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In last year\u2019s match, several standout performers wasted little time making their mark in the NRL with Cooper Bai, Cooper Clarke, Phillip Coates, Jordan Uta and Zane Harrison all going on to make their first-grade debuts.<\/p>\n
Now, a new breed of emerging talents is looking to follow in their footsteps.<\/p>\n
One of these players is North Queensland Cowboys youngster Archie Mesritz, who has earned his opportunity following a standout 12 months with the Townsville Blackhawks and at St Joseph\u2019s Nudgee College.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty crazy (representing the Blues). There are a lot of quality players in this team and being from Queensland, you feel like you\u2019re sort of on the outer,\u201d Mesritz told foxsports.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut the boys have been very good since I\u2019ve come in, so it\u2019s been great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got called by our recruitment guy from the Cowboys and I was just shocked to be honest. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting it, especially with the quality in New South Wales so I was just shocked basically.\u201d<\/p>\n
Under 21 game between NQ Cowboys and Gold Coast Titans at Jack Manski Oval. Cowboys Archie Mesritz. Picture: Evan MorganSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Contracted with the Cowboys for another three seasons in a deal that will see him transition into the club\u2019s NRL squad, Mesritz\u2019s journey to the Under-19s Origin arena has been anything but straightforward.<\/p>\n
Starting out with the Kincumber Colts in the Central Coast region, he made the bold decision to depart New South Wales and relocate to Queensland by himself in Year 10 to attend the famed St Joseph\u2019s Nudgee College in Brisbane\u2019s north.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sort of moved up on my own. It\u2019s what I wanted to do,\u201d Mesritz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI begged my mum and dad a couple of times and it was tough at the start but you find your way a little bit. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou find your group of mates, especially being in boarding, you\u2019re with each other every second of every day, so I loved my time there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Townsville Blackhawks against Sunshine Coast Falcons. Mal Meninga Cup (U19s) at Brothers Leagues Club. Archie Mesritz. Picture: Evan MorganSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
The move proved to be a defining moment in his development as a player as he took his game to new heights and was named in last year\u2019s Under-18s Australian Wallabies side alongside former NRL prospects Chayse Geros and Heinz Lemoto.<\/p>\n
Despite helping lead Nudgee College to their fourth-straight premiership, in which they scored a record-breaking 417 points, the former fly-half found himself overlooked by Super Rugby clubs.<\/p>\n
However, his stellar campaign caught the attention of Cowboys recruitment manager Clint Zammit, who recognised his potential and signed him to the club\u2019s Young Guns program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to play schoolboy rugby. Our school is very big and our students would come to the game and support,\u201d the youngster continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t always union after school. I sort of was just weighing up my options, but if it was union, I\u2019d be happy with that as well, but I\u2019m loving league at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to Nudgee in Year 10 to play rugby union, then, sort of by Year 12, I did a bit better than I thought I would.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then I was lucky enough to get a chance in Townsville, so I moved up there in November after school was done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Archie Mesritz for Nudgee as Toowoomba Grammar School First XV host Nudgee College First XV in GPS Rugby round 8 at TGS, Saturday, September 6, 2025. Picture: Kevin FarmerSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Recruited into the Cowboys system, he has only been at the club for the past four months, but has shown his talents in both the Mal Meninga Cup and the NRLQ competition.<\/p>\n
Impressing coaches with his ability in the back-line, the teenager thought that he was brought in as a halfback, but he has quickly transitioned to fullback, where his running game, speed and silky footwork have allowed him to flourish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played for the Kincumber Colts. I\u2019ve always played both, played union for the Avoca Sharks, but coming from school, I was probably more in my own head about it,\u201d Mesritz said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe club was really good about making everything simpler. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought I was going to be in the halves, but they want me as a fullback and I\u2019m glad they did because I enjoy that position and they\u2019ve just simplified the game. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve still got a thousand things to work on. The club\u2019s been awesome\u201d<\/p>\n
Under 21 game between NQ Cowboys and Gold Coast Titans at Jack Manski Oval. Cowboys Archie Mesritz and Titans Josiah Clifford. Picture: Evan MorganSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
Growing up as a Parramatta Eels supporter who idolised superstar fullback, Jarryd Hayne, he is not only looking forward to representing New South Wales but also remains focused on the long-term goal of making his NRL debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would mean a lot, especially for them to take a chance on me and give me those opportunities, it\u2019s very cool,<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd to debut would be everything, basically. It\u2019s all you ever dream of so to get it done would be pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Preparing to run out for the Blues on Thursday, he will do so in front of his parents who have been a constant source of support throughout and his journey and his older brother.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been massive and sacrificed a lot to get me up to school, which was probably the biggest change of my life, but for the better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve done everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The annual Under-19s State of Origin match has arrived and with it comes another chance for fans to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479907,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-479906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}