Junior Development

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Titans contracted Isaac Togia has played the majority of his Ipswich Rugby League U15 Division One matches so far this season in the second row but tonight sees him in the centres for Goonda Round Seven against Brothers White.

The powerhouse second row, centre or lock (and rugby outside centre) who hails from the Ipswich region signed a multi-year contract with the Titans in early 2021 and let there be no doubt, the Titans have snared a seriously talented young player in Isaac Togia.

As he did in 2020 Isaac Togia had some big matches for Goodna Black already this season including a two try effort in Round Two as Goodna defeated Norths Blue 62 – 0.

In 2020 Isaac Togia played for Goonda Black in the Ipswich Rugby League U14 competition with Goonda Black winning all ten of their 2020 matches, scoring a staggering 506 points and conceding just 32 to finish with a positive points differential of an incredible +474.

Isaac Togia had some big match in 2020 for Goonda Black including scoring five tries in Round Eight as Goodna Black defeated Redback Red 58 – 10. Isaac Togia also scored four tries in Rounds Four and Six against Goodna Blue (62 – 0) and Swifts Blue (68 – 0) respectively.

Isaac Togia previously played for the Springfield Panthers Junior Rugby League Club who also play in the Ipswich Rugby League competition.

In 2019 Isaac Togia represented the Ipswich Diggers U13’s in the second row at the Hill Stumer South East Queensland Junior Rugby League Championships, and post those Championships was selected in the South East Queensland Training Squad.

Isaac Togia is also a more than impressive rugby player and currently attends Ipswich Grammar School and plays rugby in the GPS school boy rugby competition. In 2020 in the GPS U14A competition and in 2019 in the U13A competition, Isaac Togia was a stand out for the Ipswich based school, playing at outside centre (No. 13).

Isaac Togia has also represented Ipswich Grammar School in the GPS Athletics Championships in 2019 and 2020.

2019 also saw Isaac Togia play for the Ipswich Rangers rugby club who played in the Brisbane U13A Brisbane Junior Rugby competition, once again playing outside centre.

For the Ipswich Rangers, Isaac Togia played at outside centre (No. 13) and finished the 2019 season on fire. In the BJR U13A 2019 regular season Isaac Togia had a huge Round Ten match, scoring five tries against Sunnybank Green and also scored a double in Round Eight against Souths Black.

Isaac Togia also scored in each of his three finals matches in 2019, being in Week One of the Finals against Souths Black, Week Two against Easts Blue and Week Three against Norths Blue in the Rangers two point loss.

Also in 2019 Isaac Togia was selected in the Brisbane Red side for the Queensland XV’s State Rugby Championships.

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It is interesting to see Titans contracted Brock Priestley named at five eight for the Ormeau Shearers for this weekend’s Round Five GCRL U18 Division One match against the Currumbin Eagles.

For the Titans, Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup, the South Coast School Boy Representative side and PBC in this week’s Langer Cup Round One he has played at right second row.

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Already this season Titans contracted Ryan Foran has played a lot of matches for the Titans U19 side, the Grand Final winning Tweed Heads MM Cup squad, the South Coast School Boy Representative side and PBC in this week’s Langer Cup Round One match against Ipswich State High School.

It does not stop this weekend as he has been named to start at left second row for the Murwillumbah Mustangs U18 NRRRL side in their Round Six match against the Kyogle Turkeys.

Ryan Foran will then be on the bench in the NRRRL First Grade match against the same opponents.

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Young second rower Nicholas Novakovic started the 2021 season as part of the U17 Souths Sydney Rabbitohs Harold Matthews side but has headed up to the Gold Coast in time to be named on the bench for Nerang in this weekend’s Round Five of the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition as the Roosters take on the Southport Tigers.

Nicholas Novakovic’s first appearance in the 2021 Souths Sydney Rabbitohs Harold Matthews side came in Round Four when he started from the bench against the Newcastle Knights. Nicholas Novakovic moved to the Souths Sydney starting side at second row in Round Five against the Norths Sydney Bears celebrating his promotion to the starting side by scoring in the 24th minute of the big Rabbitohs victory.

After missing a number of rounds, Nicholas Novakovic came off the bench in Round Eight against the Central Coast Roosters before once again being promoted to the starting side in the second row for the final round, being Round Nine against the Balmain Tigers.

Nicholas Novakovic is also U18 eligible in 2022.

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22 year old former New Zealand Warrior centre or second rower Joseph Vuna returned to rugby league with the Titans after taking the 2019 and 2020 seasons off to go on his two year Mormon Mission.

From a trivia perspective, the 182cm, 99kg centre or second rower was born in California USA and is the younger brother of former Wallaby and Tongan Rugby League International Cooper Vuna.

Joseph Vuna was named to start from the bench for his first NRL match with the Titans, and fifth NRL match overall, in Round Thirteen against the Melbourne Storm.

In early March 2021, Joseph Vuna started in the second row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in their final 2021 trial against the Burleigh Bears.

Joseph Vuna was set to make his Queensland Cup debut in Round One of the 2021 season when he was named to start in the second row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Central Queensland Capra’s however Joseph Vuna was a late scratching from the match.

Joseph Vuna was once again named to start in the second row for the Seagulls in Round Two of the 2021 Queensland Cup against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls but unfortunately was once again a late scratching.

Joseph Vuna was also named to start in the second row for Tweed Heads in Round Three against the Souths Logan Magpies and made 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 post contact) and made nineteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 90.48%.

Joseph Vuna continued at right second row in Round Four against the Burleigh Bears, scoring his career first Queensland Cup try in the Seagulls 16 – 12 victory. Toby Sexton took the ball to the line and put in a right foot grubber towards the right. Joseph Vuna flashed through from right second row to retrieve the ball on the bounce and score wide on the right.

In addition to his try, Joseph Vuna in his eighty minutes on the field, ran for fifty eight metres (twenty three post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.31 seconds and made twenty one tackles at tackling efficiency of 91.3%.

Joseph Vuna started once again at right second row in Round Five against the Redcliffe Dolphins was one of the Seagulls try scorers in the 28 – 16 victory. Joseph Vuna scored in the first half when he ran into a gap five metres out, receiving the ball from Toby Sexton, with Joseph Vuna getting the ball down midway between the goal posts and corner post in the right side of the field.

Playing forty one minutes, Joseph Vuna ran for fifty five metres (twenty one post contact), made a line break for his try, played the ball at an average speed of 4.63 seconds and made fifteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 93.75%.

Joseph Vuna also was named to start at right second row in Round Six against the Ipswich Jets however he started from the bench, playing a total of seventy minutes, running for forty two metres (twenty post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.71 seconds and made twenty one tackles.

Joseph Vuna was also named to started at right second row in Round Seven against the Northern Pride, playing the entire eighty minutes, running for eighty nine metres (thirty four post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 3.55 seconds and made nineteen tackles.

Joseph Vuna was also named to start at right second row in Round Eight against the Easts Tigers and once again played the entire eighty metres, running for 157 metres, including a team leading sixty six post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.69 seconds and made fourteen tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Joseph Vuna was heavily involved in Tremain Spry’s second try of the match which came in the second half. With Easts running the ball, Darius Farmer smashed the Tigers halfback front on with the ball immediately coming loose, Joseph Vuna swooped on the ball, running around forty metres before getting away on overhead pass to his right to an unmarked Tremain Spry who easily scored under the posts.

In 2018 Joseph Vuna, who was nineteen at the time, made his NRL debut for the Warriors becoming Warrior Number 228, going on to play in four NRL matches in 2018 and was also a stand out for the Warriors in their Canterbury Cup campaign.

Joseph Vuna made his NRL debut for the Warriors in Round Eight of the 2018 NRL season against the Melbourne Storm. Joseph Vuna came off the bench playing nineteen minutes and ran for twenty three metres (nine post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.57 seconds and made eleven tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Joseph Vuna played his second career NRL match in Round Eighteen of the 2018 NRL season once gain coming off the bench for the Warriors. Joseph Vuna played sixteen minutes, running for fifteen metres (eight post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.84 seconds and made seven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 87.5%.

Joseph Vuna also came off the bench in Round Nineteen of the 2018 NRL season against the Melbourne Storm, ultimately playing twenty minutes, running for thirty one metres (sixteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.53 seconds and made ten tackles at a tackling efficiency of 83.33%.

Joseph Vuna made his career first NRL start when he started in the second row against the Titans in Round Twenty of the 2018 NRL season and played the entire eighty minutes of the match. Joseph Vuna ran for ninety one metres (thirty post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.58 seconds and made an impressive thirty seven tackles at a tackling efficiency of 94.87%.

In total in the 2018 NRL competition, Joseph Vuna played 135 minutes, ran for 160 metre and made sixty five tackles at a tackling efficiency of 92.86%.

Also in 2018, Joseph Vuna played for the New Zealand Warriors in the 2018 Canterbury Cup competition playing in fifteen matches, starting all at either centre or in the second row. Joseph Vuna started six matches in the centres and nine in the second row.

Joseph Vuna scored six tries in the 2018 Canterbury Cup competition, including scoring a double in the Warriors one point Elimination Final loss to the Mounties. Joseph Vuna also scored in Round Seven against St George, Round Twelve against the Sea Eagles, Round Thirteen against Wentworthville and Round Fifteen against the Newcastle Knights.

In Round Seven against St George, Joseph Vuna sliced through the Dragons defensive line from right centre to score five metres in from the right corner post. In Round Twelve against the Sea Eagles it was Joseph Vuna’s ability to back-up that resulted in his try and Round Thirteen against Wentworthville saw Joseph Vuna once again slice through the defensive line, this time on the left, running ten metres diagonally to score just in from the left corner.

In total in the 2018 Canterbury Cup competition, Joseph Vuna played 1 148 minutes (playing the entire eight minutes on twelve occasions). In those minutes, Joseph Vuna ran for 1 297 metres (449 post contact), broke twenty four tackles and made 320 tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.15%.

Joseph Vuna’s 2018 Canterbury Cup per game averages included playing 76.53 minutes, running for 86.47 metres and making 21.33 tackles.

Joseph Vuna’s best 2018 Canterbury Cup match from a running metres perspective came in Round Ten against the Magpies when he ran for 136 metres and in Round Twenty Two against the Newcastle Knights Joseph Vuna made a more than impressive forty one tackles.

Joseph Vuna’s final match before he started his two year Mormon mission was for the Junior Kiwi’s against their Australian counterparts, with Joseph Vuna scoring in the Kiwi’s 40 – 24 loss to the Junior Kangaroo’s.

Joseph Vuna played the entire eighty minutes of the International match, running for 115 metres, a team leading fifty one metres of which were post contact. Joseph Vuna also had a line break, broke a team leading five tackles and made twenty five tackles of his own.

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After some impressive performances for the Burleigh MM Cup side and Hastings Deering's Cup side already this season, Titan Ezra Ubaldino will play his first match for the Burleigh GCRL U18 side on Sunday when in Round Five against Runaway Bay his is due to come off the bench.

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This weekend sees Greg Marzhew make his NRL debut against the Melbourne Storm. Below is a summary of his 2021 season to date:

After suffering an injury late in the 2021 pre-season, Greg Marzhew was back, starting on the wing for Burleigh in Round One of the Queensland Cup against the Mackay Cutters.

Greg Marzhew played the opening fifty eight minutes of the match, running for eighty three metres (thirty three post contact), broke three tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 2.98 seconds and made eight tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.89%.

Greg Marzhew also named to start on the wing for Round Three against the Easts Tigers however he was a late scratching from the match.

Round Four saw Greg Marzhew named on the wing for the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls and was back to his block bursting self, playing all eighty minutes, running for a team leading 150 metres, a team leading sixty one of which were post contact. Greg Marzhew also broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.92 seconds and made four tackles at an 80% tackling efficiency.

Greg Marzhew started once again on the wing in Round Five against the PNG Hunters playing all eighty minutes, running for 196 metres, a team leading fifty three of which were post contact, broke a team leading twelve tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.13 seconds and made two tackles.

Greg Marzhew also started on the left wing in Round Six against the Norths Devils adding a double to his already formidable 2021 try scoring resume.

Greg Marzhew’s first try of his double was as a result of quick hands on his inside with Greg Marzhew receiving the ball three metres out and easily putting it down in the left corner.

Greg Marzhew added his second try in the second half when he received the ball in space down the left touchline approximately thirty metres out. Greg Marzhew beat the Norths fullback with a subtle in and away to score near the left corner post.

In total Greg Marzhew played seventy six minutes of the match, running for a team leading 237 metres (sixty three post contact). Greg Marzhew also made two line breaks, broke a team leading five tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.6 seconds, defused two kicks and made a tackle.

Greg Marzhew also started on the left wing against the Ipswich Jets in Round Seven recording a try assist when he ran out of dummy half before offloading by way of a right arm flick pass from close range.

Playing all eighty minutes, Greg Marzhew ran for team leading 127 metres (thirty three post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 2.27 seconds and made three tackles at a 100% tackling efficiency.

Greg Marzhew also scored in the 17th minute of Round Eight against the Townsville Blackhawks when the crossed from close range in the left corner. Once again playing all eight minutes on the left wing in the match, Greg Marzhew ran for 144 metres, a team leading fifty seven of which were post contact, made a line break, broke five tackles and played the ball at an average speed of 2.88 seconds.

Greg Marzhew’s first 2021 hit-out came in mid-February when he started at left centre for the Titans in their first trial against the Burleigh Bears producing an outstanding display including scoring a hat trick.

Greg Marzhew’s first try came in the 33rd minute of the first half and showcased his sped, elusiveness and power. Greg Marzhew received a long pass from his right from Erin Clark whilst he was stationary side on the left. Greg Marzhew immediately cut back towards the centre of the field, beating one defending with a step before straightening up and dragging four defenders with him to get the ball down two metres from the left upright.

Greg Marzhew’s second try came in the 45th minute when he cut back inside after receiving an offload from Beau Fermor to score. Earlier in the same movement Greg Marzhew smartly kept the ball alive with a good offload.

Greg Marzhew completed his hat trick in the 51st minute of the match when just four metres out from the line he cut back inside to take an offload from Beau Fermor to burst through two defenders to score. Just prior to receiving the ball from Fermor, Greg Marzhew had actually been the one to pass the ball to Fermor.

Greg Marzhew’s first impact on the match came in the 8th minute when he broke three tackles in a powerful twenty metre run out of dummy half. Greg Marzhew produced another strong run in the 17th minute of the match, breaking two tackles in a fifteen metre run down the left side of the field.

The following week Greg Marzhew started from the bench for the Titans in their final 2021 NRL trial against the New Zealand Warriors at Lismore. Greg Marzhew played at left centre in the final quarter of the Titans 12 all draw, running for seventy five metres (sixteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed to 2.52 seconds and had a 100% tackling efficiency.

Greg Marzhew then started at left centre for Burleigh in their final 2021 Queensland Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

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Andreas Mariner started from the bench on Wednesday night for Keebra Park in their tough Langer Cup Round One loss to Marsden and he was back on the field tonight starting in the front row and scoring for the Springfield Panthers in their Ipswich RL Round Six U17 Division One 28 - 16 victory against Brothers Blue.

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Titans contracted Isaac Togia was amongst the try scorers tonight for his Goonda Black side in their big Ipswich Rugby League U15 Division One Round Six victory against Brothers Blue.

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Titans contracted Josiah Pahulu was one of the Springfield Panthers try scorers in their Ipswich RL Round Six U17 Division One 28 - 16 victory against Brothers Blue last night with Josiah Pahulu starting the match at lock.

It was his second try in 48 hours after he had scored for Ipswich State High School in the Round One Langer Cup match against PBC on Wednesday night.

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New Zealand born front rower Isaac Matalavea-Booth, in October 2020 signed a one year extension with the Titans that takes his contract with the Titans up until the end of the 2021 rugby league season and saw him training with the Titans U20 squad over the course of the 2021 season.

Such was Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s early 2021 form for both the Titans U19 side and for Bureigh in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, in early June 2021 Isaac Matalavea-Booth started training one day a week with the Titans NRL squad.

In early January 2021 Isaac Matalavea-Booth started in the front row for the Titans U19 side in their annual match against the Newcastle Knights in Coffs Harbour as the Titans ran away with the match in the second half to record an impressive 40 – 6 victory after leading 16 – 6 at half time.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth was in the action almost immediately, being involved in a solid hit in the second tackle after the Titans kicked off. Also involved in the tackle were Samuel Shannon and Ediq Ambrosyev. Isaac Matalavea-Booth was involved in a further heavy tackle just two minutes later when he and Brock Priestley belted the Knight left winger who had come off his wing forcing him five metres backwards before driving him into the ground.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth and Brock Priestley combined once again in a heavy tackle early in the second half when they combined to heavily tackle a Knights player from a twenty metre restart, with the initial contact forcing the ball loose.

It was not just in the centre of the ruck where Isaac Matalavea-Booth was effective defensively, early in the second half, Isaac Matalavea-Booth found himself on the fringes of the ruck on the Titans left side of the field with the Knights attacking the line from close range. The Newcastle five eight identified that Isaac Matalavea-Booth was on a one on one situation with him and tried to beat him on the outside. Isaac Matalavea-Booth however tracked across the field and hit the Knights five eight around the shoulders, knocking him down immediately, which was in fact only a metre out from the Titans line.

Over the course of his stints on the field Isaac Matalavea-Booth was particularly effective in forcing the Knights forward pack to use multiple resources to bring him down and with his quick play the balls, the Titans play makers were regularly able to exploit the additional space that Isaac Matalavea-Booth afforded them.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth was deservedly the Titans first try scorer of the match when he charged onto an Ediq Ambrosyev pass out of dummy half to the left of the play the ball from ten metres out. When Isaac Matalavea-Booth caught sight of the try line, literally no-one on earth was going to stop him from scoring as he planted the ball down adjacent to the right upright.

Over the course of the match Isaac Matalavea-Booth was a difficult for the Knights defensive to stop and that was highlighted when Isaac Matalavea-Booth charged into the Newcastle defensive line when he returned the second half kick-off and made twenty five metres through sheer size and power. A quick play the ball from Isaac Matalavea-Booth led to more metres being gained by Samuel Shannon.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth was at it again in the 8th minute of the second half making eighteen metres, the majority of which were post contact metres with Isaac Matalavea-Booth twisting and turning and bullocking his way downfield, eventually being brought down only after four Knights defenders had to commit themselves to the tackle.

Unbelievably for a big front rower Isaac Matalavea-Booth was still charging at the Knights defensive line in the last couple of minutes, including a big charge and subsequent off-load to Xavier Stowers who then got the ball away to TJ Devery who was held up. Make no mistake however if Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s stamina was not as impressive as it was the Titans would not have had that late match opportunity.

A week after the match against the Newcastle Knights Isaac Matalavea-Booth once again lined up for the Titans U19’s starting in the front row as the Titans took on a Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad with the Titans winning 32 – 20 with no conversions attempted.

Like against Newcastle Isaac Matalavea-Booth was exceptional for the Titans both in attack and defence including a late first half try assist and he almost had a second just minutes later after making his initial impact in the match making a strong hit-up, being the third of the match after the Knights kicked off.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s try assist come in the 37th minute of the first half. Isaac Matalavea-Booth charged onto the ball to the right of the play the ball from thirteen metres out for the Bears line, heading directly at the posts. After initially being held, Isaac Matalavea-Booth was able to get his right arm free and was able to get a great flick pass away to Oskar Bryant who was backing up on the inside from dummy half who was able to dive over next to the left upright after rounding one Burleigh defender.

Just minutes later Isaac Matalavea-Booth charged into space, getting a strong one armed (right arm) offload away across his body to his left to Thomas Weaver for what seemed was going to be another Titans try but a desperate knock down of a Titans pass by a Burleigh defender put paid to the Titans attacking play.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also had a number of kick return metres in the match. Late in the first half, Isaac Matalavea-Booth got his hands down low and cleanly took possession when Burleigh grubber kicked not far out from the Titans line, Isaac Matalavea-Booth took possession and then rumbled four metres down field.

Defensively Isaac Matalavea-Booth produced one of the best tackles in the first half when he crunched one of the Burleigh forwards late in the half. Isaac Matalavea-Booth hit him from the left side around chest high and driving his opponent diagonally backwards for at least five metres.

In early May 2021 a Titans U19 side travelled to North Queensland to play an U19 Cowboys selection in a curtain raiser to a Cowboys v Broncos NRL match with Isaac Matalavea-Booth starting the match in the front row for the Titans.

Just weeks after Isaac Matalavea-Booth suited up for the Titans against Burleigh, Isaac Matalavea-Booth was in a Burleigh jersey lining up for the Bears in a 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts trial against the Easts Tigers at Langland’s Park. Starting in the front row in the second half Isaac Matalavea-Booth was one of Burleigh’s best, alongside fellow contracted Titan Tony Francis in the match that ended up in a twenty all draw.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth was outstanding in his two second half stints but it was a hit-up in the 71st minute of the match in his second stint in the half that summed up not just Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s match but his 2021 season to date.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth charged onto the ball to the right of the play the ball and surged an incredible thirty five metres up field, breaking eight tackles in the process. It looked as if on at least two occasions that Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s momentum would be stopped but on each occasion Isaac Matalavea-Booth produced another effort to keep the run going. Isaac Matalavea-Booth received the ball on his own twenty metre line and was eventually stopped five metres into Easts territory.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth the first of his many second half hit-ups in the opening minutes of the second half when he took a hit-up to the right of the play the ball, jinking off his left foot prior to contact with the line and making ten metres before three defenders had to commit to the tackle to bring him to the ground.

Just a few minutes later, Isaac Matalavea-Booth made another strong surge, making a further ten metres and once again it took three Tigers defenders to get him under control, even those three defenders however could not get Isaac Matalavea-Booth to the ground.

Once again in the 15th minute, Isaac Matalavea-Booth took the ball into the Tigers defensive line, this time making fifteen metres from a hit-up that started in his own twenty metre area.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth made his presence felt in defence with some huge hits in the second half, the first of which came in the 9th minute of the second half when he came in from the left side of the Easts Tigers giant left winger, dropping him to the ground immediately contact was made.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth did not leave it too long to make another strong tackle, this time on the Easts Tigers right centre (No. 4) when he got in under his ribs and drove him back three metres before driving the centre into the ground.

The following week in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls, Isaac Matalavea-Booth was once again in the starting side in the front row. Isaac Matalavea-Booth was into the match early taking the second hit-up of the match after Burleigh had received the ball from the kick-off and then backed up to take the fourth hit-up in the same set of six.

In his second stint of the match in the second half Isaac Matalavea-Booth threw his weight around including in the 65th minute when he monstered Tweed Heads and Titans front rower Solomon Torrens in a tackle and that I can assure people is not an easy thing to do.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw 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 loose 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.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth continued on the interchange bench in the Round Two local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls coming into the match in the 19th minute and almost immediately along with Samuel Shannon was in on a big first tackle on Tweed Heads front rower Ben Liyou.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth proved how difficult he is to bring down in the 18th minute when he surged through the centre of the defence getting the ball to thirty three metres out from his own line before four defenders were eventually able to get him to the ground.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth was at his hard stopping best again in the 34th minute when it took three Tweed Heads forwards to stop his forward momentum and get him to the ground after a ten metre run by the big front rower.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s second half continued as strongly as his first half ended when he made twelve metres from the third hit-up after Tweed Heads kicked off, getting the ball over the forty metre line.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also saved a try when late in the first half he along with Cameron Brown he held Seagulls replacement hooker Jed Edwards up over the line after he had run from dummy half from ten metres out looking to score under the posts.

The 44th minute saw Isaac Matalavea-Booth make another strong try saving tackle, when he along with Vaka Sikahele hit and stopped Seagulls front rower Ben Liyou just centre metres out. Isaac Matalavea-Booth recorded another good tackle in the 62nd minute when Tweed Heads half Taine Udjur-Berghan tried to dummy his way past him but Isaac Matalavea-Booth did not fall for it and monstered the half forcing him back four metres before driving him into the ground.

In the 65th minute Isaac Matalavea-Booth produced a smart piece of play when he was able to trap a Seagulls attempted grubber kick with his right foot two metres out from the try line and then he had the fore sight to dive on the ball before Tweed Heads. Then in the 66th minute Isaac Matalavea-Booth produced a try saving front one tackle when he stopped Ben Liyou in his tracks just short of the try line.

The derby saw Isaac Matalavea-Booth just work all day and in the 70th minute after Burleigh winger Lofi Khan-Pereira scored, Isaac Matalavea-Booth put his hand up to run the ball back from the subsequent kick-off to get the ball to his own twenty metre mark.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also started from the bench in Round Three against the Western Mustangs.

After missing Round Four due to playing for the Titans U19 side, Isaac Matalavea-Booth started Round Five against the Northern Pride from the bench.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth made his starting debut in the front row in Round Six against the Townsville Blackhawks and was in the action immediately, taking the hit-up from the kick-off and then backing that run up by then hitting the ball up on the fourth tackle of the same set of six.

The match also saw Isaac Matalavea-Booth score a good try in the 58th minute when after he received the ball seventeen metres out from the line to the left of the play the ball, Isaac Matalavea-Booth ran diagonally towards the defensive line, dummying to his left before bursting through the line to crash over five metres from the left upright.

Isaac Matalaevea-Booth certainly made the best of his opportunity to start and that continued in the 15th minute with a twelve metres run that brought the ball out to his own forty metre mark. The in the 17th minute, Isaac Matalaevea-Booth charged head long into the Townsville defence from a Blackhawks drop out.

Isaac Matalaevea-Booth made another strong run in the 70th minute, making fourteen metres to the halfway, with 60% of the metres made post contact.

Isaac Matalaevea-Booth was still going strong in the 75th minute making a further ten metres from the set of six after Cameron Brown’s second intercept try of the match and then he took another hit-up just two tackles later.

In total in the Round Six match, in his fifty five minutes on the field, Isaac Matalavea-Booth ran the ball twenty times, making 246 metres and made eighteen tackles as well as scoring a try which is described above.

The giant young front rower from originally Auckland New Zealand headed over to the Gold Coast in early November 2019 chasing his rugby league dream and to play for the Burleigh Bears MM Cup side in 2020 and well as attend Keebra Park for his senior year of school and be part of their open A Langer Cup school boy rugby league squad that ultimately lost the Grand Final against PBC.

Not long after arriving in Australia Isaac Matalavea-Booth signed a one year contract with the Titans to immediately become part of the impressive Junior Titans system (JTS) and in mid-December 2019 was part of the Titans contracted junior players squad that undertook a training session with the Titans NRL squad. In the post training session photo Isaac Matalavea-Booth towered over most if not all of even the Titans NRL squad members, highlighting his size attribute.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s first match in a Titans jersey came against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball (U18) side in January 2020 in Coffs Harbour when he came off the bench in the Titans 24 – 10 loss, however when he was on the field Isaac Matalavea-Booth proved difficult for the Knights defenders to get onto the ground. The only hope that the Knights had to get Isaac Matalavea-Booth to the ground was to gang tackle him and chop his legs out from under him.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth started Round One of the 2020 MM Cup competition for the Burleigh Bears in the front row as the Bears went down to the Wynnum Manly Seagulls once again proving difficult to put on the deck until multiple defenders were allocated to the tackle each time that he ran the ball at the Seagulls defensive line.

After the 2020 Round One MM Cup match Isaac Matalavea-Booth headed back to New Zealand for the Covid 19 lock down but returned to Australia in early June 2020 to continuing his schooling at Keebra Park and his training as part of the Titans JTS program.

Also in 2020 Isaac Matalavea-Booth was part of the Keebra Park Langer Cup Open A school boy squad, where he operated in the front row including starting Round One of the competition in the front row against Wavell State High School.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also started in the front row in Keebra Park’s Round Two match against Marsden State High School and scored his first try on Australian soil. Late in the match, Isaac Matalavea-Booth ran a good outside shoulder route to receive the ball twenty metres out and rumbled to the try line crashing over mid-way between the corner post and goal posts on the left side of the field with two Marsden defenders hanging off him.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth continued his run of front row starts in a Round Three 22 – 16 win over Ipswich State High School, in the Round Four local derby against PBC as well as in Round Five against St Mary’s Toowoomba.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also started in the front row as Keebra Park qualified for the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final on the back of a big win over Wavell State High School.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth started the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final in the front row for Keebra Park as they went down 16 – 8 to PBC in a high quality match producing one or two impressive one armed off loads in his two stints on the field.

When Community Rugby League re-commenced on the Gold Coast Isaac Matalavea-Booth played for Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League U18 Division One competition, starting in the front row in the Bears matches, including in the 2020 GCRL U18 Division One Grand Final against the Currumbin Eagles.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also played a number of matches for Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition including coming off the bench in Round Nine against Currumbin and he was on the bench for the Burleigh U20 sides Preliminary Final against Helensvale, which the Bears lost 26 – 24 on the last play of the match, to fall agonalising short of a Grand Final appearance.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth was outstanding in 2019 for Auckland’s Pakuranga College and at the 2019 SAS College Rugby League Awards Night was named in the front row in the 2019 Premier First XIII Team of the Year which was a deserved acknowledgement of his performances for Pakuranga College and even more meritorious considering Isaac Matalavea-Booth was just 17 years old throughout the season.

From a club rugby league perspective in 2019 in New Zealand, Isaac Matalavea-Booth played for the Manurewa Club in the Auckland U17/18 Open competition playing in thirteen matches scoring five tries and kicking a conversion to finish the 2019 season with twenty two points.

One of his thirteen games one was the 2019 Auckland Rugby League U17/18 Grand Final with Isaac Matalavea-Booth starting in the front row for Manurewa, but unfortunately they went down 22 – 14 to the Marist Saints in a high quality physical (very) encounter.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth also represented the Tao Samoa U18 side in 2019 in their annual match against the New Zealand U18’s starting in the front row and also started in the front row for the Tao Samoa U16’s against New Zealand U16’s in 2018. In fact the first time that Isaac Matalavea-Booth represented Tao Samoa was at the U13 level in 2014 and also represented Tao Samoa at the U15 level in 2016 I believe.

In 2019 Isaac Matalavea-Booth who previously was part of the New Zealand Warriors Development Academy represented the Auckland based Counties Manukau Stingrays representative side in the New Zealand National Youth U17 Tournament starting in the front row in all five of their matches including their semi-final victory over the Akarana Falcons and the U17 National Youth Final victory 24 – 20 against the South Island Scorpions.

Isaac Matalavea-Booth scored two tries in the pool portion of the 2019 U17 National Youth Tournament with those tries coming in Match One against the Wellington Orcas and Match Three against the Northern Swords.

In 2017 Isaac Matalavea-Booth represented Counties Manukau at the U15 National Youth Tournament starting in the front row in his two matches for the Stingrays.

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Casino RSM youngster Toby Hannah is normally a five eight but today in Round Seven of the Group One U14 competition he will line up at fullback against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

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Talented Jett Flatley and Harrison Clements continue their second row partnership today for Ballina in Round Seven of the Group One U13 competition as the Seagulls face Kyogle.

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Byron Bay/Lennox Heads youngster Jimmy McCombie has had a great couple of weeks.

First the young hooker was selected in the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges under-15 rugby league team.

Then he was selected in the NSW Country U14 Junior Boys Rugby Squad.

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Titans contacted Jaylan De Groot who will spent the 2021/22 offseason training with the Titans NRL squad lines up at fullback today for Tweed Heads against Norths in Round Seven of the Hastings Deering's Colts competition.

The will be his second in the Colts competition after graduating from the Championship winning Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side.