Junior Development

[mdrew]

Titans contracted Riley Buchanan started from the bench for the U16 Andrew Johns Cup side in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters coming onto the field mid-way through the first half to play in the front row.

Riley Buchanan produced the play of the day in the 50th minute when he broke the match open from the kick-off return to Blake Togo-Murphy’s try. Riley Buchanan took the kick-off on his own goal line and near the right corner. As he commenced his kick-off return, Riley Buchanan ran the ball to his left beating two defenders before straightening up, bursting between two defenders and charging a total of sixty five metres downfield.

[mdrew]

Round One of the 2022 MM Cup competition saw Titans contracted Keano Kini named at fullback for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Souths Logan Magpies.

Keano Kini had an outstanding match including a 19th minute try assist when from around ten metres out Keano Kini received the ball to the right of the play the ball but wide out on the left. Keano Kini initially ran towards the posts when his route was cut off Keano Kini changed direction and ran back to his left, getting on the outside of a number of Magpies defenders before drawing in the Souths Logan right winger and putting Matthew Barrow over in the left corner.

Keano Kini made his first line break of the match in the 6th minute when from inside his own half, Keano Kini forced his way into dummy half running to his left before straightening up and making fifteen metres. Then just two tackles later Keano Kini received the ball to the right of the dummy half and as he made contact with the Magpies A defender, Keano Kini spun 360 degrees clockwise to break contact and then made five more metres before he was brought to ground.

Keano Kini’s first run of the match came in just the third minute when from just inside his own territory Keano Kini took a hit-up to the left of the dummy half. Initially Keano Kini looked as if he would cut back behind the play the ball but at the last moment he ran to his left running parallel to the defensive line before straightening up to try to burst between two defenders.

Keano Kini made another strong run in the 60th minute when after a Souths Logan Magpies goal dropout fell short, Keano Kini raced forward taking the kick on the bounce at full speed around forty two metres out and ran to his left and getting the ball within eighteen metres of the try line with Keano Kini executing a quick play the ball with Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa scoring down the left blindside as a result.

Keani Kini has also named at fullback and captain for Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins.

[mdrew]

Titans contracted Zane Harrison started at halfback and captain for the Northern Rivers Titans in Round Four of the U16 Andrew Johns Cup against the Central Coast Roosters with Zane Harrison making a great driving tackle on the Central Coast No. 10 in the opening set of six in the match. Zane Harrison also produced a great driving tackle in the 45th minute against his opposite number.

Zane Harrison also converted one of the Northern Rivers Titans tries in their 18 -12 victory when he converted Aaron Singh-Goesel’s 52nd minute try.

Zane Harrison had a big hand in Hudson Towell’s 28th minute try. After receiving the ball two passes off the ruck on the right side of the field, Zane Harrison immediately cut back to his left, leaving three defenders in his wake before cutting back to his right and taking off for the line around ten metres out. Whilst Zane Harrison was brought down around a metre out, his ultra-fast paly the ball meant that Hudson Towell could dive over from dummy half.

Zane Harrison also had a big hand in Jed Arnett’s match winning try in the 53rd minute. Zane Harrison received the ball down a wide left blindside and when he was around twenty metres from the line, Zane Harrison executed a right foot stab kick into the in-goal which was going to pull up just short of the dead ball line. The Central Coast fullback made a mess of retrieving the ball with Jed Arnett on hand to dive on the ball and take the Northern Rivers Titans out to an 18 -12 lead which they maintained for the remaining seven minutes of the match.

Zane Harrison also put Noah Waldock over to score in the 47th minute when he took the ball to the line on the right side of the field and popped a great short ball to his right but just as Noah Waldock was about to receive the ball and stroll over from five metres out, one of the Central Coast defenders got a desperate hand in the way and deflect the ball from Noah Waldock’s grasp.

[mdrew]

Last weekend’s Round One of the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup saw Sam Stephenson named at left centre for the Burleigh Bears against the Tweed Heads Seagulls with Sam Stephenson scoring a strong solo try.

In the 42nd minute Sam Stephenson burst onto the ball down the left channel around forty metres out from the line breaking the line and set sail for the try line just short of the line Sam Stephenson was ankle tapped from before and went to ground, but before the Seagulls defence could put a hand on him, Sam Stephenson bounced to his feet and dove over around twelve metres in from the left corner post.

Sam Stephenson had made an earlier strong run in the 29th minute from a Burleigh scrum win deep in their own territory Sam Stephenson made twelve metres to the left of the scrum after receiving the ball ten metres out from his own try line.

[mdrew]

Round One of the 2022 MM Cup competition saw Titans contracted Nicholas Hilton named captain and in the front row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Souths Logan Magpies. With Nicholas Hilton scoring a great solo try.

Nicholas Hilton scored in the 55th minute from a great solo charge. Tweed Heads were awarded a penalty which was taken eight metres out and directly in from the goal posts, with Nicholas Hilton receiving the ball from the tap, running to his left and carrying three Souths Logan defenders over the line, getting the ball down mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the left side of the field.

In the 9th minute from fifteen metres out and from a penalty tap restart Nicholas Hilton charged onto the ball forcing his way all of the way to the in-goal but three Souths Logan forwards held him up just to the left of the goal posts.

Nicholas Hilton has also named in the front row for Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins.

[mdrew]

Round One of the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup saw Titans contracted Sunny Kama at right centre for the Burleigh Bears against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Sunny Kama scored the opening try of the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup season when in the 6th minute he swooped on a loose Seagulls pass to race forty five to put the ball over the line mid-way between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

Sunny Kama made a strong run in the 27th minute when from a Burleigh scrum win around ten metres out from his own try line, Sunny Kama made an impressive twenty five metres down the right channel.

Sunny Kama also had a strong match defensively including in the 19th minute when whilst defending right on his own try line, Sunny Kama found himself at marker and got low and was able to use his body position and strength to hold up the Tweed Heads hooker who had tried to sneak over from dummy half.

Sunny Kama has also named at right centre for Round Two against the Souths Logan Magpies.

[mdrew]

Round One of the 2022 MM Cup competition saw Titans contracted Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa named in the front row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Souths Logan Magpies with Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa along with Tanu Nona making the opening tackle of the match after Tweed Heads had gotten the match underway from the kick-off.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa scored a powerful try in the second half to give the Seagulls the lead and was also held up over the line twice in the first half.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa scored in the 60th minute when after a quick play the ball from Keano Kini he charged onto the ball eighteen metres out down a short left blindside with Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa dragging three Magpies defenders over the line with him as he got the ball down to put the Seagulls in front five metres in from the left corner post.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa was held up on the first occasion in the 13th minute when after receiving the ball eight metres out from the line and to the right of the dummy half Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa barged his way over the line but was held up under the goal posts.

Just a minute later in the 14th minute Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa was held up for the second time when after once again receiving the ball to the right of the dummy half, on this occasion six metres out, Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa took on the immediate Magpies defender gaining separation after executing a clockwide spin with the 360 degree spin allowing Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa to run back to his left where he was eventually held up five metres from the left upright.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa showcased his elite hands in the 8th minute when he bend down low and grabbed a lost Souths Logan ball that was sliding across the wet surface with Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa picking the ball up cleanly and with absolutely no loss of momentum.

Taelon Tw Whiu-Hopa has also named in the front row for Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins.

[ALX25]

Were the Seagulls and Bears CC teams picked fairly?

[Hail Sezer]

Were the Seagulls and Bears CC teams picked fairly?

At CC level this - This year Burleigh's side is much stronger, clearly. But the sides aren't just picked and allocated purely by the Titans - the individual club has to build their own squad. Convenience, familiarity etc. sees a lot of the boys naturally want to be at Burleigh and I'd say with kids that can't drive, parents prefer it too.

At MM level the Titans will usually allocate and balance them out a bit more as they expect the boys to be more independent with getting themselves around. That's where we tend to somewhat of a PBC (Tweed) and Keebra (Burleigh) split, with each club again responsible for sourcing players around the Titans contracted ones

[ja4220]

At CC level this - This year Burleigh's side is much stronger, clearly. But the sides aren't just picked and allocated purely by the Titans - the individual club has to build their own squad. Convenience, familiarity etc. sees a lot of the boys naturally want to be at Burleigh and I'd say with kids that can't drive, parents prefer it too.

To add to this Burleigh are incredibly strong in this age group in the GCRL comp, evidenced by 2 of the teams playing each other in last years u15 GF. This is a by product of a lot of the other clubs folding teams in that age/division and players migrating to Burleigh.

[mdrew]

Young Ipswich based front rower Cooper Cracknell played his first match in Titans colours in December 2021 when he started in the front row for the Titans U14 JTS side in shockingly hot conditions.

Impressively in late 2021 Cooper Cracknell was selected in the 2022 Ipswich Jets Cyril Connell Cup competition even though he is still U15 eligible in 2022 and after the Jets had a Round One bye, Cooper Cracknell was named in the front row for Round Two against the Burleigh Bears last weekend and signalled his intentions early with a strong try in just the 3rd minute. With Ipswich playing the ball on the left side of the field, Cooper Cracknell took a hit-up to the right of the dummy half, receiving the ball around eight metres out from the line. Cooper Cracknell just kept rumbling forward and even when he looked like being held up on the try line, Cooper Cracknell spun counter clockwise and was able to get the ball down five metres to the left of the uprights with three defenders wondering how Cooper Cracknell was able to score.

[mdrew]

Round One of the 2022 MM Cup competition saw Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki named at left centre for the Burleigh Bears against the Easts Tigers however the match was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions.

Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki was then named to start at left centre for Round Two against the Souths Logan Magpies last weekend however a late game day change saw Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki started from the bench.

Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki contributed two tries off the bench in Burleigh’s ten point loss, with his opening try coming in the 51st minute when from two metres out from the line and just to the right of the uprights, Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki ran out of dummy half to his right to crash over and he was then subsequently hit after he scored with Burtleigh being awarded an eight point try.

Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki completed his double in the 66th minute when once again from very close range Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki picjed up the ball from dummy half, got down low and burst over after running to his right. The only difference between his two tries was that in relation to his first try Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki scored adjacent to the right upright, but he scored his second try ten metres in from the left corner post.

Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki also made a good play in the 71st minute when after a long line break by Souths Logan, Magpies hooker Blake Mozer ran out of dummy half and made it well into the attacking twenty but Dorian Mapusua-Lotaki came out of nowhere to hit Mozer on his left side knocking the ball loose and eleiminating the possibility of a Magpies try.

Dorian Mapusua-Lataki’s performance was strong enough to be selected as a reserve in the Courier Mail’s Mal Meninga Cup Round Two Team of the Week.

[mdrew]

Well done to Titans contracted Redcliffe Dolphins front rower Joseph Pouniu for being named as a reserve in the Courier Mail’s Cyril Connell Cup Round Two Team of the Week last weekend.

The young man put in a strong performance for the Dolphins in a 40-0 victory over the Tweed Heads Seagulls last Saturday morning.

[mdrew]

On the weekend Titans contracted Izayah Petrichvich started at fullback for Burleigh in Round Two of the CC Cup against the Souths Logan Magpies and after chiming into the backline on the right side of the field, Izayah Petrichvich drew in the last Magpies left sided defender and passed to his right to put Sunny Kama over in the right corner from fifteen metres out untouched. Unfortunately Izayah Petrichvich had to be replaced at halftime.

The match also saw Izayah Petrichvich make a long line break in the 11th minute from a kick return. Izayah Petrichvich tracked the ball to his left, collecting the ball on the bounce just thirteen out from his own try line towards the left corner. Izayah Petrichvich immediately ran to his right and was able to get around the last Souths Logan left sided defender. Izayah Petrichvich then raced thirty five metres down the right touchline before being brought down five metres inside Souths Logan Magpies territory.

[mdrew]

In late October 2021 Titans contracted Isaac Togia was named in the Ipswich Jets 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad and after the Jets had a Round One bye, Isaac Togia was named at right second row for Round Two against the Burleigh Bears last weekend and scored the line in just the 14th minute of the match. Only twenty metres out from his own try line, Isaac Togia packed in at lock for a scrum with an Ipswich Jets feed. After picking up the ball, Isaac Togia ran to his right and literally just ran eighty metres untouched to dive over under the posts.