Junior Development

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Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Cameron Brown start at halfback and captain for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers on Sunday with Cameron Brown scoring the Bears opening round victory. When you add in his five conversions, Cameron Brown finished the match with a fourteen point individual haul and that does not include his try assists.

Cameron Brown’s 67th minute try was certainly one for the ages and is an early contender for try of the year. After retrieving a lost Tigers ball Jayden Sharp offloaded to Cameron Brown forty metres out from the line. When he received the ball Cameron Brown darted to his left beating one defender before producing a right arm flick pass to Lofi Khan-Pereira.

After Lofi Khan-Pereira broke one tackle he passed the ball back to Cameron Brown who was still ten metres away from the line. Cameron Brown stepped off his left to allow two cover defenders to flew past him before putting his head down and going flat out towards the line and diving over seven metres in from the left corner.

Cameron Brown recorded a try assist in just the 6th minute of the match. Operating on the left, Cameron Brown took the ball to the line on the 5th tackle, getting to ten metres out before putting in a right foot stab kick to his left. The kick was ideally weighted, pulling up perfectly in the in-goal for left second rower Sam McIntyre to dive on the ball to score Burleigh’s first try of the 2021 Colts season.

Cameron Brown added another try assist in the 14th minute he threw a cut out pass to his left ten metres from the try line, putting the ball onto the chest of Lofi Khan-Pereira’ who then flew down the left wing to dive over in the left corner.

Cameron Brown added a line break assist in the 44th minute when he took the ball to the line and threw a fifteen metre cut-out pass to his left to hit Lofi Khan-Pereira away down the left touchline.

A further line break assist came in the 56th minute when once again Cameron Brown took the ball right to the line before firing a hard flat cut-out pass to Lofi Khan-Pereira who after running forty metres down the left touchline passed to Zane Prophert who scored in the left corner. Cameron Brown then converted the try from the left touchline.

Cameron Brown was also involved in Will Evans 50th minute try. Cameron Brown had the ball midfield ten metres out and in front of the posts. After he stopped room on the right Cameron Brown threw a long cut-out pass in that direction, but the pass fell short with Tony Francis knocking the ball with his foot into the path of Will Evans who picked the ball up and ran ten metres to score near the right corner.

In addition to his great kick for Sam McIntyre’s 6th minute try, Cameron Brown produced another good kick in the 14th minute, this time a spiralling mid-field bomb that could not be handled by the Easts fullback. Cameron Brown had chased his own kick, to retrieve the ball after Easts had dropped it and beat two defenders to get to twenty metres out from the try line.

Cameron Brown produced a heads up play to take all of the pressure of the Burleigh line in the 66th minute when he darted through to dive on a loose Tigers pass just out from his own line just after Easts had received a six again call.

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In Round One of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League pre-season competition last weekend, Jay Blazek started at five eight for the Helensvale U20 side that played round robin matches against Burleigh and Runaway Bay.

In late October 2020, Jay Blazek was named in the 2021 Burleigh MM Cup squad and came off the bench in their first 2021 MM Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Jay Blazek came into the Burleigh Bears 2021 MM Cup side in Round Four when he started at right centre against the Souths Logan Magpies and also started at right centre in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets.

The former Titans linked Helensvale Hornet’s first hit out of the 2020 season was when Jay Blazek started in the centres for the Burleigh MM Side in their trial against the Easts Tigers in a solid early season hit-out.

When Community rugby league re-commenced in July 2020 Jay Blazek played for Helensvale in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition.

From a Titans perspective Jay Blazek started from the bench for the Titans U16 side in their early October 2019 match against PNG U16’s at Burleigh’s Pizzey Park ground with the Titans winning 44 – 12 on the Friday night in ideal conditions for rugby league.

In the 2019 season Jay Blazek played twelve matches for the Helensvale Hornets in the GCRL U16 Division One competition scoring three tries including a double in a Week One Finals loss 42 – 20 to Burleigh. Jay Blazek’s other try came in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay as he finished the season with a 25% strike rate.

Early in 2019 Jay Blazek was part of the Gold Coast Vikings U16 train on squad and then represented the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 Pre-season Challenge against sides from Ipswich, Brisbane (three teams) and Gold Coast Vikings Yellow.

In 2018 Jay Blazek played eleven matches for Helensvale in the U15 Division One competition scoring five tries (45.45% strike rate) including a double against Mudgeeraba and also scored against Currumbin in two separate matches to account for the majority of his five tries.

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Talented half Esmonde Parangi has moved over from the Northlands Region of New Zealand (the region north of Auckland) to attend Keebra Park High School in 2020.

Last weekend’s Round One of the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League pre-season competition saw Esmonde Parangi started at halfback for the Runaway Bay U20 side that played round robin matches againt Burleigh and Helensvale.

In early 2020 Esmonde Parangi went back to New Zealand for the Covid 19 lock down period but returned to Australia in early June to continuing his schooling at Keebra Park.

When school boy rugby league recommenced in July 2020 Esmonde Parangi was part of the Keebra Park Titans Cup Open Division Two side including starting at five eight and kicking a conversion in Round Three as Keebra Park defeated Beenleigh 46 – 0.

Esmonde Parangi also started at five eight and scored in the second half in the Titans Cup Division Two Boys 36 – 10 Grand Final victory against Chisholm Catholic College. Esmonde Parangi was operating on the left and passed to his lock forward who broke the defensive line down the left touch line before passing back inside to Esmonde Parangi who stepped off his left foot to beat the Chisholm fullback before running diagonally across field to score mid-way between the up rights and corner post on the right side of the field after the move had started on the left.

In 2019 Esmonde Parangi was a trialist for the New Zealand U16 side playing for Team Fisher-Harris in the trial on the last day of the National U16 camp and kicking a conversion as his side defeated Team Papali’I 24 – 16.

Esmonde Parangi played for the Northern Swords U17 representative side in 2019 at the New Zealand U17 National Youth Tournament, starting all four of their matches at fullback. Esmonde Parangi’s sole points of the Tournament came in Match Four when he kicked two goals against the Wellington Orca’s. Esmonde Parangi’s other matches at the U17 New Zealand National Youth Tournament were against the South Island Scorpions, Counties Manukau Stingrays and the Auckland Vulcans.

Esmonde Parangi played in two competitions in the Northlands Region in 2019 being the U17 Sam McKendry Cup and the Adam Blair School Boy Cup.

In the 2019 Sam McKendry U17 competition Esmonde Parangi played eight matches for Tautoro scoring two tries and kicking ten goals for a twenty eight point season haul. Esmonde Parangi scored against the Hikurangi Stags and Takahiwai Warriors and in the match against the Stags also kicked three goals. Esmonde Parangi also kicked four goals against the Hikurangi Stags in a late season match.

Esmonde Parangi played three matches for Kaitaia College in the Adam Blair School Boy competition in 2019 finishing with twenty points from a try and eight goals. Esmonde Parangi’s try came against Okaihau College and he also kicked five goals in that match for a fourteen point haul. Esmonde Parangi also kicked three goals against Whangarei Boys High.

In late 2019 Esmonde Parangi was named as a Finalist Far North District Council ABS Junior Sports Person of the Year Far North Sport Award for his performances in rugby league of the over of the 2019 season.

In 2018 Esmonde Parangi was part of the Northern Swords side that played in the 2018 U15 National Youth Tournament playing in matches against Wai-Coa Bay twice, the Auckland Vulcans and the South Island Scorpions.

Also in 2018 Esmonde Parangi, even though he was still U15 eligible played in five matches in the U17 Sam McKendry Cup scoring twenty points from two tries and six goals. Esmonde Parangi scored against the Takahiwai Warriors and Nga Puhi Toa.

Esmonde Parangi was also the top points scorer and goal kicker in the 2018 U15 Elijah Taylor Cup competition finishing with eighty nine points from his ten matches, scoring in nine of those matches and averaging just under nine points per match.

Esmonde Parangi scored five tries which came in separate matches against the Tautoro Titans, the Portland Panthers, the Hikurangi Stags and in two separate matches against the Takahiwai Warriors across the 2018 Elijah Taylor Cup season.

With the boot Esmonde Parangi kicked eight goals in a June 2018 match against the Portland Warriors (also scoring in that match with finish with a twenty point haul) and seven goals in early July 2018 against the Takahiwai Warriors. In the match against the Takahiwai Warriors Esmonde Parangi finished with nineteen points with his sole field goal of the season coming in that match as well.

In 2018 Esmonde Parangi also played two matches for Kaitaia College in the Adam Blair School Boy rugby league competition finishing with sixteen points from three tries and two goals with all of his points coming in a match against Northland College in what was his first match for Kaitaia College that season.

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Well done to Titans contracted Bailey McConnell who was awarded the 2021 Burleigh Bears Cyril Connell Cup Coaches Award.

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Former TSS First XV GPS School Boy rugby open side flanker Luc Lyndon started from the bench for the Currumbin Eagles in Round One of the 2021 GCRL Doug Lipp Cup competition over the weekend with the Eagles recording a strong 54 -0 first up win against the Ormeau Shearers.

In 2020 Luc Lyndon was part of the Currumbin Eagles GCRL U20 squad and started from the bench for the Eagles in their 2020 GCRL U20 Grand Final against the Helensvale Hornets.

The young TSS No. 7 was a key member of the TSS U16A GPS school boy rugby side on 2017 and in 2018 and 2019 was a key member of the TSS First XV squad for the two GPS Rugby seasons.

In TSS’s First XV trials in 2018 Luc Lyndon has played in four First XV matches coming off the bench on each occasion in matches against New Zealand’s Westlake Boys High, Bond University Colts and both GPS Trial’s.

Luc Lyndon has also played in three TSS Second XV trials, starting at No. 7 against Sydney’s Riverview College and at No. 8 against Toowoomba Grammar School and Nudgee College.

For the TSS U16A side last season, Luc Lyndon started at No. 7 (open side flanker)in all eight of TSS matches as they went through the 2017 GPS U16A season undefeated and were also awarded the Scoobie Bryer Trophy as the most successful TSS side of the 2017 season.

In his eight 2017 U16A matches Luc Lyndon scored two tries both of which came in Round Three against Ipswich Grammar School.

In late 2017 Luc Lyndon was selected in the Queensland White U16 Rugby side for the National Championships and played club rugby on the Gold Coast for the Bond University Pirates.

Luc Lyndon is not a stranger to rugby league, playing two matches in 2016 for the Currumbin Eagles in the U15 Division One competition where a team mate was Noah Gafa.

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Big strong second rower Jared Johnson showed some real pace last weekend for the Helensvale Hornets when he scored a runaway try in Round One of the 2021 U18 Division One pre-season competition but the Hornets ultimately went down 16-6 to Nerang.

Jared johnson is part of the Burleigh MM Cup side this season and is also MM Cup eligible in 2022.

This season will also see Jared Johnson line up once again for Coombabah SHS in the Langer Cup Schoolboy Rugby League competition.

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In 2021 Ji Van Heerwaarden is part of the Currumbin Eagles GCRL First Grade squad, starting Round One of the pre-season last weekend from the bench as the Eagles got their 2021 season underway with a big 58 – 6 win over the Ormeau Shearers.

Ji Van Heerwaarden started Round One of the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the front row against the Northern Pride.

When rugby league on the Gold Coast restarted Ji Van Heerwaarden played for the Currumbin Eagles in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition and after a Round One bye, Currumbin took on Burleigh in Round Two with Ji Van Heerwaarden starting the match on the bench.

After missing a number of GCRL First Grade rounds, Ji Van Heerwaarden was back starting from the bench in Round Nine against the Burleigh Bears scoring a try from close range when he charged onto a short pass from Cole Geyer to the right of the play the ball to drag two defenders three metres to get the ball down under the posts.

Ji Van Heerwaarden also played a number of matches in 2020 in the Doug Lipp Cup competition for the Currumbin Eagles, including starting in the front row in the Grand Final of that competition against the Tugun Seahawks.

In 2019 Ji Van Heerwaarden played primarily for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the U20 Hastings Deering’s Colt competition, playing in nineteen consecutive matches including their Elimination Final loss to the Mackay Cutters after coming into the side in Round Three against Burleigh.

Ji Van Heerwaarden as noted above started from the bench in Round Three and moved into the starting side in the front row in Round Five against Wynnum Manly. Ji Van Heerwaarden maintained his starting spot through to Rounds Twenty Two and Twenty Three against Easts and Souths Logan respectively when he started from the bench.

Ji Van Heerwaarden’s sole 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts try came in Round Sixteen against Wynnum Manly.

Ji Van Heerwaarden also played one match for Currumbin in the GCRL U20 competition including starting from the bench and scoring a double in Round Seventeen against Southport. Both tries were a result of sheer will power, Ji Van Heerwaarden charged at the line and just wanted to score more than the defence wanted to stop him.

Ji Van Heerwaarden made in GCRL First Grade debut in May 2019 against Bilambil coming off the bench on that occasion.

The big strong young second rower originally from the Glenn Innes Magpies club in the New England Group 19 competition moved up to the Gold Coast for the 2018 season linking with the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the 2018 MM Cup competition.

In 2018 Ji Van Heerwaarden only played in one MM Cup match last season being in Round One against Norths when he started in the front row.

In the Gold Coast Rugby League competition he played for the Currumbin Eagles and went his first thirteen U19 matches without scoring but chose the perfect time to score when he scored a double in Currumbin’s 34 – 20 Grand Final victory over Southport after starting the match in the front row.

In 2018 Ji Van Heerwaarden also made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut coming off the interchange bench for Currumbin and Round Fifteen against Ormeau. He also came off the bench in Round Sixteen against Tugun.

Ji Van Heerwaarden played the 2017 season in the Group 19 U18 competition where he was one of the standout players. Across the ten matches that he played for Glenn Innes in the U18 competition, Ji Van Heerwaarden scored nine tries including a great end to the season when he scored four tries in his final three matches including a double in Glenn Innes’s final loss.

In the final two rounds of the regular season U18 competition, Ji Van Heerwaarden also scored against the Moree Boomerangs and the Inverell Hawks. Earlier in the season, Ji Van Heerwaarden scored a double against the Moree Boars and also scored in the first two rounds against the Tingha Tigers and Armidale Rans respectively.

In June of 2017 Ji Van Heerwaarden made his Group 19 First Grade debut when he started against the Moree Boars after playing in the U18 clash earlier in the day.

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Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition on Sunday afternoon saw Daniel Shannon start in the front row for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Daniel Shannon taking the second hi-up of the match into a flying Easts Tigers defensive line. Daniel Shannon then backed up to take the 5th hit-up in the same set of six.

Daniel Shannon then made more ground for Burleigh in the 10th minute when from the second hit-up from the Easts kick-off after Sam McIntyre scored, he made twelve more metres to get the ball out to the twenty metre mark.

In his second stint on the field in the second half Daniel Shannon started where he left off from his first shift when in the 57th minute he took the first and third hit-ups from the kick-off after Zane Prophet’s try.

Daniel Shannon more metres to his tally in the 66th minute when he made twelve metres getting the ball into Easts Tigers territory and he was still going strong in the 75th minute with another run out of his own twenty metre area.

Daniel Shannon took the ball up all day long, but he was also good defensively in the match, including a belting tackle over the top in the third minute of the match that bent the Easts front rower (No. 10) on himself.

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Sunday’s Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Titans contracted Isaac Matalavea-Booth named on the interchange bench for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Isaac Matalavea-Booth coming on in the 23rd minute to play in the front row.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s first hit-up occurred just a minute later making fifteen metres to get the ball forty metres away from his own line. The in the 25th minute, Isaac Matalavea-Booth picked up an Easts dropped ball to get within ten metres of the try line and two tackles later rumbled to get to just a metre out from the line.

In the 27th Isaac Matalavea-Booth continued his hectic start to his time on the field, making an additional twelve metres to get the ball to just over the halfway mark.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth showed off his off-loading skills in the 29th minute when he cut to his left on an underneath route off Blake Campbell. After hitting the line, Isaac Matalavea-Booth spun and was able to offload back to Blake Campbell who had an additional twenty metres downfield.

In the 43rd minute Isaac matalavea-Booth showed off his impressive mobility for such a big unit when he moved deftly low to his left to dive onto a lose bouncing ball that had come off multiple feet.

The 57th minute saw Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s strength come to the fore when he was hit early and hard by multiple defenders when running the ball into the Easts line in the 53rd minute. Isaac Matalavea-Booth was hit just metres into his run but fought and fought and was able to make ten metres before he was finally forced to the ground.

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Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition on Sunday saw Titans contracted TJ Devery start at right second row for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers and in fact was the first Bears player to touch the ball in the 2021 Colts season as the Bears recorded a first up 42 – 24 victory which to be fair was more comprehensive than that score line would initially suggest.

For the kick-off TJ Devery lined up on the touchline right at the corner post. The Easts kick-off was a bit of a mongrel kick, bouncing just in front of TJ Devery who maintained his composure to not try to dive forward to attempt to take the kick-off on the full, instead waiting for it to bounce.

As rugby league ball do, the ball bounced to the right towards the touchline but TJ Devery was able to recover the ball and after teetering with both feet close to the touchline was able to flick the ball back to Bears five eight Bryson Vaovasa.

TJ Devery’s first hit-up of the match came in the 3rd minute when he ran to the right of the play the ball, making ten metres to get the ball twenty metres out from his own line.

In the 30th minute TJ Devery was involved in Toby Francis’s try. After receiving an offload from his left, TJ Devery ran to his right and brought Tony Francis back underneath, handing off the ball to the powerhouse centre ten metres out, with Tony Francis doing the rest from there.

From the Burleigh set of six after the Tony Francis try TJ Devery took the 3rd hit-up of the set, dragging defenders with him to get over the thirty metre line. Then just plays later TJ Devery made a big fifteen metre surge to get within five metres of the try line.

TJ Devery made a statement defensively in the 34th minute when he along with Tony Francis made a heavy driving tackle in the East forward unlucky enough to run the ball towards them from a Burleigh kick-off.

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Sunday’s Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Titans contracted Sam McIntyre Powell start at left second row for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Sam McIntyre scoring the Bears opening round victory.

Sam McIntyre’s try came in just the 6th minute of the match. Burleigh half, Cameron Brown took the ball to the line on the 5th tackle, getting to ten metres out before putting in a right foot stab kick to his left. The kick was ideally weighted, pulling up perfectly in the in-goal for left second rower Sam McIntyre to dive on the ball to score Burleigh’s first try of the 2021 Colts season.

An impressive part of the try was that Sam McIntyre recognised early in his chase that he had time to make sure that he got the ball down correctly. When he got near the ball Sam McIntyre slowed things down, waiting until the ball was on the ground before getting downward pressure on it instead of trying to ground the ball whilst it was still in the air.

Sam McIntyre got his first touch in the first minute of the match when he took the 4th hit-up of the match to passes off to the left of the ruck and was able to get the ball out of the Bears own twenty metre area.

In addition to running the ball strongly throughout the match, Sam McIntyre was also on hand to prevent an early Easts try in the 4th minute when he along with Cole Geyer stopped the Tigers hooker short of the try line after he had tried to dive over from close range. Sam McIntyre and Cole Geyer were to the right of the play the ball, and when the Easts hooker tried to dive over, they got low to stop him short.

Late in the first half Sam McIntyre was able to get the ball to forty metres out from the try line with an effort that accounted for ten hard metres. Just a few minutes later Sam McIntyre continued to work chasing through an Easts dropped ball that went backwards, belting the East halfback who had gone back to retrieve the ball.

It was all about Sam McIntyre’s effort in the 44th minute when somehow he willed himself to back up a break by Lofi Khan-Pereira who flew sixty metres down the left touchline leaving defenders and his own team mates behind. Somehow Sam McIntyre was able to stay close enough to get an offload from Will Evans who had picked up Lofi Khan-Pereira’s inside pass with Sam McIntyre only being stopped five metres from the try line.

Sam McIntyre’s impressive match continued in the 57th minute when he gained a further twelve metres, the last three with his back towards the try line, to get the ball twenty five metres out from his own line.

Then in the 60th minute Sam McIntyre took the second hit-up after an Easts Tigers drop out, making fourteen metres after receiving the ball to the right of the dummy half to get the ball within twenty five metres of the try line.

Sam McIntyre’s thirst for work continued in the 63rd minute with a ten metre run out to the twenty four metre mark out from his own line and then Sam McIntyre took another hit-up two tackles later in the same set of six.

Sam McIntyre was still going strong in the 75th minute when he made a further thirteen metres to get the ball over his own thirty metre mark.

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Sunday’s Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Titans contracted Lofi Khan-Pereira start on the left wing for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Lofi Khan-Pereira scoring in the Bears opening round victory.

Lofi Khan-Pereira’s try came in the 14th minute of the match when after receiving a cut out pass from Cameron Brown ten metres out, he flew down the left wing to dive over in the left corner.

Lofi Khan-Pereira added a try assist and a line break to his match statistics in the 56th minute. After receiving a cut-out pass from Cameron Brown, Lofi Khan-Pereira took off down the left touchline. When confronted by the East fullback, Lofi Khan-Pereira drew the fullback towards him then passed the ball inside to Zane Prophet who scored in the left corner.

Lofi Khan-Pereira was also heavily involved in Burleigh’s final try of the match, after some outstanding stepping by Cameron Brown the halfback passed to Lofi Khan-Pereira fifteen metres away from the line in confined space near the left touchline. Initially Lofi Khan-Pereira juggled the pass but was able to haul it in and then break an attempted jersey grab be running to his left before he offloaded the ball back to Cameron Brown who then beat two defenders to score wide out on the left.

Lofi Khan-Pereira’s extensive impact of the match came in just the second minute when he tracked back when Easts were awarded a penalty and kicked for touch. The ball did not go out and Lofi Khan-Pereira was on hand to take the ball on the full on his own twenty metre line and he was able to get the ball back to his own forty metre mark.

Lofi Khan-Pereira’s first line break of the match came in the 7th minute when he was on the end of a passing movement to exploit a small amount of space down the left wing. Lofi Khan-Pereira flew down the left wing making thirty five metres before he was able to draw the Easts fullback and pass to his inside to a backing up Cameron Brown.

Lofi Khan-Perira made another line break in the 44th minute when he flew sixty metre down the left touch line after getting outside his direct opponent after receiving a cut out pass from Cameron Brown. As the Easts fullback came across in cover defence Lofi Khan-Pereira passed back inside to his right, but the pass when to ground but was retrieved by Will Evans who offloaded to Sam McIntyre who got to within five metres of the try line.

In the match, Lofi Khan-Pereira proved that he was not all about the flash but substance as well, coming off is wing on multiple occasions to run the ball out of his own territory including in the 14th minute when Lofi Khan-Pereira made thirteen metres after receiving the ball from the dummy half to get Burleigh to near thirty metres away from his own line.

Lofi Khan-Pereira took his turn brining the ball out of Burleigh territory once again in the 66th minute when he came off his left wing to run the ball mid-field over the twenty metre mark.

Speed is Lofi Khan-Pereira’s calling card and there was no better example of that in the 33rd minute when the Easts right centre made a clean break from a Tigers scrum win eighty metres out from the try line. Lofi Khan-Pereira who was up in the line at the time turned and chased and easily ran him down on the forty metre mark even after giving him a fifteen metre start.

Even when he missed a tackle Lofi Khan-Pereira could still contribute for Burleigh, it was just that sort of game for him. In the 78th minute Lofi Khan-Pereira came off his wing to stop an overlap and whilst he was initially bumped off, bounced to his feet to intercept the subsequent pass that was intended to take advantage of Lofi Khan-Pereira coming off his wing. Lofi Khan-Pereira took the intercept five metres out from his own line but was still able to get the ball over his own twenty.

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Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition on Sunday afternoon saw Titans contracted Tony Francis start at right centres for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Tony Francis scoring for the Bears in their 42 – 24 opening round victory.

Tony Francis scored in the 30th minute, once again highlighting his speed and power. After some good work on his inside by his forward’s Tony Francis cut to his left to run an underneath route and receive the hand off from TJ Devery. From there Tony Francis literally ran over the Easts fullback to slam the ball down over the line ten metres in from the right corner post.

Whilst he cannot be put down for a try assist Tony Francis was involved in Will Evans 50 minute try all be it in a unique way. On his inside, Cameron Brown identified that there was space to the right and threw a long cut out pass. The ball was not going to reach Tony Francis on the full so in an effort to retain possession Tony Francis tried to trap the ball with his left foot, but instead to stopping the ball dead, the ball spun of his foot to the left and directly into the path of Will Evans who picked up the ball ten metres out and was able to dive over between defenders to score near the right corner.

In the 29th Tony Francis highlighted his explosiveness when he took the tap kick from a Burleigh twenty metre restart, bursting twelve metres downfield with three Easts forwards trying to drag him to the ground.

Tony Francis showed his wide ranging skill set in the 64th minute with a run that started near the left wing and finished on the opposite side of the field. Initially when he received the ball Tony Francis was forty metres out and hemmed in on three sides, Tony Francis pulled back and cut back towards the centre of the field twice, when he was confronted a third time Tony Francis exquisitely put in a left foot chip that he followed through a retrieved on the first bounce before offloading to his left.

Whilst his effort did not produce a try or line break it was just a little window to how much skill this young man has.

Tony Francis produced a more traditional run in the 76th minute when after dummying to his right, Tony Francis put the ball under his arm on the halfway mark and after getting on the outside of his direct opponent made fifteen metres of valuable ground.

Tony Francis made a statement defensively in the 34th minute when he along with TJ Devery made a heavy driving tackle in the East forward unlucky enough to run the ball towards them from a Burleigh kick-off. Tony Francis added to his defensive credentials in the 42nd minute when he made the correct decision to come out of the line when he was facing an overlap to smash the Easts halfback just as he was about to pass to his right and spring the overlap.

The 77th minute saw Tony Francis continue to be strong defensively when a great one on one wrapping tackle on the East left centre nullified a promising Tigers attacking raid.

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Sunday’s Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Titans contracted Samuel Shannon named on the interchange bench for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Samuel Shannon scoring the Bears opening round victory and for me he was one of the best plyers on the field and also one of the youngest.

Samuel Shannon came off the bench in the 23rd minute and just a minute later made the first of many impacts when he ran onto the ball to the left of the dummy half, receiving the ball on his own twenty. Samuel Shannon cut back to his right to the soft spot behind the ruck, making twenty five metres with at least 60% of those post contact.

Just two minutes later Samuel Shannon was able to score his first try of the season. Samuel Shannon received the ball two passes to the right of the play the ball ten metres out from the line. Samuel Shannon broke five tackles in the ten metres that he had to negotiate to get to the line and score under the posts.

Then from the resultant kick-off Samuel Shannon was on hand to take the run, getting the ball out to twenty metres away from his own line. Samuel Shannon continued his great start to the match in the 31st minute when he made a strong charge off the kick off to the Tony Francis try with Samuel Shannon getting the ball back to over the twenty metre mark.

It was another hit-up after a Burleigh try, this one in the 50th minute by Will Evans that saw Samuel Shannon make a mess of the Tigers defensive line when from the kick-off scuttled a number of defenders on the way to making twenty metres.

It was not just strong efforts with the ball that meant that Samuel Shannon was one of the best players on the field, it was also strong efforts in defence including in the 34th minute when he crunched the Easts hooker from his left blind spot. A minute later the Easts No. 16 felt just how hard Samuel Shannon tackles, with on that occasion, Samuel Shannon hitting him from the right side.

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Last weekend Storm Enoka was part of the 2021 Gold Coast Invitational U13 King of Country Rugby side that won the Tournament playing No. 8 with Storm Enoka scoring a strong try on Day One against the USQ Saints.

Storm Enoka scored in the first half against USQ when he received the ball on the left side of the field twenty eight metres out from the line, immediately getting to the outside of the defensive line and then using a strong left arm fend to keep the defence off him as he charged down the left touchline to score in the left corner.

Storm Enoka recorded a try assist on Day Two against Far North Coast when he ran into space on the right and could have scored himself but five metres from the line passed to his right winger to score in the corner.

In 2020 Storm Enoka played for the Coomera Crushers in the GCDRU U12 competition, having a dominant season across the board including from a try scoring perspective.

Storm Enoka scored a hat trick in Round Four against the Yatala Rams and also scored doubles in three matches, being in Rounds One, Two and Three against the Helensvale Hogs (Rounds One and Three) and Bond Pirates (Round Two). Storm Enoka also scored in Round Five against Surfers Paradise.