Junior Development

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Great to see Ormeau Shearers winger Saxon Matena on the try scoring list on the weekend, scoring one of the four Shearers tries in their pre-season U18 Division One Round One victory against Currumbin 24-16.

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Good to see Noah Croudace in the Burleigh U20 side and starting at fullback for Burleigh when the Gold Coast Rugby League competition commenced over the weekend as the Bears played a Pre-season Round One round robin against Helensvale and Runaway Bay.

Noah Croudace scored in the Bears second match of their round robin against Helensvale when he ran into a hole on the right side of the field to score.

Noah Croudace started Round One of the 2020 MM Cup competition for the Burleigh Bears on the right wing against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls which unfortunately ended up being the only round player of the 2020 MM Cup competition.

When training initially restarted for the revised 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League season, Noah Croudace commenced training with the Burleigh U20 side but then transitioned back to the Burleigh U18 Division One side.

When the Gold Coast Rugby League competition started in late July 2020 Noah Croudace played for the Burleigh Bears U18 Division One side, primarily on the right wing including scoring a double in Round Two against the Currumbin Eagles. In fact for the majority of the U18 Division One competition Noah Croudace was a regular try scorer for the Bears.

After being part of the Burleigh U18 Division One side that defeated Runaway Bay in the Preliminary Final, Noah Croudace started at right centre for Burleigh in the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One Grand Final against the Currumbin Eagles.

As the 2020 season progressed Noah Croudace also played a number of matches for the Burleigh GCRL U20 side also playing primarily on the wing in that competition although he did start a number of matches at right centre as well. Noah Croudace was part of the Burleigh U20 Preliminary Final side that went down in the last minute to Helensvale 26 – 24.

In 2019 Noah Croudace was part of the Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad and was named on an extended bench for Round Four against Townsville but unfortunately did not make the final seventeen but made his debut starting on the wing in Round Six as Burleigh overcame the previously unbeaten Wynnum Manly Seagulls to finish the 2019 season on a high with the 23 – 22 victory.

Noah Croudace played the 2019 season with Burleigh in the GCRL U18 Division One competition playing in six regular season matches, scoring five tries to finish with a strike rate of 83.33%. Noah Croudace had outstanding start to his 2019 U18 Division One campaign scoring doubles in his opening two matches ironically both matches were against Currumbin. Noah Croudace’s other regular season try was against the Bilambil Jets in early August.

In Week Two of the 2019 U18 Division One Finals series Noah Croudace started on the wing for Burleigh in their victory 34 – 8 against Southport to progress directly to the Grand Final contributing a try to the dominating victory.

In the 2019 GCRL U18 Division One Grand Final against Southport Noah Croudace started on the right wing and had some good moments including a line break down the right wing in the match which ultimately turned into a forward slog with the Bears winning 28 – 12 in a very physical affair.

2019 also saw Noah Croudace play multiple matches for PBC in both the Langer Cup and GIO Cup competitions including starting on the right wing for PBC in their heart breaking Gold Point GIO Cup Queensland semi-final 23 – 22 loss to Marsden State High School.

In the match Noah Croudace was very effective down the right touchline including making a long break in the first half which almost led to a PBC try.

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The biggest collision at Cbus Stadium on Saturday did not come in the NRL match between the Titans and Newcastle it came in the MM Cup curtain raiser between Burleigh and Ipswich.

In the 58th minute from the first hit-up off a Burleigh kick-up, there was an earth trembling collision when fellow Titans Josiah Pahulu (Ipswich) and Arama Hau (Burleigh) smashed into each other with the contact stopping both players in their tracks, it was great to see and let’s call the outcome a draw!

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When the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade season commenced over the weekend with the pre-season competition, Brent Barnes was part of the first ever Helensvale Hornets side in play in the GCRL First Grade competition.

In Round One of the pre-season competition, Brent Barnes started at right centre for the Helensvale and whilst they had a touch loss to Tugun in their pre-season opener, there were some bright spots including Brent Barnes second half try. After Helensvale kicked off, Brent Barnes was the first player down field and looked set to make the tackle, but instead stole the ball one on one on the twenty metre mark and after holding off one Seahawks defender was able to score midway between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

The try noted above is one of two that Brent Barnes scored in the match.

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In his first game of rugby league for well over two years Joseph Vuna, who spent the off-season training with the Titans NRL squad, started in the second row for Tweed Heads in Round Three against the Souths Logan Magpies on Saturday afternoon, making a strong tackle on the Magpies front row who ran the ball back from the kick-off.

Joseph Vuna played sixty three minutes in the match, running for thirty six metres (twelve pst contact) and made nineteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 90.48%.

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The ability to offload the ball in traffic is a skill that you either have or you don’t. on Saturday afternoon for the Burleigh MM Cup side, Keebra Park student Delihia Wigmore proved that he definitely has that skill with three impressive second half offloads as Burleigh overcome a big early deficit to defeat Ipswich in a curtain raiser to the Titans v Knights NRL match at Cbus Stadium.

In the 36th minute, when he engaged the defensive line and threw a good out of the back of his left arm off-load to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who had loomed up in his left.

Then in the 43rd minute, Delahia Wigmore had the opportunity to run out of dummy half to his right, breaking three tackles and then producing a great off-load to his left once again to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira to get inside the Jets forty metre area.

The Ipswich defence could not stop Delahia Wigmore offloading in the second half and in the 50th once again he was able to off-load to his left, this time to Jeremaiah Tamepo.

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Titans contracted Immanuel Kalekale’s tyy in the 32nd minute of Round Five of the MM Cup for Burleigh on Saturday was one of the more impressive front row tries that I have seen.

Immanuel Kalekale received the ball twelve metres out from the try line to the left of the play the ball with a set defensive line in front of him. Immanuel Kalekale engaged the initial defender with a left arm fend ten metrs out before engaging two additional defenders five metres out. Initially it looked like the three Jets defenders would be able to get Immanuel Kalekale to the ground but he kept fighting the defenders and was able to get the ball down under the posts.

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After missing Round Four of the MM Cup, it was good to see Titans contracted Brody Smitka back for Round Five on Saturday against Ipswich starting the match from the bench and scoring as Burleigh came from behind to record an incredible came back victory 44 – 36 at Cbus Stadium.

Brody Smitak’s try in the 37th minute when Caleb Gould-Waiariki ran out of dummy half to his right before straightening up his run to freeze the defence in place before passing to his right for Brody Smitka to crash over from five metres out.

Brody Smitka then in the 45th minute charged into the Ipswich defensive line from a kick-off making twenty metres, more than a few of them post contact to get the Bears on the front foot once again.

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On Saturday afternoon Darius Farmer was back coming off the bench for Tweed Heads in Round Three against the Souths Logan Magpies and recorded his first career Queensland Cup try in the 70th minute when he ran a straight crash line from three metres out. After contacting the defence, Darius Farmer spun counter clockwise to twist his way over next to the right upright.

Whilst Darius Farmer only played the final twenty nine minutes of the match, he certainly made the most of each minute, running for ninety eight metres (thirty nine post contact), made a line break, broke a team leading six tackles and made ten tackles of his own.

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Tuvalli Khan-Pereira started at fullback in Round Five of the MM Cup for Burleigh against the Ipswich Jets and was one of the Bears try scorers as they recorded an astonishing come from behind victory at Cbus Stadium on Saturday in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL match.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scored in the 40th minute when Caleb Gould-Waiariki burst out of dummy half to his right, thirty five metres out from the line, beating two defenders before a step off off his left got him thorugh the line and then he was able to draw the fullback and offload to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira. When he received the ball it certainly was not simply a case of Tuvalli Khan-Pereira coasting to the line, he had to fight through three defenders before being able to get the ball down next to the left upright.

Burleigh were immediately under pressure in the opening moments of the match and but for Tuvalli Khan-Pereira and team mates, Arama Hau an dSeth Nikotemo Ipswich would have opened the scoring in the 4th minute when the Ipswich No. 10 was held up over the line.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s defence was once again called upon in the 11th minute when he along with Syris Schmidt converged on the Ipswich right winger who had made a break down the touchline. The initial contact by the two Bears players kept the Jets winger off the ground and they then were able to force him into touch.

After being heavily involved defensively, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was finally able to get some room to move with the ball in the 16th minute when he ran the ball from a Burleigh scrum win, making fifteen metres down the right to get within ten metres of the try line.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira showcased his innate ability to be at the right place at the right time in the 43rd minute, when Delahia Wigmore ran out of dummy half to his right, breaking three tackles and then producing a great off-load to his left to find Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who was able to get the ball inside the Jets forty metre area.

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Titans contracted Jeremaiah Tamepo also started on the left wing in Round Five of the MM Cup for Burleigh on Saturday against the Ipswich Jets and made his presence felt in the 3rd minute when Ipswich manufactured an overlap to their left side, but Jeremaiah Tamepo identified that the overlap was developing and came out of the line quickly to hit the Ipswich left centre just as he received the ball to shut down the movement on the spot.

With Burleigh under pressure early in the match, Jeremaiah Tamepo came off his wing in the 12th minute to take pressure off his forwards, taking a hit-up from a Burleigh play the ball restart with Jeremaiah Tamepo able to make twelve valuable metres.

Jeremaiah Tamepo came close to scoring in the 17th minute when he was able to get away near the left corner but only the intervention of three Ipswich defenders were able to stop him and bundle him into touch just a metre short of the line.

With Burleigh under pressure towards the end of the match, in the 66th minute to be precise, Jeremaiah Tamepo came all the way from his left wing to the right side of the field to help Burleigh bring the ball out of their own territory with the resultant hit-up making ten metres to get Burleigh out to near their own thirty metre line.

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Jayden Campbell was back starting at fullback for Tweed Heads in Round Three against the Souths Logan Magpies on Saturday, scoring his first career Queensland Cup try in the 57th minute in the Seagulls impressive 40 – 26 victory, a match which saw him once again play all eighty minutes.

Jayden Campbell’s career first Queensland Cup try was certainly worth the wait. Tweed Heads were attacking inside the Magpies twenty and spun the ball from left to right, with Jayden Campbell receiving to the right of the uprights twenty metres out from the line. Jayden Campbell took the ball right to the line, before putting in a right foot grubber kick which was ideally weighted with Jayden Campbell flying through to ground the ball in the in-goal next to the right upright in between two Souths Logan defenders.

In addition to his try Jayden Campbell made a team leading 168 metres (thirty two post contact), made a line break, broke five tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.68 seconds, kicked once making fourteen metres and made three tackles.

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The outstanding Titans contracted Arama Hau started at lock for Burleigh in Round Five of the Mm Cup against the Ipswich Jets.

Burleigh were immediately under pressure in the opening moments of the match and but for Arama Hau and team mates, Seth Nikotemo and Tuvalli Khan-Pereira, Ipswich would have opened the scoring in the 4th minute when the Ipswich No. 10 was held up over the line.

Arama then rocked the entire Cbus stadium with a huge hit on the Ipswich lock early in the first half who had run an underneath route running right into the shoulder of Arama Hau who certainly did not miss.

Arama Hau was involved in an even bigger earth trembling collision when in the 58th minute he smashed into Ipswich front rower and fellow Titan Josiah Pahulu after a Burleigh kick-off with the contact stopping both players in their tracks, it was great to see and let’s call the outcome a draw!

In the 51st Arama Hau contribution to the Bears comeback victory moved to his running game when he produced a strong run into the defensive before he spun around and got away a right arm offload to Delahia Wigmore who was able to get to within five metres of the try line.

Arama Hau then backed that effort up by taking the hit-up after Wigmore had played the ball, offloading once again, this time to his right, two further passes to the right later, Burleigh scored near the right corner.

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Titans contracted Syris Schmidt started at halfback in Round Five of the MM Cup against the Ipswich Jets on Saturday.

The match saw Syris Schmidt record a try assist in the 34th minute when he put up a left foot bomb from twenty five metres out which came down right on the touchline and was dropped by Ipswich with the Titans scooping up the miss to score next to the right upright.

Syris Schmidt’s first significant contribution to Burleigh’s come from behind win against the Jets came from the 5th tackle of the first set of the match when he put in a long raking left foot kick into the left corner with Syris Schmidt being the first Bears player down field to make the tackle.

Syris Schmidt’s defence was called upon in the 11th minute when he along with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira converged on the Ipswich right winger who had made a break down the touchline. The initial contact by the two Bears players kept the Jets winger off the ground and they then were able to force him into touch.

In the 27th minute, Syris Schmidt produced a good left foot step that resulted in a line break off a Burleigh scrum win with Syris Schmidt getting the ball to within twenty five metres of the try line.

Syris Schmidt’s all-out effort in the match was certainly to his sides benefit in the 44th minute he chased through a Burleigh bomb to the right corner. Syris Schmidt arrived just after the Jets winger feet touched the ground and with the momentum and initial contact, Syris Schmidt was able to force the winger back into his own in-goal.

Syris Schmidt produced an exceptional bomb of his own in the 67th minute when he pin point left foot bomb of his to the left corner could not be taken cleanly by the Jets winger. Burleigh scored from the subsequent scrum, which Burleigh took centre field.

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Round Five of the CC Cup against the Ipswich Jets that was played as a curtain raider to the Titans v Knights NRL match saw Titans contracted Bailey McConnell once against start at half and captain the Bears.

Burleigh were under pressure in the opening minutes but a big 5th minute tackle by Bailey McConnell changed the momentum of the match. The Jets five eight tried to step him but Bailey McConnell hit him front on dumping him backwards. Bailey McConnell continued his strong defensive match in the 25th minute when he produced another strong front on tackle on the Jets five eight directly in front of the posts.

Bailey McConnell was at his play making best in the 10th minute of the match when operating on the left side of the field he threw a good “out the back” pass to put Seagulls fullback Andrew Brennan into space and he subsequently scored on the left.

Bailey McConnell showcased his backing up skills in the 17th minute when he backed up a break by Kenneth Stevens to get an inside offload before being dragged down thirty metres out.

Bailey McConnell made his own break in the 32nd minute when he was operating on the left running across field before producing a show and go to break the line and get to within three metres of the line before being brought down. Due to his quick play the ball, Burleigh scored from the play the ball.

Bailey McConnell showed his toughness in the 34th minute when he took an Ipswich kick off on the full and instead of passing the ball off to one of his forwards, Bailey McConnell took the line on himself, breaking three tackles to get the ball to thirty three metres out from his own line.

In the 39th minute, after run to his left after getting through the line with a dummy, Bailey McConnell, even whilst being tackled was able to get an offload away to front rower Sam McAllister.

Bailey McConnell’s kicking skills were highlighted in the 45th minute when he put in a raking right foot kick from fifty metres out with the ball coming to a stop one metre out from the line and one metre in from touch. Of course Bailey McConnell was the first Burleigh player downfield making the tackle with the Ipswich fullback still inside his own ten metre area.