Towering teenage lock Avery Thomson did a tough self-assessment late last year when he missed two representative selections he had set his heart on.<\/p>\n
The result has been a significant lift in physicality and maturity that has transformed the productivity of the promising 118kg forward.<\/p>\n
His reward was today\u2019s inclusion as a frontline figure in the 30-strong Queensland Under-19s squad to contest the Super Rugby U19s competition that kicks off on September 14.<\/p>\n
Reds Under-19s lock Avery Thomson…big improver with GPS and Reds Academy<\/p>\n
Thomson missed out on a starting spot in the Australian U18s last season and didn\u2019t make the Queensland U19s at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cMissing those two teams was a wake-up call. Physicality was the big work on for me,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy No.1 goal to start this year was earning that first grade position at GPS. To be given the opportunity of a full season of first grade by (coach) Sio (Kite) has been great for my development and confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cStaying on the field free of injury was also on my bingo card.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomson started nine times for GPS and came off the bench in the other seven matches, when stepping up from Colts, to be one of the bright lights in a disappointing season for GPS.<\/p>\n
He must have been eating the right foods or stretching himself in the gym because he jumped that vital centimetre of every young lock\u2019s dreams from 1.99m to 2m.<\/p>\n
“I think Queensland definitely has a well-rounded squad. I think a big difference this year is having a wider group of more than 30 players where everyone is vital. It always allows us 15-on-15 training and we know from experience players need to be called in as a tournament progresses,” Thomson said.<\/p>\n
Thomson will be a key member of this year\u2019s Queensland U19s which includes a core of players hardened by regular rugby against men in the StoreLocal Hospital Cup.<\/p>\n
Sunnybank flyhalf Netani Lesimaikimatuku, a sharp mover who is as hard to tackle as his surname, Norths centre Ryan Heaton, University of Queensland winger-fullback Tom Howard and GPS halfback James Prole are others with valuable first grade experience behind them.<\/p>\n
The Buildcorp Reds Academy has also polished the skills of players like Thomson, Howard, Wests prop Jacob Job and classy Brothers centre Josh Takai.<\/p>\n
Easts winger William Kartelo will be the youngster in the 30-strong squad at just 18. Non-stop Brisbane State High product Trent Picot will also throw himself into his flanker\u2019s role at 18.<\/p>\n
The team will be coached by Cian O\u2019Connor with Simon Craig and Phil Mooney as quality assistants.<\/p>\n
QUEENSLAND UNDER-19s<\/p>\n
Forwards<\/p>\n
Angus Kelly \u2013 University of Queensland<\/p>\n
Avery Thomson \u2013 GPS<\/p>\n
Ben Davis \u2013 Souths<\/p>\n
Harry Solofa \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
Jacob Job \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
Joe Stoddart – Easts<\/p>\n
Keanu Rasch \u2013 Bond University<\/p>\n
Kenneth Harris \u2013 Bond University<\/p>\n
Lucas Oxley \u2013 Souths<\/p>\n
Mattias Agent \u2013 Sunnybank<\/p>\n
Mitchel Waldon \u2013 University of Queensland<\/p>\n
Oliver Aleman \u2013 Norths<\/p>\n
Reuben Downes \u2013 GPS<\/p>\n
Salesi Kali \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
Trent Picot \u2013 Souths<\/p>\n
Will Pascoe \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
Backs<\/p>\n
Charlie Bird \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
David Colaivalu \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
Jackson Hill \u2013 Brothers<\/p>\n
Jackson Jury \u2013 Bond University<\/p>\n
James Prole \u2013 GPS<\/p>\n
Jayden Solien \u2013 Norths<\/p>\n
Josh Takai \u2013 Brothers<\/p>\n
Kiyan Gunewardene \u2013 Sunnybank<\/p>\n
Netani Lesimaikimatuku Sunnybank<\/p>\n
Ryan Heaton \u2013 Norths<\/p>\n
Stanley Keats \u2013 Wests<\/p>\n
Thomas Lambo \u2013 Easts<\/p>\n
Tom Howard \u2013 University of Queensland<\/p>\n
William Kartelo \u2013 Easts<\/p>\n
Shadow Players<\/p>\n
Blaze Moana \u2013 Bond University<\/p>\n
Ilan Cloete \u2013 Easts<\/p>\n
Jake Leck \u2013 Bond University<\/p>\n
Jude Knapp \u2013 GPS<\/p>\n
Preston O’Brien \u2013 Souths<\/p>\n
Viliame Lacudru \u2013 Souths<\/p>\n
Head Coach: Cian O’Connor. Assistant coaches: Simon Craig, Phil Mooney<\/p>\n
DRAW – SUPER RUGBY U19s<\/p>\n
Sunday, September 14:\u00a0Reds vs ACT Brumbies, Ballymore Stadium (1pm kick-off)<\/p>\n
Sunday, September 21: Reds vs NSW Waratahs, Narrabri Rugby Club as part of the Santos Festival of Rugby (1pm kick-off)<\/p>\n
Sunday, September 28: Reds vs Western Force, Palmyra Rugby Club (2:30pm kick-off)<\/p>\n
Sunday, October 5: Grand Final TBC<\/p>\n
(Times all AEST)<\/p>\n
Queensland U16s: To be named on September 26 after KDL Property Group Emerging Reds Cup<\/p>\n
Queensland squad for Super Rugby AUS: To be named on September 2 after StoreLocal Hospital Cup grand final<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Towering teenage lock Avery Thomson did a tough self-assessment late last year when he missed two representative selections…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81353,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,12061,760,85],"class_list":["post-81352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-queensland-reds","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81352"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81352\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}