Junior Development

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Speed is one attribute that cannot be taught and that is the attribute that Titans contracted Alofi Khan-Pereira has in shades.

Hopefully early in 2021 Lofi can break into the Burleigh Queensland Cup side on the wing and then he is only a step away from the NRL.

Lofi has Addo-Carr like speed and when he breaks into the NRL he will be a Titans fan favourite and an another local junior (Burleigh Bears) to progress through the ranks.

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The cancellation of the Queensland Cup had a significant impact on the development of a lot of younger fringe NRL players with talented players like Titan Darius Farmer the perfect case. Instead of pushing for an NRL spot on the back of playing for Burleigh in the QCup, Darius Farmer, other than playing a number of 9/10 aside matches against other NRL squads had to continue to train hard in the NRL bubble.

Even though the Titans have brought in a number of high profile second rowers, do not discount Darius Farmer, who has fought through immense adversity, from making an impact in the NRL in 2021 and at 191cm and 104kg, his impact could be huge.

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Another young Titans player that was impacted by the shutting down of the Queensland Cup competitions in 2021 was young half/five eight Toby Sexton. Like other players in the same situation, Toby Sexton was only able to get some competitive action in 9/10 aside matches against other NRL squads including the Broncos.

Breaking into the NRL in 2021 may be a year too soon for Toby Sexton but a Queensland Cup debut for the Tweed Heads Seagulls is certainly within in reach for the local junior.

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One of the more underrated outside backs on the Gold Coast in Titans contracted Kobie Mackay-Taylor will in 2021 have the opportunity to showcase his ability in the centres or on the wing for Coombabah State High School when they play in the main draw of the school Boy Langer Cup.

Kobie Mackay-Taylor is not the biggest, strongest or fastest outside back running around but he is smart, consistent and error free.

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Another Titans player who will benefit from Coombabah State High School's elevation to the main draw of the 2021 school boy Langer Cup competition is contracted second rower Zac Johnson.

Like a number of his Coombabah SHS team mates, Zac Johnson is a talented player but has not gotten some of the accolades that players from Keebra Park and PBC get.

That will certainly change in 2021.

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With the recent rule changes that have made rugby league a lot faster with significantly less stops in play, finding players who are electric around the ruck has become critical for a team to succeed.

In 2021 in the school boy Langer Cup competition, Titans contracted Caleb Gould-Waiariki will certainly come to the fore.

The 2020 for Coombabah he came off the bench to provide a spark (against St Mary's when he came on he was the most influential player on the field) and may do so again with the 2020 starting hooker returning, but regardless Caleb Gould-Waiariki, who is also a state level touch player will be in his element with his speed off the mark and elusiveness.

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Cudgen Hornets 2020 U18 NRRRL U18 fullback Jack Field had a big year this year, being part of the Hornets Grand Final winning side, he also made his NRRRL First Grade debut off the bench towards the end of the season against the Bilambil Jets.

His impressive 2020 form has led him to make the final cut of the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side.

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The 2021 U18 Laurie Daley Northern Rivers Titans Cup side is a very young side but they do have a number of players returning from 2020 including second rower Nicholas Troy.

Nicholas Troy had a very good season in the U18 NRRRL competition for Ballina, including starting in the second row in their 30-18 Grand Final victory over the Marist Brothers Rams.

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Two members of the 2020 Marist Brothers Rams U18 NRRRL side that helped them make the Grand Final against Ballina have been named in the final 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup final squad, being Lachlan Watts and Kurt Roberson.

Lachlan Watts spent the majority of the 2020 season in the front row and Kurt Roberson in the second row.

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The 2021 Burleigh Bears MM Cup side contains one code hopper with Jack Poidevin moving over from rugby.

In 2020 Jack Poidevin played for the Surfers Paradise Rugby Club in the GCRU U17 competition, finishing the season strongly with a double for Surfers Paradise in their Preliminary Final against the PBC Alleygtors. He also scored the week prior in Round Ten against the Flying Bulls.

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Jayden Wright had an outstanding 2020 season from a rugby league perspective, including scoring for Currumbin in their GCRL U18 Division One Grand Final victory over the Burleigh Bears 18-0 after starting the match in the second row. He subsequently was named in the powerful Tweed Heads Seagulls 2021 MM Cup squad.

Jayden Wright also played rugby in 2020, playing for the PBC Alleygators in the GCRU U17 competition.

In Round Three against Surfers Paradise Jayden Wright started at outside centre (No. 13) and scored a double. He followed that up with a try and a conversion in Round Five against SC.

Jayden Wright came off the bench in Round Eight and scored against the Bond Pirates and followed that up with another try when PBC took on Surfers Paradise in the GCRU U17 Preliminary Final.

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Club rugby is in an odd place on the Gold Coast with only limited age divisions and only four or five teams per age division but that does not mean that there are not some talented youngster that would seemingly be ideally suited to rugby league.

Surfers Paradise 2020 GCRU U13 centre Aropeta Tuuina is one such player. In addition to starting at inside centre (No. 12) and scoring in the Grand Final against Bond Pirates Red, he also scored a double in Round Five against Colleges Knights and followed that up a week later by scoring in Round Six against Bond Pirates White.

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Keebra Park rugby league academy student Mateo Faleono is not just an outstanding rugby league player but an impressive rugby player too.

In 2020 he played for the Colleges Knights in the GCRU U13 competition taking the competition by storm, including scoring four doubles.

Mateo Faleono scored doubles in Rounds Two, Three, Four and Eight against the Bond Pirates Red, Bond Pirates Blue, the Helensvale Hogs and Bond Pirates White respectively. He also scored in Round Seven against Bond Pirates Red.

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Keebra Park SHS may have lost the 2020 rugby league school boy Old Boys Cup Final against Marsden State High School but the teams performance over the course of 2021 was impressive.

One player to shine was half Gazniah Toomaga who also played his club rugby league for the Coomera Cutters.

He also played rugby in 2020 for the Coomera Crushers in the GCRU U13 competition. Gazniah Toomaga scored in Round One against the Helensvale Hogs, Round Two against the Bond Pirates, Round Five against Surfers Paradise and also scored a double in Round Four against the Yatala Rams as well as kicking a conversion in Round Three against the Helensvale Hogs.

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Thankyou to all who have supported junior rugby league in 2020 and all the best for 2021.

Special thanks to some of the best mates that a person could have who have helped with keeping all of us up to date with junior rugby league.

Thanks to my mates Guy (you are a champion mate), Hail Sezer (another champion) Lonegull (Champion too mate), JT09, JA4220, Sunny86 and Bayside (you saved me mate) amongst many others who without them I would know very little. Similiarly without the support of Titanic, Diehard, Bods etc, I would not have kept posting.

Also thanks to the Titans and parents who work tirelessly to help all young people in their pursuit of their dreams the effort that you put in is absolutely appreciated by the youngsters that you nuture.

Of course also thanks to the outstanding young players for working so hard to achieve your dream. No matter what the result hold your head up high, you deserve to.