Coming off a memorable 2021 which saw him named Junior Representative Player of the Year for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Samuel Stonestreet’s first full season of senior competition was just as strong.
With a previous winners’ list featuring current NRL stars Blayke Brailey, Teig Wilton, Connor Tracey and Chad Townsend, the accolade is a fair indication of what lies ahead for the Sharks’ speedster, who recently started his third NRL pre-season with the first grade squad.
Stonestreet backed up his award-winning season at the junior level with 20 Jersey Flegg Cup matches (four in 2021) and 13 tries, while also pulling on the Newtown Jets jersey to make five appearances in The Knock-On Effect NSW Cup.
Newtown ultimately won the Minor Premiership in the final game of the regular season, but it was Round Nine against the North Sydney Bears where Stonestreet made his biggest impact for the Jets.
In that contest – Stonestreet’s third NSW Cup game – the outside back had his try-scoring exploits well and truly on show at North Sydney Oval, bagging a hat-trick in the Jets’ 40-28 win against the men in red and black.
He went on to finish the Jersey Flegg Cup season with nine try assists, 10 line-breaks, four line-break assists, 27 tackle busts, 11 offloads, and 128 run metres per game.
The Sharks junior doesn’t just have a knack for finding the try-line. His work-rate from the back and sizeable frame makes him hard to handle at the best of times – ticking all the boxes for Rugby League’s modern day winger.
For Sharks fans, the 20-year-old is another local prospect to graduate from the club’s junior pathways like several others in recent years, aspiring to play for Cronulla-Sutherland along with fellow De La Salle teammate Kade Dykes, who made his NRL debut in 2022.
With another year of development under his belt and having already played NSW Cup, Stonestreet is on course for even more success on the football field in 2023.
