Junior Development

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Well done to PBC students Toran O'Donnell and Marley McLaren for being awarded the 2021 Ryan James and Nash Dawson Rugby League Awards.

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Titans contracted standout Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa had an outstanding Langer Cup campaign with Marsden SHS and was rewarded with selection in the Marsden 2021 Team of the Year recently.

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The 2021 season of Titans NRL Top 30 player Jojo Fifita:

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 Jojo Fifita starting the match on the left wing in his first match in a Titans jersey.

Jojo Fifita made his rugby league debut in Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition when he started on the right wing for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Souths Logan Magpies.

Jojo Fifita’s first hit-up in rugby league came in just the 2nd minute of the match when he took the ball one metre out of his own line to the right of the dummy half, making thirteen metres up field.

Jojo Fifita made his first rugby league line break in the 12th minute when he flew onto a cut-out pass to his right wing, with Jojo Fifita taking the ball on the halfway mark and literally flying down the right wing, running over one defender and easily outpacing the cover defence. When he got to the fullback, Jojo Fifita was able to position is inside support well to get the ball away to Klese Hass on around the twenty metre mark.

In the 25th minute, Jojo Fifita showed that he is willing to do the hard work of bringing the ball out of his own territory when he made twelve metres from a hit-up off to the left of the dummy half to get the ball out to the thirty metre mark.

When the second half started Jojo Fifita was back in the action almost immediately with a bullocking run of twenty metres out of dummy half, with at least 60% of those metres post contact with Jojo Fifita not stopped until he got fifteen metres inside Magpies territory.

In the 45th minute, Jojo Fifita took the second hit-up off the kick-off to Ediq Ambrosyev’s try and was even under heavy pressure able to get the ball out to the twenty metre mark, breaking three tackles and making nine metres.

Late in the match with Tweed Heads chasing the match, Jojo Fifita almost scored a late try. Souths Logan were bringing the ball out of their own territory when Charlie Murray produced a one on one steal and was able to find space to throw a long pass to his right that found Jojo Fifita is space and but for a diving tackle that halted Jojo Fifita by just one leg, he would have dived over in the corner to record his first rugby league try.

Jojo Fifita moved to the left wing in the Round Two local derby against Burleigh with Jojo Fifita scoring his first ever rugby league try in the 3rd minute of the Seagulls 32 – 24 victory.

As noted Jojo Fifita’s try came in the 3rd minute and it was worth the wait. Taine Udjur-Berghan put up a bomb to his left wing and Jojo Fifita came through and jumped above Ronin Rio to take the ball on the full three metres out from the line and he was able to scramble over to get the ball down in the left corner from there.

Jojo Fifita went looking for the ball in the 16th minute when he came off his wing to take a hit-up off the dummy half through the centre of the field, making thirteen metres before he was dragged down on his own twenty metre mark.

Jojo Fifita showed that the skill of a quick (and accurate) catch and pass is transferrable between rugby and rugby league when in the 27th minute whilst under intense pressure caught and passed in the same motion, getting the ball away to his left to Caleb Hodges.

A sequence of efforts in the 37th minute highlighted that Jojo Fifita took to rugby league easily and quickly. First off, Jojo Fifita made a heavy well executed front on tackle on tackle on Blake Campbell that knocked the ball loose with Burleigh on the attack and then from the subsequent set of six, Jojo Fifita came off his left wing to take a hit-up and make fifteen metres, breaking five tackles along the way. The Jojo Fifita went all of the way over to the right side of the field to make fifteen metres more running with the ball.

It was interesting to see that early in the second half Jojo Fifita spent time at left centre, alternating with Caleb Hodges and it was from left centre in the 42nd minute where Jojo Fifita made a hard working seven metres to get the ball more than twenty metres away from his own try line.

Jojo Fifita’s plus speed was on display for all to see with the 50th minute when he turned and chased the Burleigh right winger forty metres before making a big tackle ten metres out from the line. Jojo Fifita gave him a fair start but caught him easily.

Once again in the 59th minute Jojo Fifita displayed that he is not afraid to get his hands dirty when he took the second hit-up from a changeover running through the centre of the field, making ten metres, six of which were post contact.

Jojo Fifita was also heavily involved in Glenn McGradey’s 71st minute try with Jojo Fifita starting the movement on the left which ended with Glenn McGradey scoring on the right. After receiving the ball Jojo Fifita cut back towards centre field, breaking the line there before offloading to Ediq Ambrosyev who then got the ball away to his right to Jaylan To’O who then found Glenn McGradey who scored on the right side of the field.

Jojo Fifita also was named to start on the left wing in Round Three against the Redcliffe Dolphins however he was a late scratching due to injury.

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Powerful Marsden SHS second rower Eli Tuli has been named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2022 MM Cup squad.

At the start of the 2021 season Eli Tuli was part of the Souths Logan Magpies MM Cup squad before playing in the Langer Cup for Marsden SHS.

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In total in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition, Kia Smallwood played in twelve matches for the Bilambil Jets and scored 34 points from five tries and seven goals.

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Even though he was still U16 eligible in 2021 Reshawn Anderson played six matches in the U18 NRRRL for the Bilambil Jets finishing with a try scoring strike rate of 67% as a result of scoring four tries.

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Well done to outstanding prospect Waylon Caldwell for being awarded the 2021 Casino RSM Bill Raby Award for the Most Outstanding U13 to U16 Player in 2021.

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Jye Brady had a very solid 2021 season in the U18 NRRRL competition, playing in twelve matches for the Bilambil Jets and scoring four tries.

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Titans contracted Michael Roberts had an outstanding year in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition for the Bilambil Jets finishing with 84 points from just ten games by scoring eight tries and kicking 26 goals

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After a successful season that saw them win their first ever Langer Cup title, the Titans partnered Marsden SHS was recently named the Logan City 2021 Sports Team of the Year.

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Great to see St Michael's College fullback and Mudgeeraba Redback Teddy Foster named in the 2022 Burleigh MM Cup squad and he is also MM Cup eligible in 2023.

In 2021 Teddy Foster also played for St Michael's in the Confraternity Shield.

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Marymount College lock Taj Harris had a very solid season and rightly has been named in the 2022 Burleigh MM Cup squad.

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Another 2021 Marymount College student will be playing MM Cup in 2022 being outside back Henry Mellick who has been named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad. Henry Mellick also trialled for the Burleigh MM Cup squad.

In addition to playing for Marymount College, Henry Mellick also played for the Currumbin Eagles in the GCRL U18 Division One competition.

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Dwayne Cwan-Fuimaono had a big 2021 season for Helensvale in the GCRL U18 Division One competititon and for Coombabah SHS in the Langer Cup and he will looking to get his 2022 underway on a positive note as well after trialling well in the centres for the Burleigh MM Cup side and was subsequently named in the Bears squad.

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The strength of the Keebra Park Rugby League Academy can be seen by the fact that five eight Karauria Stokes played the 2021 season in the Langer Cup Reserve competition but in 2022 will look to continue his rugby league career starting as part of the Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad.