Junior Development

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At the conclusion of the 2021 season outstanding back row prospect and Year Nine student Anton Whaiapu was named on the bench in the 2021 Keebra Park Rugby League Team of the Year.

In October 2021 Anton Whaiapu was named in the 2022 Burleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad.

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Great to see young Tweed Coast Raiders halfback Kai Saunders who is the reigning Group 18 U13 Player of the Year part of the Outstanding Titans JTS Program.

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Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition saw Jett Flatley start in the second row for Ballina against in the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring a hat trick in the Seagulls 58 – 0 win. Jett Flatley also captained the Ballina Seagulls side.

Round Two against the Marist Brothers Rams Lismore saw Jett Flatley start once again in the second row and he was one of the Seagulls try scorers in their 66 – 0 victory.

Jett Flatley also started in the second row in Round Three against the Kyogle Turkeys with the impressive youngster scoring a double as the Seagulls went down 28 – 10. In Round Four against South Grafton, Jett Flatley scored a hat trick after starting the match in the second row.

Jett Flatley continued in the second row in Round Five in the local derby against the South Grafton Rebels, kicking a conversion in the Ghosts 28 – 16 victory. From the second row position in Round Six against the Clarence Coast magpies, Jett Flatley scored two more tries and also kicked a conversion in Ballina’s 52 – 0 victory.

Jett Flatley dropped back to start from the bench in Round Nine against Marist Brothers, kicking a conversion in his time on the field and then once against started in the second row in Round Ten against the Kyogle Turkeys and in Round Eleven against the South Grafton Rebels. Jett Flatley then started from the bench in Round Twelve against the Clarence Coast Magpies before being named to start in the second row in Round Thirteen against the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring a try and kicking two conversions in the Seagulls 46 – 12 victory.

The talented Ballina Seagulls second rower was a key member of the Seagulls 2020 U12 side that won the Group One U12 Grand Final 36 – 0 against the Kyogle Turkeys with Jett Flatley scoring a try and kicking a conversion in the match.

Jett Flatley started in all eleven of Ballina’s 2020 matches, including in the Grand Final and in those eleven matches, scored forty eight points from nine tries and six conversions, with all six conversions coming in separate matches and in the main were situations when Jett Flatley converted a try of his own.

Jett Flatley finished the 2020 Group One U12 abridged regular season on a high, scoring a hat trick against the Clarence Coast Magpies in Round Ten and also scored a double in Round Six against the Grafton Ghosts. Jett Flatley also scored against South Grafton in Round Two and Clarence Coast once again in Round Five.

In Round Two against the South Grafton Rebels, Jett Flatley was barely touched by the Rebels defence, scoring from forty metres out after receiving the ball from the dummy half from his left. After receiving the ball Jett Flatley ran through a South Grafton defence that had barely moved off their line and then beat the cover defence with sheer pace to dive over three metres in from the right corner post.

One of Jett Flatley’s Round Ten three tries was as good of a long range solo try that I have seen in any junior age group ever. Jett Flatley received the ball four passes from the play the ball as Ballina spun the ball to their left. When Jett Flatley received the ball he was only fifteen metres out from his own line and just five metres in from the left touchline. Jett Flatley stepped off his left foot to beat one defender before veering back towards the left touchline, breaking five tackles as he broke into space still sixty metres from the try line. Even though three Magpies defenders gave chase they could not take any ground at all off Jett Flatley and he was able to dive over in the left corner to score an outstanding try.

I have noted two outstanding solo tries to look to highlight the skill set that Jett Flatley possesses, but I could also note multiple instances of outstanding defence over the course of 2020 which would also go a long way to describing just how good Jett Flatley is. Some of the tackles against Kyogle, Casino RSM and the Clarence Coast Magpies were simply outstanding with Jett Flatley hitting hard and often with both his left and right shoulders.

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2021 Keebra Park SHS student, Southport U18 Division One winger and PNG U18 representative Ethan Palanga has been named the 2021 Keebra Park SHS International Student of the Year.

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2022 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad member Caleb Kilduff will have the honour of being the Grafton Ghosts Junior Rugby League Club Captain next year.

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Caleb Kilduff was also named the 2021 Grafton Ghosts U15 Group One Best Forward.

2022 Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad member Caleb Kilduff will have the honour of being the Grafton Ghosts Junior Rugby League Club Captain next year.

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After spending his earlier junior rugby league career with the Grafton Ghosts, Wayne-Chase Whitney has moved across the bridge to play the 2021 Group One U13 season with the South Grafton Rebels.

Wayne-Chase Whitney started Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition at fullback for the Rebels as they took on the Kyogle Turkeys.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also started at fullback in Round Two against the Clarence Coast Magpies scoring a try in the Rebels 32 – 8 victory.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also started at fullback in Round Three against the Clarence Coast Magpies with the young man scoring a double in the Rebels victory. Wayne-Chase Whitney scored once again from the fullback position in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys.

Wayne-Chase Whitney continued at fullback and once again scored in Round Seven against Marist Brothers and also scored from fullback in Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys and in Round Nine against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also started at fullback in Round Ten against the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring in the Rebels impressive victory. Round Eleven against the Ballina Seagulls saw Wayne-Chase Whitney continue at fullback and score an outstanding hat trick against the Ballina Seagulls.

Wayne-Chase Whitney continued at fullback in Round Twelve against Casino RSM, scoring once again for the Rebels.

Interestingly in Round Thirteen against the Marist Rams, Wayne-Chase Whitney was named to start at hooker, scoring one of the three Rebels tries in the match.

Wayne-Chase Whitney, after playing in the earlier U13 match, was on the bench for the South Grafton U14 side in Round One against Kyogle and it was the same in Round Two against the Clarence Coast Magpies and in Round Three against his former club in the Grafton Ghosts. Wayne-Chase Whitney was also on the bench in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys, in Round Eight against Kyogle and in Round Thirteen against the Marist Rams.

In 2020 for the Grafton Ghosts in the Group One U12 competition, Wayne-Chase Whitney had an impressive season finishing with twelve tries and two conversions for an individual points tally of fifty two. Both of Wayne-Chase Whitney’s conversions came in separate matches against the Kyogle Turkeys, the first coming in Round Eight and the second in Round Ten.

Wayne-Chase Whitney scored a hat trick in Round Seven against his 2021 team being the South Grafton Rebels and also scored a double against the Rebels in Round Five. Wayne-Chase Whitney’s other two doubles came against Ballina in Round Six and Casino RSM in Round Nine.

Wayne-Chase Whitney also scored in Round Three against Casino RSM, Round Four against the Clarence Coast Magpies and Round Eight against the Kyogle Turkeys.

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Former Titans JTS Squad member Lockie McLaughlin was yesterday named the Group One U15 Grafton Ghosts Most Consistent Player for the 2021 season after a solid season in the second row in the Ghosts Blue and White.

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The first session for the Northern Rivers Titans squads is tomorrow morning at Ballina as they prepare for their early February Round One in Sydney against the Wests Tigers.

Some of the best juniors at the Titans have come through the Northern Rivers Titans Program such as Tom Weaver, Oskar Bryant, Jack Cullen and Ryan Foran just to name a few and no doubt the next exciting generation of Titans NRL players will be in attendance at Ballina tomorrow morning with training kicking-off at 9am.

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Harrison Clements, the talented Ballina Seagulls second rower was a key member of the Seagulls 2020 U12 side that won the Group One U12 Grand Final 36 – 0 against the Kyogle Turkeys with Harrison Clements scoring in the decider.

Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition saw Harrison Clements start in the second row for Ballina against the Clarence Coast Magpies and scored a double as the Seagulls started their Premiership defence on the back of a 58 – 0 win.

Round Two against the Marist Brothers Rams Lismore saw Harrison Clements started once again in the second row and scoring a hat trick as Ballina defeated the Rams 66 – 0.

Harrison Clements also started in the second row in Round Three against Kyogle when he also captained the Ballina side. In Round Four against South Grafton Harrison Clements scored a double after starting the match in the second row.

Harrison Clements continued his try scoring exploits in Round Five against South Grafton, scoring a double after starting the match in his usual second row position. Harrison Clements scored once again in Round Six against the Clarence Coast Magpies after once again starting the match in the second row. Harrison Clements also started in the second row in Round Nine against Marist Brothers and then once against started in the second row in Round Ten against the Kyogle Turkeys.

The Round Eleven match against the South Grafton Rebels saw Harrison Clements come off the bench and score one of the Seagulls tries in their four point win. Harrison Clements moved back into the Ballina starting side in Round Twelve against the Clarence Coast Magpies, scoring a double in Ballina’s victory.

Harrison Clements was also named to start in the second row in Round Thirteen against the Clarence Coast Magpies scoring once again as the Seagulls thumped the Magpies 46 – 12.

In May 2021, Harrison Clements was part of the Ballina Coast High School’s U14 Buckley Shield school boy rugby league side that won the Grand Final 46 – 0 against Tweed River High School after Dylan Watkins started the match on the wing.

In the two earlier matches of the Buckley Shield Ballina Coast High School defeated Kingscliffe High School 48 – 0 and Tweed River High School 36 – 6.

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The Northern Rivers Titans U18 trial was held in Ballina this afternoon and was a quality affair. The final squad should be named shortly and no doubt more than a few Titans will be involved.

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Well done to Tweed Coast Raider Luka Todd for his selection in the 2022 U16 Andrew Johns Cup Northern Rivers Titans train-on squad.

At the Tweed Coast Raiders Presentation Day Luka Todd received a Player of the Most Potential Award.

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Great to see Mullumbimby Giants Junior Dylan Butcher play in the Titans Development Squad matches today.

The young forward was recently named the 2021 Mullumbimby Giants U14 Group 18 Best Forward after being named the U13 Best and Fairest in 2020.

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In June 2021 hooker/half Jesse Beauchamp from the Ballina Seagulls was part of a Titans U18 Northern Rivers squad that played the Titans U17 JTS squad at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans Round Fourteen NRL match against the Sydney Roosters.

Jesse Beauchamp started the season as part of the 2021 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad, coming into the side on the bench in Round Two against the North Coast Bulldogs and maintaining his spot there in Round Three against the Northern Tigers. After missing Round Four Jesse Beauchamp also came off the bench in Round Five against the Newcastle Knights.

Jesse Beauchamp played the 2021 season with Ballina Seagulls in the NRRRL U18 competition starting Round One at hooker against the Kyogle Turkeys. Jesse Beauchamp continued at hooker from rounds two to four against Byron Bay, Tweed Coast and Marist Brothers respectively before starting Round Five against Casino RSM at halfback with Jesse Beauchamp also captaining the Seagulls side in that match.

In that span, Jesse Beauchamp scored his first try of the 2021 NRRRL U18 season in the 9th minute of Round Three against the Tweed Coast Raiders when he ran out of dummy half to his left to easily get the ball over the line from a metre out.

Jesse Beauchamp was set to continue at hooker in Round Eight against Northern United however he ended up starting the match at halfback and was involved in everything for the Seagulls, finishing the match with a double.

Jesse Beauchamp’s first try of the match came in the 30th minute when he backed up a break through centre field by one of his forwards. Jesse Beauchamp received the offload thirty-five metres from the try line and after wrong footing two Northern United defenders Jesse Beauchamp put the ball down mid-way between the corner post and goal posts on the left side of the field.

Jesse Beauchamp’s second try came in the 43rd minute when he darted out of dummy half to his right from three metres out to score next to the right upright. It is only fair however to note that for a line break by Jesse Beauchamp the play prior, he would not have been in a position to score. Near the halfback mark, Jesse Beauchamp split the Northern United defence through the middle of the ruck before off-loading to Kyhan Weir who had loomed up on his right. It was from Kyhan Weir’s quick play the ball that Jesse Beauchamp took the opportunity to score from dummy half.

Jesse Beauchamp then continued at halfback in Round Eleven against the Bilambil Jets and made a significant contribution to the Seagulls final try in their 30 – 0 when from just inside his own territory he put up a high mid-field bomb which was dropped by the Jets twenty metres out from their own line with the ball bouncing perfectly for the Seagulls replacement left winger to scoop it up and comfortably under the posts.

Jesse Beauchamp continued at halfback in Round Twelve against the Byron Bay Devils scoring three tries and also recording two try assists.

Jesse Beauchamp’s opening try came in the 23rd minute when on the left Jesse Beauchamp put in a right foot grubber kick for himself from just five metres out and after regathering the ball Jesse Beauchamp got the ball down mid-way between the corner post and goal post on the left side of the field.

Jesse Beauchamp scored his second try in the 25th minute when Jesse Beauchamp backed up on the inside when Ballina left centre Damon Coldwell made a long line break down the left touchline, receiving an inside pass around thirty metres out. Jesse Beauchamp was then able to bring the ball around to score under the posts.

Jesse Beauchamp completed his hat trick in the 51st minute when after picking up the ball after picking up the ball from the base of the scrum he ran to his left and simply sliced through the right side of the Byron Bay scrum defence and from there Jesse Beauchamp was just too quick for the cover defence to dive over ten metres in from the left cover defence.

Jesse Beauchamp almost had another try in the match but in the 44th minute he was held up directly under the posts.

Jesse Beauchamp recorded his first try assist in the 34th minute when whilst operating on the left, Jesse Beauchamp put in a right foot stab kick which sat of for his left second rower to run onto and then bring the ball around to put it down under the posts.

Jesse Beauchamp then recorded his second try assist in the 60th minute when he threw a long cut out pass to his left to put Damon Coldwell on the outside of the Byron Bay defence and from there no one was going to stop Damon Coldwell from scoring.

Jesse Beauchamp continued at halfback in Round Thirteen against Murwillumbah and whilst he did not score himself in the match, Jesse Beauchamp was heavily involved in Ballina’s 11th minute try. Jesse Beauchamp put up a mid-field bomb which Murwillumbah let bounce with the ball bouncing back towards the Ballina chasers. The ball got out to Lachlan Offley’s right wing who darted down the right wing. When confronted by the cover defence, Lachlan Offley put in a right foot grubber kick back inside which was collected by Ballina to score.

Jesse Beauchamp was also named to continue at halfback in Round Fourteen against the Cudgen Hornets.

Jesse Beauchamp made his NRRRL Reserve Grade debut in Round Twelve of the 2021 competition when he came off the bench against the Byron Bay Devils and he also came off the bench in Round Thirteen against the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

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Murwillumbah flyer Ryder Nelson played in the Titans Development Squad matches.

This season Ryder Nelson played for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 Junior Rugby League competition, being named the COlts U13 Best Back.

In 2020 Ryder Nelson was named the Murwillumbah Colts U12 Brest and Fairest and Players Player.

This young named has absolutely blazing speed.