This is the twenty third 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, Ryan Sutton, Hudson Young, Sam Williams and Michael Oldfield.
Sebastian Kris, aged 20, is a Canberra Raiders junior, coming through the ranks from the Valley Dragons. He was part of the NSW Blues Under 18s team in 2017 - and a development player in 2018 at the Raiders. He was promoted to the top 30 squad this year, and he made his NRL debut from the bench in the Round 10 clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Canberra Stadium. He waited 75 minutes on the bench, before being introduced to first grade. After his five minutes on the field, he came off missing half a tooth.
"I just pulled my mouthguard out and there it was, just sitting there, so I put it back in to make sure I didn't lose it," Kris said at the time. "I did it previously, but it's just comes out again. To be honest I don't know when it was, it was that fast and that tough, I didn't really recognise it until the end of the game."
"It gives me a lot of confidence actually. I believe in myself a lot more now I know I can come out here and actually do it," Kris said.
He went on to play a total of four first grade games, with two at centre and one on the wing.
I rated him an average of 5.3/10 for his four games, with his overall rating reflecting his low number of first grade games. His best game was the Round 12 win over the Bulldogs, when I rated him a "7". In that match he scored a try, and produced 10 runs for 87 metres, 25 post contract metres and 30 tackles. Three tries in four games was a pretty good strike rate, particularly for a rookie. His averages were impacted by the fact he only played five minutes in that first match, but it is worth noting his tackle efficiency rate (88 per cent) was the best of any of the Raiders' backs.
Kris played 17 games in NSW Cup for Mounties, with one on the wing and the remainder at centre, He scored five tries and averaged 94 running metres, 55 kick return metres, 14 tackles and 1.2 missed tackles per game. He also produced five line breaks and four tackle breaks. His tackle efficiency rate in NSW Cup was 86 per cent.
Kris is a player with very good potential, though he's probably developed more slowly than I thought he might, given the dominance of some of his performances at junior level. He'll be working on his consistency and involvement rates - and he's got his work cut out for him in 2020, because the Raiders now have considerable depth in the outside backs. But now he has dipped his toe in the water, I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do next season.
How did you rate Sebastian Kris's 2019? Tell us below.
Sebastian Kris's 2019: 3/10
2019 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 4
Average minutes: 61
Points: 12
Tries: 3
Try assists: 0
Try contributions: 3
Total try involvements: 3
Total kicks: 0
Kick metres: 0
Total runs: 32
All run metres: 266
Average metres per carry: 8.3
Average metres per game: 66
Tackle breaks: 1
Offloads: 0
Line breaks: 0
Line break assists: 0
Tackles: 38
Average tackles per game: 9.5
1 on 1 tackles: 2
Missed tackles: 2
Average missed tackles per game: 0.5
Tackle efficiency: 88 per cent
Try causes: 1
Line break causes: 1
Errors: 0
Penalties conceded: 0
