Junior Development

[mdrew]

Brent Barnes of to the Broncos, trying to think positive thoughts!

[mdrew]

Stanley Jackson off to the Broncos as well.

Look the Titans still have some very good juniors and dedicated coaches such as Jamie McCormack but the perception is not positive unfortunately

[NYCDB]

Genuine question. Why are these players are going to Brisbane?

[mdrew]

Good question mate. There are a couple of reasons, and lets be honest money is definitely one, the Broncos can out bid anyone and they will pay an unbelievable amount of money for some juniors, but also the perception is that the Broncos development set up is more professional, I would challenge that but perception counts in such a competitive environment.

Also if you look an any Qld junior squad at least half are linked to the Broncos, in part due to the perception that if players are linked to the Broncos they must be good. I am not having a go at selectors as it is impossible to select any side without negatve comments.

The Titans are doing well in the main in relation to junior development (look at how well the NYC side has started) but outside of this forum you do not hear anything. If you look at the papers you constantly see articles about juniors signing with the Broncos, they have got the publicity down pat.

Perception in relation to juniors is an exceptionally powerful marketing too. If you review the juniors that have left the Titans, the positive is that the Titans did identify them but just can not keep them for a variety of reasons. Perception can not solve them all but it can assist. If the Titans development staff continue the good work things will change but things are not all negative, we have some of the best players in Qld for their age here such as Darius Farmer, Ben Thomas etc.

Genuine question. Why are these players are going to Brisbane?

[Split59]

I think with the Titans new focus on developing juniors in their region the exodus of juniors to the broncos will reduce. Look at the cowboys they are only now seeing the rewards of developing their juniors which has taken them 20 years. Their under 20's are predominately from nth qld which is flowing through into their nrl squad. Unfortunately with Qld junior rep teams (i.e. u/16, 18 & 20's) the 3 of the 5 selectors are broncos coaching personnel and therefore any close selection calls will always go the way of the broncos.
However Titans are on the right track and i have seen Neil Henry at the round 1 CC & MM game at Nerang which is encouraging and indicates he is serious about developing juniors in the region.

[mdrew]

The New South Wales U16 and U18 Country age championships take place in a fortnight with a number of Titans linked juniors involved in the East Coast Dolphins and Greater Northern Tigers squads. Four boys who represented Greater Northern Tigers are the U18 level over the last year or so are now in our NYC squad so it is a fertile development area for us, the players include Shaun Hinton, Cory Manicharos and Tye Barry who made his NYC debut in round two and may play this weekend with Josh Fauid likely out. I will give some score updates over the weekend.

[mdrew]

North Queensland are making a real push into the Northern New South Wales region over the last couple of months snaring one or two young boys but the Titans have always had a strong presence in the area with our various age development squads, so hopefully we continue to look after the best youngsters in the area like we have done over the last couple of years.

I am referring to the areas around Grafton/Lismore.

[mdrew]

In case you are interested, below is the Greater Northern Tigers U18 squad for the NSW Country championships in two weeks. Plenty of talented players, including second rower KC Edmonds, half Will McAullife, centre Elijah Rasiga, fullback Hayden Loughrey and centre Billy Stewart. The Titans have a strong presence in the area, including a staff at Farrar, a few of these boys will/may end up with a Titans NYC contract next year.

From North Tamworth
Hayden Loughrey
Jake Saunders
Alec Cocking
Tom Baker
Ryan Ingram
Jack Cameron
James Fisk
Jack Patterson

From Uralla
Paul Jackson

From Armidale
Elija Rasig
Beau Hargraves

From Inverell
Billy Stewart
Will Macualife
KC Edmonds
Sam Ballinger

From Scone
Lachlan Duwakin

From Singleton
James Brady
Lewis Hamilton

From Muswellbrook
Joaby Stevens
Bailey Taylor

[NYCDB]

Good question mate. There are a couple of reasons...

Thanks for the reply mdrew. I kind of got the feeling money was one of the biggest factors in it. Which is a shame but like you pointed out the club does have some great talent on the books and can identify it. I mean look at Brisbane's NYC side this year. The Elliotts, David Fauid, Jai Whitbread... all were in the Titans system at one time, now with the Broncos. The club can spot the talent, it's just about holding onto it, which hopefully should improve with the good work being done at the moment.

[mdrew]

Latest junior update

http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/0...teams_go_.html

[mdrew]

There is a terrible situation developing in the country areas of New South Wales. Quite a number of senior clubs are pulling out of U18 competitions due to lack of numbers. For example in the Group Two competition which encompasses from Grafton down to the Port Macquarie area, only about half of the sides are able to field an U18 side, with Port Macquarie being the latest side to pull out due to this problem. Historically a lot of talented youngsters come from NSW country areas and it would be a great shame if the numbers of juniors in NSW country areas continue to decline.

[mdrew]

Very interesting to note that Titans linked centre Isaac Lee may well be playing some fullback this season in the NRRRL U18 and first grade competitions, he started to transition to fullback last year in the Group One junior U16.5 competition including scoring three tries from fullback in his first match there. He is around 6"4 in the old scale so if he stays at fullback. He still have two years of eligibility at the U18 age group so position versatility is not a bad thing

[mdrew]

Link to some photos on the official site of a junior country camp that the Titans held late last week.

http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/0...or_countr.html

[mdrew]

http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/0...junior_re.html
Latest Junior update

[mdrew]

Greater Northern and East Coast Dolphins sides for tomorrows matches in Armidale U16's

Greater Northern Tigers U16
1. Steven Mcgrady – Inverell
2. Luke Howes – Farrer
3. Dylan Porter – Farrer
4. Hayden Bourke – Singleton
5. Ben Fechner – Scone
6. Lachlan Chard – Glen Innes
7. Bailey Ellis – Singleton
8. Max Greacen – Denman
9. Cody Byrne – Farrer
10. Alek Hall – Farrer
11. Lachlan Fry – Singleton
12. Zac Parker – Farrer
13. Max Altus – Farrer ©
14. Jordan Allan – Scone
15. Bailey Lennox – Gunnedah
16. Koen Reiri – North Tamworth
17. Alex Fisher – Glen Innes
18. Mitchell Dykes – Scone

East Coast Dolphins U16
1.Joel Minihan – Old Bar
2. Brenton Daley-Holten – South Tweed
3. Matthew Job – Old Bar
4. Andrew Hills – Ballina
5. Joel Beaton – Sawtell
6. Kierran Cochrane – Taree
7. Tahj Wood – Taree
8. Ryan Steidam – Cudgen
9. Tyke Kemp – Sawtell
10. Ryan Pemberton – Sawtell
11. Joel Underwood – Taree
12. Nathan Phillips – Port Macquarie
13. Jacob Conlan – Sawtell
14. Jordon Lee – Ballina
15. Jared Wooster – Old Bar
16. Lewis Cooper – Grafton
17. Kevin Kennedy – Kempsey
18. Oscar Clarke – Tweed Coast