Player Review: Jayson Bukuya

Player Review: Jayson BUKUYA
Age: 23 | NRL Debut: 2008 | NRL Career Games: 37

2012 Recap:
Started the year on fire - starting most games in the backrow and being amongst Cronulla’s best during their six match winning streak from Round 3-8. He crossed for four tries during that winning streak, and had a season high 10 tackle breaks and 4 offloads in the Round 2 loss to the Knights.
Ran for over 100 metres on four occasions, with his best a 10 run/137 metres performance against the Eels in Round 7 (he scored a try and had 7 tackle breaks as well).
Was called on by his coach Shane Flanagan to play the full 80 minutes in 14 of his 24 games, though his role did reduce at the back end of the campaign.
A good defender with a nose for a hole in the defensive line, Bukuya will have learned a lot in his first full season in the top grade.

2012 STATISTICS:
Games: 24
Tries: 4
Assists: 2
Runs/Metres: 9.9 for 77.7m per game
Tackles: 24.1 per game
Line Breaks: 5
Line Break Assists: 1
Tackle Breaks: 58
Offloads: 11
DT Points: 818 @ 35.6 ppg

What games did you think Jayson Bukuya stood out in this past season? Let us know in the comments below.

2013 Prospects:
At his best playing on an edge but there are a number of Cronulla backrowers that fit that bill in 2013. Faces competition for a starting spot from Wade Graham, Chris Heighington, Anthony Tupou and Luke Lewis - and that’s the best case scenario should Paul Gallen be moved to the front row. But there’s always the option of playing him a little wider in the centres...

Next Up: Paul Gallen.