Junior Development

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A very interesting player who has recently been named in the 2019 U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad for the Northern Rivers Titans is Tyrelle Roberts. Recently Tyrelle Roberts started at half back for a Group One U16 side that were defeated in the last minute by a Western Mustangs U16 side that played prior to the Titans v Balmain U15 match at Cudgen.

Tyrelle Roberts led the U16 side back into the match in the second half and scored an outstanding try from a chip of his own which he followed and retrieved just before the Western Mustangs got to the ball and then stepped his way to the try line for what was an outstanding try.

The young Casino RSM half had an outstanding year in 2017 in the Group One U15 competition and as a consequence was selected in the Northern Rivers U16 side for the U16 2018 Andrew Johns Cup competition.

Tyrelle Roberts in fact started at half back in their Round One clash against the U16 Newcastle Knights Development squad with Northern Rivers defeating Newcastle 22 – 12 in difficult slippery conditions.

In the Round One match Tyrelle Roberts kicked three goals from four attempts and also set up a try for exciting young fullback Layne Hardy with a deft chip in the second half. The only goal attempt that Tyrelle Roberts missed was after the fulltime siren from right on the right hand touch line.

In total for Northern Rivers in the Andrew Johns Cup Tyrelle Roberts started at half back on all five of their matches scoring twenty two points in the process, coming from eleven goals, including three goals in matches against Newcastle, Central Coast and the Greater Northern Tigers.

Post the Andrew Johns Cup, Tyrelle Roberts played in the Group One U16.5 competition, once again playing for Casino RSM finishing as the competitions top points scorer with 140 (one point ahead of Titans contracted Ethan Foster) and equal second leading try scorer with eleven (one behind Ethan Foster).

Tyrelle Roberts has scored at least a try in each of his six matches, scoring three against Ballina in Round Six and a double in Round Two against Lismore Marist Brothers. Tyrelle Roberts other tries in his first six matches came against Clarence Coast in two separate matches, Lismore Marist Brothers and Kyogle. Post his first six matches Tyrelle Roberts also scored against Ballina in two separate matches.

Tyrelle Roberts has also had some big games with the boot this season including seven against Lismore Marist Brothers and six in a May match against Ballina and six against Kyogle in August. The match where he kicked six against Ballina was the same match that he scored the hat trick thus Tyrelle Roberts finished that particular match with 24 points. Tyrelle Roberts also kicked five goals against Lismore Marist Brothers in a July match.

In 2017 Tyrelle Roberts finished the season as the Group One U15 competition’ leading points scorer and fourth leading try scorer. In total in 2017 Tyrelle Roberts scored 84 points from ten tries and twenty two goals. Tyrelle Roberts’s ten tries came from just eleven matches and included doubles against Clarence Coast early in the season and against Clarence Coast later in the season.
From a goal kicking perspective, Tyrelle Roberts kicked six from seven in a July match against Kyogle and five in a match against Clarence Coast when he also scored a double to finish the match with eighteen points.

Tyrelle Roberts also played one U16.5 competition match in 2017 which came against Lismore Marist Brothers in early June where he backed up after playing in the U15 match earlier on the Saturday afternoon.

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Titans contracted second rower Ryan Foran has been named the U15 Group 18 Players Award winner for their tour which included the side winning the Battlefield Challenge and in fact going through the tour undefeated.

Ryan Foran will in part of the U16 River Rivers Titans side for the 2019 Andrew Johns Cup.

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The hooking spot in the 2019 Burleigh MM Cup side will be hard fought and one player who will be right in the mix is Burleigh Bears hooker Luke Khan who started the 2018 season as part of the U16 Gold Coast Vikings Yellow side.

For Burleigh in the 2018 GCRL U16 Division One competition, Luke Khan played in 8 matches scoring against Helensvale in three separate matches and also against Southport and started at hooker in Burleigh’s 28-26 Preliminary Final loss to Currumbin.

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Young front rower Jovahn Tearoiti had an outstanding season in 2018 including starting in the front row for the PBC Open schoolboy side as they beat all comers to win the National GIO Cup competition with a victory over Patrician Brothers College Blacktown in the National Final and has been named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2019 MM Cup squad.

Jovahn Tearoiti was also a Premiership winner in the Brisbane U17 Rugby Premiership playing for the Nerang Bulls in that competition, interestingly spending time in the centres there and to cap off an outstanding season has been named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2019 MM Cup squad.

In 2017 Jovahn Tearoiti played for Helensvale in the GCRL U16 Division One competition playing in thirteen matches and he also played in one U17 Division One match against Runaway Bay.

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Tough forward Tuki Seiuli had a solid season for club and school in 2018 including captaining the Keebra Park Open B side to an undefeated season.

Tuki Seiuli played the 2018 GCRL season in the U17 Division One competition with the Ormeau Shearers playing in twelve matches including the finals series.

In Week two of the GCRL U17 Division One Finals Tuki Seiuli started in the second row and scored two tries but Coomera were knocked up of the competition as a result of a 24 – 18 to Runaway Bay. Tuki Seiuli also started in the second row in Ormeau’s Week One finals loss 18 – 8 to eventual Grand Final winners Currumbin.

In addition to his finals double, Tuki Seiuli scored tries against Helensvale and Tweed Heads and over the course of the season also kicked five goals three of which came against Helensvale in the same match that he scored against them. Tuki Seiuli’s other 2018 goals came in matches against Burleigh in Round Two and Tweed heads in Round Six.

As noted above Tuki Seiuli captained the Keebra Park Open B Schoolboys side to an undefeated season by defeating Wavell SHS 22 – 6 in the Langer Reserve Final including scoring in the final.

Tuki Seiuli was a jack of all trades for the Ormeau Shearers across the U16 and U17 Division Ones competitions in 2017 playing a variety of positions from hooker, second row and even some five eight.

Tuki Seiuli who was a standout performer in late 2015 for the Titans U14 Development Squad in a match at Pizzey Park against Samoa, in 2017 played seven matches in the U16 Division One competition and seven more in the U17 Division One competition.

In the 2017 U16 Division One competition, Tuki Seiuli scored four tries including a double against Helensvale and also tries against Helensvale against in late July and against Currumbin early in the season. In the U17 Division One competition his sole try came in his second match in that age group against the powerful Bilambil Jets line-up.

Tuki Seiuli has had some previous representative experience including playing for the U16 Gold Coast Vikings U16 side in the 2017 U16 pre-season competition going on to be named in the U16 South East Queensland train-on squad and in 2015 Tuki Seiuli started in the front row for the South East Queensland U14 side. Tuki Seiuli in 2015 was named on the interchange bench in Keebra Park’s team of the year.

Tuki Seiuli will be looking to break into the Burleigh Bears MM Cup side in 2019 and post that competition will line up for Ormeau in the GCRL U19 competition.

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Syddarys Cassidy the giant young front rower has parlayed a solid 2018 competition into a spot in the Burleigh 2019 MM Cup squad where he will be vying for playing time in an impressive looking squad especially in relation to front row options.

Syddarys Cassidy played the 2018 GCRL season in the U16 Division One competition with Helensvale playing in ten matches and scoring a double against Southport early in the season.

Early in the 2018 season Syddarys Cassidy was part of the U16 Gold Coast Vikings Yellow squad that took part in the U16 South East Queensland Challenge against sides from Brisbane and Ipswich.

The giant young Coombabah State High School student was too much for the majority of teams that played in the 2017 QSSRL U15 Schoolboy championships in Cairns during the 2017 season and as a result Syddarys Cassidy was been named in the Queensland White U15 side for the ASSRL U15 Championships.

In 2017 Syddarys Cassidy from a club stand point moved from Southport to play for the Helensvale Hornets for the 2017 season and played in five matches in the Yellow and Green.

Syddarys Cassidy will be looking to break into the Burleigh Bears MM Cup side in 2019 and post that competition will line up for Helensvale in the GCRL U17 Division One competition.

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The Tweed Heads Seagulls 2019 MM Cup squad is full of well-known junior players but one young man who may not be as recognisable as others is front rower Nick Pleogsma who goes about his business quietly and effectively.

Recently for the Currumbin U17 Division One side, Nick Pleogsma started in the front row as Currumbin defeated Runaway Bay 30-10 in the Grand Final. In his 13 2018 U17 Division One matches Nick Pleogsma scored a solitary try which came against Burleigh.

This season Nick Pleogsma also played one U19 match which was against Helensvale.

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Marymount College and Burleigh fullback/five eight Tyler Mahon has been selected for the second year in a row in the Burleigh Bears MM squad after being involved this season and being named in next season’s squad.

In the 2018 MM Cup competition Tyler Mahon played in four matches including starting Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons at five eight in that match scoring a double. Tyler Mahon also started at five eight in Rounds Two and Three against Redcliffe and Souths Logan respectively. Tyler Mahon also came off the bench in Round Six against the Western Mustangs.

In addition to playing fullback for the Marymount College side in the 2019 QISSRL competition Tyler Mahon played in one U17 Division One for Burleigh this season scoring against Helensvale and also scored in both of his U19 matches being against Bilambil and Ormeau.

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Tahenga Mareko will play for the Burleigh Bears MM Cup side for the second year in a row in 2019.

In the MM Cup in 2018 Tahenga Mareko played in two matches coming into the side in Round Six against the Western Mustangs starting on the wing and he also started on the wing in Round Seven against Victoria.

In the GCRL U17 Division One competition Tahenga Mareko played in eight matches for the Mudgeeraba Redbacks scoring 30 points from three tries and nine goals, with the tries coming in consecutive rounds against Runaway Bay, Bilambil and Tweed Heads.

Tahenga Mareko also played U19 match this season kicking two goals in the match against Bilambil.

Tahenga Mareko has previously been involved in Titans Junior Development Squads including starting from the bench in late 2015 for the Titans U14 squad in a match at Pizzey Park against Samoa.

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The Burleigh Bears MM 2019 MM Cup squad has a number of returning players from the 2018 season including Helensvale front rower Samuel Stone who came off the bench in Round 7 of the 2018 MM Cup competition against Victoria.

In the GCRL U17 Division One competition Samuel Stone played in ten matches for Helensvale scoring two tries which came against Runaway Bay and Mudgeeraba towards the back end of the season.

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In 2019 the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales will be represented in the U16 Andrew Johns Cup and U18 Laurie Daley Cup by the Northern Rivers Titans with one of the stand out U18 players being Ethan Foster.

Ethan Foster who signed a Titans development contract last year made his 2018 playing debut starting in the centres for the Northern Rivers U16 Andrew Johns Cup side who went on to defeat Newcastle 22 – 12 on a wet and cold morning in Northern New South Wales in Round One of that competition.

Prior to his signing with the Titans, Ethan Foster had also been invited to be part of the Newcastle Knights Junior Development program.

In the 2018 Andrew Johns Cup competition for Northern Rivers Ethan Foster played in all four of Northern Rivers matches, starting two in the centres and two in the second row. In those four matches, Ethan Foster scored three tries, scoring a double in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters and in Round Four against the Greater Northern Tigers.

The two tries in Round Three against the Central Coast were simply outstanding including his second try when he took the ball from around 40 metres out and just smashed his way through the defensive, stepped past the fullback and outpaced the cover defence.

In the Group One U16.5 competition this season Ethan Foster played thirteen matches for Clarence Coast including the finals series finishing as the competitions leading point’s scorer with 139 points from sixteen tries, thirty seven goals and a field goal. Ethan Fosters sixteen tries also meant that he finished as the Group One U16.5 competitions leading try scorer.

On five occasions Ethan Foster scored two tries in a match, with those matches being against Kyogle, Casino RSM (on two occasions), Lismore Marist Brothers and Ballina. Only once was Ethan Foster kept scoreless in the Group One U16.5 competition in 2019 which was in an early season match against Ballina.

With the boot Ethan Foster kicked eight on a match against Lismore Marist Brothers in late May, finishing the match with twenty four points when you add in his two tries and on three occasions, against Kyogle, Ballina and Casino RSM he kicked four goals in a match.

On the first weekend of the Group One U16.5 final series this season, Ethan Foster scored a double and kicked four from four in a 24 – 16 win for Clarence Coast over Casino RSM.

Unfortunately for Ethan Foster and his Group One U16.5 Clarence Coast team mates they were defeated by Casino RSM in the Grand Final.

Ethan Foster also played four U18 NRRRL regular season matches for Lower Clarence making his debut against Lismore Marist Brothers in late April. Ethan Fosters first U18 NRRRL points came in his fourth match win he kicked a conversion against the Ballina Seagulls.

Ethan Foster has recently been named in the Northern Rivers Titans U18 squad for the 2019 Laurie Daley Cup competition.

In 2017 Ethan Foster represented Group One U15’s at the New South Wales Age Championships. In those Championships Ethan Foster started in the centres in all three matches, scoring a double of Round One in a big win against Group 19.

The big strong young Titans contracted centre/second rower has made a seamless move from the Grafton Ghosts junior rugby league club to the Clarence Coast at the start of the 2016 season in the Group One Junior Rugby League. Over the last couple of seasons at Clarence Coast, he has teamed with the talented Julian Torrens to form a lethal pairing who have pushed Clarence Coast up the ladder in recent seasons.

For the Clarence Coast Magpies in 2017 Ethan Foster scored fourteen tries from eleven matches to be the competitions leading point’s scorer. Ethan Foster started the season off with a hat trick against Kyogle and scored another hat trick later in the season against Marist Brothers. Ethan Foster also kicked three conversions to finish the U15 season off with 62 points.

Ethan Foster also made his U16.5 Group One JRL debut in 2017 when he lined up in that age group against Ballina in early June after playing in the U15 clash earlier in the day.

In 2016 Ethan Foster topped the try scoring list in the U14 competition with an incredible 33 tries from just 16 matches. Ethan Foster also kicked 27 goals to also finish top of the points scoring list with 186 points. Ethan Foster scored four tries in a match on two separate occasions against Lismore Marist Brothers and also scored six hat tricks which came against Ballina, Kyogle twice, and Casino RSM twice and also against Grafton.

Ethan Foster also had some big matches with the boot in 2016 including kicking five conversions in a match against Marist Brothers and on three occasions kicked four conversions in a match. 2016 is not an anomaly in terms of try scoring, in 2015 for Grafton at the U13 level he scored 14 tries across ten matches, including hat tricks against the South Grafton Rebels and Kyogle and doubles against his new team Clarence Coast and Casino RSM.

Ethan Foster plays his schoolboy rugby league for MacLean High School and was part of their U14 CHS side that defeated Evans Head High School in the first round of the competition in MacLean in 2016, in fact he was the U14 MacLean High School rugby league captain that year.

Ethan Foster opened the scoring for MacLean High School in only the second minute with an unstoppable run from about 20 metres out and carried a couple of defenders across the line to score and crossed again later in the first half off a great short ball from Julian Torrens after front rower and former Titans development squad member Elijah Winitana make a rampaging run and got a quick play the ball.

Ethan Foster scored again early in the second half, again charging through the defence. MacLean won the match 46 – 4. In September 2016, Ethan Foster and his Maclean High School U14 team mates dominated the U14 DEX round robin competition, with empathetic victories over South Grafton HS and McCauley College. Ethan Foster was named player of the series.

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Titans contracted Orlando Swain has been selected in the 2019 U16 Ipswich diggers squad.

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Good to see Ben Thomas trading with the NRL squad today.

[ALX25]

Good to see Ben Thomas trading with the NRL squad today.

Recognise any of the other juniors training with the NRL squad?

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Jaxson Paulo and Darius Farmer as well

Recognise any of the other juniors training with the NRL squad?