Five North Queensland Toyota Cowboys Young Guns players have been elevated to the NRL squad for the 2023 season.
Jodeci Baker-Tiraha, Robert Derby, Tom Duffy, Ragarive Wavik and Jai Hansen join the NRL squad on supplementary contracts, which allow them to train full-time, while sitting outside the club’s Top 30.
The five players join Tom Chester, Jake Bourke and Jordan Lipp, who graduated from the Young Guns to NRL in 2022.
Baker-Tiraha has fought through a torrid two seasons of hamstring injuries. A 19-year-old outside back blessed with blistering speed, Baker-Tiraha came through the Cowboys’ Brisbane Academy before relocating to North Queensland.
Already a PNG international, Derby has the most senior-level experience of the five Young Guns graduates.
A powerful outside back, Derby grew up in Cairns and spent 2022 playing in the Queensland Cup with his hometown team Northern Pride.
He was selected to make his international debut for the Kumuls’ in the mid-year Test against Fiji and was set to feature in the World Cup until an ankle injury struck late in the season.
Born and bred in Townsville, Duffy was selected in the Australian Schoolboys in his final year at Ignatius Park College in 2021.
The 19-year-old halfback starred for the premiership-winning Townsville Blackhawks under 21s in 2022.
A fellow member of the Blackhawks 21s premiership side, Wavik was also an Australian Schoolboy in 2021 coming through the Kirwan State High School system.
The 19-year-old spent the majority of his junior football in the halves, but thrived upon a shift to the centres in 2022.
A product of Calliope in Central Queensland, Hansen came through the Cowboys Rockhampton Academy while attending The Cathedral College.
A crafty hooker, Hansen had a brief taste of NRL level through a training block with Todd Payten’s squad in the 2022 pre-season.
