Junior Development

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Ryder Williams will make his first appearance in a Titans jersey when he starts at five eight for the Titans JTS U16 squad that took on a Northern Rivers Titans U17 squad at Cbus Stadium as a curtain-raiser to the Titans NRL Round Fourteen against the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs.

The young halfback from the Marist Saints Rugby League Club in Auckland signed a multi-year contract with the Titans in late 2021 which will see the New Zealander contracted to the Titans until the end of the 2023 rugby league season.

Ryder Williams started at halfback and captain for Tamaki Ki Te Raki (North) in Round Two of the 2022 U16 Shaun Johnson Shield against Northland after Tamaki Te Raki had a Round One bye. Whilst Ryder Williams started the match at halfback he spent the opening minutes of the second half playing in the dummy half role before transitioning back to halfback.

Against Northlands was heavily involved for Tamaki Ki Te Raki (North) as they won 88 – 0 with Ryder Williams kicking seven conversions including a great kick from the left touchline in the 41st minute. Ryder Williams could have had an additional conversion but his 13th minute effort from the right touchline hit the post.

Ryder Williams also threw the final pass to one of Tamaki Ki Te Raki North’s tries in just the 3rd minute when on the left side of the field he took the ball into the Northlands right sided defensive line and threw a good ball to his left to his winger who crashed over out wide.

Then again in the 50th Ryder William threw the final pass for a try when operating on the left Ryder William took the ball to the line and threw a good short ball to his left for his front rower to crash over.

Ryder Williams threw a third final pass for a try in the 55th minute. The move started on the halfway mark with Ryder Williams throwing a cut-out pass to his left to put his right centre away down the left touchline and then Ryder Williams backed up on the inside, getting the ball back, dummying past one defender before off-loading to his left to an unmarked team mate who ran away to score under the posts.

Ryder Williams also put in a good tactical kick from forty metres out in the 44th minute when his right foot kick stopped in the in-goal, being knocked out over the dead ball line by the Northlands fullback, forcing a goal line drop out.

Ryder Williams also started at halfback in Round Three against Tamaki Ki Te Raki (East) with Ryder Williams kicking two conversions as his side qualified for the Grand Final on the back of a 16 – 10 victory.

The 2022 U16 Shaun Johnson Cup saw Ryder Williams kick two conversions from as many attempts in a 20 – 12 loss.

In April 2022 Shaun WIliams played in the 2022 New Zealand Nine’s Championships, and at the competition of the Championships was named in the New Zealand U16 Nines Merit Side after representing Marist Gold in the Championships.

In late April 2022 Ryder Williams received an honourable mention in terms of selection in the 2022 Auckland U16 side due to his unavailability.

In early June 2022 Ryder Williams was named at halfback in the New Zealand Maori Tama U17 All-Tournament Team after playing for Katahitanga in the Tournament.

In 2021 Ryder Williams played for the Marist Saints in the Auckland Rugby League U15 Open competition with the Marist Saints remaining undefeated through their twelve 2021 matches and recording a for and against of in excess of + 300.

Ryder Williams also attended Mt Albert Grammar School in Auckland and also represented Kotahitanga at the 2021 U15 New Zealand Tournament including starting the Tournament Final at five eight.

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Great to see Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga named on the bench tomorrow for the Ormeau Shearers in their GCRL U18 Division One match against Currumbin.

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Ballina Seagulls U14 second rower Harrison Clements also attends the Titans partnered Ballina Coast High School and a couple of weeks ago played for his school in Round One of the NSW CHS Buckley Shield and was one of Ballina Coast High School's try scorers in their tough loss to Mullumbimby High School.

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After moving back to Penrith for a number of seasons it is great to see Matari Donovan back on the Gold Coast with the centre/winger named on the bench for the Currumbin Eagles in their Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One Round Ten match against the Ormeau Shearers.

In 2022 Matari Donovan was a member of the Penrith Panthers U17 Harold Matthews Cup squad, starting on the wing in Round Two against the Cronulla Sharks.

Also in Penrith Matari Donovan represented New South Wales in Oztag.

He is a young centre who starred in his first year on the Gold Coast after moving from the Penrith region of Sydney and was an outstanding attacking force for Burleigh in the GCRL U14 Division One competition in 2019.

For Burleigh in the GCRL U14 Division One regular season competition Matari Donovan played in eleven matches scoring twenty two tries (200% strike rate) including scoring six tries in Round Seven against Helensvale and five more in Round Nine against Currumbin.

Matari Donovan also scored four doubles with those coming against Ormeau twice, Mudgeeraba and Beaudesert. Matari Donovan remaining three regular season tries were scored one each in the opening three rounds against Runaway Bay, Currumbin and Helensvale.

Understandably as a result of the scoring figures noted above Matari Donovan finished the U14 Division One season as the competitions leading try scorer four ahead of his nearest rival being fellow Burleigh centre Kalahni Lawrence.

Matari Donovan also kicked two goals over the course of the regular season with both of those goals coming in Round Seven when he converted two of his own tries against Helensvale when he finished that particular match with an individual point’s haul of twenty eight when you add in his six try haul.

In the match against Helensvale in Round Seven when he scored six tries, Matari Donovan was also afforded the opportunity to convert two of those tries.

Matari Donovan started the GCRL U14 Division One Grand Final on the bench, coming on to play left centre where he was a constant menace and had a second half try assist when he threw a great one arm around the corner pass with his left arm to his left for his winger to have a clear passage to the line.

Matari Donovan also played for PBC in various school boy rugby league competitions in 2019 including starting at right centre and scoring a barnstorming try to put PBC in front in the Year Nine Hancock Cup Grand Final. In the final PBC erased a 12 – 6 half time deficit to win the final 24 – 18 against Coombabah State High School.

In the final Matari Donovan took the ball from the dummy half about ten metres out from the Coombabah State High School line on the right of the play the ball and stormed over dragging three Coombabah defenders with him.

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Titans contracted Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa who is usually a front rower or lock is sent to start at five eight this afternoon for the Southport Tigers in Round Ten of the GCRL U18 Division One competition against the Nerang Roosters.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa has lined up at 5/8 already this season and certainly has the ball playing skills to cause a lot of headaches for the Roosters defence.

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Great to see Titans contracted Will Semu named to make his return from a long term injury in the centres tomorrow night for Marsden SHS in their Round Three Langer Cup School Boy match against Keebra Park SHS.

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Charlie Murray who did a portion of the NRL pre-season with the Titans started from the bench on the weekend for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in Round Eleven of the Queensland Cup against the Ipswich Jets with Charlie Murray playing thirty minutes in the backrow.

In that time Charlie Murray ran for seventy five metres (twenty eight post contact), broke three tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 4.32 seconds and made seven tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

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For the Burleigh Hastings Deerings Colts side Tuvalli Khan-Pereira moved to fullback for Round Nine against the Sunshine Coast Falcons with the move paying immediate dividends for both Tuvalli Khan-Pereira and Burleigh as Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scored a hat trick in an impressive Bears victory.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s opening try came in the when on the right side of the field Tuvalli Khan-Pereira chimed into the backline receiving the ball twelve metres out before stepping off his right foot and barging his way over to score eight metres in from the right corner post.

Tuvalli Khan-Periera scored a second try in the 21st minute when once again he chimed into the balkline to the right of the play the ball with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira taking possession twelve metres out and after impacting a defender just short of the try line Tuvalli Khan-Pereira spun counter clockwise to gain separation and get the ball down six metres in from the right corner post.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira completed his hat trick in the 73rd minute when to the right of the play the ball, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira chased through a Boston Tagg grubber kick into the in-goal with the ball sitting up perfectly for Tuvalli Khan-Periera to ground the ball mid-way between the corner post and goal posts on the right side of the field.

In addition to his three tries Tuvalli Khan-Pereira made a line break in the 3rd minute when after the Burleigh left winger dropped a Falcons clearing kick backwards, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira picked the ball up on his own twenty metre line and darted down the right touchline before cutting inside and being tackled just short of the halfway mark.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was also heavily involved in Kalani Skipps 59th minute try when on the left side of the field Tuvalli Khan-Pereira cut back to his right after receiving the ball and continued to cut across field as a result of two left foot steps, beating five defenders along the way before off-loading to Sam McIntyre who then off-loaded for Kalani Skipps to score.

Just as an aside, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s older brother lofi also scored a hat trick on the same weekend.

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Titans Development contract holder Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui once again started from the bench for the Burleigh Bears in Round Eleven of the Queensland Cup over the weekend against the Sunshine Coast Falcons playing twenty eight minutes in the front row. In those minutes Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui ran for forty eight metres (twenty six post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 4.34 seconds and made twenty three tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

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On the weekend Carlos Pauli started at right second row for the Nerang Roosters in Round Ten of the GCRL U18 Division One competition against the Southport Tigers, even though he was wearing jersey No. 16 with Carlos Pauli coming close to scoring in the 25th minute when after charging onto the ball to the left of the play the ball twelve metres out, Carlos Pauli got within centre metres of the line before his forward momentum was finally stopped.

Carlo Pauli got even closer to scoring in the 39th minute when he was held up over the try line by three defenders after a ten metre surge to the left of the play the ball.

Carlos Pauli was then heavily involved in Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki’s 44th minute try. Carlos Pauli charged onto the ball around twenty metres out from the try line and after being hit in a tackle was able to get away a right arm over the head off-load to his left in front of the posts, the ball got to Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki who charged twenty metres to score seven metres in from the left corner post.

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For Nerang in Round Ten of the GCRL U18 Division One competition against the Southport Tigers saw Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki start at hooker and set up a Nerang try in the opening minute of the match. Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki moved into dummy half around forty metres out and seven metres in from the left touchline. After picking up the ball Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki initially moved to his right and shaped to pass in the same direction but instead cut off his left foot to easily get past the two Tigers markers before setting sail downfield, bursting through two more would be tacklers before drawing the fullback and off-loading to his left to put Jai Vought over to score near the left corner post.

Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki recorded a second try assist in the 29th minute when from four metres out and four metres in from the left touchline, Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki darted down the left blindside and got the ball away to Jeremaiah Temapo who was able to reach out with his right arm after he was stopped just short of the line to score in the left corner.

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Titan Brock Priestley continued at right second row on the weekend for the Ormeau Shearers in Round Ten of the GCRL First Grade competition against the Currumbin Eagles, with Brock Priestley scoring his career first GCRL First Grade try in the 76th minute when he ran onto the ball and into a huge gap around three metres out to score untouched five metres in from the right corner post.

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Jeremaiah Temapo continued on the left wing on the weekend for the Nerang Roosters in Round Ten of the GCRL U18 Division One competition against the Southport Tigers scoring his opening try in the 29th minute when from four metres out and four metres in from the left touchline, Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki darted down the left blindside and got the ball away to Jeremaiah Temapo who was able to reach out with his right arm to get the ball down after he was stopped just short of the line to score in the left corner.

Jeremaiah Temapo scored his second try in the 40th minute when after received a pass from Josh Lynn sixteen metres out, Jeremaiah Temapo charged towards the left corner before cutting inside to beat one defender before a right arm fend got rid of another with Jeremiah Temapo then crashing over in the left corner.

Jeremaiah Temapo almost scored a further try in the 23rd minute when after Josh Lynn from twenty metres out down a short left blindside Josh Lynn put in a grubber kick towards the left corner, with the ball stopping literally centre metres out from the try line and in from the left touchline. The Southport fullback had no idea what to do and Jeremaiah Temapo raced through to attempt to pick up the ball but in the process Jeremaiah Temapo lost possession.

Jeremaiah Temapo did well just prior to his try when in the 28th minute after Southport had kick-off with the ball headed to Nerang’s Right corner, the Roosters spun the ball all of the way across the field to the left with Jeremaiah Temapo receiving the ball twenty five metres out from his own line in space with Jeremaiah Temapo breaking four tackles on the way to getting the ball two metres inside Southport territory.

Then in the 34th minute Jeremaiah Temapo came off his wing to take a hit-up through the centre of the field from inside his own territory with Jeremaiah Temapo promoting the ball to five metres inside Southport territory after a fifteen metre run before getting away a right arm off-load.

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Keebra Park SHS’s Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki continued at right centre for the Nerang Roosters in Round Ten of the GCRL U18 Division One competition against the Southport Tigers recording a 44th minute try. Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki when after Carlos Pauli had gotten away an overhead off-load near the centre of the field around twenty metres out, the ball got to Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki who charged twenty metres to score seven metres in from the left corner post.

Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki had almost scored earlier in the match in the 35th minute when after breaking through three tackles from twenty five metres out Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki was only stopped desperately short of the try line but was awarded a penalty for being hit in by a high tackle.

In addition Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki was heavily involved in Eren Eden’s 6th minute try when from his own twenty metre mark Taniela Mapusua-Lotaki cut to the outside and charged twelve metres downfield before getting away a great right arm flick off-load to his right winger who then raced down the right touchline before drawing the Tigers fullback and sending Eren Eden away to score under the posts.

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Round Ten of the GCRL U18 Division One competition on the weekend against the Nerang Roosters saw Taleon Te Whiu-Hopa move to five eight for the Southport Tigers with Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa making the opening tackle of the match.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa then recorded a try assist in the 12th minute when from around twelve metres out and to the right of the play the ball Taelon Te-Whiu-Hopa took the ball to the defensive line and put in a right foot grubber kick into the in-goal with the ball perfectly weighted for right second rower Caylas Latu to collect and score.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa then came close to recording a 40/20 on the final tackle from the set of six after the try he set up when from down a short right blindside Taleon Te Whiu-Hopa put in a low hard right foot quick which went into touch less than a metre from being a 40/20.