some bigger minutes last month. He will be fitter and stronger the higher up he goes and develops.

I think he’ll be a beast, seen some young guns, he has aggression, skill and is a confident composed kid.

 

[Leon Black]

Lemana is a star in the making! What a beast that kid is.
Hinckley has impressed me every game ive seen him play. And Bishop Neal , Lucian Mikaele are impressive. Giant kids with good footwork. Bishop is a Freak

A lot of Aussie clubs are after Mikaele. Ioka can play anywhere — he’s skilled and a freakish talent.

Young Hansen is a very skilled, tough little bugger who could make an excellent 13 if he continues to develop.

As for Bishop and Lemana, the sky’s the limit if they stay humble and work their asses off.

 

[Falcon]

Do you have concern about Bishops work rate? He's an absolute weapon, but I'm not sure if his style of play as it is now will be enough as he goes up the grades. He just seems to lack something, i can't quite put my finger on it, but it ain't physical size or ability.

The next few years will be a good barometer as the opposition get older and bigger.
I think what you are touching on is - being a little lighter on his feet. It will come with speed training and refining weights and nutrition programmes as he is still only 17.

 

[Noitall]

Smart ass Souths fullback passes to touch judge and that’s all she wrote. Congrats to TJ and the boys

Slow scrum packs from souths last seconds balls gone forward kn edge.
Warriors into grand final 28 8 well done our juniors future look bright.

Thanks for the updates.

A lot of Aussie clubs are after Mikaele. Ioka can play anywhere — he’s skilled and a freakish talent.

Young Hansen is a very skilled, tough little bugger who could make an excellent 13 if he continues to develop.

As for Bishop and Lemana, the sky’s the limit if they stay humble and work their asses off.

Reading the updates from you guys, it sounds like Ronan Byford is a good prospect too?

 

[Theking267]

I think Neal will probably go back to school try to a win a third national high school competition with St Thomas. Next year will be a challenge to play 3 grades of footy in a year will probably be the making of him. It will be interesting to see what they do with Lemana & Ratcliffe next year. Lemana did play centre last year in the HM. Or they could play Ratcliffe in JF next year at fullback so Lemana can play full back in SG Ball. Eventually though they are going to have to make a decision between the 2.

 

[Viking]

This year's SG Ball team didn't "suck" - SG Ball is a tough competition and is a massive step up from Harold Matts. The quality of player across the SG Ball comp is higher overall given the greater focus on the technical elements of the game. This is compared to Harold Matts where, in a lot of cases, size / physicality is often sufficient for success in the grade - this doesn't mean that is all that is required, and our young players are being coached very well by TJ and the team to develop the finer points of the game, but at SG Ball level, most players are well versed in those technical elements. Our development pathways are still developing, and we're putting together the pieces of that puzzle across all grades. Next year's SG Ball side (and the player's from this year's side) will be better off due to the adversity faced this season.

Our 2025 SG Ball team also had a number of injuries (not an excuse for results, but a reality) - including injuries to key Harold Matts players from last year, such as Jack Thompson and Lennox Tuiloma.

In terms of the first part of your question, not all Harold Matts (17s) kids from one year will play SG Ball (19s) next year. Each squad will have some kids who are a year younger so that they will play two years in the grade - for example, Tyson Hansen played a second year of Harold Matts this year and Hiraka the same in SG Ball. This helps to build some consistency and avoid a complete squad turnover year to year. Of this year's crop of Harold Matts, some will stay on (not sure which are 16s), some will make the SG Ball squad, some (hopefully not many) will take opportunities at other clubs and the rest will play club footy in 2026 with a view to being selected in the SG Ball squad for 2027.

Nailed it.

 

[BangBro's (still banging)]

I hope TJ gets the SG ball team next year, that would be good progression for him.

 

[Five&Last]

I think Neal will probably go back to school try to a win a third national high school competition with St Thomas. Next year will be a challenge to play 3 grades of footy in a year will probably be the making of him. It will be interesting to see what they do with Lemana & Ratcliffe next year. Lemana did play centre last year in the HM. Or they could play Ratcliffe in JF next year at fullback so Lemana can play full back in SG Ball. Eventually though they are going to have to make a decision between the 2.

Hopefully they just fly him around with the Flegg team this year. Give him 20-30min off the bench each week. Would be far more beneficial than playing school footy.

Lemana vs Ratcliffe will be interesting one next year in SG ball. I think Lemana is the superior talent. But Ratcliffe is less versatile and can't see him playing anywhere other than fullback.

 

[The Warrior Waka]

Lemana vs Ratcliffe will be interesting one next year in SG ball. I think Lemana is the superior talent. But Ratcliffe is less versatile and can't see him playing anywhere other than fullback.

Lemana reminds me of Motu Pasikala. Eerily similar in build, height & playing style. Speaking of Pasikala, What has happened to this kid? Haven't seen him in any wahs teams ?

 

[ndp26]

Our U19 age group of players weren't very good, there was only really one injury to that group in Augustino Filipo the rest were fit but just not good enough really. I don't see any of that group as definites to kick on to bigger things, in the maybe bucket I'd put (in order) Hiraka Waitai-Haenga, Connor Bowden, Paea Sikuvea, Tepatasi Laumalili (if he can keep his weight down), and Kahu Capper. The rest I'd probably write off.

Its only a large step up for our U18 group who were champions last year in the U17 comp. Some of those guys were good you could tell the difference in age. i.e. Ratcliffe, Davidson-Faaiuaso, Afoa and Militoni.

On top of that they were poorly coached, the Australian guy, can't remember his name, but he can't have been up to much. One of the most disorganized teams I've seen on the paddock.

The talent pool in this year's SG Ball side might not have been what you expected - and everyone is entitled to their opinion - but to say they "suck" or "write them off" is pretty rough for a bunch of (ultimately) kids plying their trade in rugby league...

The success of a football club isn't defined solely by the 17 blokes playing first grade in any given week, its the whole club and the pathways within it - as evidenced by Penrith's run (as well as, to some extent, our more recent success). We're going to need players in our NSW Cup side, we're going to need Flegg players and we need strong local footy teams/comps to boost the quality of our player pool. Will all of our 2025 SG Ball side play NRL - probably not, but realistically only a small handful of most SG Ball sides will. There is talent within that squad (including outside of those kids you mentioned) - one less than ideal season results-wise shouldn't define any football player, and I'm sure they'll all learn from a pretty challenging year in terms of results. For example, Maui has a lot of attributes that suggest he could be at the club for a long time - does he have the skill/x-factor to play NRL, perhaps or perhaps not, but he looks to be be a great clubman who could (at least) be the mainstay of our Cup side for years to come having already played a number of Flegg games while still eligible for SG Ball (13 in 2024, one fewer than Filipo).

Our pathways teams are on the right track in what are tough competitions - the two Harold Matts teams have exceeded all expectations (and will hopefully go back-to-back on Saturday), and the SG Ball and Jersey Flegg sides will continue to improve as the players/coaches/club learn what it takes to match it with pathways teams from Aussie clubs. As our pathways teams continue develop, our Cup side will only get stronger and this will no doubt see more homegrown talent flow into the first grade side (as well as, unfortunately, more Warriors juniors popping up at other clubs).

On the coaching point - the SG Ball coach is a Kiwi (all three of our main pathways sides have Kiwi head coaches). The results won't have been what he wanted, but result aren't the sole focus of pathways coaches, they're there to develop players. SG Ball is a tough competition and I don't think we can judge a pathways coach based on a handful of games (even fewer than a club footy season!). I don't know your coaching CV/resume, so can't really comment on it, but I think I'll put my trust in Cappy on this one given he's responsible for pathways - including coaching - at the club. If you think you could have done a better job, then perhaps you should have thrown your hat in the ring...

One thing I think we can agree on though is that we'll expect the SG Ball side to be better in 2026 as a result of this year's campaign and the talent + development of the Harold Matts squads over the past two years.

(To pull it right back on topic) Best of luck to the Harold Matts side on Saturday - hopefully they can do it again!!

 

[Five&Last]

The talent pool in this year's SG Ball side might not have been what you expected - and everyone is entitled to their opinion - but to say they "suck" or "write them off" is pretty rough for a bunch of (ultimately) kids plying their trade in rugby league...

The success of a football club isn't defined solely by the 17 blokes playing first grade in any given week, its the whole club and the pathways within it - as evidenced by Penrith's run (as well as, to some extent, our more recent success). We're going to need players in our NSW Cup side, we're going to need Flegg players and we need strong local footy teams/comps to boost the quality of our player pool. Will all of our 2025 SG Ball side play NRL - probably not, but realistically only a small handful of most SG Ball sides will. There is talent within that squad (including outside of those kids you mentioned) - one less than ideal season results-wise shouldn't define any football player, and I'm sure they'll all learn from a pretty challenging year in terms of results. For example, Maui has a lot of attributes that suggest he could be at the club for a long time - does he have the skill/x-factor to play NRL, perhaps or perhaps not, but he looks to be be a great clubman who could (at least) be the mainstay of our Cup side for years to come having already played a number of Flegg games while still eligible for SG Ball (13 in 2024, one fewer than Filipo).

Our pathways teams are on the right track in what are tough competitions - the two Harold Matts teams have exceeded all expectations (and will hopefully go back-to-back on Saturday), and the SG Ball and Jersey Flegg sides will continue to improve as the players/coaches/club learn what it takes to match it with pathways teams from Aussie clubs. As our pathways teams continue develop, our Cup side will only get stronger and this will no doubt see more homegrown talent flow into the first grade side (as well as, unfortunately, more Warriors juniors popping up at other clubs).

On the coaching point - the SG Ball coach is a Kiwi (all three of our main pathways sides have Kiwi head coaches). The results won't have been what he wanted, but result aren't the sole focus of pathways coaches, they're there to develop players. SG Ball is a tough competition and I don't think we can judge a pathways coach based on a handful of games (even fewer than a club footy season!). I don't know your coaching CV/resume, so can't really comment on it, but I think I'll put my trust in Cappy on this one given he's responsible for pathways - including coaching - at the club. If you think you could have done a better job, then perhaps you should have thrown your hat in the ring...

One thing I think we can agree on though is that we'll expect the SG Ball side to be better in 2026 as a result of this year's campaign and the talent + development of the Harold Matts squads over the past two years.

(To pull it right back on topic) Best of luck to the Harold Matts side on Saturday - hopefully they can do it again!!

Okay to start I never said any player "sucked"

I'm gonna have to disagree on your assessment on Maui. I don't mean that disrespectfully, I just don't see anything from him that suggests he will be NRL player. It's not quite that easy to just become a clubman and mainstay in a NSW cup side as a half. There's usually four top 30 halves, which means two will be starting in NSW cup when fully healthy (i.e. TMM and Boyd) plus there will be younger halves the club will want to give opportunities to in cup, i.e. Cleary, T Hansen, Thompson, Tusa Soagia etc etc. His best bet after Flegg is probably aligning himself with a QLD cup side that has no NRL contracted halves then maybe catching the eye of an NRL team in his mid twenties

The point of a NSW cup side is to have guys who are NRL contracted or being developed as future NRL players. Even fringe NRL contract guys like MGT, he was an absolute stud in SG ball. The only other guys that fit that bill are Doyle and Going.

It's okay to say that this group of U19 players wasn't very good or below expectations or that you don't think there's any future NRL players (again I'm not including last years Harold Matts in this statement)

I'm not sure where the controversy in that lies. They are kids, but they're not exempt from criticism. I'm sure we will all forget about this pretty quickly anyway.

 

[run_it_str8_again]

Do you have concern about Bishops work rate? He's an absolute weapon, but I'm not sure if his style of play as it is now will be enough as he goes up the grades. He just seems to lack something, i can't quite put my finger on it, but it ain't physical size or ability.

He's still a pup. No need to place world beater expectations on him yet. Let him develop at a slow pace so he can learn the things he's lacking which is endurance, maturity, job description, professionalism. Shit I still don't have most of those things