Junior Development

[mdrew]

Sam Stephenson started at left centre for the Titans U16 side on Saturday afternoon in a match at Pizzey Park against the Sydney Bulldogs with Sam Stephenson coming in-field in the 10th minute to take a hit-up to the right of the play the ball, making eight metres into the teeth of the Bulldogs defence to get the ball over thirty metres out from the Titans own try line.

Then in the 21st minute Sam Stephenson Sam Stephenson was able to make twelve metres down the left channel to get the play very close to halfway.

[mdrew]

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa started in the front row for the Titans U18 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Burleigh MM Cup side on Saturday night.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa was immediately in the match when along with Wailer Whaiapu and Tanu Nona he made the opening tackle of the match after the Titans had kicked off to get the game underway.

Taelon Te Whiu-hopa just how hard it is for opposing defenders to stop his progress in the 28th minute when he rumbled twelve metres down the left channel to get the ball thirty metres away from his own try line.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa reinforced how hard he is to tackle once again in the 36th minute when he rumbled forward making fourteen metres, a majority post contact, as he took the ball to within thirty metres of the try line.

Taelon Te Whiu-Hopa also proved what an outstanding defender he is in the 37th minute when he combined with front row partner Larry Siala to smash one unfortunate Burleigh forward with the ball coming loose of the heavy initial contact.

[mdrew]

On Saturday afternoon Zane Harrison started at halfback for the Titans U16 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Sydney Bulldogs with Zane Harrison being, in my opinion, the Titans best.

The match saw Zane Harrison captain the Titans side and set up both of the Titans tries.

Zane Harrison’s opening try assist came in the 11th minute when he called the ball down a wide right blindside twenty metres out. Zane Harrison ran the ball right to the line, being ten metres from the try line before popping a great short ball to his right to put Jac Finnigan over in the right corner.

Zane Harrison’s second try assist came in the 25th minute when he from twenty metres out and to the right side of the field Zane Harrison put in a perfectly weighted grubber kick for Sunny Kama to run through and dive on the ball wide out on the right.

[mdrew]

In late January 2022 Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo played his first match in a Titans jersey when he started at five eight for the Titans U16 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Sydney Bulldogs.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo almost set up a try in the 27th minute down a left blindside when he elusiveness meant that two defenders missed him before Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo threw an over the top cut-up pass to Titans left winger Izayah Petrichvich who dived for the corner but the referee ruled that the ball was knocked out of his grasp prior to Izayah Petrichvich getting the ball down in the left corner.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo’s first touch of the ball in a Titans jersey came in the 3rd minute when he received the ball just inside Bulldogs territory down a wide left blindside. Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo ran the ball to his left, dummying to an inside runner before taking the Bulldogs defensive line on himself.

Then in the 22nd minute Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo showcased his undoubted passing skills when whilst operating on the left side of the field, he threw a good wide ball to lead left centre Sam Stephenson onto the ball with the centre making fourteen metres down the left channel.

Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo made an outstanding run of his own in the 22nd minute when he received the ball forty metres out and to the right of the play the ball. Upon receipt of the ball Amarni Wetini-Ngaropo ran to his right stepping off that foot on two occasions before bumping through one attempted tackle before he was eventually brought to ground eighteen metres away from the try line.

[mdrew]

William Semu started at left centre for the Titans U18 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Burleigh MM Cup side last Saturday with William Semu producing an outstanding opening ten minutes which included two great tries.

It took only until the 6th minute for William Semu to stamp his class on the match with a try that no written description can do justice to it. No matter what words I use to describe my thoughts on the try, it is just not possible to use enough positive adjectives to even come close to being able to get the analysis even close to accurate. The best that I can do is that William Semu went full beast mode and tore the Burleigh right sided defence to shreds.

William Semu received a long cut out pass from his right which was thrown by Josh Lynn, taking possession eighty two metres out. From there William Semu easily outpaced the Burleigh right centre down the left touchline before William Semu executed a text book in and away to outwit the Burleigh fullback before crashing over in the left corner with two Burleigh defenders clinging on for dear life in a fruitless effort to prevent William Semu from scoring.

William Semu completed his double just three minutes later in the 9th minute when after some good work and offloads from Larry Siala and Seth Niketomo (who off-loaded to William Semu) William Semu burst ten metres to get the ball down five metres in from the left corner post.

William Semu also made a line break in the 35th minute when after being on hand to receive on off-load from just over halfway from Larry Siala, William Semu was able to burst twenty two metres downfield.

William Semu also made a strong ten metres after fielding the kick-off after Burleigh kicked-off to get the second half underway, with William Semu initially taking the kick-off on the full on his own twenty metre mark.

Early in the second half William Semu continued his dominance when in the 38th minute he received a cut-out pass from his inside when he was fifteen metres from the line. As soon as he took possession, William Semu was confronted by the Burleigh right centre William Semu immediately cut off his left foot to get past the Bears centre, before William Semu ran back to his left and forced his way to within a metre of the try line and two metres in from the touchline, beating four tackles along the way.

William Semu made another bullocking run in 62nd when he moved into dummy half just inside Titans territory and near the left touchline. William Semu to his right upon picking up the ball and bustled his way seventeen metres downfield, breaking three tackles along the way.

William Semu was also dominant defensively in the match including in the 13th minute when he came out of the line to smash the Burleigh right centre with the ball flying loose as a result of William Semu’s heavy initial contact.

[mdrew]

On Saturday night Jaylan De Groot started at fullback for the Titans U19 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side being moving to the left wing in the second half.

Jaylan De Groot finished the match with two try assists, the first coming in the 11th minute. Jaylan De Groot’s try assist movement commenced well inside his own territory with a hit-up from Arama Hau. After engaging the Burleigh defence Arama Hau produced a right arm off-load to Jaylan De Groot who burst through the Burleigh defence before veering to his left as he approached the Bears fullback and then passed back across his body to his left to find a flying Ryan Foran thirty two metres out. As soon as he received the ball Ryan Foran cut off his right foot to beat one defender and then cross the line.

Jaylan De Groot’s second try assist came literally on the final siren when after some great lead up work by the Titans, Jaylan De Groot threw the Burleigh right winger to put Titans left winger Elijah Lui over in the left corner for his first try in a Titans jersey.

Jaylan De Groot was not too far away from scoring himself in the 52nd minute when he raced down the left touchline after Ryan Foran had picked up a Burleigh dropped ball, but near the halfway mark just as he was getting to full pace with no-one in front of him, Jaylan De Groot was ankle tapped from behind.

Jaylan De Groot has always been a fullback with great positional sense and then was displayed once again in the 27th minute when he positioned himself well right on his own try line and to the left of the goal posts to take a Burleigh attacking grubber kick. After taking possession Jaylan De Groot took off to his right, stepping twice off his right foot to get the ball twelve metres out from the try line directly in front of the goal posts.

[mdrew]

Keano Kini started at five eight on Saturday night for the Titans U19 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side with Keano Kini being involved in the opening tackle of the match after Tom Weaver kicked off to get the match underway.

After playing the first half at five eight Keano Kini moved to fullback for the second half with Jaylan De Groot moving to the left wing.

After the forward battle subsided Keano Kini began to come into his own and in the 20th minute he almost manufactured a try for Jeremaiah Temapo when he created space on the right but Keano Kini’s overhead pass to Jeremaiah Temapo who put the ball down in the right corner was ruled forward.

Keano Kini was at it again in the 35th minute when he took the ball down a wide left blindside. Keano Kini ran at the line with the ball in both hands before dummying to his right to get part way through the defensive line. Keano Kini then held off one defender with his left arm forcing him and the attached defender from twenty five metres out to within four metres of the try line.

Keano Kini’s move to fullback in the second half did not dull his attacking threat and in the 47th minute Keano Kini made a great winding run of thirty metres. Keano Kini received the ball to the left of a Titans scrum win just twenty metres from their own line. Initially after running to his left Keano Kini was tackled by the right leg by the Burleigh right winger but was not brought to ground. After pulling his leg free, Keano Kini continued to charge forward, stepping off his right foot twice before straightening up his run with a left foot step and was eventually tackled near the halfway mark. After playing the ball, Keano Kini then received an off-load from Kyhan Weir who had taken the subsequent hit-up.

In the 70th minute Keano Kini produced a strong kick return when after taking possession of the ball from the kick on his own twenty metre line, Keano Kini got all of the way to the forty five metre mark, beating two tackles along the way.

[mdrew]

Great stab kick to the left from Titans contracted Zane Harrison to set up a try for Northern Rivers Titans U16 fullback Harry Chadburn this morning in Round One of the Andrew Johns Cup.

[mdrew]

Great end to the 1st half for the Northern Rivers Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad to lead 16-12 over the Wests Tigers.

Tries to Harry Chadburn, Blake Togo-Murphy and Aaron Singh-Goesel.

[mdrew]

Great first up win for the Northern Rivers Titans U16 side 22-20 against the Wests Tigers with a Sam Petch second half try helping get the Titans home.

[mdrew]

Left winger Matthew Bollard has scored an early first half double for the Northern Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side in Sydney.

[mdrew]

They may have gone down 30-18 but the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup side put in a great effort against the Wests Tigers.

[mdrew]

Last Saturday night Thomas Weaver started at half back for the Titans U19 side in a match at Pizzey Park against the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side with Thomas Weaver dictating terms for the Titans as they defeated Burleigh 40 – 12.

Thomas Weaver contributed a try, three try assists, a line break assist and six conversions including a 60th minute conversion from the left touchline.

Thomas Weaver scored in the 56th minute when after good work previously from Tanu Nona (line break) and Josh Lynn, Thomas Weaver loomed up to the right of Nicholas Hilton receiving the ball and racing forty metres to dive over under the posts untouched. Thomas Weaver then converted his own try.

Thomas Weaver’s first try assist arrived in the 38th minute when he took the ball to the line around ten metres out and then double pumped a great ball to his right to put Immanuel Kalekale over ten metres in from the right upright. Tom Weaver then stepped up to convert the try he set up.

Thomas Weaver’s second try assist came in the 53rd minute when from around fifteen metres out, Thomas Weaver put in a grubber aimed at the right upright. After the ball narrowly missed that upright the ball sat up perfectly for Josh Lynn to take possession and get the ball down. Not surprisingly Thomas Weaver comfortably converted the try from next to the goal posts.

The third try assist of the match for Thomas Weaver was another try assist from a kick and came in the 60th minute when on the final tackle from approximately seventeen metres out Thomas Weaver kicked to the right wing with Jeremaiah Temapo diving on the bell in the in-goal less than a metre from the dead ball line. Thomas Weaver then stepped up to slot the conversion from right on the right touchline.

Thomas Weaver also recorded a 7th minute line break assist when on the left side of the field, he threw a long cut-out pass to his left to put winger Elijah Lui away down the left touchline.

Thomas Weaver added a further line break assist in the 43rd minute when after taking the ball to the left side of the field, Thomas Weaver threw a good flat cut out pass to his left to Jaylan De Groot who made ten metres down the left touchline to get the ball into the attacking twenty metre area.

[mdrew]

In 2022 Titans contracted Brock Priestley will line -up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering's Colts squad.

Last weekend Brock Priestley came off the bench for the Titans U19 side against Burleigh coming on late in the first half to play right second row.

[mdrew]

Round One of the 2022 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition yesterday morning saw Ricco Waititi start at left centre for the Northern Rivers Titans side against the Macquarie Wests Tigers in Sydney’s west with Ricco Watititi throwing the last pass in the 24th minute for Blake Togo-Murphy to dive over in the left corner.

Ricco Watititi also was strong defensively in the match including in the 51st minute when he produced a big front on tackle when the Wests Tigers ran in his direction after winning a scrum from their own feed. Ricco Watititi’s initial contact forced the ball loose to cancel out all of the Wests Tigers momentum.

- - - Updated - - -