Junior Development

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Former Auckland Boys Grammar' student Auckland Boys Grammar's Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo has arrived in Australia and commenced training with the Titans JTS Program and soon will attend Keebra Park SHS and will play for Burleigh in the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup.

Just a reminder that in 2021 Auckland Boys Grammar's Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo was the youngest ever Auckland Boys Grammar student to play in their school boy rugby First XV at just 15, an incredible achievement considering he played for a school which has produced in excess of fifty All Blacks.

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One of the best players in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition was Ballina Seagulls five eight and Ballina Coast HS five eight Desmond Ferguson, the young man is an outstanding talent and mid-way through the 2021 season, he was part of an NRRRL U18 side that played a Titans U17 JTS Squad at CBus stadium.

[Hail Sezer]

Former Auckland Boys Grammar' student Auckland Boys Grammar's Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo has arrived in Australia and commenced training with the Titans JTS Program and soon will attend Keebra Park SHS and will play for Burleigh in the 2022 U16 Cyril Connell Cup.

Just a reminder that in 2021 Auckland Boys Grammar's Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo was the youngest ever Auckland Boys Grammar student to play in their school boy rugby First XV at just 15, an incredible achievement considering he played for a school which has produced in excess of fifty All Blacks.

This is a big deal. Whilst still top tier, Grammar aren't the force they once were in NZ Secondary School Rugby (or even in Auckland for that matter) but they have high individual standards that a person must meet to even put on a 1st XV jersey. I'm looking forward to seeing how Amarni plays for Burleigh this year.

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Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle is from the Waikato Region of New Zealand and represented the Upper Central Zone in various New Zealand National Youth Championships including in the U15 level in 2019 which included a try and three goals on Match Day Two.

In the Waikato Region Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle played for the Turangawaewae Club.

In 2020 Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle played for the New Zealand Residents U16 Representative side and was one of the Residents try scorers in their big 42 – 6 victory over a New Zealand Maori U17 selection that included stand-out Titans youngster Keano Kini at fullback.

Starting the match at halfback, Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle scored in the 49th minute, when after receiving an off-load from his right Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle accelerated from a standing start to burst through two Maori defenders before veering to his right to get past the fullback and from there Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle was too quick for the cover defence to dive over eight metres in from the right corner post.

In 2022 Te Hurinui Apanui Twidle is U18 eligible.

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The 2021 season for Nathaniel Cama:

Round One of the 2021 Langer Cup School Boy Rugby League competition saw Nathaniel Cama named to start at left centre for Keebra Park SHS against Marsden State High School however on the day of the game he dropped back to the interchange bench.

Round Three against Ipswich State High School saw Nathaniel Cama named on the bench for Keebra Park. After missing a number of rounds Nathaniel Cama was named on the bench for the Keebra Park SHS Langer Reserve side for their Round Six match against local rivals PBC State High School.

After the competition was suspended for a number of weeks due to a Covid 19 lock down, Nathaniel Cama was named in the centres for Keebra Park State High School in their semi-final against PBC State High School.

Nathaniel Cama also played a number of school boy matches for Keebra Park in the 2021 Titans Cup School Boy competition including a two try effort against Marymount College. The first of Nathaniel Cama’s two tries came in just the 7th minute of the match when after Keebra Park SHS had made a break down the left side of the field, Nathaniel Cama went into dummy half two metres from the try line and two metres in from the left touchline. Nathaniel Cama ran out of dummy half to his left and crashed over in the left corner.

Nathaniel Cama completed his double in the 50th minute when he raced through a gap down the left channel from twenty five metres out from a Keebra Park SHS backline movement. After breaking the line, Nathaniel Cama shaped to pass to his left to an unmarked support player as he approached the Marymount College fullback, but instead Nathaniel Cama dummied past the fullback and put the ball down twelve metres in from the left corner.

2021 also saw Nathaniel Cama play for Wynnum Manly in the Greater Brisbane Junior Rugby League U18 competition where he operated primarily in the centres including starting on the bench in the Grand Final against Souths Juniors.

Nathaniel Cama had a number of strong matches for Wynnum Manly including a strong match against the Western Mustangs when after Nathaniel Cama came off the bench to play in the right second row position he scored a strong try when he burst between two defenders to score five metres in from the right corner post.

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Young Ballina Seagulls second rower Cai Garrett had a great 2021 season in the Group One U12 competition and whilst very young shapes as a player to follow in coming seasons.

Cai Garrett played in eleven 2021 Group One U12 matches for Ballina scoring a staggering thirty three tries to finish with a 300% try scoring strike rate. Understandably Cai Garrett finished as the competitions leading try scorer, finishing fifteen tries in front of the 2021 Group One competitions second leading try scorer.

Impressively Cai Garrett only failed to score in one match which came against Casino RSM in Round Twelve. Cai Garrett started all eleven of his matches in the second row.

Cai Garrett amazingly scored five tries in a match on three occasions in 2021, being in Round Four against the South Grafton Rebels, Round Nine against the Marist Brothers Rams (he also converted one of his own tries) and Round Thirteen against the Grafton Ghosts.

Cai Garrett also scored four hat tricks in 2021 including in three matches in a row from Round Six to Round Eight against the Clarence Coast Magpies, Grafton Ghosts and Casino RSM respectively.

Cai Garrett scored two tries in a match against Clarence Coast in Round One, against the Kyogle Turkeys in Round Three and in Round Five against Casino RSM.

The 2021 season was not an aberration for Cai Garrett as in 2020 in the Group One U11 season he scored a once again competition leading eighteen tries including a hat trick in Ballina’s 36 – 10 Grand Final victory against the Kyogle Turkeys.

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At the 2021 Kyogle Turkeys Junior Rugby League Awards Presentation Malachy Laarhaven was named the 2021 Kyogle Turkeys Group One U13 Most Valuable Player.

The talented young Kyogle Turkeys junior and Kyogle High School student started at lock in Round One of the 2021 Group One U13 competition for Kyogle against the South Grafton Rebels and scored for the Turkeys as they defeated the Rebels 36 – 4.

Malachy Laarhaven also started at lock in Round Two against the Kyogle Turkeys and Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls when he scored a double as the Turkeys defeated Ballina 28 – 10.

Malachy Laarhaven also started at lock and was one of Kyogle’s try scorers in their two point Round Four loss to Casino RSM and after starting at lock in Round Six against South Grafton, Malachy Laarhaven added a double to his already impressive 2021 try scoring tally.

Round Eight against South Grafton saw Malachy Laarhaven continue to lock and he also started at lock in Round Nine against Casino RSM, a match that saw Malachy Laarhaven score a double.

Malachy Laarhaven continued at lock in Round Ten against Ballina and scored yet another double in his impressive 2021 campaign and added a further try from lock in Round Eleven against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

Malachy Laarhaven continued at lock in Round Twelve against the Marist Rams scoring another double and continued at lock in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM, scoring yet another double in the Turkeys 34 – 22 victory.

Malachy Laarhaven finished the abridged 2021 Group One U13 regular season as the competitions fourth leading try scorer with eighteen seven tries.

Malachy Laarhaven made his Group One U14 debut off the bench in Round Three of the 2021 season against the Ballina Seagulls and also came off the bench in Round Eleven against the Clarence Coast Magpies.

In 2021 Malachy Laarhaven represented Kyogle High School at the Northern Zone U15 Touch Zone trials and even though he was two years younger than the majority of other participants, Malachy Laarhaven was one of the better players.

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One of the most talented play makers in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition was Bilambil Jets five eight and captain William James with the young man also playing for a Titans U18 NRRRL side that played a Titans U17 JTS squad in an NRL curtain-raiser at CBus Stadium.

William James scored twice in the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition with his first try coming in the 20th minute of Round Four against the Cudgen Hornets when after taking possession fifteen metres out from the dummy half on the left side of the field, he attacked the line before dummying to his left twice and then sliced through, breaking three tackles to score fifteen metres in from the left corner post.

William James also scored in Round Ten against the Marist Rams. In the 29th minute Williams James received the ball on the bounce on the left side of the field once again fifteen metres out. William James initially ran to his left before stepping back inside off his left foot before straightening up and breaking two tackles to crash over under the posts.

The Round Four match saw William James also record a try assist when he took the ball twenty metres out down a wide left blindside and passed inside to a flying Michael Roberts to score.

William James also recorded a great Round Nine try assist when after making a long line break down the left touchline he kicked back inside for Kai Smallwood to collect and score.

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In October 2021 Keebra Park SHS's Xavier Taufifaiga was named in the Tweed Heads Seagulls 2022 MM Cup squad.

The young Helensvale Hornets winger was part of the Titans U13 side that played a Western Mustangs U13 selection at Mudgeeraba in February 2019, that afternoon playing on the left wing in his first match in a Titans jersey.

In February 2021 Xavier Taufifaiga took part in the South Coast U15 school boy trials and was named in the South Coast Squad for the U15 QSSRL Championships as a result of his trial performances.

In 2020 Xavier Tauaifaiga was part of the Helensvale Hornets U14 Division One side in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition. Helensvale finished the 2020 season with a 40 – 0 win in the first against second play-off round against Burleigh.. The Helensvale U14 Division One side finished the regular season on top of the table with six wins from their seven matches, scoring 296 points and conceding only thirty eight to have a +258 points differential.

Xavier Tauaifiga also played touch in 2020 making the U14 Boys Queensland Fury side for the Queensland Oztag Super Series after representing the Coomera City Chiefs.

From a school boy rugby league perspective in 2020 Xavier Tauaifiga played for the Coombabah State High School Year Nine school boy rugby league side and at the completion of the season was named as the 2020 Year Nine Best Back.

Xavier Tauaifaiga moved to Helensvale in 2019 after playing the 2018 season U12 Division One season with the Runaway Bay Seagulls.

Xavier Tauaifaiga also played on the left wing for the 2019 Gold Coast Vikings U13 representative side at the Hill Stumer Championships that were held in Ipswich, scoring the U13 Vikings first try of the competition in their first match against Brisbane Red when he crossed out wide in the left corner.

After the completion of the competition, Xavier Tauaifaiga was deservedly selected in the South East Queensland U13 training squad.

Whilst he has been playing on the left wing for the Titans and in the representative arena for the Gold Coast Vikings, Xavier Tauaifaiga has primarily operated in the centres, specifically left centre for Helensvale in the GCRL U13 Division One competition in 2019.

Over the course of the 2019 regular season Xavier Tauaifaiga played in twelve matches for the Hornets in the U13 Division One competition and scored twelve tries (100% strike rate) amongst others against Southport (Round One), Runaway Bay (Round Four) Nerang (Round Five), Runaway Bay (Round Eleven), Currumbin (Round Thirteen) and Burleigh (Round Fourteen).

In Round Six Xavier Tauaifaiga scored a double as Helensvale defeated Ormeau 54 – 6, he also scored a Round Nine double against Southport and added another double in Round Twelve against Coomera.

In Week two of the 2019 GCRL U13 Division One Finals series Xavier Tauaifaiga started at left centre against Ormeau, scoring in the match which propelled his Helensvale side directly into the Grand Final.

In the 2019 U13 Division One Grand Final against Burleigh Xavier Tauaifaiga started the match at right centre scoring in the 26th minute of the first half when he dived over from dummy half from close range diving to his right out of dummy half. Helensvale went on to win the U13 Division One Grand Final 26 – 22 against Burleigh in a tight high quality encounter.

In the Grand Final Xavier Tauaifaiga also made an outstanding try saving tackle late in the first half on Burleigh centre Sam Stephenson who seemed certain to score.

Xavier Tauaifaiga made his GCRL U14 Division One debut from the bench in Round Nine of 2019 against Beaudesert after scoring a double in the U13 Division One fixture earlier in the day. Xavier Tauaifaiga made his first U14 Division One start in Round Thirteen against Ormeau on the wing after starting in the centres in the U13 Division One match directly prior.

In total in the GCRL U14 Division One competition in 2019 Xavier Tauaifaiga played in five matches, on each occasion backing up from playing in the U13 Division One fixture earlier in the round (read day).

In 2018 Xavier Tauaifaiga played in thirteen U12 Division One matches for Runaway Bay scoring 32 points from seven tries and two conversions playing primarily in the centres.

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Great to see standout centre prospect Joseph Tupuse attending the three day Titans U15 High Performance Camp which started today.

The young Keebra Park SHS student is an outstanding strike centre prospect.

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Great to see Beaudesert Kingfisher and Marsden SHS student Rhys Alldridge attending the three day Titans U15 Elite Development Camp that kicked off today.

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New Zealand born second rower Boston Riggs-Albert is on his way over to Australia in 2022 to be part of the Coombabah State High School Rugby League Excellence Program and be part of their Open A Langer Cup side.

Boston Riggs-Albert will arrive in Australia with an impressive rugby league resume in his back pocket including representing the Manurewa Marlins. In 2020 the Aorere College student and Papatoete Panther was named in the second row in the New Zealand Maori U15 Tama All-Tournament Team.

In 2019 Boston Riggs-Albert was a Niue Pacific Cup U14 representative and also represented the Tamaki Makaurau U14 side and in 2018 Boston Riggs-Albert was part of the Auckland South U13 Representative Side.

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In addition to an outstanding 2021 rugby league season for Titans contracted Izayah Petricevich, he also had an outstanding 2021 basketball season.

In April 2021 Izayah Petricevich was part of the Gold Coast Waves U16 representative side that took part in the Queensland U16 Division One State Basketball Championships.

In the Waves Game One on Day One, Izayah Petricevich scored six points (three two point shots) as the Waves defeated the Rockhampton Rockets 89 – 33. In Game two, also on Day One, Izayah Petricevich scored thirteen points (three two point shots and seven free throws) as the Waves defeated the Townsville Heat 84 – 68.

The Waves also played two matches on Day Two of the Championships, the first being a 119 – 63 victory over the North Gold Coast Seahawks with Izayah Petricevich scoring seven points (three two point shots and a free throw). The Waves suffered their first defeat of the Championships in their second match on Day Two when they went down 112 – 77 to the Northside Wizards, with Izayah Petricevich scoring seven points once again from three two point shots and a free throw.

Game Five which came on Day Three of the Championships saw the Waves lose in heart breaking fashion 79 – 78 to the Toowoomba Mountaineers with Izayah Petricevich converting two two point baskets to finish the match with four points.

From his five matches at the 2021 Queensland U16 Basketball Championships in the regular rounds, Izayah Petricevich scored thirty seven point to average 7.4 points per game.

On Day One of the Qld U16 Basketball Championships Finals Series Izayah Petricevich had a huge game for the GC Waves scoring 18 from six two point shots and six free throws as they defeated Sunshine Coast Rip Black 94-92.

On Day Two of the Finals, Izayah Petrichvic scored a two point bucket as the Waves won again beating the Townsville Heat 68 – 64.

Izayah Petricevich also played for the Gold Coast Waves in the 2021 South Queensland Junior Boys U16 Premier League Basketball competition (SQJBC U16 Boys Premier League). In that competition for the Gold Coast Waves Izayah Petricevich played in sixteen matches scoring 132 points from fifty five two point shots and twenty two free throws made to score an average of 8.25 points per game.

Izayah Petricevich had some big matches for the GC Waves in the SQJBC U16 Boys Premier League including a twenty point (ten two point shots) effort against the SMW Pirates. Izayah Petricevich scored twelve points on two occasions on both occasions against the Mountaineer’s. On the first occasion Izayah Petricevich scored his twelve points from six two point shots and on the second occasion from five two point shots and two free throws.

Later in 2021 Izayah Petricevich played for the Gold Coast Rollers in the South Queensland Junior Boys U18 Premier League Basketball competition (SQJBC U18 Boys Premier League), an impressive feat considering that Izayah Petricevich was just 15 years old, including playing in their 82 – 74 Grand Final victory over the Southern District Spartans.

In total in the SQJBC U18 Boys Premier League competition Izayah Petricevich played in sixteen matches scoring nineteen points from eight two point shots and three free throws to average 1.19 points per game.

On two occasions Izayah Petricevich scored four points in a match, the first being against the Northside Wizards (one two point shot and two free throws) and against the North Gold Coast Seahawks (two two point shots).

Izayah Petricevich also played basketball on the Gold Coast in 2021 including a 21 July 2021 debut for Disney in the Gold Coast Basketball Men’s Premier League competition including on a two point shot.

Izayah Petricevich also played eight matches in the Gold Coast Basketball Men’s Division Two competition scoring thirty one points from twenty eight two points shots and three free throws to average 3.88 points per match.

Izayah Petricevich scored fourteen points from seven two point baskets against Dobilas and eleven points from five two point baskets and a free throw against the Wolf Pack.

Izayah Petricevich also played eight matches in the Gold Coast Basketball U17 Boys Division One competition, scoring seventy five points from thirty three two point baskets, one three point basket and six free throws.

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New Zealand born front rower Peter Patuua is on his way over to Australia in 2022 to be part of the Coombabah State High School Rugby League Excellence Program and be part of their Open A Langer Cup side.

The De La Salle College student will arrive in Australia with significant junior rugby league experience under his belt including in 2020 representing the U15 Tamaki Makarau Representative Side and the Manerewa Marlins. 2019 also saw Peter Patuua become a Niue Pacific Cup U14 representative and in 2013 he represented the Niue Pacific Cup U13 side.

Also in 2019 Peter Patuua was part of the Auckland South U13 Representative Side.

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In 2022 Luke Kofutua will move back from rugby to rugby league and line up for Burleigh in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition.

In 2020 Luke Kofutua played for the Nerang “Flying” Bulls in the Gold Coast District Rugby U17 competition, playing primarily off the bench but he did start a number of matches at No. 8.

In 2019 Luke Kofutua was selected in the Queensland White U16 representative side for the National U16 Rugby Championships, scoring in Queensland White’s first match of the Championships against Western Australia.

Even though Luke Kofutua spent time at Keebra Park State High School, he also spent time at Ipswich Grammar School playing school boy rugby in the vaunted GPS school boy rugby competition.

Even though he was still eligible to play at the U15 age group, Luke Kofutua has started off the 2018 season in the U16 Division One competition with the Southport Tigers and started Round Two (Southport had a Round One bye) against Burleigh from the interchange bench in Southport’s 22 – 4 victory in a hard fought clash. After his debut, Luke Kofutua played in an additional nine matches for the Southport U16 Division One side in 2018.

Luke Kofutua also played club rugby on the Gold Coast this season, playing for the Griffith University Colleges U15 side and started at No. 8 and scored a try in their 47 – 29 Grand Final victory that was played as a curtain raiser to the Rugby International between the Wallabies and Argentina on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago.

Luke Kofutua played in fifteen of Griffith University Colleges matches, seven at No. 8, five at open side flanker (No. 7), one at blind side flanker (No. 6) and one from the bench.

In those fifteen appearances, Luke Kofutua scored four tries, being in Round Three and Twelve against Bond Pirates, Round Nine and Fourteen against the Gold Coast Eagles.

In Western Australia, Luke Kofutua was a talented junior rugby player from Perth’s Thornlie State High School and in 2017 was selected in the Western Australian U14 State Championship rugby side. Luke Kofutua played No. 8 for the Kalamunda Junior Rugby club in Perth at the U14 level in 2017. Kalamunda were defeated in the Preliminary final 13 – 5 of that competition last year.