Sam Talakai to captain McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City in 2016 Buildcorp National Rugby Championship
St.George Queensland Reds prop Sam Talakai will captain defending champions McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City in the 2016 season of the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship (NRC).
Queensland Rugby Union today announced Brisbane City’s squad for the third instalment of the NRC, featuring 16 players with Super Rugby experience (including five capped Test players) and 18 players plucked from BLK Queensland Premier Rugby. The side also features 19 returning players from last year’s championship-winning squad.
All nine of Queensland’s Premier Rugby clubs feature in the squad, with recent Hospital Cup winners Brothers having the most representation with seven.
This will be Talakai’s third run in the NRC, after the prop made the move north from Sydney ahead of the 2014 season. His performances that year earned him a contract with the Reds and he made his Super Rugby debut the following year.
He is joined in the squad by Reds teammates Pettowa Paraka, Andrew Ready, Lukhan Tui, Michael Gunn, Leroy Houston, Nick Frisby, Kane Douglas, Jake McIntyre, Samu Kerevi, Karmichael Hunt and Chris Kuridrani.
Brisbane City coach Rod Seib said: “We’re fortunate that the nucleus of the squad is from the previous two years, so we won’t be starting from scratch. The guys have an understanding of our expectations around culture and performance and Sam Talakai will be a great leader in that regard. He’s been around the team for the last two seasons and also has that Super Rugby experience.
“It’s also really exciting to bring in guys who have performed well at club level and give them an opportunity because that’s what the NRC is all about. The players now have that opportunity to showcase what they can do.”
Talakai said he felt privileged to lead Brisbane City, after getting his first big opportunity with the team back in 2014.
“I’m extremely proud to be Brisbane City captain. It all started when I first came up here for the NRC and the guys were really welcoming and I felt like a part of the team as soon as I got here. I feel very honoured to be able to lead the boys this season.
“The NRC is a very special opportunity. I moved to Brisbane for a chance to play some Rugby and it was really good for me. It’s great to come back to it after the Super Rugby season because it feels like home.
“What we built in the first two years was pretty special. We’ve got a good core of players from those years and we want to keep building on that success.”
Now entering its third year, the NRC is an exciting domestic Rugby competition featuring eight teams from across the country, including two from Queensland. It is an attacking brand of Rugby, with six points for a try and only two points for conversions and penalties.
This year’s fixtures have also been shifted to family friendly times, with all but one of the regular season games played at either 1:00pm or 3:00pm AEST on Saturday and Sunday.
In a new development for 2016, FOX SPORTS will broadcast two games each weekend on television with the two remaining games available to stream LIVE via foxsports.com.au and FOX SPORTS Now via Apple TV – meaning fans will be able to watch every single game from the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship for the second season in succession.
Tickets and corporate hospitality for Queensland-based NRC games are now available at www.redsrugby.com.au.
| 2016 McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City squad | |||
| Name | Age | Club | Representative honours |
| Props | |||
| Feao Fotuaika | 23 | Sunnybank | Queensland Country NRC (2014), Brisbane City NRC (2015) |
| Tonga Ma’afu | 24 | University of Queensland | Queensland Country NRC (2014-2015), Queensland Schoolboys (2009-2010) |
| Sam Talakai (C) | 24 | Brothers | Waratahs v British & Irish Lions (2013), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Queensland (2015-) |
| Pettowa Paraka | 22 | Easts | Queensland Schoolboys, Australian Schoolboys, Reds Under 20s, Reds A, Australian Under 20s, Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Queensland (2015-) |
| Markus Vanzati | 21 | Souths | Queensland Schoolboys (2012), Reds Under-20s (2015), Brisbane City (2015-) |
| Hookers | |||
| Matt Mafi | 25 | Brothers | Australian Schoolboys (2008), Queensland Schoolboys (2010), Australia A Schoolboys (2010), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Queensland (2016-) |
| Andrew Ready | 23 | Easts | Australian Under 20s (2013), Reds A (2013-2014), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Queensland (2015-) |
| Locks | |||
| Kane Douglas | 27 | Norths | Australian Under 20s (2009), Wallabies (2012-), Rugby World Cup (2015), Queensland (2016) |
| David Findlay-Henaway | 22 | Brothers | Queensland Under 20s (2014) |
| Jeremiah Lynch | 22 | Wests | |
| Brendan Mitchell | 23 | Sunnybank | Queensland Schoolboys (2010) |
| Lukhan Tui | Brothers | Australian Under 20s (2015-2016), Queensland Under 20s (2016), Queensland (2016) | |
| Backrowers | |||
| Luke Beauchamp | 23 | Brothers | Queensland Schoolboys (2009), Australian Under-19 Academy (2011), Melbourne Rebels (2012), Queensland Country NRC (2014), Reds A (2014), Brisbane City NRC (2015) |
| Jack DeGuingand | 24 | University of Queensland | Victorian, Combined States & Australian Schoolboys (2009), Australian Universities (2012), Queensland Country NRC (2014) |
| Michael Gunn | 21 | Easts | Queensland Schoolboys (2012), Australian Schoolboys (2012), Reds Under 20s (2014-2015), Reds A (2014), Brisbane City NRC (2014), Queensland (2015-) |
| Leroy Houston | 29 | Wests | Australian Under 19s (2006), Australian Under 21s (2007), Queensland (2008-2011, 2016), Australia A (2010) |
| Isi Naisarani | 21 | Souths | |
| Tuaina Tualima | 19 | Sunnybank | Queensland Under 20s (2016), Queensland Schoolboys (2014), Queensland Sevens (2015), Australian Schoolboys (2014) |
| Criff Tupou | 26 | Brothers | Brisbane City (2015) |
| Scrumhalves | |||
| Nick Frisby | 23 | GPS | Australian Under 20s (2012), Queensland (2012-), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Wallabies (2016) |
| Harry Nucifora | 19 | Bond University | Queensland Country NRC (2015), Queensland Under 20s (2015-2016), Australian Under 20s (2015-2016) |
| Moses Sorovi | 20 | University of Queensland | Australian Schoolboys (2013), Queensland Schoolboys (2013), Queensland U18 Indigenous (2013), Queensland Under 20s (2016), Brisbane City (2015) |
| Flyhalves | |||
| Jake McIntyre | 22 | Sunnybank | Australian Schoolboys (2011-2012), NSW Schoolboys (2012), Reds Under 20s (2014), Reds A (2014), Australian Under 20s (2014), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Queensland (2015-) |
| Jake Strachan | 19 | Sunnybank | Queensland Under 20s (2015) |
| Centres | |||
| Levi Aumua | 21 | Souths | Queensland Under 20s (2014), Australian Under 20s |
| Samu Kerevi | 22 | GPS | Queensland Schoolboys (2011), Fiji Under 20s (2012), Queensland (2014-), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Wallabies (2016) |
| Nathan Russell | 19 | University of Queensland | Queensland Schoolboys (2013) |
| Toby White | 26 | Easts | Brisbane City (2014, 2015) |
| Outside backs | |||
| Alex Gibbon | 23 | Norths | NSW Country (2013), Australian Sevens (2013-2015), Queensland (2016), Brisbane City NRC (2015) |
| Karmichael Hunt | 29 | Norths | Queensland State of Origin RL (2006-2009), Kangaroos RL (2006-2008), Queensland (2015-), Brisbane City NRC (2015) |
| Patrick James | 21 | Brothers | Brisbane City NRC (2015), Queensland Under 20s (2014-2015) |
| Chris Kuridrani | 24 | GPS | Fiji Under 20s (2010), Australian Under 20s (2011), Queensland (2014-), Brisbane City NRC (2014-) |
| Brad Lacey | 22 | Wests Scarborough | Australian Under 20s (2013-2014) |
| Junior Laloifi | 21 | Sunnybank | Victorian Schoolboys (2012), Australia A Schoolboys (2012), Australian Sevens (2012), Brisbane City NRC (2014-), Queensland (2016) |
McInnes Wilson Lawyers Brisbane City team staff
Rod Seib (Sunnybank) – Head coach
Shane Arnold (GPS) – Assistant coach (defence)
Anthony Mathison (Brothers) – Assistant coach (forwards)
Henry Gilbert (QRU) – Head of physical preparation
Ian Ross (Souths) – Head physiotherapist
Peter Stickler (GPS) – Team doctor
Liam Gooley (QRU) – Team analyst
Michael Grice (ARU) – Team manager
Tom Kennedy (QRU) – Media manager
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