Junior Development

[mdrew]

Outstanding form should be rewarded with higher honour and that is certainly the case for Southport U19 second rower and former Keebra Park student Ignatius Sefo who has been named in the Burleigh U20 Colts side for the coming 2019 season.

Over the course of his sixteen U19 matches this season the dynamic second rower finished with a 50% strike rate including scoring doubles against Mudgeeraba and Bilambil and also scoring in matches against Bilambil and Mudgeeraba.

This season Ignatius Sefo was also named in the South East Queensland U19 side.

If there is one young player to watch on 2019 to has to be Ignatius Sefo

[mdrew]

Big strong young local Gold Coast front rower or second rower Jayden Heta (Sveistrup) has recently been named in the 2019 Burleigh U20 Colts squad after a 2018 season that saw the former Keebra Park student make his GCRL First Grade debut for the Southport Tigers when he played against Tugun in July.

Jayden Heta started the 2018 season with the Burleigh MM Cup side, playing in all six of the Bears matches, starting three and coming off the bench on three occasions as well.

He started at lock in Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons and started in the second row in Rounds Three and Four against Tweed Heads and Souths Logan respectively.

Jayden Heta’s sole 2018 MM Cup try came in Round One against Sunshine Coast.

Over the course of the 2018 season Jayden Heta also played in six GCRL U19 matches scoring against Helensvale and Burleigh and he also played in two Doug Lipp Cup matches, debuting against Bilambil in May.

Jayden Heta also played in three matches for the Burleigh U20 Colts side this season coming into the side in Round 16 against Tweed Heads and also playing in Rounds 17 and 18 against Norths and Redcliffe respectively. He started from the interchange bench in all three of the matches.

He had an exceptional 2017 rugby league season, starting the year in the local Gold Coast competition and progressing through the MM Cup competition to the Burleigh Bears U20 Colts Challenge side. Not a bad effort at all for a 17 year old playing in the centre of the field.

In the MM Cup competition for Burleigh Jayden Heta came into the side in Round Three against the Central Queensland Capra’s and stayed in the side for the remainder of the MM Cup campaign for Burleigh coming off the interchange bench in all bar Round Five against the Northern Pride when Jayden Heta started in the front row.

In relation to his time in the U20 Colts Challenge competition, Jayden Heta made his debut in Round Twelve against South Logan off the interchange bench and also came off the bench in Round Thirteen against Wynnum Manly scoring a try as well. Jayden Heta was in the starting line-up for the first time the following week in Round Fourteen against the Ipswich Jets.

When he was not been representing the Burleigh Bears Jayden Heta played for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. For the Southport Tigers Jayden Heta played eleven U19 matches scoring three tries which came in games against Runaway Bay, Tugun and Beaudesert. Jayden Heta has also played one match at the Doug Lipp Cup level which was against Burleigh in July and also in July Jayden Heta also played one match in the U17 Division Two competition scoring against Coomera.

[isaiah]

The TEDS program is changing that mate

What about roosters academy v marsden high

[mdrew]

Blake Mozer is an exceptionally talented young hooker from the Runaway Bay Seagulls junior rugby league club on the Gold Coast and currently part of the Titans TEDS Program.

Blake Mozer currently attends Keebra Park State High School and is part of the Rugby League Excellence Program there and at their recent Awards night was named the Year 9 Most Valuable Player and also named at hooker in the Keebra Park 2018 Team of the Year.

From a representative perspective, this season, Blake Mozer played hooker for the South East Queensland Green U14 side at the Queensland Age Championships.

This season for Runaway Bay, Blake Mozer played across two age groups being his “normal’ age group in the U14 Division One competition, playing six matches and in the U15 Division One competition where he played in eight matches including starting all four of Runaway Bay’s finals matches from the bench and in the Grand Final kicked a conversion as the Seagulls went down 38 – 20 against Ormeau.

In his first U14 Division One match of the season, Blake Mozer scored his sole U14 try of the season against Mudgeeraba and in the U15 Division One competition, he scored is sole try in eight matches against Currumbin.

Blake Mozer played the 2017 GCJRL season with the Runaway Bay Seagulls in the U13 Division One competition playing a total of thirteen matches all at hooker and in the process scored ten tries and also converted one of his tries in a Round Two clash against Burleigh Maroon. In the match noted already being against Burleigh Maroon, Blake Mozer in fact scored a hat trick to cap off a great match. Blake Mozer also scored a double in an early season clash against Jimboomba and late in the year scored a double against Nerang. Blake Mozer also scored against Nerang in a semi-final clash.

For Keebra Park State High School Blake Mozer was part of the Renouf Cup squad that backed up their 2016 success with another dominant 2017 Renouf Cup competition defeating Coombabah State High School 20 – 18 in the final. Blake Mozer was named Player of the Match primarily for his big defensive effort.

In the 2016 U12 Division One grand final Blake Mozer started at hooker for Runaway Bay and in fact as their sole try scorer in their 10 – 6 loss to Helensvale in the 2016 Grand Final. Over the course of the 2016 season, Blake Mozer was Runaway Bay’s top scorer and finished third overall in the competition in that category. He crossed for ten tries and also kicked three goals for a total point’s tally of 46. Blake Mozer scored a hat trick against Southport and also a double against Currumbin. In addition he also played one match up at the U13 Division One level during the season.

From Keebra Park Blake Mozer was selected at hooker in the 2016 U12 South Coast side for the Queensland U12 championships which were held on the Gold Coast in July where South Coast finished third and from there was selected in the Queensland U12 side, also at hooker along with fellow Keebra student front rower Xavier Collins.

Unfortunately for Blake Mozer he was only able to play a couple of matches for South Coast before suffering a championship ending dislocation injury on Day Three but still impressed enough to make the Queensland side from his limited opportunities. Blake Mozer was also part of Keebra Park’s successful Renouf Cup side in 2016, no small feat as he was playing against boys a year older than himself.

[mdrew]

Unfortunately these stories are put out time and again but they are not a true reflection of what is happening at the Titans.

The TEDS program is an outstanding initiative and is already achieving results in terms of bringing Gold Coast juniors home. Two specific examples are Juwan Compain and Will Evans from the Bronco’s and there are more as well.

No team can keep every junior from their particular area but the Titans are doing an outstanding job of keeping most and that will continue.

The Titans have signed some talented players from Brisbane such as Ioane Seuili and Tristian Powell (originally from the Darling Downs) and Luke Maiden from Toowoomba as well to supplement the Gold Coast, Group 18 and Northern Rivers youngsters.

The likes of the Broncos and the Roosters will always recruit from the Gold Coast but with the TEDS programs in place the Titans will continue to get better and better at providing a pathway to the NRL for our local juniors.

What can not be dismissed is the quality of young players that Jamie McCormack has brought to the club such as Darius Farmer, Ben Thomas and Jackson Paulo who are already near the NRL level and the likes of Bailey Martin, Thomas Weaver, Ben Liyou, Rowan Mansfield, Brody Smitka, Kaleb Ngamanu, Ethan Foster, Ryan Rivett, Ediq Ambrosyev, Lofi Khan-Pereira, the Shannon brothers, Kel Sheather and Blake Campbell amongst others.

Apologies to the players that I have missed, all deserve to be recognised as do their families for their hard work and dedication regardless of whether they get to the NRL or not.

What about roosters academy v marsden high

[mdrew]

Front rower or second rower Brayden Young is heading back to the Gold Coast to be part of the 2019 Burleigh U20 Colts side after a 2018 season that saw him play a number of matches for the Easts Tigers Colts side.

[mdrew]

Former Marymount College student Tom Berkers will line up for his second season in the Burleigh Colts side in 2019.

For the Burleigh Colts side this season he played in seventeen matches, starting eleven on the wing, Rounds 23 and 24 in the second row and the remainder from the interchange bench, including Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

In those 17 matches Tom Berkers scored three tries which came against Ipswich in Round Thirteen, Tweed Heads in Round 16 and Wynnum in Round 22.

In addition to his Colts matches, Tom Berkers played four U19 matches for the Currumbin Eagles scoring two tries in the process which came against Ormeau and Burleigh.

[mdrew]

Former Marymount College standout Ben Willetts has played a lot of positions in recent seasons including lock for Marymount College in 2017, half and five eight for Currumbin in the 2018 GCRL U19 competition, he started from the bench in the U19 Grand Final that Currumbin who by defeating Southport 34-20 in the decider and finished the 2018 season on the wing for the Burleigh Colts side.

In 2019 once against for the Burleigh Colts side Ben Willetts will be looking to establish himself both in a position and in the side in general.

Ben Willets made his debut for the Burleigh Colts side in Round Twenty against Victoria and went on to play in three Colts matches starting each on the wing scoring in his final two matches being against Townsville and Easts in Rounds 23 and 24 respectively.

For Currumbin in the GCRL U19 competition this season Ben Willetts played in a total of nine matches scoring 44 points from three tries and 16 goals.

His tries came against Bilambil, Runaway Bay and Burleigh. With the boot he kicked five in a September match against Bilambil and four earlier of the season also against Bilambil (he also scored in that early season match against the Jets.

[mdrew]

Nic Hilton, Jye Gray, Blake Mozer, Joseph Shannon and Tim Sielaff-Burns named in QLD 2019 U15 SEQ Emerging Origin program

[ALX25]

Nic Hilton, Jye Gray, Blake Mozer, Joseph Shannon and Tim Sielaff-Burns named in QLD 2019 U15 SEQ Emerging Origin program

Are the other players from the GC linked to other clubs?

[mdrew]

An intriguing player who has been named in the 2019 Burleigh U20 Colts side is Xavier Toia who for the last couple of seasons has been playing rugby at Kings Christian College on the Gold Coast.

The youngster has previously been part of the Titans U15 development squad was a representative player in New Zealand for the Northern Swords before his move to Australia.

Over the last few seasons he has been outstanding in rugby especially in the sevens where he has represented Queensland at the Australian Championships.

Xavier Toia last played rugby league on the Gold Coast in 2015 for Nerang when he was U15 eligible.

[mdrew]

One of the most fascinating things about the announcement of the Burleigh and Tweed Heads Colts squads is to see what players have made the move to the Gold Coast for a chance at an NRL opportunity with the Titans.

The 2019 season is no different and one player who has moved to the Gold Coast is former Newcastle Knights development player Jock Sullivan who has been named in the Burleigh Bears 2019 Colts squad after a 2018 season which saw the second rower captain his Maitland Pickers U19 side to Grand Final success in the local Newcastle competition.

Jock Sullivan played nineteen matches for Maitland in the U19 competition scoring four tries including tries against Central Newcastle and Lakes United.

He also played eight matches in the Newcastle Reserve Grade competition making his debut against South Newcastle in July and also played three First Grade matches making his First Grade debut in early July against South Newcastle.

Jock Sullivan started the 2018 season as part of the Newcastle Development Squad in the U18 Laurie Daley Cup competition playing three matches which were against Northern Rivers, the Greater Northern Tigers and the Central Coast Roosters.

[mdrew]

Former Titans junior development squad member Caleb Pirini is one of a number of talented halves who will be pushing for playing time next season in the Burleigh Colts U20 squad.

The 2017 New Zealand Maori representative (he also played in the MM Cup competition in 2017) played for the Ormeau Shearers this season, playing seven matches in the U19 competition and five GCRL First Grade matches.

In his seven U19 matches Caleb Pirini finished the season with 18 points from three tries and three goals with the tries coming from a double against Beaudesert and a try against Burleigh. All three of his goals came in an early July match against Bilambil.

Caleb Pirini made his GCRL First Grade debut in early June against Southport going on to play five in total and scoring in consecutive weeks against Burleigh and Southport.

[mdrew]

Over the course of the last couple of seasons half Leighmon Hohaia-Katene has shuttled between Perth and the Gold Coast.

In 2017 he played for Keebra Park, picking up votes in their best and fairest award for their Reserve side and this season played in Perth for the Joondalup Giants in the Western Australian First Grade competition as well as for the Western Pirates in the NSW U18 SG Ball competition.

2019 will see Leighmon Hohaia-Katene back on the Gold Coast playing in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition with Burleigh. He will also be Colts eligible in 2020.

In the 2018 SG Ball competition he played in five of the Pirates matches due to some injuries. He came into the side in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters starting at half. Leighmon Hohaia-Katene moved to five eight for Rounds Four and Five against Illawarra and Canberra Raiders respectively before starting Round Six against Balmain at half.

After missing two rounds with injury Leighmon Hohaia-Katene started the final round being Round Nine against the Canterbury Bulldogs back at five eight.

Leighmon Hohaia-Katene’s sole 2018 SG Ball try came in Round Three against the Central Coast Roosters.

Leighmon Hohaia-Katene also played in fourteen Western Australian First Grade matches starting the majority at half scoring three tries including a double against the South Perth Lions and also scoring against the Freemantle Roosters.

[mdrew]

Jake Smith is a young lock who has recently signed a scholarship with the Titans from the Forbes Spacemen after playing for the New South Wales Country U16 side against a Titans U16 squad at Cudgen recently.

Jack Smith started from the bench for the New South Wales Country side in the match with New South Wales Country running out 30 – 10 winners. Jake Smith was also part of the New South Wales Country U16 side that defeated PNG U16’s a couple of days earlier in Ballina in Northern New South Wales as a precursor to the match against the Titans.

Playing in the Group 11 competition for the Parkes Spacemen Jack Smith played in both the U16 and U18 competitions over the course of the 2018 season. In the U16 competition Jack Smith spent time at fullback including starting the Grand Final at fullback. Jack Smith also played eight U18 matches scoring a hat trick in his first career U18 match against Dubbo Macquarie.

Jack Smith was also part of this season’s victorious Western Rams U18 Laurie Daley Cup side and started at lock as they defeated Illawarra South Coast Dragons in the final. Jack Smith started all seven of the matches that he was involved in and scored three tries, including a double against the Wests Tigers and in Round Two he scored against the Riverina Bulls.

In 2017 Jake Smith was selected at fullback for the New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges side from Red Bend Catholic College starting all of the matches that he played in during the ASSRL U15 Championships.