This is the twentieth instalment of 2019 in review. As usual, now the Raiders' season is over - the best for 25 years - we are reviewing all 26 players who pulled on a green jersey in first grade this year. So far, we've looked at Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Nick Cotric, Jarrod Croker, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana, Jack Wighton, Aidan Sezer, Josh Papalii, Josh Hodgson, Sia Soliola, John Bateman, Elliott Whitehead, Joe Tapine, Bailey Simonsson, Emre Guler, Corey Horsburgh, Dunamis Lui, Siliva Havili and Ryan Sutton.
Hudson Young was promoted to the Canberra Raiders top 30 squad for the 2019 season, after impressing in the club's Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup pathway. He started the season with Mounties, before making his NRL debut in Round 3 against the Newcastle Knights. He went on to make 12 appearances in first grade and six for Mounties. He started four games in the second row, and was selected on the interchange bench in the other eight.
It was a controversial debut season for the 21 year old forward, suspended twice for eye gouging. He was suspended for five weeks after an incident in the Round 12 clash with the Bulldogs, involving dangerous contact on Aidan Tolman. He took an early guilty plea rather than risk a seven week ban - though the Raiders had considered seeking a downgrade of the charge. He made his return to football in Round 19 for Mounties, and played three NSW Cup games before being promoted back into first grade for the Round 23 fixture against the Sea Eagles. He was again in strife after an incident involving Adam Pompey in the Round 25 clash with the Warriors. He was sent straight to the judiciary - and despite Pompey testifying that no contact had been made with his eyes, Young was banned for eight games.
The incidents produced considerable debate in the wider rugby league community about the consistency of the NRL match review committee, with Josh McGuire escaping with fines for similar offences. Raiders coach Ricky Stuart described the reactions of some commentators - who called for massive suspensions - as "vicious", particularly given Pompey did not react on field as if he were in any way injured and he was prepared to speak in Young's favour.
However, the bottom line is that there is no place in the game for old fashioned "facials" in 2019 - and Hudson Young will surely have learned that lesson. It remains to be seen whether the NRL will act to overhaul the match review/judiciary process, so as to deliver more consistency.
I rated Young 5.8/10 on average through the season - but his rating for the season overall reflects his time suspended on the sidelines and in "reserve grade". I rated him a "7" in six of his 12 matches. His best match came in the Round 24 clash with the Sharks at Cronulla, when he made 129 running metres, 43 post contact metres, three tackle breaks, one offload, 41 tackles and just one missed tackle in just under 50 minutes. I was possibly a bit harsh in not rating him an "8". He posted points in Fans' Choice Player of the Year voting in the Round 10 clash with the Rabbitohs. In that game he played 80 minutes at second row and made 66 running metres from seven runs, four tackle breaks and 27 tackles.
Young averaged just under 45 minutes on the field, so his statistics reflect his game time. He showed a little more flair than some of the Raiders forwards in attack, with three try involvements, two line breaks and one line break assist - but that was still relatively low. He ranked third for average tackle breaks. He was equal seventh for running metres per carry, alongside Corey Horsburgh - and ahead of Dunamis Lui, Ryan Sutton and Elliott Whitehead. However, his average running metres (52) were amongst the lowest in the Raiders forwards. In defence, he averaged just over 21 tackles per game, ahead of Horsburgh, Lui, Sia Soliola and Siliva Havili. His tackle efficiency rate was relatively low (89 per cent) - not due to his missed tackles, but his ineffective tackles (ranked highest on average for a Raiders forward). His average error count was very low, but he ranked fifth for penalties conceded per match amongst the forwards.
Hudson is still very young for a forward, at age 21, and has great potential... but he's going to have to be more disciplined. Having met him a couple of times, albeit briefly, I believe he's a good young bloke - and he will learn from 2019. There are other parts of his game to improve upon as well. But in his rookie year he showed he has the capacity to become a very good NRL player. I'm keen to see what he can do when he gets back on the field in 2020.
How did you rate Hudson Young's 2019? Tell us below.
Hudson Young's 2019: 4.5/10
2019 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 12
Average minutes: 44.8
Points: 4
Tries: 1
Try assists: 0
Try contributions: 2
Total try involvements: 3
Total kicks: 0
Kick metres: 0
Total runs: 88
All run metres: 735
Average metres per carry: 8.4
Average metres per game: 61
Tackle breaks: 20
Offloads: 3
Line breaks: 2
Line break assists: 1
Tackles: 255
Average tackles per game: 21.3
1 on 1 tackles: 20
Missed tackles: 15
Average missed tackles per game: 1.3
Tackle efficiency: 89 per cent
Try causes: 1
Line break causes: 1
Errors: 3
Penalties conceded: 6
