My take on our top juniors

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Caleb Case. In early October 2020 the young winger was part of a Titans Group 18 U16 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players wore Titans jerseys.

Caleb Case started Round One of the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition for the Bilambil Jets at left centre as the Jets recorded an impressive 24 – 18 victory over the Murwillumbah Mustangs.

Caleb Case also started at left centre in Round Two against the Tweed Coast Raiders and produced a smart piece of play in the 1st minute when on the 5th tackle, from twenty metres out he ran out of dummy half to his right, putting in a right foot grubber that could not be defused by the Raiders defence with Bilambil getting another set of six to attack the line.

Caleb Case moved to left second row for Round Three against Northern United scoring a try and breaking the Northern United line on two other occasions.

Caleb Case’s try came in the 53rd minute of the match when he burst through a gap fifty five metres out from the line and was far too quick for the Northern United cover defence to put the ball down ten metres from the left upright.

Caleb Case broke the Northern United line on the first occasion in the 13th minute when he moved into dummy half thirty metres out from his own line and a metre in from the right touchline. Caleb Case picked up the ball and darted down the right touchline making forty five metres before being tackled by the Northern United fullback.

Caleb Case’s second line break of the match came in the 49th minute, when once again he charged through a gap, making thirty metres before the Northern United fullback was able to stop him.

Caleb Case’s afternoon got off to a good start in the opening set of six in the match when after a strong 4th hit-up of the match he was able to get away on off-load.

Caleb Case was back at left centre for Round Four as the Jets took on the Cudgen Hornets in their local derby and was one of the Jets try scorers when in the 45th minute when he received a long cut out pass to dive over five metres in from the left corner.

Caleb Case was named to continue at left centre in Round Nine against the Byron Bay Devils and continued there in Round Ten against the Marist Brothers Rams before dropping back to start from the bench in Round Eleven against the Ballina Seagulls.

Caleb Case then moved back to left centre in Round Twelve against the Tweed Coast Raiders and crossed the try line in the 60th minute when from twenty metres out he was put into a gap by Kia Smallwood.

In the 2020 Group 18 U16 competition Caleb Case played for the Bilambil Jets. In the 2020 Group 18 U16 regular season, the Bilambil jets win five matches, scoring 152 points and conceding 118 to finish with a +34 points differential.

In 2019 Caleb Case played for the Group 18 U15 representative side at the New South Wales Country Age Championships, playing primarily on the wing.

Even though he does not have great top end speed Caleb Case is quick enough to take advantage of any space that he is given down the touchline by opposing wingers. One good think about his play in attack is that Caleb Case stays on his wing and is regularly outside his opposite number allowing his inside players to be able to find him in attack and in the games that I have seen he stays back and does not over run the players that are inside of him.

Caleb Case seems to be aware of his skill set as he does not take chances with the sideline and does his utmost to ensure that he is not taken over the sideline and knows when to cut back inside rather than taking his opposite number on along the touchline.

Caleb Case will also come in and take his fair share of hit ups to give his forwards a rest, when the ball needs to be brought out of his end of the field even though he is not the biggest or strongest player.

In terms of defence, Caleb Case is solid and seemingly understands the attributes of his opposite number to the extent that he alters his defensive positioning if he is against speedy, elusive wingers and against larger wingers.

Like most young outside backs though Caleb Case will continue to work on when to come out of the line to cut down the time and space of opposing centre, against staying out on his opposing winger and when to drop back to cover the side line, his time at fullback has clearly helped in these situations.

Caleb Case will play the 2022 season with the Bilambil Jets in the NRRRL U18 competition.

With his speed and elusiveness, Caleb Case seems set to stay on the wing for the duration of his rugby league career.

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Daniel Shannon. (Revised) He is a local former Titan’s linked young 183cm, 105kg front rower who in 2020 continued to develop his game for the with Southport in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition after an outstanding 2019 season as part of the Burleigh Bears U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts squad.

Daniel Shannon was deservedly named to make his Queensland Cup debut for the Burleigh Bears in Round Twelve against the Easts Tigers however he ended up being the 18th man.

In early March 2021 Daniel Shannon started in the front row Burleigh in their Hastings Deering’s Colts trial also against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

To say that Daniel Shannon started the match off like a whirlwind would be an understatement and it all started when he charged onto the ball returning the kick off with a charge that proved that Daniel Shannon does not even consider self-preservation. To add to his impressive opening minute, Daniel Shannon then backed up to take the fifth hit-up in the same set of six, with that hit-up equally as strong as the one from the kick-off.

It was not just running with the ball where Daniel Shannon stood out in the match, his defence was also first rate including a heavy tackle in the 19th minute that forced the ball loose as Tweed Heads were trying to bring the ball out of their own area.

Immediately when he came back onto the field in the second half Daniel Shannon made his presence felt with a strong eleven metre run in the 49th minute and then in the 51st minute Daniel Shannon charged onto the ball from a penalty restart twenty metres out from the line getting to within six metres of the Tweed Heads line before getting a great right arm off-load away to Lachie Adamson six metres out and the hooker was able to dive over after the majority of the Seagulls defenders focussed their attention on Daniel Shannon.

In the 59th minute Daniel Shannon produced yet another big run, this time from the kick-off after team mate Sam McIntyre’s try, and after contact Daniel Shannon was able to off-load to Jacob Hall as Burleigh brought the ball off their own line.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Daniel Shannon start in the front row for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Daniel Shannon taking the second hi-up of the match into a flying Easts Tigers defensive line. Daniel Shannon then backed up to take the 5th hit-up in the same set of six.

Daniel Shannon then made more ground for Burleigh in the 10th minute when from the second hit-up from the Easts kick-off after Sam McIntyre scored, he made twelve more metres to get the ball out to the twenty metre mark.

In his second stint on the field in the second half Daniel Shannon started where he left off from his first shift when in the 57th minute he took the first and third hit-ups from the kick-off after Zane Prophert’s try.

Daniel Shannon more metres to his tally in the 66th minute when he made twelve metres getting the ball into Easts Tigers territory and he was still going strong in the 75th minute with another run out of his own twenty metre area.

Daniel Shannon took the ball up all day long, but he was also good defensively in the match, including a belting tackle over the top in the third minute of the match that bent the Easts front rower (No. 10) on himself.

Daniel Shannon also started in the front row in the Round Two local derby against the Tweed heads Seagulls and continued to work hard in the centre of the field including in the 18th minute when he worked work to make thirteen metres downfield to get the ball more than thirty metres away from his own try line.

In the 56th minute Daniel Shannon made a strong run of fifteen metres from the kick-off return after a Burleigh try getting the ball out of his own twenty metre area and then made another ten metres from the 3rd hit-up in the same set of six.

Daniel Shannon also started in the front row in Round Three against the Western Mustangs and in Round Four against the Norths Devils.

Daniel Shannon also started in the front row in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets as well as in Round Six against the Townsville Blackhawks a match that saw him held up over the line, under the goal posts in the 26th minute. Daniel Shannon then charged back into the fray just minutes later from a Blackhawks goal line drop out. Even with the match won, Daniel Shannon was still running as hard as he did at the start of the match, making fourteen in the 76th minute to get the ball into the Townsville twenty metre area.

Daniel Shannon also started in the front row in Round Seven against the Central Queensland Capra’s, in Round Nine against the Mackay Cutters and Round Eleven against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

After a Covid 19 enforced hiatus, Daniel Shannon was named to start in the front row in Round Sixteen against the Ipswich Jets with Daniel Shannon scoring Burleigh’s final try of the match in the last minute.

The 79th minute saw Daniel Shannon’ score under the posts after Tuvalli Khan-Pereira chased through a Cameron Brown chip kick to take the ball and off-load to his inside (when he was facing his own try line) to Tyler Mahon who could have scored himself but instead passed to Daniel Shannon who get the ball down under the posts.

Daniel Shannon was strong throughout the match including a sequence in the 6th minute which started with a big hit-up from the kick-off after Damon Somerville’s opening try of the match before Daniel Shannon made a further equally effective run in the third hit-up from the same set of six with Daniel Shannon getting the ball to the halfway mark before he was brought to ground.

Daniel Shannon was also named to start in the front row in the rescheduled Round Thirteen match against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, a match that saw Daniel Shannon run for a team leading 156 metres.

Daniel Shannon also started in the front row in Round Fourteen against the Northern Pride and came close to scoring in just the 3rd minute but he was held up over the line after a strong run and he was held up again in the 74th minute as well.

Daniel Shannon contributed a line break assist to Burleigh 46 – 0 win in the 72nd minute when after taking a hit-up to the right of the dummy half and just prior to contact, Daniel Shannon passed back to his inside to send Brent Barnes through a gap.

Daniel Shannon also made a strong twenty metre run in the 65th minute with the run getting the ball into Northern Pride territory.

At the 2021 Queensland Rugby League Awards Night Daniel Shannon finished with three votes for the Hastings Deering’s Colts Player of the Season Award.

Daniel Shannon was set to will line up for the second season in a row in 2020 for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad before the competitions demise after Round One.

From a trivia perspective Daniel Shannon’s brothers Samuel and Joseph are contracted to the Titans and are also both front rowers/locks. All three brothers are big strong hard tough young men who clearly love the physical aspects of rugby league. I love watching them play, all three are aggressive and throw their weight around on the field in all aspects of the game.

With the cancellation of all competitions run by the Queensland Rugby League, Daniel Shannon played the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League competition with the Southport Tigers, starting Round One of the GCRL First Grade competition from the bench as the Tigers took on the Bureigh Bears.

Daniel Shannon also started from the bench in Round Three against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks, Round Four against Runaway Bay and Round Five against the Currumbin Eagles.

Daniel Shannon moved into the Southport starting side in the front row for the Tigers Round Six match against the Tugun Seahawks and maintained his starting front row position for Round Seven against Ormeau.

Daniel Shannon also started in the front row in Round Eight against Burleigh scoring a first half try when he charged onto a pass from the dummy half to the right of the play the ball, crashing over with two defenders engaged with him from five metres out.

Daniel Shanoon followed up his Round Eight try scoring feats, strting Round Nine agaisnt the Mudgeeraba Redbacks. In the final regular season round of the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition being Round Ten, Daniel Shannon started in the front row as the Tigers took on the Tugun Seahawks.

In Southport’s 2020 GCRL First Grade Preliminary Final loss against Burleigh, Daniel Shannon started in the front row.

At the Southport Tigers Awards Night, Daniel Shannon won two major First Grade Awards being the 2020 Southport Tigers First Grade Rookie of Year as well as the 2020 Southport Tigers First Grade Best Forward.

In the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Daniel Shannon played in fifteen matches for Burleigh including finals and scored his first Colts try of the season in Round Twenty against the Western Mustangs.

Daniel Shannon came into the 2019 Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in Round Nine against Redcliffe starting from the bench and also started from the bench in his other fourteen matches for the Bears.

In relation to his try against the Western Mustangs in Round Twenty Daniel Shannon received the ball from dummy half Zac McCormack close to the line with heavy defence in front of him, but he used his footwork to cut back towards the play the ball where the defence had not moved off the line and Daniel Shannon used his size and power to crash over.

Daniel Shannon’s 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts season came to an end when he started on the interchange bench for Burleigh as they went down 23 – 16 to Sunshine Coast in the Preliminary Final.

Daniel Shannon played the last rounds of the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition alongside younger brother Samuel in the Burleigh side.

In the 2019 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition Daniel Shannon played in eight matches including starting in the front row in Round Eleven against Burleigh when he scored a double which were his first tries of the 2019 season.

Daniel Shannon’s first try was a short range effort when he took the ball about three metres out from the line on the right side of the ruck to crash over. His second try came from around ten metres out this time on the left side of the ruck when he ran a good outside shoulder route and was put through a big gap.

Daniel Shannon also had a try assist in the match when he split the Burleigh line thirty metres out from his own line on the left side of the field, charging forty metres before drawing the fullback to send his support over untouched.

One thing that I did notice in the match was that Daniel Shannon ball played a lot before the line, on every occasion on the right side of the ruck.

Daniel Shannon’s other 2019 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 try came later in the season against Mudgeeraba.

In 2019 Daniel Shannon also made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut when he started in the front row against Bilambil in Round Two.

Daniel Shannon also played in two QTOP Doug Lipp Cup matches in 2019 for Southport with those matches being against Burleigh in June and Mudgeeraba in late August.

In 2019 Daniel Shannon was also selected in the Gold Coast Vikings U20 side for the South East Queensland U20 Challenge.

For Burleigh in the 2018 MM Cup competition, Daniel Shannon played in all six matches starting five in the front row and coming off the bench in Round Three in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Daniel Shannon scored just the one try in the MM Cup this season which was against Redcliffe in Round Two in an impressive Burleigh win at Pizzey Park.

Post the 2018 MM Cup competition, Daniel Shannon played for Southport and played in nine matches in the U19 competition and three in the Doug Lipp Cup competition.

Daniel Shannon came into the Southport U19 side in Round Three starting in the front row in a 22 all draw against Bilambil and also started in the front row in seven other matches before his Colts promotion. In Round 16 with the Burleigh Colts side having a bye Daniel Shannon lined up in the front row against Currumbin in a tough 26 – 16 loss.

Daniel Shannon scored two U19 GCRL regular season tries, the first came in early July against Currumbin and then Daniel Shannon scored his second try in the following round against Mudgeeraba.

In Week One of the 2018 GCRL U19 Finals series, Daniel Shannon started in the front row for Southport as they defeated Bilambil 34 – 8.

In Week two of the GCRL U19 Finals series, Daniel Shannon once again started in the front row for Southport against Currumbin with the Tigers winning 20 - 14.

In the 2018 U19 Grand Final Daniel Shannon started once again in the front row for Southport against Currumbin but unfortunately Southport went down 34 – 20, Daniel Shannon however was very good for the Tigers that Sunday afternoon.

Daniel Shannon made his Doug Lipp Cup debut in Round Three of the 2018 season he started in the second row for Southport against Bilambil. Daniel Shannon also started in Round Five in fact starting in the centres on that occasion against the Helensvale Hornets and also played against Mudgeeraba in June.

It was an impressive effort from Daniel Shannon to start in the front row in the U19 match in Rounds Three and Five and them back up to start in the Doug Lipp Cup matches immediately after.

Daniel Shannon was deservedly promoted to the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side for their 2018 Round 17 match against Norths starting the match from the bench on a tough day for Burleigh that afternoon.

In total in the 2018 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Daniel Shannon played in four matches, starting all from the bench.

Daniel Shannon was also selected in the 2018 Queensland Indigenous U18 side for the QPIIC Championships in October at Beenleigh.

In 2017 Daniel Shannon played for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League competition specifically at the U17 and U19 levels. Daniel Shannon also represented the Queensland Indigenous side in 2017 at the QPICC carnival at Beenleigh in October.

Daniel Shannon alternated between the U17 Division Two and U19 levels for Southport in 2017, playing six matches in each competition and had a very busy weekend. On Saturday Daniel Shannon lined up for the Southport U19 side coming off the interchange bench in their semi-final loss 21 – 14 to Currumbin and on Sunday started in the front row for Southport in their 21 – 14 Grand Final loss to Burleigh.

In the 2017 U17 Division Two competition, Daniel Shannon crossed for two tries on the season, the first coming against Coomera in July and the second in early August against Helensvale.

In 2016 Daniel Shannon was part of the Gold Coast White CC side for this season, starting the last two matches off the bench. He played the 2015 season with the Mudgeeraba Redbacks where he scored three tries across the ten matches that he played at the U15 Division One level and he also played seven matches up at the U16 Division Two level, where Daniel Shannon mainly came off the bench.

Daniel Shannon also represented Murri United in the Queensland Murri tournament in late 2015 and was in fact selected in the Queensland U15 Murri side which toured Fiji and won all three of their matches on that tour.

Running with the football, Daniel Shannon has good footwork prior to the line and does not often just put his head down and run straight, but uses his solid footwork to try to work the gaps between defenders rather than trying to simply run over them. He does not have great speed off the mark or necessary great high end speed, but he will work hard and make the most of his ability.

Daniel Shannon has a decent off load when he has impacted the defensive line as well although to date in U20 Colts competition he has not shown it much, concentrating more on making ground in the centre of the ruck.

The key to Daniel Shannon’s running is his ability to drop his shoulder into the defenders at the right moment, to go along with his late foot work. These attributes make Daniel Shannon very difficult to tackle and he can rarely be stopped one on one. Throw in a decent turn of pace off the mark and you have a player who is difficult for a defensive line to combat.

Defensively Daniel Shannon hits very hard and usually aims for just under the ribcage and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls, read that Daniel Shannon is very good at winning the wrestling battle in the ruck.

Daniel Shannon defends in the centre of the ruck and seems best suited in the long run defending there and adds a degree of intimidation to any forward pack he plays for.

Daniel Shannon really does know how to tackle effectively, as he sets a strong base to create the necessary leverage to defend against larger forwards and then explodes through his core. Throw in a touch of aggression and you have someone who can dominate a game defensively and is able to seal off one side of the ruck on his own.

For a front rower his lateral movement is more than reasonable. Daniel Shannon is also quite effective when defending at marker and does not use it as a chance to have a break and will chase hard from the position.

In 2022 Daniel Shannon is likely to continue playing for the Southport Tigers in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition as he looks to break into the Burleigh Bears Queensland Cup squad in 2022 or subsequent seasons.

Due to his size and strength he I believe that Daniel Shannon will continue to play his football in the front row in the long term although he could likely play in the second row for the next couple of years adequately.

From a player comparison perspective, think of someone along the lines of former New Zealand Warriors and New Zealand International second rower/front rower Adam Blair as a solid hard working forward who has a more than decent off load in him as well as having extremely aggressive tackling and running styles.

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Cooper Wolfe. In June 2021, Cooper Wolfe was a member of the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side that drew 28 all with a Titans JTS U16 side at Cbus Stadium in a curtain raiser to the Titans NRL fixture against Manly.

In early October 2020 Cooper Wolfe was part of a Titans Group 18 U16 Invitational side that played a trial match against a Titans squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players wore Titans jerseys in the match.

Round Three saw Cooper Wolfe make his first appearance for the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad when he started from the bench against the Greater Northern Tigers.

Cooper Wolfe came on for his first stint in the 20th minute of the match, operating in the front row. In his time on the field Cooper Wolfe played well including a strong run from the kick up to the second half.

After missing Round Four, Cooper Wolfe started from the bench in Round Five of the Laurie Daley Cup against the Newcastle Knights.

Cooper Wolfe started Round One of the 2021 NRRRL U18 competition in the front row for the Murwillumbah Mustangs as they took on the Bilambil Jets and also started in Round Two agaisnt Northern United, even though he was wearing the No. 20 jersey.

After Murwillumbah had a number of byes in consecutive weeks, Cooper Wolfe started from the bench in Round Six against the Kyogle Turkeys coming into the match around the 16th minute, taking his first hit-up shortly after when he charged onto the ball after Ryan Foran’s opening try of the match.

Cooper Woolf once again produced a strong run in the 31st minute when he took the second hit-up from the second half restart and then in the 37th minute, Cooper Wolfe made sixteen metres to get to within thirty metres of the try line.

After missing Round Seven as a result of playing for the Titans U17 Northern Rivers Academy side, Cooper Wolfe started Round Eight against Marist Brothers Lismore from the bench.

After Murwillumbah’s Round Nine match against the Tweed Coast Raiders was postponed, Cooper Wolf started from the bench in Round Ten against the Cudgen Hornets.

Cooper Wolf was promoted to the starting line-up in the front row in Round Twelve against Northern United and celebrated the promotion by scoring next to the right upright in the 29th minute barging over after receiving on off-load from Riley Lack.

Cooper Wolf was to maintain his starting front row position in Round Thirteen against the Ballina Seagulls however the match was a Covid 19 lockdown casualty.

The young front rower played the 2020 season for the Murwillumbah Colts in the Group 18 U16 competition, including starting the 2020 Grand Final in the front row with the Colts going down in the Grand Final 20 – 16 to South Tweed.

In the 2020 Group 18 U16 regular season Murwillumbah won five matches and lost four, along the journey scoring 154 points and conceding 112 to finish with a +42 points differential. After the completion of the 2020 Group 18 U16 season, Cooper Wolfe was named the Murwillumbah U16 Most Valuable Player.

In 2019 Cooper Wolfe was a stand by player for the Group 18 U15 representative side for the New South Wales Country Age Championships and in 2018 Cooper Wolfe was part of the Group 18 U14 representative side for the New South Wales Country Age Championships, starting the majority of Group 18’s matches in the front row.

Cooper Wolfe is a hard running player who never seems to just put his head down and runs straight, he always uses a slight step prior to contacting the defensive line, coupled with the fact that he drops his shoulder into defenders, means that Cooper Wolfe is a bit of a handful to tackle and he is not often knocked back onto his heals. He is also good at maintaining his momentum after impacting the defensive line.

Cooper Wolfe seems to have a high work rate and I would suggest that he would normally be at or near the top of his team’s statistics in terms of the number of hit ups he makes and on occasion runs a very good inside shoulder route to supplement his other attacking attributes. Cooper Wolfe does not off-load the ball much however and probably never be one based on how he asked to play the game.

Defensively Cooper Wolfe aims hits very hard and usually hits around the top of the ball region and is certainly someone opposing forwards look for when running the ball up and is adept at making sure the opposition do not get quick play the balls by using wrestling techniques well. Over the last year Cooper Wolfe’s speed and mobility seemed to have increased and as a consequence he was better able to mirror the opposition attackers more effectively.

Cooper Wolfe will play the 2022 season with the Murwillumbah Mustangs in the NRRRL U18 competition. Cooper Wolfe will also push for a spot in the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup Squad.

From a position perspective, from my understanding Cooper Wolfe has played his entire junior rugby league career in the front row and wit hhis build and skill set, I would anticipate that Cooper Wolfe will continue to play in the front row for the duration of his rugby league career.

From a player comparison perspective for Cooper Wolfe, consider someone along the same lines of the Brisbane Bronco’s Matt Lodge as no a nonsense types of front rower with size, strength and power and a hard tough uncompromising attitude to go along with his other attributes.

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Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas. The young five eight in late 2020 was selected in the 2020/21 Titans Group One Elite Academy Squad.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas started Round One of the 2021 Group One U15 competition at five eight as the Clarence Coast Magpies took on the Ballina Seagulls.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas also started at five eight in Round Two against the South Grafton Rebels kicking a conversion in the Magpies 24 – 12 victory. Round Three against the Ballina Seagulls saw Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas once again start at five eight.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas moved to fullback for Round Nine against South Grafton and scored two tries and kicked one conversions in the Magpies 32 – 12 victory.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas was back at halfback in Round Ten against Casino RSM and Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas was an his scheming best including a 41st minute line break when whilst operating on his usual right side of the field fifty five metres from the line, Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas shaped to pass before slicing through two Casino RSM defenders and then showed the cover defence a clean pair of heels. Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas then was able to position his right sided support well and after drawing the Casino RSM fullback he passed to his right but unfortunately the ball could not be held by his support player.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas also started at halfback in Round Twelve against the Grafton and was also named to start at halfback in Round Thirteen against Casino RSM and was one of the Magpies try scorers in their 16 – 10 victory.

In 2020 Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas played for the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Group One U14 competition, including starting at five eight in the Grand Final and scoring a try and kicking a conversion in the Magpies 30 - 16 Grand Final victory against Grafton.

In addition to his 2020 Group One U14 Grand Final points Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas scored and kicked a conversion in Round Five against Ballina (his first match of the season) when he started at five eight and scored a double and kicked four goals for an individual points haul of sixteen points in Round Ten against Grafton once again starting the match at five eight. Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas’s other Group One U14 match in 2020 was in Round Six when he started from the bench against Casino RSM.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas also played one match in the 2020 Group One U15 competition, being Round Seven when he started from the bench against the Kyogle Turkeys.

In 2019 Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas also played for the Clarence Coast Magpies in that season in their Group One U13 side and was part of the Magpies Grand Final side that went down 24 – 16 to the Grafton Ghosts.

When Elisaia-Thomas runs the ball, he is exceptionally quick and explosive, with outstanding plus speed, both off the mark and when he gets into open space, teams in his age group in the Group One junior competition teams just could not handleElisaia-Thomas when he runs the ball. Elisaia-Thomas can apbtly be described as a speed machine.

Elisaia-Thomas also can step off both feet exceptionally well and also has a great swerve whilst maintaining top speed. On many occasions when he made a break, his support could not keep up and thus Elisaia-Thomas used his incredible footwork and speed to beat the opposing fullback by himself.

There is nothing that Elisaia-Thomas cannot do running the ball and it is only now about developing his ball playing skills to make his footwork and running ability even more lethal. In attack Elisaia-Thomas also played at the line quite often and was his team’s primary attacking option but impressively is cognisent of getting his team mates involved in his teams attacking game plan and structure.

In addition Elisaia-Thomas also has the ball playing skills to set up his support runners and get them appropriate lines to run into when defenders came out of the line to negate his time with the ball in hand. Elisaia-Thomas obviously was a key target for defences but he understands that he cannot do it all himself and thus became adept at drawing defenders out of the line and putting his support runners into the subsequent hole. As Elisaia-Thomas play making skills continue to evolve, the attacking possibilities for him and his team mates are limitless.

Defensively Elisaia-Thomas is stronger than he looks and when you couple that with a naturally aggressive defensive mentality you have a very good defender on your hands. Elisaia-Thomas has a very good low tackling technique, including head placement when defending against big forwards running on the fringes of the ruck and has good initial contact.

Against opposing halves Elisaia-Thomas will quickly get up into their face when they run the ball and physically and mentally dominate them making them experience the full effects of every tackle that he makes. Elisaia-Thomas also works very hard out of the marker position in defence and does not take that fact that he is at marker as an opportunity to have a rest.

Elisaia-Thomas is also very quick at putting pressure on opposing kickers whether that be sprinting out of the marker position at the kicker or flying out of the defensive line when it is evident that a kick is in the offing.

Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas will play the 2022 season with the Clarence Coast Magpies in the Group One U16 competition and will also push for a spot in the Northern Rives Titans U16 Andrew Johns Cup squad.

When you have a player with his natural play making ability and speed off the mark as well as a knack for doing the seemingly impossible you want the ball in their hands as much as possible, thus I believe that moving forward Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas will continue to excel at five eight.

From an NRL player comparison perspective for Kennyon Elisaia-Thomas, the one player that does springs to mind is South Sydney Rabbitohs and New South Wales State of Origin five eight Cody Walker.

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Creedence (Kelly) Donovan. In Round Two in the 2021 U16 Andrew Johns Cup competition, Creedence Donovan started at fullback for the Northern Rivers Titans side that took on local rivals the North Coast Bulldogs in Nambucca Heads.

Creedence Donovan was the Northern Rivers Titans most dangerous ball runner in the match and also produced on outstanding piece of play when after a Northern Rivers Titans turnover when attacking the North Coast line, he turned a chased down the Bulldogs left winger after he had broken away.

Round Three saw Creedence Donovan move from fullback to the right wing as the Northern Rivers Titans took on the Greater Northern Tigers.

Creedence Donovan produced an outstanding piece of play in the opening minutes of the second half. Creedence Donovan tracked back to retrieve a kick towards the right corner and after running the ball back, he was held down and drew a penalty on his own twenty metre mark. Creedence Donovan took the tap quickly and flew down the right touchline seventy metres before being caught just metres short of the try line.

Creedence Donovan was also involved in a strong tackle in the 21st minute of the match when along with Bo Peisley and Kaden Rees, he initially held up the Tigers fullback and dragged him into touch five metres out from the line.

Creedence Donovan was at it again late in the first half when he dragged his opposite winger over the sideline as soon as he had taken a kick on the full.

Creedence Donovan continued on the right wing in Round Four against the Central Coast Roosters a match that was played as a curtain raiser to the Titans/Warriors NRL trial in Lismore.

Creedence Donovan started Round Five against the Newcastle Knights on the right wing producing a start piece of play in the 2nd minute of the second half when he trapped a difficult grubber kick to his right wing with his foot and then was able to bring the ball back a further ten metres.

Creedence Donovan made a further ten metre run in the 41st minute of the match when he came off the wing to make the metres through the centre of the ruck.

Creedence Donovan continued to play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Junior Rugby League Club in 2021 in the U16 Group 18 competition and had some exceptional matches including in Round Five as the Seagulls accounted for the Murwillumbah Colts 44 – 8.

2021 also saw Creedence Donovan once again represent PBC in school boy rugby league, starting Round One of the Langer Cup Reserve Grade competition agaisnt Ipswich State High School on the left wing.

Creedence Donovan also played a number of matches in the Walters Cup competition, including starting the Grand Final against Keebra Park SHS at fullback with Creedence Donovan throwing the last pass for Ray Puru’s 9th minute try in the right corner.

It was not just in the Walters Cup that Creedence Donovan had a strong match, he also played well including multiple line breaks after also starting at fullback in Round Three against Coombabah State High School.

In September 2021 Creedence Donovan played for the Gold Coast Kookaburra’s in the 2021 Queensland Murri U16 Carnival.

The talented Titans linked PBC student started at fullback for the 2020 PBC Hancock Cup School Boy Grand Final side that went down in heart breaking fashion 26 – 24 to Marsden State High School who kicked a penalty goal after the final siren.

Creedence Donovan scored an impressive and critical try late in the first half he chased through a kick and was on the spot to pick up the ball when it could not be regathered by the Marsden defence to put the ball down under the posts literally as the half time siren was sounding.

Creedence Donovan not only had a very good Hancock Cup Grand Final but also had a number of stand out matches in the regular rounds of the Hancock Cup including an impressive match against Wavell State High School in Round Five when he scored a hat trick, all three being long range efforts with all of those tries coming in the first half.

One of Creedence Donovan’s tries was an impressive eighty metre solo effort off a PBC scrum win. Creedence Donovan received the ball two passes to the left of the scrum win, producing a bueatiful left foot step to beat the initial defender before a Creedence Donovan right foot step gained him separation from the Wavell inside defender coming across and then that point it was shut the gate as Creedence Donovan accelerated away to score near the left corner.

Creedence Donovan’s second try of the match also highlighted Creedence Donovan’s speed, when he backed up a long break by PBC five eight Jake Lateo who drew the fullback, passing to his left to Creedence Donovan who accelerated away to score.

Creedence Donovan scored his third try when he followed through a long PBC clearing kick. The Wavell fullback let the ball bounce and Creedence Donovan flew threw to grab the ball that had bounced arkwardly for the fullback to score untouched.

In Round two of the 2020 Hancock Cup Creedence Donovan started agaisnt Keebra Park on the left wing and with Keebra Park on the attacked down their right, Creedence Donovan swooped on an attempted cut out pass by Keebra Park to take the intercept and run ninety metres to score with daylight second.

In early October 2020 Creedence Donovan was part of the Titans Group 18 U14/15 side that played a trial match against a Titans Gold Coast U14 squad with the match being played at Cbus Stadium, giving the young players a great experience with an added bonus that the players wore Titans jerseys.

In 2020 Creedence Donovan played for the Tweed Heads Seagulls U15 side in the Group 18 junior rugby league competition with the Seagulls winning two and losing eight of their ten regular season matches. In those matches Tweed Heads scored 142 points and conceded 256 to finish with a -114 points defferential.

At the conclusion of the season, Creedence Donovan was named the Tweed Heads Seagulls U15 Group 18 Best Back.

From an attacking perspective, Creedence Donovan has outstanding footwork to go along with above average to plus evasive skills and plus speed, both in terms of off the mark and top end speed where he has an extra gear to go to when he breaks into open space.

Creedence Donovan has a very good step off both feet, although he seems to prefer a step off the right foot in the majority of instances and can put together combinations of steps over a short distance to exploit weaknesses in the defensive line.

In addition Creedence Donovan also shown flashes of ability in relation to ball playing skills enabling him to set up his support runners and get them lines to run into when defenders came out of the line to negate his time with the ball in hand.

In terms of running the ball back from kicks, Creedence Donovan’s timing and anticipation means that he gets to a lot of balls on the full and makes a quick decision whether to run the ball back into the oncoming defenders or look to create an opportunity by running across field and using his step if the defensive line is staggered or does not extend too far across the field.

From a defensive perspective, as noted Creedence Donovan by no means a big player but his toughness and courage cannot be denied and can be seen every time he takes the field. Creedence Donovan will really try to hit hard in defence regardless of the size of the attacker running at him.

At fullback Creedence Donovan will rush forward to cut down the time the attacking player has to make a decision of what to do with the ball when they make a break and even if they draw him and pass to a support player he was still look to hit them as hard as they can to make them earn it.

As a result of his defensive mentality at fullback Creedence Donovan does not take the dummy when multiple attackers are running at him, thus forcing the decision back to the attacking player who must execute correctly.

Creedence Donovan is obviously not the tallest fullback and thus finds fielding bombs difficult on occasion if the chasers get to the ball at the same time he is looking to catch it but and again he will not shirk his responsibility and always goes up and contest the ball at the very least.

Assisting this is that Creedence Donovan does have quite a good standing leap which belies his overall height, but he will obviously be disadvantaged against taller opponents who are jumping with momentum to their advantage. Creedence Donovan’s hands are also very good in terms of fielding the ball when short attacking kicks are put through and Creedence Donovan will not wait for the ball to come to him but will look to come forward and attack the ball.

In 2022 Creedence Donovan will move up to the PBC Langer Cup school boy rugby league squad and Creedence Donovan look to be involved in the 2022 Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup Squad and he will also be U18 eligible in 2023. Creedence Donovan will also play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the NRRRL U18 competition.

Creedence Donovan seems destined to end up as a lightning quick elusive fullback with more than enough ball playing skills to play as a second receiver in attack on either side of the field.

From an NRL player comparison perspective for Creedence Donovan, think along the lines of former North Queensland Cowboys and Queensland State of Origin fullback Matt Bowen as a fullback with exceptional pace and footwork who is also courageous when it comes to defending against kicks and his defensive duties.

Both have Creedence Donovan and Matt Bowen have strength and courage that belie their size and both just have an amazing knack of finding the try line on a regular basis as well as making the impossible look routine, something that Creedence Donovan did on a number of occasions ins 2020 for both Tweed Heads and PBC.

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Harry Chadburn. The young centre/half from northern New South Wales is currently a member of the 2021 Titans U15 Elite Academy squad.

In mid-February 2021 Harry Chadburn played in a Titans U15 Invitational Trial at Burleigh, a trial which included only the best of the 2021 Titans U15 squad members. Harry Chadburn started the match at fullback for the Titans White side.

In 2021 Harry Chadburn was part of the PBC SHS Hancock Cup school boy rugby league side including starting at halfback in the 2021 Hancock Cup Grand Final against local rivals Keebra Park State High School.

Harry Chadburn had a very solid Grand Final, kicking two conversions from three attempts in PBC’s exciting 16 -12 victory.

In addition to kicking the two conversions, Harry Chadburn showcased his short kicking game in the 43rd minute with a deft right foot stab kick into the in-goal in the left corner which Keebra Park had to take dead, forcing a goal line drop-out to keep PBC on the attack and Keebra Park under pressure.

The Grand Final also saw Harry Chadburn excel defensively with two outstanding try saving tackles. The most critical of the two came with less than two minutes remaining in the match in the 58th minute. The Keebra Park right winger found space down the sideline and went for the corner, but Harry Chadburn flew to his right and in conjunction with team mates initially held up the Keebra Park winger and then forced him over the sideline.

Harry Chadburn had also made an earlier try saving tackle in the 37th minute on the same Keebra Park winger as his try saving tackle in the 58th minute when after the winger had taken a kick in the right corner on the full, Harry Chadburn was on hand to ensure that he did not get the ball down in the right corner.

In 2020 Harry Chadburn played in the centres (minly left centre) for the Tweed Heads Seagulls U14 side in the Group 18 junior rugby league competition with the Seagulls going through the ten regular season rounds undefeated, scoring 316 points and conceding just 64 to finish the regular season with +252 points differential from their ten matches to record an average winning margin of just above twenty five points per game.

As a result of their outstanding season the Tweed Heads Seagulls U14 side qualified for the U14 Group 18 Grand Final against the Tugun Seahawks. Tweed Heads prevailed in the 2020 decider 30 – 4 with Harry Chadburn starting the Grand Final at left centre and scoring for the Seagulls in the first half.

Harry Chadburn’s try came when he got on the outside of the Tugun right winger around twenty metres out and was able to dive over ten metres in from the left corner post and in front of the score board virtually unopposed.

At the 2020 Tweed Heads Seagulls Junior Rugby League Awards Harry Chadburn was awarded the Elwyen Walters Award.

Harry Chadburn also played in Group 18 Grand Finals in 2019 in the U13 age group and in 2018 in the U12 age group.

In terms of his attacking play Harry Chadburn is a smooth runner of the ball who has above average to plus top end speed and good evasiveness to get on the outside of his opposing defender with a decent fend that enables him to keep all but the strongest outside backs at a distance and away from his body.

Harry Chadburn has quite a good step, predominately off the right foot, so he certainly has the skills to adjust his running line as he gains more experience and develops a better rapport with his teams play makers and progresses to a higher level in competition.

When defending in the centres, Harry Chadburn really does look to come out of the line and hit his opposing centre as hard as possible to cut off the attacking play before it has time to fully develop.

Harry Chadburn does not let the play unfold in front of him, he looks to disrupt as early as possible. With his size and defensive tendencies when defending in the centres, he is more suited to an up and in defensive methodology compared to a sliding system.

Harry Chadburn will play for the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the Group 18 junior rugby league competition, in 2022 in the U16 age group, where once again that side will be the team to beat after their outstanding 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Harry Chadburn will also continue at PBC and in 2022 move up to the PCB Walters Cup school boy squad.

With his speed and elusiveness coupled with good size for an outside back Harry Chadburn is ideally suited to maintaining his current projection, that being of a mulit-talented attacking centre, specifically one that operates on the left side of the field.

Due to his ability to get to the outside of his direct opponent as well as a strong right armd fend and the core body strength to maintain his balance and running line whilst in contact with a defender, Harry Chadburn has a more than passing similarilty to Titans NRL left centre Brian Kelly. Also like Kelly, Harry Chadburn is also a solid defensive centre who used his leverage to into the ribs of the attacker who is running at him.

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Cooper Many. In 2021 Cooper Many was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and started from the bench in their final 2021 trial against the Burleigh Bears, scoring in the second half of the trial from the left second row position when the ball found him in space and he was able to cross untouched after a ten metre run to put the ball down ten metres in from the left corner post.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Cooper Many start from the bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls when they took on the Souths Logan Magpies coming on to play at right second row.

Cooper Many produced a determined effort in the 64th minute when he chased back in cover defence after a Souths Logan break and showed his desperation to tackle the Souths Logan winger (No. 2) from behind. Then in the 67th minute Cooper Many hit the same winger with a strong tackle over the top as he was bringing the ball back on a kick return.

Cooper Many also started from the bench in Round Two in the local derby against the Burleigh Bears coming onto the field late in the first half and it did not take long for Cooper Many to make an impact when in the 36th minute he was able to make eighteen metres from his first hit-up after cutting back to his left one he received the ball.

Copper Many continued his hard working effort in the second half and in the 42nd minute got the ball outside his team’s fifty metre region with a twelve metre gain from ma run of the left of the play the ball.

Cooper Many made another eighteen metres in the 67th minute when he received the ball to the right of the play the ball getting into the attacking twenty metre area before being brought to ground.

In the 70th minute Cooper Many shone in cover defence to save the Seagulls blushes when he raced back along with Troy Duckett to round up Burleigh’s Cole Geyer who had split the defence through centre field and beat the Tweed Heads fullback.

Cooper Many was also named to start on the bench in Round Three against the Redcliffe Dolphins however ended up starting the match at left second row.

Cooper Many dropped back to the bench for Round Four against the Ipswich Jets and also was on the bench for Round Five against the Northern Pride as well as in Round Seven against the Norths Devils.

Round Eight against the Mackay Cutters saw Cooper Many back in the Seagulls starting side at right second row and scored in the Seagulls tough loss.

Cooper many then moved back to the bench for Round Nine against Wynnum Manly.

With the Lower Clarence Magpies choosing not to play in the 2020 season, Cooper Many moved to the Ballina Seagulls in the NRRRL competition, playing both First Grade and Reserve Grade over the course of the 2020 season.

Cooper Many started in the right second row position for the Ballina NRRRL Reserve Grade side in their 22 – 4 victory over the Bilambil Jets and also started at right second row in Round Two as Ballina went down 26 – 14 to the Marist Brothers Rams and in Round Three in a 28 all draw against Northern United.

With the Ballina NRRRL First Grade side winning by forfeit in Round Nine, Cooper Many started in the front row for the Seagulls Reserve Grade side as they defeated Mullumbimby 38 – 18. Cooper Many also started in the second row in Round Ten against Marist Brothers Lismore.

Cooper Many made his deserved NRRRL First Grade debut off the bench for Ballina in Round Three against Northern United in a big 62 – 10 win for the Seagulls and also in Round Four against the Mullumbimby Giants. Cooper Many was also on the bench for the Round Five NRRRL First Grade match against Marist Brothers Lismore that the Seagulls won 28 – 4.

Round Six of the 2020 NRRRL First Grade competition saw Cooper Many start in the centres as Ballina had a bug 62 – 0 win over Casino RSM. Cooper Many reverted back to the interchange bench for the Seagulls Round Seven 30 – 10 victory over Casino RSM after starting the Reserve Grade fixture between the two teams in the second row.

Cooper Many also started from the bench for the Ballina NRRRL First Grade side in Round Eight as the Seagulls defeated Northern United 52 – 12 after starting in the front row in the earlier Reserve Grade match won by Northern United 20 – 16.

Cooper Many also came off the bench in Round Ten against Marist Brothers Lismore after starting in the second row in the earlier Reserve Grade match scoring in Ballina’s big 54 – 6 victory and also came off the bench in Ballina’s NRRRL First Grade Preliminary Final victory over Casino RSM to qualify for the “Gold” Grand Final.

In the 2020 NRRRL First Grade Gold Grand Final, Cooper Many started from the bench for Ballina as they took on the Marist Brothers Rams.

The Lower Clarence Magpie started the 2019 season as part of the Northern Rivers Titans U18 Laurie Daley Cup squad, his second season in that competition.

Round One saw Cooper Many start in the right centre position for the Northern Rivers Titans in their match against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad.

In Round Two Cooper Many started the match against the Parramatta Eels in the second row and also started in the second row in Round Three against the North Coast Bulldogs and scored a good second half try when he ran a good inside shoulder route from around fifteen metres out to score neat the left upright.

Post the U18 Laurie Daley Cup, Cooper Many transitioned to the NRRRL U18 competition with the Lower Clarence Magpies, his second season in that competition and opened his try scoring account in Round Three scoring a double as the Magpies defeated Kyogle 44 – 0.

Cooper Many had a huge match in Round Fourteen scoring four tries in a big win against Evans Head and also scored a Round Sixteen double against Kyogle.

In total in the NRRRL U18 competition, Cooper Many played in fifteen matches scoring twelve tries to finish as the competitions fifth highest try scorer.

In addition to his Round Three and Round Fourteen tries, Cooper Many also scored a double against Lismore Marist Brothers and Kyogle and also scored against Casino RSM and the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Cooper Many started the 2018 season as part of the Northern Rivers Laurie Daley Cup U18 side, playing in four matches, starting all in the second row with those matches coming against the Newcastle Knights Development Squad, North Coast, Central Coast Roosters and the Greater Northern Tigers.

From a club perspective in 2018, Cooper Many linked up in the second row for the Lower Clarence Magpies in the U18 NRRRL competition, progressing all the way to the Preliminary Final before falling to the Ballina Seagulls 30 - 14.

Cooper Many played in sixteen U18 NRRRL matches for the Magpies in 2018 including finals and scored eight regular season tries. Each of Cooper Many’s tries came in individual games including games against Lismore Marist Brothers, Ballina, Murwillumbah, Casino RSM, Cudgen and Evans Head.

In 2017 Cooper Many played for the Clarence Coast Magpies in the U16.5 competition and finished as the competitions leading try scorer with ten tries from just twelve matches. Cooper Many scored a hat trick against Ballina and a double against Lismore Marist Brothers.

Cooper Many has previously represented Group One at the U14 and U15 levels in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Cooper Many is a hard running forward who is very good at running the right line including both and inside shoulder and outside shoulder line and consistently hits the pass off either the dummy half or play maker flat thus generating his best possible speed and momentum to hit the defensive line at full speed.

Where he really excels though is his footwork, Cooper Many has very good late and quick foot work which enables him to change direction quickly allowing him to readjust where he is running to take advantage of either a late developing hole in the defensive line or where the defensive line is repositioning late.

Cooper Many is adept at cutting back behind the play the ball area when the markers do not work hard and make ground as a result. When Lower Clarence were in the attacking area, Cooper Many was regularly used to draw the defence into the centre of the ruck thus stretching the defensive line out wide to allow the backline more room to move.

Even when he is taking a hit up in the centre of the ruck, Cooper Many’s feet are always moving and he is constantly making slight corrections to his running vector and he is also able to maintain his speed regardless of those multiple directional changes. He seems just to run and think at a faster pace than other forwards on the field.

These attributes lead to a lot of line breaks and he has the speed to convert them into tries himself. Cooper Many’s speed is probably a bit above average but it is the speed that he is able to generate from only a few paces which makes it play faster from a defenders perspective.

Defensively he hits very hard and had one of the better defensive technique s in the NRRRL U18 competition this season. Cooper Many’s technique revolves around timing and execution. Cooper Many’s head is almost always correctly positioned and he always drives with his shoulder and never just jersey grabs.

From the matches that I have seen Cooper Many also tackles with both shoulders equally effectively. The impressive thing for me also is that Cooper Many never seems to bounce off the ball when he makes a front on tackle meaning his target area and the ability to hit the area on a regular basis is quite exceptional for a reasonably inexperienced forward.

Another defensive aspect that I noted during the 2018 season was that Cooper Many does not just make one tackle at a time, he makes a series of tackles one after another all as clinical and effective as the one before.

Cooper Many’s lateral speed and mobility is quite good due to his quick twitch feet and thus he is effective at defending against smaller dynamic runners out of dummy half as well as half backs and five eights running of the fringes looking to isolate forwards.

Cooper Many will line up for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad in 2022 for the second year in a row.

Cooper Many has a number of traits that certainly lend themselves to a player comparison to former Titans and Queensland State of Origin backrower Jai Arrow. Both are hardworking forwards who will impress rugby league followers with their skill and effort.

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Joseph Tupuse. In early November 2021 Joseph Tupuse was named in the 2022 Souths Logan Magpies U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad.

In February 2021 the young man from Keebra Park State High School was named in the U15 South Coast school boy rugby league squad for the 2021 U15 QSSRL School Boy Championships playing left centre for the Championship winning South Coast side, including in the Championship Final victory against Met West.

Joseph Tupuse started at left centre on Day One against Met West scoring in the 50th minute when he charged onto the ball from twenty metres out to score ten metres in from the left corner post and then Joseph Tupuse stepped up to convert his own try.

Joseph Tupuse was also damaging running the ball on Day Two against Capricornia including a twenty metres rumble down the left side of the field in the 45th minute that saw Joseph Tupuse force his way over the goal line but a plethora of defenders held him up.

Joseph Tupuse also started at left centre and made a line break in the 31st minute when Nayte Saaga took the ball to the line before throwing a cut-out pass to Joseph Tupuse to rumble fifty metres downfield but unfortunately his inside pass went to ground.

2021 saw Joseph Tupuse line up for the Keebra Park Year Nine school boy rugby league side, including an outstanding performance at left centre in early June in Round Three of the Hancock Cup against fierce local rivals PBC.

In the match Joseph Tupuse scored Keebra Park’s opening try of the match in the 21st minute when he received the ball five metres out from the try line and three metres in from the left touch line. Initially Joseph Tupuse looked as if he was going to head towards the left touchline but quickly pushed off one defender and cut back towards centre field. After running across field for approximately ten metres, Joseph Tupuse straightened up and burst through three would be defenders to score a powerful solo try.

Just two minutes prior to his try, Joseph Tupuse made two runs that got Keebra park good field position to attack the PBC line. On the first occasion in the 19th minute Joseph Tupuse made a bustling twenty two metres, breaking three tackles to get the ball thirty eight metres out and PBC were too desperate to slow the play the ball down and gave away a penalty.

From the set of six from the penalty Joseph Tupuse charged down the right side of the field, making sixteen metres only being stopped three metres short of the line.

Joseph Tupuse was equally as dominating in Round Four against Ipswich State High School scoring a hat trick in Keebra Park’s har fought victory.

Joseph Tupuse scored the first of his three tries in just the second minute he scored out wide in the left corner after receiving the ball in space and having an easy run to the line. Joseph Tupuse’s second try came in the 16th minute when once again he scored near the left corner after a burst from close range down a left blindside. Joseph Tupuse completed his hat trick in the 24th minute with his try a near carbon copy of his second try of the match.

Joseph Tupuse continued his dominant performances from left centre in Round Five against Redcliffe State High School scoring one try and setting up another in Keebra Park’s victory.

Joseph Tupuse scored in the 20th minute, when even though he was playing left centre, Joseph Tupuse popped up on the right side of the field, receiving the ball twenty metres out and after a left foot step, Joseph Tupuse was through the line and cruised over ten metres from the right upright.

Joseph Tupuse recorded his try assist in the 39th minute when he produced a great left arm flick pass to put his winger over in the left corner.

Joseph Tupuse’s exceptional form in the 2021 Hancock Cup competition continued in Round Six against Marsden State High School with the powerful left centre scoring a double.

Joseph Tupuse’s opening try came in the 12th minute when he charged onto a pass down the left channel from twelve metres out and carried two defenders over the line to crash over five metres in from the left corner post.

Joseph Tupuse completed his double in the 16th minute when after receiving the ball on the left side of the field, he stood up the Coombabah SHS defence, breaking three tackles on the way to the try line.

Joseph Tupuse continued at left centre in Keebra Park’s Hancock Cup semi-final victory against Wavell State High School with Joseph Tupuse scoring twice in Keebra Park’s big win.

The match was only three minutes old when Joseph Tupuse crossed for his opening try of the match when he was able to force his way over from five metres out to get the ball down five metres in from the left corner post.

Joseph Tupuse completed his double in the 29th minute when he burst onto the ball down the left channel from six metres out to crash over five metres in from the left corner post.

Joseph Tupuse also started the 201 Hancock Cup Grand Final at left centre as Keebra Park SHS went down 16 – 12 to PBC.

Joseph Tupuse had a very solid match including a great charge of eighteen metres in the 17th minute carrying the ball out from near his own line. Then in the 22nd minute, Joseph Tupuse made a further twenty metres as a result of a strong charge down the down the left channel.

With Keebra Park down with less than ten minutes to play Joseph Tupuse gave Keebra Park a chance to get back into the match in the 43rd minute with a smart one on one steal with PBC SHS on the attack to put Keebra Park SHS back on the attack.

Joseph Tupuse’s first exposure to representative rugby league came in 2019 when he was selected in the Queensland U12 side for the Australian Schools Championships with Queensland subsequently being named 2019 U12 National Champions. Joseph Tupuse was one of Queensland’s try scorers in their 62 – 0 Quarter Final victory over the Northern Territory.

Prior to the National U12 Championships, Joseph Tupuse stood out for South Coast at the Queensland U12 Championships.

The long striding young man is an outstanding ball runner who whilst he does not look like he is moving quickly, Joseph Tupuse certainly is, with the evidence being the cover defence desperately trying to catch him and his team mates desperately trying to keep up with him when he breaks into open space on multiple occasions in 2019 and 2020 for Keebra Park.

Big strong and powerful are the words that immediately come to mind when watching Joseph Tupuse play. From an attacking perspective Joseph Tupuse is a straight hard runner when he has the ball in hand.

Joseph Tupuse has shown the ability to run both an inside and outside shoulder route and he runs both with pace and power and attracts multiple defenders to try to stop him. When Joseph Tupuse impacts the defensive line he drops his shoulder into the defenders and regularly bumped off multiple defenders in a single run.

Joseph Tupuse has a vicious tackling style and he really looks to come out of the line and literally smash his opposite number on a regular basis. Joseph Tupuse does however have decent lateral mobility which enables him to readjust if his opposite number gets on the outside and Joseph Tupuse, once he gets moving have above average straight line speed which enables him to close the distance to the attacker.

Joseph Tupuse will play the 2021 rugby league season in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition and will also line up for Keebra Park State High School in their various school boy rugby league competitions in South East Queensland.

Joseph Tupuse has the size and power to play in the second row as well as in the centres where he is currently playing most of his matches and whilst he maintains that level of speed, I am of the opinion that he will stay in the centres for as long as possible. If however Joseph Tupuse loses a touch of speed as he matures a move to the second row, would not demise his prospect status.

Joseph Tupuse is a big strong centre will surprising speed, mobility and elusiveness for his size and as a consequence an NRL player comparison to former Wests Tigers and former New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International aggressive centre Joseph Leilua is not unreasonable although Joseph Tupuse is far less volatile on the field than Leilua.

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TuValli-Afoa Khan-Pereira. (Updated) He is an exceptionally talented local young centre or backrower (in his earlier years) from the Burleigh Bears junior rugby league club and is current training with the Titans JTS program in a train and trial opportunity after spending a number of seasons with the Brisbane Bronco’s.

In January 2021 Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was part of the Titans U19 squad that took on the Newcastle Kngihts in their annual match in Coffs Harbour, with the Titans emerging from the match as the victors in a dominating display 40 - 6. When he came on Tuvalli Khan-Pereira operated outwide on both the left and right sides of the field, scoring in the second half in the Titans victory.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also recorded a number of smart heads up efforts in the match, including late in the first half. Newcastle were awarded a penalty and kicked for touch. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira could have been excused for taking the opportunity to have a rest but instead, he kept his head in the match and was able to take the ball on the full when the Knights kicker tried to make too much ground with the kick, with Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira preventing the kick from finding touch to get the ball back for the Titans.

In the second half when Newcastle kicked for touch from a penalty once again, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was on hand when Troy Duckett produced a spectacular piece of play to prevent another Knights kick finding touch. When he took possession Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was able to return the ball thirteen metres back towards the Newcastle line.

A week after the match against the Newcastle Knights Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira once again lined up for the Titans U19’s as they took on a Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad with the Titans winning 32 – 20 with no conversions attempted.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira started the match from the bench before coming on to play right centre in the second half, producing a great piece of work in th e62nd minute of the match to track back quickly to recover the ball from a Bears attacking kick with a Burleigh try appearing immenent.

In late 2020 Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was named in the 2021 Burleigh Bears MM Cup squad after also being part of the squad in 2020, starting the one and only round of the 2020 MM Cup competition on the right wing against Wynnum Manly.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s first hit-out with the 2021 Burleigh Bears MM Cup side came when he started at right centre in the Bears second trial against the Easts Tigers, scoring an early second half try in Burleigh’s 20 – 12 (no conversions taken) victory.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s try was well worked by Burleigh. Travis May kicked towards the right wing with the kick being picked up by Levi Jones who got the ball back inside to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who dived over in the right corner.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was in the match early in just the 6th minute he threw the final pass to Levi Jones to score in the right corner after hooker Caleb Gould-Waiariki had broken the Easts line from dummy half and was able to find Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who had backed up in his outside.

In the 14th minute of the match Tuvalli Khan-Pereira made the first of his two try saving tackles of the match when he tracked his opposite number across field to his right and brought him down with a ball and all tackle centremetres short of the line.

In the 53rd minute Tuvalli Khan-Pereira produced a piece of defensive brilliance in the right corner when just as the Easts Tigers left winger was diving in mid-air to put the ball down in the corner, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira dived full length from three metres away to knock the ball loose from the wingers grasp to prevent what looked like a certain try. What a way to bring up your second try saving tackle of the match.

In Round One of the 2021 MM Cup competition, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira started at right centre against the Souths Logan Magpies. Tuvalli Khan-Pereira did not have too many opportunities in the match but in the 54th minute, he was able to get outside his direct opponent and throw a one armed (right arm) offload to winger Levi Jones after attracting the Souths Logan left winger but unfortunately the ball could not be taken with the line open.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also started at right centre in Round Two against the Ipswich Jets and was one of the Bears try scorers in their impressive 44 – 16 victory.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s match started in interesting fashion when he took the Ipswich kick off on the full but had his legs taken out whilst he was still in the air, flipping onto his back. Fortunately Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was not injured and was awarded the penalty for being tackled in the air.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s try came in the 67th minute when a pass to the right cut-out Tuvalli Khan-Pereira to find Levi Jones on the right wing, near the right corner Levi Jones passed the ball inside to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who dived over in the corner to score the final try of the match.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira shined defensively in the match including a great ball and all tackle in just the 3rd minute on the Ipswich right centre which stopped him in his tracks. Tuvalli Khan-Pereira added a further outstanding tackle to his resume when he cut down his opposing centre with an outstanding low tackle moving to his left.

In the 67th minute Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s defence continued to be impregnable with a massive front on tackle on the Ipswich No. 20 which forced the ball loose and immediately put Burleigh back on the attack.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira once again started at right centre in the Round Three Gold Coast derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls. Whilst early in the match the ball did not find him in much space, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was still able to contribute in attack including a strong ten metre run in the 10th minute to get the ball to the halfway mark.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira did however to produce a smart piece of play in the 65th minute that led to a line break for Levi Jones down the right wing when he caught a pass on his inside and then got a quick pass away to Jones.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was originally named to start at right centre for Round Four match against the Souths Logan Magpies however in fact started the match at fullback. Tuvalli Khan-Pereira enjoyed the extra space afforded to him at fullback scoring one of the Bears four tries.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also started at fullback in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets and was one of the Bears try scorers as they recorded an astonishing come from behind victory.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scored in the 40th minute when Caleb Gould-Waiariki burst out of dummy half to his right, thirty five metres out from the line, beating two defenders before a step off his left got him through the line and then he was able to draw the fullback and offload to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira. When he received the ball it certainly was not simply a case of Tuvalli Khan-Pereira coasting to the line, he had to fight through three defenders before being able to get the ball down next to the left upright.

Burleigh were immediately under pressure in the opening moments of the match and but for Tuvalli Khan-Pereira and team mates, Arama Hau an Seth Nikotemo Ipswich would have opened the scoring in the 4th minute when the Ipswich No. 10 was held up over the line.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s defence was once again called upon in the 11th minute when he along with Syris Schmidt converged on the Ipswich right winger who had made a break down the touchline. The initial contact by the two Bears players kept the Jets winger off the ground and they then were able to force him into touch.

After being heavily involved defensively, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was finally able to get some room to move with the ball in the 16th minute when he ran the ball from a Burleigh scrum win, making fifteen metres down the right to get within ten metres of the try line.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira showcased his innate ability to be at the right place at the right time in the 43rd minute, when Delahia Wigmore ran out of dummy half to his right, breaking three tackles and then producing a great off-load to his left to find Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who was able to get the ball inside the Jets forty metre area.

Round Six being the final regular season round of the 2021 MM Cup competition saw Tuvalli Khan-Pereira once again line up at fullback in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s first significant impact on the match came in the 13th minute when he got into dummy half and was able to bring the ball upfield thirteen metres from inside his own territory.

The first of two line breaks that Tuvalli Khan-Pereira made in the match came in the 27th minute when he split the Seagulls line from a Bears scrum win. Tuvalli Khan-Pereira received the ball from the base of the scrum to the right and got on the outside out the Tweed Heads widest left side defender, making thirty metres down the right touchline and it looked as if Tuvalli Khan-Pereira would score in the right corner but he was bundled into touch less than a metre from the right corner post.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s second line break came in the 43rd minute and once again came when he made a break off a Bears scrum win. Once again Tuvalli Khan-Pereira received the ball from the base of the scrum but this time to the left of where the scrum was packed and once again was able to made nineteen metres down the left touchline only to be bundled into touch close to the left corner post.

Impressively after Burleigh’s 2021 MM Cup campaign came to an end, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira moved directly to the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad, starting Round Three off the bench in their big victory against the Western Mustangs.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira moved into the Burleigh starting side at right centre for Burleigh’s Round Four match against the Norths Devils, scoring a double as the Bears went down 34 – 22 to the Norths Devils.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also started at right centre in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets, scoring once again as the Bears recorded a big victory.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira continued his run of starts at right centre against the Townsville Blackhawks and the match saw Tuvalli Khan-Pereira continue his try scoring run as well when in the 77th minute Tuvalli Khan-Pereira, after receiving the ball twenty metres out was able to get on the outside of his direct opponent and then dummying as he approached the Townsville left winger to crash over out wide to seal the Burleigh win.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also had a line break and a line break assist in the 22nd minute when he was able to get away down the right touchline, getting over the halfway mark before he produced an outstanding right arm flick pass to right winger Kalani Skipps who was able to break away before passing to Bryson Vaovosa to score.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s efforts continued in the 27th minute with a good fourteen metres run before being stopped eight metres from the line. The 32nd minute saw Tuvalli Khan-Pereira make a further twelve metres, on that occasion getting within ten metres of the try line.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira continued at right centre in Round Seven against the Central Queensland Capra’s, scoring the Bears final try of the match in their big win as well as recording a first half try assist.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scored in the 58th minute when he received a great over the top off-load from Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui forty five metres from the line and raced down the right touchline beating one Capra’s cover defender with a strong left arm fend to score in the right corner.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira recorded his try assist in the 16th minute with a great catch and pass down a right blindside Burleigh raid to put Kalani Skipps over in the right corner.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira continued at right centre in Round Eight against the Redcliffe Dolphins, scoring in the Bears tough two point last minute loss and also started at right centre in Round Nine against the Mackay Cutters.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also started at right centre in the previously postponed Round Ten match against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

After a Covid 19 enforced hiatus, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was named to start at right centre in Round Sixteen against the Ipswich Jets. In addition to scoring in the 59th minute of the match, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also recorded three try assists in Burleigh’s big 78 – 20 victory.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scored in the 59th minute when Damon Somerville was tackled four metres short of the line. As he was being tackled, Damon Somerville dumped the ball back with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira picking the ball up and cutting back towards centre field before straightening his run to beat two defenders on his way to the line with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira getting the ball down ten metres in from the right corner post.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s first try assist came in the just the 5th minute for Damon Somerville. The play that led to Damon Somerville’s opening try started inside Bureigh territory when Tuvalli Khan-Pereira burst through the Ipswich left sided defensive line. It initially looked as if Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was going to pass to his inside but at the last minute passed to his right to Damon Somerville. Damon Somerville skipped out of a tackle metres from the right corner post and then was able to bring the ball around to put it down under the posts.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s recorded his second try assist in the 50th minute when after receiving the ball around sixteen metres out, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was able to draw in the Ipswich left winger and pass to to right to put Damon Someerville over for one of the easiest tries that he will ever score.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira recorded his third try assist in the 55th minute when he backed up a break by Samuel Shannon from deep inside his own territory with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira taking an off-laod from Samuel Shannon. Tuvalli Khan-Pereira broke away drawing the Ipswich fullback before passing to Tyler Mahon who raced away to score under the posts.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also was heavily involved in Cameron Brown’s 23rd minute try. In fact Cameron Brown started the movement from just inside his own territory when he threw a cut-out pass to his right to put Tuvalli Khan-Pereira into a gap. Tuvalli Khan-Pereira subsequently got the ball away to Damon Somerville who then passed inside to Cameron Brown who raced away to score under the posts.

The 79th minute saw Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also heavily involved in Daniel Shannon’s try under the posts when he chased through a Cameron Brown chip kick to take the ball and off-load to his inside (when he was facing his own try line) to Tyler Mahon who could have scored himself but instead passed to Daniel Shannon who get the ball down under the posts.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira also made a line break in the 70th minute, surging thirty five metres down the right channel before being ankle tapped from behind.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was also named to start at right centre in the rescheduled Round Thirteen match against the Sunshine Coast Falcons as well as in Round Fourteen against the Northern Pride with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira making two line breaks.

In the 30th minute Tuvalli Khan-Pereira made a thirty five metre line break that including breaking four tackles down the right side of the field to get within two metres of the halfway mark.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s second line break came in the 58th minute when he made a twenty metre line break from a Burleigh scrum win before being tackled near the halfway mark.

After Burleigh were eliminated from the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut for Burleigh in Round Fourteen against the Currumbin Eagles at right centre with Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scoring a first half double.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira scored his first try in the 27th minute of the first half when after Burleigh put up a mid-field bomb which was not taken on the full by Currumbin. The Burleigh halfback ran through to take possession before off-loading to his right to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who ran fifteen metres to score.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira added his second try just a few minutes later in the 30th minute in the set of six after his first try with the try being very similar to his first try. Once again Burleigh put up a mid-final bomb and on this occasion the Burleigh right second rower regained possession before passing to his left to Tuvalli Khan-Pereira who had an easy ten metre run to the line.

His GCRL First Grade debut match also saw Tuvalli Khan-Pereira record two try first half try assist, on both occasions setting up his older brother Lofi Khan-Pereira.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s only had to wait three minutes to record his first try assist. Burleigh put up a mid-field bomb which Tuvalli Khan-Pereira took on the full around forty metres out, pushing off one defender and then cutting to to his right and after he had initiated contact with the defensive line, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira threw a great right arm flick off-load to his borther Lofi Khan-Pereira who raced twenty five metres to score.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira’s second try assist came in the 19th minute when after receiving the ball near the halfway mark to the right of a Burleigh scrum win, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira got on the outside of his direct opponent forcing the Currumbin winger to commit. Once the winger came off his wing, Tuvalli Khan-Pereira drew him in and passed to his right to older brother Lofi Khan-Pereira once again to send him on a forty five metre untouched run down the right sideline to score.

In 2020 Tuvallio Khan-Pereira was part of the Keebra Park Open A Langer Cup school boy side and also was part of the Burleigh Bears U18 Division One side that went down 18 – 0 to Currumbin in the Grand Final, starting the decider at fullback.

In the 2020 Langer School Boy Cup competition Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira started Round One at right centre against Wavell State High School and maintained his place there in Round two against Marsden State High School when in a 24 – 0 Keebra Park victory Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira scored his first try of the 2020 Langer Cup competition when he pounced on the ball in the in goal when the Marsden winger dropped a cross field bomb.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira once again started at right centre in Round Three against Ipswich State High School and scored the match winning try late in the second half. After leading 18 – 0, Keebra Park saw their lead wittled down to 18 – 16 before Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira received a pass when he was on the outside of his immediate defender to run seven metres untouched to dive over in the right corner to clinch a 22 – 16 victory.

In the Round Four local derby against PBC, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira continued is 2020 Langer Cup run of starts at right centre as Keebra Park went down 22 – 18 after leading 18 – 0 early in the first half. In the final 2020 Langer Cup regular season round, being Round Five against St Mary’s Toowoomba Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also started at right centre as Keebra Park qualified for the finals on the back of a big win.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira moved to fullback for Keebra Park’s semi-final against Wavell State High School and had a big game especially in the first half when he recorded two try assists as Keebra Park qualified for the Grand Final on the back of a 32 – 8 victory.

For all intents and purposes both of Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira’s try assists were identical, on each occasion the ball was spread to Keebra Park’s left with Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira chiming into the backline and providing the final pass for his left winger Levi Jones to cross in the left corner.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also started at fullback for Keebra Park as they went down 16 – 8 to PBC in the 2020 Langer Cup Grand Final.

In 2019 Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was heavily involved on the representative scene including being named in the Queensland U16 side for their interstate match against New South Wales but unfortunately was unable to participate in the match.

2019 also saw Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira start at right centre and captain the Queensland Murri U16 side as they defeated New South Wales Kurri 28 – 20.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also started at fullback for the 2019 Queensland U16 City side against Queensland Country and scored City’s sole try in their loss. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira played all sixty minutes of the match, making a team leading ninety five metres (twelve post contact) with seventy seven of those metres generated from kick returns. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also had a line break, a tackle break and made eight tackles from the fullback position.

In relation to his try Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was operating on the left side of the field when he received the ball two passes from the play the ball twenty five metres out in space. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira then accelerated and ran a straight diagonal route to score ten metres in from the left corner post untouched.

In 2018 Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira represented the South Coast U15 side at the QSSRL Championships, going on to representing the Queensland White side at the U15 ASSRL National Championships and was a key member of the side that won the National Championship with Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira subsequently being named in the 2018 Australian U15 Merit side.

Tuvalli Khan-Pereira was a standout for both Burleigh and Keebra Park over the course of the 2017 season. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira started at fullback for Burleigh in the U14 Division One Grand Final however they were defeated by Ormeau 31 – 16 with Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira scoring.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also represented a Titans U15 side late 2017 that played against a Balmain Tigers selection. Well done Titans as the U15 side had some very very good players in it, including like Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira a number of exceptionally talented youngsters who were U14 eligible at the time of the match. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira has also been named in the Queensland U15 Emerging Origin squad.

Over the course of the GCJRL U14 Division One season, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira finished as the competitions leading try scorer with eighteen tries from just ten matches. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira scored four tries in a late season match against Runaway Bay and scored a hat trick against them in the first Round. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also scored a hat trick against Ormeau early in the season.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was also a standout performer for Keebra Park in their U14 Michael Hancock Cup side that went through the 2017 competition undefeated including defeating PBC in the Cup Final.

In addition, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira represented the Vikings at the U14 Hill Stumer Championships where he played mainly in the centres and where the U13 Vikings were undefeated and from there was selected in the U14 South East Queensland Green side for the Queensland Age Championships.

For the Vikings in 2016, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira scored three tries over the three matches that the Vikings played, including scoring in both matches on Day One on the Saturday, including a double in a big win over Brisbane Red and also scoring against Brisbane White. For SEQ Green Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira played in all of their matches. In 2016 Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was also named Keebra Park’s U13 MVP and was named in the second row in the 2016 team of the year.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also was part of the 2016 Keebra U13 Renouf Cup side that performed so well in that competition and scored an incredible number of tries including fifteen in the first five weeks alone. Against Marsden in Round Five he scored four tries and backed that up with a hat trick in Round Seven against Alexandria Hills and in the Round of Sixteen scored a great sixty metre try when he burst through the Ipswich defensive line to score untouched.

At the Keebra Sports Specialisation Awards night in 2016, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira was awarded the U13 Player of the Year Award and was also named in the Keebra Team of the Year in the second row along with Renouf Cup and Vikings team mate Syris Schmidt who was named at five eight.

In 2015 he was named in Keebra Park’s team of the year where he was named in the centres, a position he played a lot for Keebra in the U13 age group. Other Titans linked boys who made the Keebra Park 2015 team of the year included AJ Brimson who was named at five eight. His older brother Lofi has also signed with the Titans.

There is no denying that Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira is a big strong young man, but there is also no denying the skills that he displays on a football field either. His style of play is that of a wide running centre with above average speed for the position. I would actually argue that in fact a better definition of his speed would be well above average to plus.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira is exceptionally quick off the mark, but what makes him even more impressive from a speed perspective is that when he gets into space, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira has an extra gear again, making it almost impossible for the cover defence to catch him once he is open space.

Defences had all sorts of trouble trying to contain him in his club and school boy football this year, both in terms of him taking the ball up into the centre of the ruck, but he was almost untouchable when he ran on the fringes of the ruck and he used his foot work to beat defenders with a variety of moves, including a step off both feet and a very good in and away as well as simply running over people. Couple those two aspects with a very good fend and you have a young player who causes nightmares for a defensive line.

For a player of his size, Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira runs with pace, strength and power every time he touches the ball during a game. For a young player, he seems to have a good understanding of when to off load the ball, currently most of his off loads occur when he is part way through the defensive line and can get his right arm free to pass to his outside support runners. At this stage Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira does not off load prior to the line, but again we are talking about a young player here, who is still developing his skills and understanding of the game.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira is an aggressive defender and due to his natural strength is more than capable of defending one on one and can and will stop even the biggest opposing forwards in their tracks and targets the area around where the attackers carry the football.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira’s speed and lateral movement means that he will not be beaten by light stepping halves trying to take advantage of tiring forwards or the opposition running out of dummy half, he also does a very good job of keeping his hands down in situations where he is tracking smaller, quicker players. Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira also has a quite a good defensive technique and thus does not use purely brute strength but timing and technique as well to be effective in defence.

Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira will start the 2022 season as part of the Burleigh Bears Hastings Deering’s Colts squad for the second season in a row and more than likely will add to his outstanding debut for Burleigh in the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition.

I will admit that when I initially saw Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira play at the U14 level for Burleigh I was of the opinion that he would settle in the second row, but since 2018 he has played exclusively at either fullback or right centre. Whilst Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira has done some good things at fullback, I think that where Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira played in 2021 in the Langer Cup for Keebra Park being right centre is his best position by a fair margin even taking into account his outstanding performance at fullback in the 2020 Langer Cup semi-final against Wavell State High School.

For me Tuvalli-Afoa Khan-Pereira’s style of play remains me of Penrith and New Zealand International centre Dean Whare. Like Whare Kalahni Lawrence is a solid attacking centre and a very good defensive one as well which even at the NRL level is a difficult combination to find.

[mdrew]

Mason Barber. The young man from the Northlands Region of the North Island of New Zealand has moved over to the Gold Coast to attend Keebra Park State High School as part of the Titans partnered Elite Rugby League Academy Program with a junior reputation in Northlands (and to be fair wider in New Zealand as well) that is second to none in both junior rugby and rugby league circles.

In October 2021 Mason Barber was named in the Burrleigh Bears U16 Cyril Connell Cup squad.

In 2021 Mason Barber played for the Coomera Cutters Junior Rugby League Club in the Gold Coast Rugby League U15 Division One competition, playing primarily at halfback.

Mason Barber had a particularly strong match in Round Ten against Burleigh White scoring a second half try which encapsulates Mason Barbers overall skill set in one sequence of events. Mason Barber initially received the ball around ten metres from the line to the left of the play the ball. After receiving the ball Mason Barber dummied to his left before cutting back to his right to the other side of the play the ball down a short right blind side. Mason Barber sliced through the Burleigh defence before reaching out to get the ball down with his left hand.

In the abridged 2020 season Mason Barber who at 176cm and 68 kg can play half, hooker and lock played for the Tautoro Titans U15 side in the Northern Zone U15 competition, although he was just 14 years old. In his matches, Mason Barber scored eight points including a try against the Otangarei Knights, kicking a conversion in that game as well and kicked a further conversion against Hikurangi a week later.

In 2019 in the Northern Zone U13 competition, Mason Barber finished the season as the competition’s most outstanding player as well as leading the competition with twenty three tries, Mason Barber also finished as the competitions leading goal kicker with forty five goals and understandably the competitions leading points scorer with 182 points from just ten games to average 18.2 points per game.

Mason Barber had some big matches in the 2019 Northern Zone U13 competition including scoring three tries and kicking two goals (16 points) in an early season match against the Horahora Broncos and then backed that up later in the season by also scoring three tries and five goals (22 points) once again against the Horahora Broncos.

Mason Barber also had two big matches against the Portland Panthers, in the first scoring twenty four points (three tries and three goals) and in the second scoring twenty points (three tries and eight goals).

Hikurangi/Moerewa also felt Mason Barbers fury in 2019, first when he scored two tries and two goals (12 points) and then when Mason Barber scored a try and kicked two goals late in the season against them.

Interspersed in those matches was a Mason Barber fourteen point haul (one try and five goals) against Takahiwai.

In 2019 Mason Barber represented the Northern Swords U13 representative side at the New Zealand National Youth Championships, playing in all four of the Northern Swords matches and kicking four conversions for an eight point haul in the 2019 National Youth Championships.

To round out an impressive 2019 rugby league season, Mason Barber was part of the Taniwha Cup U13 side and was named in the New Zealand Maori Rugby League U13 Merit side after an outstanding Maori Tournament.

Mason Barber is also an outstanding rugby player, in 2019 playing for the U13 Te Puna O Hokianga representative rugby side that became the New Zealand U13 Junior Rugby Champions after an unbeaten run through the Championships, scoring 184 points and conceding just 48 to finish with a positive points differential of 136.

Mason Barber scored thirty four of his sides points from three tries and eleven conversions at the Championships.

Mason Barber’s side won the U13 National Championships on the back of a win in the Grand Final against Auckland University 21 – 17, after defeating YMP Gisborne in the semi-final 15 – 12.

Te Puna O Hokianga’s other victories in the National Championships were against Paraparumu 36 – 0, Taupo 46 – 5, Carlton 52 – 0 and St Thomas Canterbury 14 – 12.

In attack, Mason Barber generally plays an understated role, focussing more on the distribution and game management aspects of his role as a half. A key attribute to how Mason Barber plays is his ability to organise and direct his team around the field as well as adjusting his game to the specific situations encountered within a game.

Mason Barber will though take the line on when the opportunity arises however, but as noted his best attribute is that of a game manager with the ability to draw defenders out of the line and put his runners into the subsequent hole that is generated. Mason Barber has above average speed off the mark and quick twitch feet in confined space but does not have explosive acceleration or high top end speed, but Mason Barber’s top speed in space can certainly be considered in the above average range.

When Mason Barber does take on the line, he just has this amazing ability to slice through a defensive line. It is hard to put into words exactly what I mean but Mason Barber takes the ball and immediately commences to run parallel to the defensive line with the ball out in front of his body in two hands and then he is just able to slide/slice between two defenders with a subtle step normally off his left foot and then Mason Barber accelerates through into space.

What is described above looks deceptively simply but I can assure people that it is not, it is just that Mason Barber makes it look so simple and it is a credit to him that Mason Barber has sliced through defences like this his entire career regardless of the quality of the opposition.

From a kicking perspective Mason Barber has a more than solid kicking game, with above average distance and accuracy on all types of kicks, from kicking for field position or from an attacking perspective as well as tactically for field position. I am sure that moving forward focussing on his kicking skills will be a key focus area both from a distance and accuracy perspective and there is no doubt that Mason Barber has the ability to be a team’s primary tactical kicking option now and into the future.

Like his tactical kicking Mason Barber is also an outstanding right foot goal kicker with range and accuracy including from wide out. Like his tactical kicking, and for that matter the way that he slides through defences, Mason Barber makes it look easy due to his calm and relaxed demeanour on the field including when the game is on the line.

Mason Barber will be U16 eligible in 2022 and will play for the Coomera Cutters in the Gold Coast Rugby League U16 Division One competition. Mason Barber will continue at Keebra Park State High School when the 2022 school boy rugby league kicks off and Mason Barber will be right in the mix for a spot in Keebra Park’s Langer Cup Open A side.

In New Zealand Mason Barber spent time in the halves, at hooker and also a number of matches at lock, so whilst to a degree his final position is a bit up in the air, in the short term at least I think that Mason Barber’s best position is at half back where he can see the defensive structure employed against them and with his perchant for making the correct decision in a timely manner, that I belive is Mason Barber’s best position for himself and his team.

A player with a similar playing style and skill attributes to Mason Barber for me is former Penrith great, New South Wales State of Origin and Australian International Greg Alexander. Both Alexander and Mason Barber make the task of managing the game plan and directing their team around the field from the half back position look easy and natural and both seemingly have as much time as they need to accomplish the required task expertly.

Like Alexander, Mason Barber just oozes class on the field and when he runs it just looks so effortless and both have/had the ability to slice through defences seemingly at will.

Mason Barber was one of an intriguing cohort of new players at Keebra Park in 2021. A situation that bodes well for the Titans with their partnership with Keebra Park.

[mdrew]

Taine Tuaupiki. (Revised) He is a local young utility (halfback/five eight/fullback) who is currently on a train and trial contract with the Titans.

Taine Tuaupiki was named to make his Queensland Cup debut off the bench for the Burleigh Bears in Round Two of the 2021 competition against the Mackay Cutters. Unfortunately Taine Tuaupiki was a late scratching from the match.

Deservedly however Taine Tuaupiki made his Queensland Cup debut for Burleigh off the bench in Round Six as the Bears defeated Norths 36 – 0.

Taine Tuaupiki came off the bench to play twenty one minutes and in that time ran for forty two metres (eight post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 4.37 seconds and also made a tackle.

Taine Tuaupiki also was named to start on the bench against the Ipswich Jets in Round Seven however he was a late scratching.

Taine Tuaupiki started from the bench for the Burleigh Queensland Cup sides first 2021 trial when he started on the wing against the Titans at Burleigh in mid-February.

A week later Taine Tuaupiki started at fullback for Burleigh in their Queensland Cup trial against the Easts Tigers, scoring one of the Bears tries in their two point victory, when he backed up on the inside of a Shallin Fuller break to receive the pass from Fuller from his right to dive over midway between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

In Mid-March 2021 Taine Tuaupiki was part of the Burleigh Bears Nine’s squad that won the Gold Coast Nine’s Annual Competition with a 22 – 20 Final victory.

In 2021 Taine Tuaupiki was part of the Burleigh Bears GCRL First Grade side for the pre-season competition, playing at fullback in those rounds, including in Round Two against Runaway Bay.

In Round Two of the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Pre-season competition Taine Tuaupiki started at fullback as Burleigh defeated Runaway Bay with Taine Tuaupiki one of the Bears try scorers.

Taine Tuaupiki’s try was a long range effort in the second half when he backed up a ling Burleigh break that was made down the left side with Taine Tuaupiki being positioned nicely back through the centre of the ruck to receive that ball and running forty metres to score under the posts untouched.

Taine Tuaupiki added a second half try assist when he chimed into the Burleigh backline to the right, skipping to his outside to draw in two defenders and throw a good short pass to his right to Lochlyn Sheldon who ran straight through the resultant gap to score after a twenty metre run.

Taine Tuaupiki continued at fullback in Round Three of the GCRL First Grade Pre-season competition as Burleigh took on the Currumbin Eagles and recorded two try assists as Burleigh completed their GCRL First Grade pre-season campaign with a 26 – 6 victory.

Taine Tuaupiki’s first try assist came when he took the ball to the line on the left and thre a cut out pass in the same direction to put his left winger over in the corner. Taine Tuaupiki’s second try assist came on that occasion on the right when he took the ball to the line down a short right blind side, throwing a good short ball to his right twenty metre out to put his right winger over.

Taine Tuaupiki started Round Two of the Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition at fullback against Helensvale and scored in the 50th minute when he received the ball two passes off the ruck as the ball was spun to the left with Taine Tuaupiki receiving the ball eighteen metres out. As he approached the defensive line, Taine Tuaupiki dummied to left left to break through the line and then stepped off his left to beat the Hornets fullback to score.

Against Mudgeeraba in Round Three Taine Tuaupiki once again started at fullback, scoring once again as well as setting up another. Taine Tuaupiki scored in the 24th minute when he received the ball from a Burleigh scrum win sixteen metres out, Taine Tuaupiki ran to his left dummying once before cutting through the line to score ten metres in from the left corner.

Taine Tuaupiki’s incredible 2021 season continued in Round Four when from fullback he scored a hat trick as Burleigh routed Southport 88 – 0.

Taine Tuaupiki’s first try came in the 13th minute of the match when he used his speed to slice through the Southport defensive line on the left side of the field and then was simply too quick for the fullback to score two metres from the left upright.

In the 23rd minute Taine Tuaupiki scored once again after some great work by right winger Will Evans. Will Evans took a kick on the full just out from his own line and then raced sixty metres down the right touchline before kicking back towards centre field with the ball sitting up nicely for Taine Tuaupiki who ran thirty metres to score next to the left upright.

Taine Tuaupiki completed his hat trick in the 58th minute when he backed up a break by the dummy half through centre field forty five metres out, breaking through one attempted jersey grab before veering to his right to round the Southport fullback to score.

In addition to his hat trick, Taine Tuaupiki also recorded three try assists, a line break and a line break assist in the big Burleigh victory.

The 27th minute of the match saw Taine Tuaupiki record the first of his three try assist when he put in a right foot stab kick towards the right corner with Regan Ogle racing through to get the ball down.

Taine Tuaupiki’s second try assist came in the 44th minute when he joined the Burleigh backline and
after engaging the defensive line on the right side of the field, Taine Tuaupiki was held by the defence with his back towards the goal line but he was able to pop a right arm off-load to Brett Stratton to dive over.

Taine Tauapiki’s third and final try assist of the match came in the 54th minute when after receiving the ball he cut back towards the goal posts getting within two metres of the try line before off-loading to Shallin Fuller who was able to dive over.

After his Round Four heroic’s. Taine Tauaupiki understandably also started at fullback in Round Five against Runaway Bay throwing the final pass for Will Evans try in the right corner in the first half. Taine Tuaupiki also started at fullback in Round Seven against the Currumbin Eagles.

Taine Tuaupiki scored once again from the fullback position in Round Nine against Helensvale when in the 5th minute Taine Tuaupiki sliced through the Hornets left sided defence from ten metres out to score near the right upright.

Round Eleven against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks saw Taine Tuaupiki continue at fullback with Taine Tuaupiki scoring one try and setting up another.

Taine Tuaupiki scored in the 49th minute when after receiving the ball two passes off the dummy half on the left side of the field twenty metres out, Taine Tuaupiki ran at the line before cutting back towards centre field. With the Mudgeeraba defensive stationary, Taine Tauapiki ran back to his right parallel to the line. Near centre field, Taine Tuaupiki dummied to his right before stepping off his right foot and as a consequence sliced through the defensive line ten metres out and ran around to put the ball down under the posts.

Taine Tuaupiki’s try assist came in the 69th minute when after receiving the ball, Taine Tauapiki threw a long cut out pass to right winger Lofi Khan-Pereira who raced over to score in the right corner.

Taine Tuaupiki moved to five eight for Round Twelve against the Tugun Seahawks and recorded a 10th minute try assist when from a scrum Taine Tuaupiki received the ball twenty five metres out and to the right and was able to get on the outside of his immediate opponent and draw in the Tugun left winger to send Lofi Khan-Pereira over in the right corner.

After the Covid 19 enforced lock down, Taine Tuaupiki was named at fullback for Round Eleven against the Southport Tigers with Taine Tuaupiki scoring a key try in the Bears 26 – 24 victory in the 69th minute when after receiving an off-load close to the line from Will Evans, Taine Tauapiki was able to get over the line from five metres out next to the left upright.

Taine Tuaupiki also started at fullback in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay with Taine Tuaupiki scoring one long range try and being heavily involved in another.

Taine Tuaupiki only had to wait until the 7th minute to score and it is a beauty. Runaway Bay put through a grubber kick which Taine Tuaupiki collected a metre out from his own line and just to the left of the uprights. Taine Tuaupiki initially ran to his right before cutting back to his left and beat four defenders as he traversed through the Runaway Bay defensive line and then outpaced the cover defence to dive over in the left corner.

In the 31st minute Taine Tuaupiki was at it again, this time collecting a Runaway Bay kick in his right corner 97 metres from the line, Taine Tuaupiki ran to his left bursting through the Runaway Bay line before off-loading to his hooker who was trailing him, the hooker then off-loaded to the Burleigh five eight who outpaced the cover defence to score.

Taine Tuaupiki also started at fullback in Round Fourteen against the Currumbin Eagles.

After finishing the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby Leageu First Grade competition as Minor Premiers, Burleigh played the Tugun Seahawks in Week Two of the Finals with Taine Tuaupiki starting the final at fullback.

Taine Tuaupiki recorded a try assist in the 55th minute of the match when he put in a grubber kick from twelve metres out towards the right corner with Lofi Khan-Pereira diving on the ball a metre from the dead goal line.

Taine Tuaupiki was also heavily involved in Will Evans’s 74th minute try when he followed through a short attacking kick and after retrieving the ball quickly got a pass to his left to Will Evans to score.

Taine Tuaupiki also started at fullback for Burleigh in the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Grand Final against the Tugun Seahawks and it took less than two minutes for Taine Tuaupiki to show that he is destined for higher honours when after fielding a Tugun clearing kick, he ran to his right drawing in the Tugun left winger to put Lofi Khan-Pereira away down the right touchline with the flyer making forty metres before being brought down.

It was a similar situation in the 24th minute when after taking a Tugun clearing kick on the full, Taine Tuaupiki ran to his left, in this occasion drawing in the Tugun right winger to put Will Evans away for a thirty five metre line break down the left touchline.

Taine Tuaupiki did it himself in the 12th minute when just five metres out from his own line Taine Tuaupiki took a high bomb on the full, easily stepping past one Tugun chaser before pushing forward between two more to get the ball out over his own twenty metre area and set a solid base for Burleigh’s subsequent set of six tackles.

Taine Tuaupiki made another great take of a high Tugun kick in the 68th minute when he raced forward to take the ball on the full thirty metres from his own line under heavy pressure. Tane Tuaupiki continued on at full speed after taking possession, racing between two defenders and then beat another as he got into Tugun territory before being stopped.

Taine Tuaupiki made another line break in the 59th minute when he ran onto the ball to the right of the play the ball taking possession forty metres out from his own line. As he charged at the line Taine Tuaupiki stepped off his left foot to easily beat the initial Tugun defender to break through the line, making twenty metres before the Seahawks defence corralled him.

At was not just running the ball where Taine Tuaupiki excelled in the Grand Final, he was also outstanding in defence including a great try saving tackle in the 45th minute when he raced across to his right to prevent a Tugun try next to the left upright to prevent the attacker from being able to twist over the try line.

In April 2021, Taine Tuaupiki was named in the Gold Coast Vikings First Grade South East Queensland Chairman’s Challenge initial squad.

Taine Tuaupiki started at fullback for the Burleigh A Grade trial against Tweed Heads in late February 2020.

When the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League competition restarted in August, Taine Tuaupiki was part of the Burleigh Bears side that was looking to repeat their 2019 Premiership success starting Round One of the GCRL First Grade competition against Southport at left centre and provided to be a handful for the Southport defence almost everytime that he touched the ball, finishing the match with two try assists.

Both of Taine Tuaupiki’s try assists came in the second half and on both occasions he set up tries for Will Evans. In relation to his first try assist, Taine Tuaupiki received the ball off the dummy half on the left side of the field, forty metres out from the Southport line after a long break by Jayden Campbell. Taine Tuaupiki took the line on and threw a great one armed around the corner pass to his left to Will Evans who raced the forty metres to score.

Taine Tuaupiki’s second try assist resulted from a more traditional pass to his left to Will Evans after he had made a break down the left side of the field, sending the pass to enable Will Evans an easy thirty five metre run to the line.

After an impressive performance in Round One, Taine Tuaupiki maintained his place at left centre in Round Two against the Currumbin Eagles and scoring in the first half . From a penalty ten metres out, in front of the posts, Burleigh immediately spun the ball to the left and Taine Tuaupiki was able to get on the outside of his direct opponent and score in the left corner.

Taine Tuaupiki moved to fullback for Round Three against the Ormeau Shearers before starting Round Five against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks at left centre and scored a long range seventy metres try donw the left touch line when Burleigh fielded an attacking kick in their own in goal, racing down field before passing to Taine Tuaupiki who ran the remainder of the distance.

After Burleigh had a Round Six bye, Taine Tuaupiki started at left centre once again in Round Seven against Runaway Bay making a couple of sniping runs in the first half.

Taine Tuaupiki was named to start at left centre in Round Eight against the Southport Tigers but in fact started Burleigh’s 23 – 22 win at half back.

In Burleigh’s 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Semi-final Taine Tuaupiki started on the right wing against the Southport Tigers.

In the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Grand Final Taine Tuaupiki started on the right wing for Burleigh agaisnt Runaway Bay.

Taine Tuaupiki was in outstanding form for the Burleigh Bears U20 Hastings Deering’s Colt’s side in 2019 and also deservedly played a number of Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade matches with Burleigh.

Taine Tuaupiki started at half for the 2019 Burleigh U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts Round One side as they drew 24 all with Norths at Bishop Park, in total playing in nine games in total scoring five tries, three of which came in Burleigh’s finals campaign.

Taine Tuaupiki started all nine of his 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts matches, starting four at half, one being Round Six against the Western Mustangs at five eight and the remaining four matches at right centre, with his first start at centre coming in Round Twenty Three against Central Queensland. Taine Tuaupiki followed that up by starting all three of Burleigh’s finals at right centre.

In Round Three against Tweed Heads Taine Tuaupiki scored a good solo try, he received the ball playing on the right side of the ruck around twelve metres out from the line and after stepping off his right foot to create a gap, surged through the Tweed fullbacks tackle right on the try line.

Taine Tuaupiki also scored an outstanding try in Round Ten against the Northern Pride. He received the ball around ten metres out from the Pride line whilst operating on the left side of the field, and after stepping back inside the Pride defence exploded through a small gap in the line to cross near the left upright.

After missing a number of weeks Taine Tuaupiki started Round Twenty Two against Sunshine Coast in the centres for Burleigh and also at right centre in Round Twenty Three against Central Queensland. Taine Tuaupiki terrorised the Capra’s left side defence in the match including making a long break from a scrum but he was bundled into touch a metre out.

In Week Two of the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts Finals series, Taine Tuaupiki once again started at left centre and scored a try in each half to propel Burleigh into the Preliminary Final with both of his tries impressive individual efforts.

Taine Tuaupiki’s first try was a seventy metre effort, he received the ball one off the scrum bursting through the initial defensive line with a slight step off both foot, the first coming off his right, before beating the fullback and getting away from a cover defender who looked to grab his jersey collar to score under posts.

Taine Tuaupiki’s second try resulted from a series of side steps on the left of the field. Taine Tuaupiki received the ball wide on the left and immediately stepped twice off his left foot create space and then produced a right foot back towards the side line and accelerated from ten metres out to score.

Taine Tuaupiki’s 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts season came to an end when he started at left centre for Burleigh as they went down 23 – 16 to Sunshine Coast in the Preliminary Final with Taine Tuaupiki being one of Burleigh’s try scorers in the match.

Playing left centre once again, Taine Tuaupiki received the ball around forty five metres out and ran at the defensive line with the ball out in front in both hands before stepping odd his left foot to beat the initial defender before accelerating away from the defence then beating the fullback and streaking away to score.

In the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts Player of the Year Award tally Taine Tuaupiki finished with two votes.

Taine Tuaupiki also played a number of matches for Burleigh in the GCRL First Grade competition including starting at fullback in Round Seven against Tugun. For what I believe was his first match at fullback in that competition, Taine Tuaupiki played quite well and made a number of sniping runs through the centre of the ruck.

Taine Tuaupiki scored his first Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade try of 2019 when he scored in Round Twelve against Southport starting at fullback as the Bears won 34 – 10.

Taine Tuaupiki lined up on the left of the field taking the ball from the dummy half about ten metres out from the Southport line and exploded towards the line, with the ball out in front of his body in two hands, after a quick dummy to his left, Taine Tuaupiki sliced through two Tigers defenders to score half way between the touch line and left upright.

In total for Burleigh in the GCRL First Grade competition Taine Tuaupiki, including Finals played in four matches this season.

In Round Two of the 2018 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition in a 28 – 20 victory over Redcliffe at Pizzey Park he was as dominant as I have seen a player at that level as he constantly split the Redcliffe defence and directed Burleigh around the field superbly.

In that particular match, Taine Tuaupiki had the ball on a string and also scored a great try highlighting his speed and elusiveness. Taine Tuaupiki also scored in Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons.

In addition to the tries that he has scored in the Colts competition in 2019 Taine Tuaupiki had at least four try assists on the season that I can recall immediately including one from a deft banana grubber kick in Round Two against the Redcliffe Dolphins and three from sublime passes right at the defensive line in various matches.

Taine Tuaupiki’s Round One try came as a result of a great short ball to his right side to Titans fellow linked second rower Apiata Neoma-Matenga who went through the line untouched before drawing the fullback and passing back inside to Taine Tuaupiki to score under the posts untouched for an outstanding Burleigh try.

Taine Tuaupiki’s try in Round Two against Redcliffe was as a result of a dummy where after receiving the ball two wide of the ruck on the right side Taine Tuaupiki shaped to pass wider out and then exploded through a gap to score just wide of the right hand upright.

Over the course of the opening rounds Taine Tuaupiki forged a very successful combination on the right side of the field with fellow Titans youngster Apiata Neoma-Matenga which I am sure will lead (and has already) to a lot of line breaks and tries for both over the course of the season.

In total in the Hastings Deering’s Colts competition this season Taine Tuaupiki played in fourteen matches for Burleigh starting all at five eight bar Round Four against Souths Logan when he started from the interchange and has scored six tries and kicked five goals.

As noted above Taine Tuaupiki scored in the opening two rounds of the season against Sunshine Coast and Redcliffe. Taine Tuaupiki has also scored in Round Nine against Townsville, Round Thirteen against Ipswich, Round Fourteen against the Northern Pride and in Round Twenty-One against Wynnum Manly.

Taine Tuaupiki made his Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade debut at five eight against Tweed Heads and prior to his move back to the Burleigh Colts side made three First Grade appearances and recorded a 100% strike rate. Taine Tuaupiki scored a double on debut against Tweed Heads and also scored against Southport.

Taine Tuaupiki started the 2017 season in the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side and upon completion of the competition progressed to the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts Challenge side. From a representative perspective Taine Tuaupiki has represented South East Queensland at the U16 level in 2016 was one of the key reasons that Coombabah State High School had such a great GIO Cup run which finished in heart breaking fashion against Keebra Park.

For the 2017 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup side Taine Tuaupiki played all six matches at half back including scoring in Round Two against Victoria. Immediately upon completion of the MM Cup competition, Taine Tuaupiki was drafted into the Tweed Heads Seagulls U20 Colts Challenge side and except for Round Six which he missed, he played every match. Taine Tuaupiki started Rounds One to Five at fullback scoring tries in Round Two against Easts, Round Three against Redcliffe and Round Five against Wynnum Manly.

Taine Tuaupiki switched to five eight in Round Seven, making an immediate impact scoring against the North’s Devils and except for Round Ten where he started from the interchange bench, Taine Tuaupiki started at five eight, scoring doubles in Round Eight against Ipswich and Round Thirteen in a comeback win against the Easts Tigers. Taine Tuaupiki also scored against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in Round Twelve. Taine Tuaupiki also started at five eight in Round Fourteen through Sixteen.

In the 2017 finals series Taine Tuaupiki started in Tweed Heads three matches, starting Week One at five eight before starting at half back in Tweed Heads second final and their Preliminary Final loss. Isaac Worboys started at five eight in the last two Seagulls Finals matches of 2017.

In 2016, Taine Tuaupiki played for Runaway Bay in the U17 Division One GCJRL competition where his side finished as the minor premiers, however they were beaten 18 – 12 in the Grand Final by Burleigh. Taine Tuaupiki started the 2016 Grand Final at half back.

Over the course of the 2016 U17 Division One season, Taine Tuaupiki scored five tries and conversion and field goal to finish with a total points tally of 23 on the season with the field goal coming in a semi-final against Burleigh.

If anything Taine Tuaupiki looks like he has put on a bit of size over the recent off season but a huge positive is that his outstanding speed off the mark has not been compromised at all nor has his elusiveness in general.

In attack, Taine Tuaupiki’s speed off the mark is the first attribute that you will notice when you see him play, he has a dynamic initial burst off the mark. He does not seem to have an extra gear once he is through the defensive line but has the ability to maintain his speed over a reasonable distance. Coupled with a very good step off both feet, his speed enables him to make breaks. His try in Round Two detailed above highlighted his speed off the mark.

Taine Tuaupiki can and will beat defenders in the inside with a step and if the defensive line is staggered a dummy and go, presents multiple headaches for the opposition’s defensive strategies and also backs up well. It is these attributes that means Taine Tuaupiki is a threat to run every time he is at dummy half and opposing defences must that that into account, for if the markers do not work hard or there are slow moving forwards Taine Tuaupiki has the ability to exploit that on each occasion.

In Round Twenty One of the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts season against Wynnum Manly Taine Tuaupiki’s step and speed resulted in scoring a good try. Taine Tuaupiki received the ball about ten metres out from the Wynnum Manly line, drifted across field a touch and then stepped back inside the B defender and accelerated in outpace the cover defence.

It was a similar instance in Round Twenty Four against Easts, Taine Tuaupiki went on a great run using his outstanding foot work to beat multiple defenders and then threw a great pass to give Sean garner a solon passage to the line.

Holding the ball out in front of his body in both hands enables Taine Tuaupiki to put doubt into the minds of the opposing defensive line and thus me can dummy and run if there is a gap in the defensive line or put his support runners into gaps. His decisive nature also means that when the ball needs to get out to his back line he will get it out there quickly to give his outside backs as much space as possible to work with prior to contact with the opposing defensive line.

Getting the ball out to the back line quickly is no issue for Taine Tuaupiki as he has a very good long passing technique which delivers the ball quickly and accurately to the right place at the right time from either side of his body.

The one thing that has stood out through the U20 Colts competition this season is Taine Tuaupiki’s willingness to take the ball right to the line before passing. A couple of examples highlight this including a number of plays in Round Two against Redcliffe and again in Round Twenty One against Wynnum Manly.

On one occasion, Taine Tuaupiki operating on the right popped a great short ball to New Zealand born centre Mikey Williams who as a result had a big 50 metre run down the field which led directly to a try to Reece Tapine on the opposite side of the field on the next play. Also against Redcliffe Taine Tuaupiki took the ball to the line and popped a short ball to Apiata Neoma-Matenga who scored after a barn storming run just right of the uprights at the ‘hill’ end of Pizzey Park.

I have noted a couple of very good plays from Taine Tuaupiki when he has been operating on the right side of the field, but it would be patently unfair to suggest that he cannot operate on the left equally effectively.

In Round One against the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Taine Tuaupiki in fact set up two tries down the left side of the field, on both occasions he got outside his opposite defender and presented left centre Jaxson Paulo with passes directly to his chest leading him onto the ball nicely. On the first occasion Jaxson Paulo scored untouched and the second Jaxson Paulo drew the Falcons winger for Reece Tapine to score also untouched.

Taine Tuaupiki also has a solid kicking game both from a tactical and attacking perspective and in Round two against Redcliffe got a try assist when in broken play and facing the sideline, Taine Tuaupiki put in a right footed banana grubber kick that was perfectly weighted to the in goal for Burleigh fullback Corey Alexander to dive on the ball in the in goal area and score.

In Round Twenty One against Wynnum Manly a deft kick by Taine Tuaupiki was perfectly weighted for halfback Harry Fitzhugh to score under the posts. Similarly in Round Twenty Four against Wynnum Manly, a perfectly weight Taine Tuaupiki set up a try under the posts for half Cameron Brown.

In defence, Taine Tuaupiki reads the play very well and can hold his own when defending much bigger players. When confronted with forwards running directly at him in the centre of the ruck he will get in front of them and use his shoulder in an effort to contain them until defensive help arrives.

Taine Tuaupiki does have an aggressive streak in him when defending and this holds him in good stead when defending in the centre of the ruck. His additional size and strength this season has certainly assisted Taine Tuaupiki defensively this season.

Taine Tuaupiki is set to push for a permanent sport in the Burleigh Bears Queensland Cup side in 2022.

Taking into account his speed off the mark and his solid passing skills, I am leaning towards half back as the ultimate landing sport for Taine Tuaupiki where if everything falls into place, he could develop into a dynamic runner of the ball from the half back position who could cause a degree of havoc towards the end of each half as opposing forward packs fatigue as well as being able to direct his team around the field and play within the game plan.

In saying that however those exact same traits could equally equate to an outstanding career as a fullback on a rugby league field. From either position Taine Tuaupiki shapes as an outstanding ball runner and underrated ball player and defender.

From a player comparison perspective for Taine Tuaupiki the speed, footwork, game management and passing skills of former St George Dragons play maker Corey Norman are comparable. If anything Taine Tuaupiki’s running and passing skills and to a lesser extent his game management skills have already exceed those of Corey Norman.

Taine Tuaupiki is a young player of immense potential who has had an outstanding number of seasons on the Gold Coast and appears destined for higher honours in rugby league and is on the fast track to an NRL berth almost certainly in the coming years. Let’s hope that it is a Titans jersey.

Through the Hastings Deering’s Colts U20 Cup competition and the GCRL First Grade competition over the last few seasons Taine Tuaupiki has been an absolute stand out in his own right for Burleigh and the scary part is that Taine Tuaupiki has barely even scratched the surface of the immense potential that he possesses.

Taine Tuaupiki is an outstanding talent for the Titans and with players like him coming through the ranks the future for the Titans shines very bright indeed.

[mdrew]

Jed Edwards. (Revised) The local young hooker signed a contract with the Gold Coast Titans late in 2018 and spent part of the 2019/20 off-season training with the Titans NRL squad such is the regard that the Titans held the local dummy half in.
Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Jed Edwards start from the bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls when they took on the Souths Logan Magpies.

Jed Edwards come on towards the end of the first half, moving into the dummy half role and in the 34th minute produced a trademark dart to his left out of dummy half taking the ball nine metres to near the halfway before offloading to his left to enable the Seagulls to get into Magpies territory.

Jed Edwards recorded a line break assist in the 54th minute when he ran out of dummy half to his left and was able to draw in the defence before sending a cut-out pass to his left to put Brenton Daley-Holten down the left touchline.

Jed Edwards made multiple contributions over the course of the match including a great front on low tackle in the 64th minute on a charging Souths Logan front rower after coming out of the marker position.

Jed Edwards also started from the bench in Round Two in the local derby against the Burleigh Bears coming on late in the first half playing in the dummy half role and made a line break in the 35th minute when he backed up to receive an offload from Juwan Compain and race twenty five metres downfield.

In the 34th minute to was Jed Edwards defence that came to the fore when he made a great low tackle on Burleigh’s Samuel Shannon, cutting the big forward down on the spot.

In the 37th minute, Jed Edwards also scored when he darted out of dummy half to his right from ten metres out with the Burleigh defence backpeddling but was held up over the line, directly under the posts.

Jed Edwards also showed that he can kick out of dummy half when in the 42nd minute he stepped out of dummy half to his right and put in a fifty five metre kick and then followed his own kick downfield to make the tackle on Lofi Khan-Pereira who was bring the ball back.

Jed Edwards kicked out of dummy half once again in the 43rd minute and like his first half kick, it was a quality one. Jed Edwards kicked out of dummy half from sixty metres out with Burleigh fullback Will Evans getting to the ball on his own try line in the corner. As soon as he picked up the ball, Jed Edwards along with Troy Duckett were able to force him over the touchline to put Tweed Heads immediately back on the attack.

Then in the 63rd minute, Jed Edwards along with Charlie Murray smashed Burleigh’s Ronin Rio front on with the ball coming loose less than ten metres from Burleigh’s own line. Just two minutes later in the 65th Jed Edwards made another big tackle, this time on Blake Campbell with the contact knocking the ball loose just fifteen metres out from the line.

Jed Edwards also started on the bench in Round Three against the Redcliffe Dolphins and scored a second half double in the Seagulls loss.

Jed Edwards moved into the Seagulls starting side at hooker in Round Four against the Ipswich Jets but was back starting from the bench for Round Five against the Northern Pride.

Jed Edwards also started at hooker in Round Seven against the Norths Devils and after missing a number of rounds also started at hooker in the Round Eleven local derby against the Burleigh Bears with Jed Edwards scoring in the 22nd minute of the Seagulls victory when he ran out of dummy half to his right from five metres out beating three defenders to get the ball down midway between the goal posts and corner post on the right side of the field.

After a Covid 19 enforced hiatus, Jed Edwards was named to start at hooker in Round Sixteen against the Northern Pride with Jed Edwards kicking five conversions in the Seagulls big 48 – 16 victory.

Jed Edwards then continued at hooker in the rescheduled Round Thirteen match against the Townsville Blackhawks with Jed Edwards leading the Seagulls tackle count with in excess of fifty tackles in the match.

Jed Edwards also started at hooker in Round Fourteen against the Western Mustangs and continued at hooker in the Seagulls Week One Final against the Souths Logan Magpies.

At the 2021 Queensland Rugby League Awards Night Jed Edwards finished with eight votes for the Hastings Deering’s Colts Player of the Season Award.

Jed Edwards commenced his 2020 season starting at hooker for the Titans Rookie Squad that played a Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup selection at Cudgen in wet and slippery conditions. Whilst the Titans squad went down in the match it was a great hit out for the young side against seasoned Queensland Cup veterans.

Jed Edwards started from the bench in the Titans first NRL trial of 2020 against Burleigh at Pizzey Park coming on in the second half in the dummy half role and has his busy self including recording a 100% tackling efficiency through his nine tackles.

Jed Edwards continued his run of starts off the bench in Round Six against the Easts Tigers before he moved into the starting side at hooker in Round Eight against the Mackay Cutters. Jed Edwards also started at hooker in the previously postponed Round Eleven match against the Sunshine Coast Falcons

Jed Edwards started Round One of the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for the Tweed Heads Seagulls at hooker, captaining the side against the Northern Pride and scoring in just the third minute of the match through a typical Jed Edwards darting run which ended in him diving over to score the Seagulls first try of the match and season. Unfortunately the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts season was cancelled shortly after that Round One match.

When community rugby league restarted in July 2020, Jed Edwards played for Mullumbimby in the NRRRL First Grade competition starting Round One at hooker and scoring as the Giants downed Northern United 16 - 12. Jed Edwards also started at hooker in Round Two in a 26 – 12 loss against Byron Bay.

Jed Edwards moved back to the Gold Coast post those matches and commenced playing for the Currumbin Eagles U20 side in the GCRL U20 competition, starting the Grand Final at hooker as the Eagles played the 2020 decider against the Burleigh Bears.

In late 2018 Jed Edwards was selected in the Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup squad for the 2019 version of the U18 competition after playing a number of matches for the Tweed Heads MM Cup side early in the 2018 season.
Jed Edwards started Round One of the 2019 MM Cup competition at hooker for the Tweed Heads Seagulls as they defeated the Western Mustangs 58 – 18 with Jed Edwards contributing a double in the victory.
Jed Edwards first try came in just the second minute of the match, when after a strong run by Juwan Compain, Jed Edwards scooted over from dummy half with Western Mustangs defenders all over the place as a result of the quick play the ball by the afore mentioned Juwan Compain.
Jed Edwards scored again from dummy half midway through the first half. Once again running out of dummy half to his left, Jed Edwards took off about twenty metres out and after bumping off an attempted front on tackle crashed over near the uprights.
In the second half Jed Edwards made a great break through the centre of the ruck and was able to offload to Ryan Rivett who was able to continue to progress the ball.
Unfortunately Jed Edwards 2019 MM Cup campaign ended as a result of a broken arm. Jed Edwards came back from injury to start at hooker for the South Coast U18 side at the QSSRL U18 Championships but unfortunately suffered another broken arm on Day One of those Championships ending his season in a crual fashion.
In 2019 Jed Edwards was co-captain of the PBC Open side with fellow Titan contracted player Toby Sexton and in November 2019 Jed Edwards was the PBC Reds Award recipient for the player who best epitomises the PBC culture. It was a great way to end Jed Edwards outstanding school boy rugby league career at PBC.
In early 2019 Jed Edwards played his first match in Titans colours when he started from the bench for the Titans U18 side as they took on the Newcastle Knights U18 SG Ball squad in Coffs Harbour. In both halves, Jed Edwards came onto the field mid-way through alternating with Ediq Ambrosyev and providing his usual spark I nteh dummy half role.
As per usual Jed Edwards provided good service to his forwards when he came onto the field leading them onto the ball and capped a solid first outing for the Titans scoring a second half try when he darted out of dummy half from a play the ball a few metres from the Newcastle line to score between two back peddling Knights forwards half way between the goals posts and touch line on the left side of the field.
Jed Edwards also had a try assist when in the first half he ran across field out of dummy half about two metres from the Newcastle try line and put his forward into a hole for them to crash over for a short range try.
Early in the 2019 season, Jed Edwards was selected in the South Coast U18 side for the QSSRL U18 Championships and started at hooker on Day One of the U18 QSSRL Championships but unfortunately missed the remainder of the Championships through injury.
In 2018 Jed Edwards came into the Tweed Heads MM Cup side in Round Five against the Townsville Blackhawks starting at hooker and also started at hooker in Rounds Six, Seven and in the first week of the finals against Wynnum Manly, Easts and Souths Logan respectively.

For Burleigh in the 2019 GCRL U17 Division One competition in 2018 Jed Edwards played only the one match which was against Helensvale in May when he started at hooker.

Where Jed Edwards really shone in 2018 was for PBC starting in all of their matches including both the Queensland Final against Kirwan and the National GIO Final against Patrician Brothers College Blacktown. In the Queensland Final Jed Edwards scored late in the first half to level the scores when he was on the spot to retrieve a good short kick from PBC half Thomas Dearden.

In the 2019 Queensland GIO Cup semi-final victory over Ignatius Park, Jed Edwards set up one of fellow Titan Noah Gafa’s first of two tries which came early in the first half when he ran an outside shoulder route close to the try line and received a good ball from Jed Edwards to crash over.

For PBC Jed Edwards started all of their matches this season playing the majority of the first half before rotating with Nelson Grove, Jed Edwards normally then came back on mid-way through the second half to finish out the match.

To say that Jed Edwards had an outstanding 2017 season would be an absolute understatement. The youngster played a key hand in the success of the Parramatta Eels U16 Harrold Matthews side and then represented New South Wales in the annual U16 interstate match against Queensland as one of six young players in the match from both sides who had a Gold Coast background with the majority being from the Burleigh Bears.

Jed Edwards started at hooker in all ten of Parramatta’s Harrold Matthews matches this season (Round One was washed out) including starting both their Qualifying and Preliminary Finals. In those matches Jed Edwards scored five tries which came against St George in Round One, Balmain in Round Two, the Cronulla Sharks in Round Seven, Central Coast in Round Eight and North Sydney in Round Ten.

Jed Edwards is a vocal dummy half with a goal to lead his team around the field and determine when the forwards take the ball up and when the ball is directed out to the backline. Jed Edwards looks to lead his forwards onto the ball and provides a flat pass to enable his forwards to time their run onto the ball.

Jed Edwards aims to be the team’s general from dummy half and control the pace of the match and the axis from which his team directs their attack and also from what part of the field.

Running with the ball Jed Edwards has above average speed off the mark, probably in the above average category for a hooker and normally runs off the back of a big run from one of his forwards so that he runs when the defensive line is still retreating back to their 10 metre mark. Jed Edwards also has a good step off either foot to assist when he is looking to take advantage of a slow or tired forward in the centre of the ruck.

Jed Edward’s defence for a hooker is quite exceptional, for a smaller forward he is a hard hitter and can defend effectively one on one against far larger forwards, he sets a good base with his lower body and explodes upwards with his shoulders to drive opposing forwards backwards and is also very good at slowing the play the ball down.

His intensity means that Jed Edwards will track the play across and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside, Jed Edwards is also adept at harassing kickers from the marker position. Jed Edwards literally looks to tackles everything that moves in the centre of the ruck with his defensive work at marker very impressive.

When the Gold Coast Rugby League competition kicks off in 2022 Jed Edwads may well get an opportunity in the First Grade competition.

Jed Edwards has spent the majority of his junior rugby league career exclusively at hooker and I can see no justification at all for an alteration to that particular situation as he moves forward in his rugby league career.

From a player comparison perspective, due to his distribution, running, defence and the speed and intensity that he plays the game at, a playing style akin to Danny Buderis formerly of the Knights is an appropriate comparison for Jed Edwards I would suggest.

[mdrew]

Jayden Sharp. (Revised) The big strong 181cm, 99kg front rower or lock won the Gold Coast Junior Rugby League U17 Division One player of the year in 2017 and maintained his impressive form and enhanced his reputation throughout the following seasons across multiple levels and competitions.

Jayden Sharp made his first 2021 appearance when he came off the bench for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in their twenty all draw against the Easts Tigers at Langland’s Park with Jayden Sharp scoring late in the first half when he charged onto a pass from Cole Geyer to the left of the play the ball from three metres out, spinning counter clockwise to force his way over adjacent to the left upright.

Jayden Sharp had made a strong fifteen metre surge earlier in the first half, with the majority of the metres made post contact.

Jayden Sharp was also impressive defensively in his first stint on the field in the trial including a big tackle (the first that he made after coming on) in the 24th minute of the first half. Jayden Sharp produced another strong hit, this time in the second half when from a Burleigh kick-off Jayden Sharp’s initial contact forced the ball loose from the Easts Tigers forwards grasp as he was returning the kick-off.

The following week in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls, Jayden Sharp moved into the starting side at lock and contributing to the Bears victory including a strong run in the 56th minute where he made fifteen metres with the highlight of the line being when he knocked the Tweed Heads hooker backwards.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Jayden Sharp start at lock and captain the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers with Jayden Sharp taking the 3rd hit-up of the match.

Jayden Sharp made another strong hit-up in the 7th minute when he made eleven hard metres to get the ball into the Bears twenty attacking zone after Easts had lost the ball in a tackle. In the 14th minute, Jayden Sharp made a further fourteen metres to get Burleigh over the halfway after receiving the ball to the left of the dummy half.

Jayden Sharp continued to work hard in the 16th minute when he made twelve more metres getting the ball to the thirty metre mark on the second hit-up after Lofi Khan-Pereira’s 14th minute try.

Jayden Sharp did a lot of defence in the match including a strong front on driving tackle in the 77th minute on one of the Easts Tigers second rowers that sat him on his back.

To cap off a very solid captain’s performance when the 67th minute he raced through to get hold of an errant Tigers pass forty metres out from their line. Instead of just submitting to a tackle, Jayden Sharp whilst under pressure from two defenders, offloaded to his left by way of a left arm flick pass to Cameron Brown who after some expert stepping by both him and Lofi Khan-Pereira scored a spectacular try in the left corner.

Jayden Sharp also started at lock in the Round Two local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls getting involved in the first tackle of the match on Tweed Heads front rower Ben Liyou alongside team mates, Tristian Powell and Blake Campbell.

Jayden Sharp first major impact running the ball came in the 14th minute when the Burleigh captain was able to make fifteen metres downfield after receiving the ball on his own twenty before offloading to his right to Daniel Shannon.

Jayden Sharp also started at lock in Round Three against the Western Mustangs but started Round Four in the front row against the Norths Devils.

Jayden Sharp also started in the front row in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets and after two weeks with the Burleigh GCRL First Grade side Jayden Sharp came off the bench in Round Eight against the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Bears tough two point last minute loss.

After playing a number of matches for the Burleigh GCRL First Grade side, Jayden Sharp was back at lock in Round Nine against the Mackay Cutters.

Jayden Sharp deservedly stepped up to the Burleigh Bears Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade side for their Round Four match, with Jayden Sharp starting from the bench as the Bears routed Southport 88 – 0. Jayden Sharp also started from the bench in Round Five against Runaway Bay.

Jayden Sharp made his starting Gold Coast Rugby League starting debut in the front row in Round Nine against the Helensvale Hornets before dropping back to the bench for Round Eleven against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks, match that saw Jayden Sharp score his first GCRL First Grade try in the 26th minute when he took a hit-up to the right of the dummy half and ten metres from the line directly in front of the goal posts.

After receiving the ball Jayden Sharp produced a slight jink off his left foot to wrong foot two defenders. When he was just a few metres from the line, Jayden Sharp got hit in a heavy tackle but was able to maintain his balance long enough to reach out and put the ball down with his right arm next to the right upright.

Jayden Sharp continued in the front row in the previously postponed Round Eight match against Tugun as well as in Round Eleven against Runaway Bay.

After the Covid 19 enforced lock down, Jayden Sharp was named on the bench for Round Elven against the Southport Tigers and also started from the bench in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay.

Jayden Sharp then moved into the Burleigh starting side at lock in Round Fourteen against the Currumbin Eagles.

After finishing the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition as Minor Premiers, Burleigh played the Tugun Seahawks in Week Two of the Finals with Jayden Sharp starting the final in the front row.

Jayden Sharp also started in the front row for Burleigh in the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Grand Final against the Tugun Seahawks with Jayden Sharp taking the fourth hit-up of the match after Tugun had gotten the Grand Final underway by kicking off.

Unfortunately Jayden Sharp missed the 2019 season but was back in 2020 being named in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts squad.

Jayden Sharp started Round One of the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for the Burleigh Bears at lock against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

When the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League competition restarted in August, Jayden Sharp was part of the Burleigh Bears side that was looking to repeat their 2019 GCRL First Grade Premiership success starting Round One of the GCRL First Grade competition against Southport from the interchange bench.

Jayden Sharp started the 2019 season in the Burleigh MM Cup side and had a solid Round One on the Sunshine Coast being part of Burleigh’s 52 – 22 MM Cup victory as well as scoring a first half try for the Bears.

In total for Burleigh in the MM Cup competition Jayden Sharp played in all six of Burleigh’s matches starting his first three matches from the interchange bench before breaking into the starting line-up in Round Four. Jayden Sharp then started the final two Burleigh matches in the front row.

Jayden Sharp broke into the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side for their Round Thirteen match against Ipswich. Jayden Sharp went on to play an additional seven Hastings Deering’s Colts matches starting the first three from the interchange bench and coming into the starting side in the front row in Round 17 against Norths and he maintained his starting spot in the front row for the remaining rounds.

Jayden Sharp’s sole 2019 U20 Colts try came in Round Sixteen in the local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Post the MM Cup competition Jayden Sharp played a number of Helensvale in the GCRL competition prior to his inevitable promotion to the Burleigh Colts side.

In his first U19 match of the season for Helensvale after the completion of the MM Cup competition Jayden Sharp dominated Beaudesert scoring a hat trick and a fortnight later scored a double against Ormeau. In Round Sixteen with the Burleigh Colts side having a bye, Jayden Sharp was back for the U19 Helensvale side starting in the front row an scoring his six try against Runaway Bay. In total in the U19 competition Jayden Sharp played in five matches and scored the a fore mentioned six tries.

Jayden Sharp made his Doug Lipp Cup debut for Helensvale in early May against Currumbin and scored on debut as well. The following week Jayden Sharp also played in the Doug Lipp Cup this time against Ormeau and also scored. In each of his three Doug Lipp appearances Jayden Sharp was backing up after playing in the U19 match earlier in the day.

Jayden Sharp had an outstanding 2017 season with the Helensvale Hornets in the GCJRL U17 Division One competition culminating in him starting at lock in Helensvale’s 34 – 20 Grand Final victory over the Ormeau Shearers.

Jayden Sharp played in fourteen 2017 U17 Division One contests and three more in the U17 Division Two contests for Helensvale this season. In the U17 Division Two competition, Jayden Sharp scored all of his three tries in that grade in his last match for the year there when he scored a hat trick against Beaudesert in July.

From his fourteen U17 Division One matches, Jayden Sharp scored eleven tries to finish third on the try scoring list. Jayden Sharp scored a hat trick against Ormeau in June and scored doubles in consecutive matches late in the season including a semi-final against the Bilambil Jets. The match prior to the semi-final Jayden Sharp scored a double against Runaway Bay.

In addition to playing for Helensvale in 2017, Jayden Sharp also represented the U18 PNG Kokomo’s in the QPIIC tournament held late last year and had an outstanding match in that competition against the Cook Islands when in addition to scoring PNG’s first try set up a second half PNG try with a deft chip kick for his winger to cross. Jayden Sharp was almost the hero for PNG against Queensland Maori but unfortunately he had a try disallowed which would have broken an 8 all deadlock.

Jayden Sharp is a big strong powerful aggressive young man and uses these attributes when he runs with the ball, he will take the line on and look to drop his shoulder into the defender who is looking to initiate contact.

Jayden Sharp can also off load the football both before the line and when he is being tackled, he seems to be one of those players with the innate ability to get his hands free, or more accurately his right hand free.

Jayden Sharp is always the player standing back deep from kick ups to take the first hit up and will charge straight at the line. Jayden Sharp also is quite quick for a big young bloke, both in terms of explosive speed off the mark and agile from a footwork perspective but also with speed over an extended distance.

In defence, Jayden Sharp can certainly hit very hard and for a solidly built player has quite decent endurance thus allowing him to get back quickly into the defensive line play after play. Where he is also very good, due to his good athletic skills is for a front rower is effectively tackling smaller attackers in the centre of the ruck. Jayden Sharp does not fall for dummies and is difficult to step as he mirrors the lateral movement of the attacker to effectively wrap up the opposing player.

Jayden Sharp look to break into the Burleigh Bears Queensland Cup side in 2022.

From a position perspective Jayden Sharp will be a centre third of the field type of player and thus with either line up in the front row or lock for any team that he plays for in rugby league.

The Brisbane Broncos, Queensland State of Origin and Australian International lock Josh Maguire is a great player comparison for Jayden Sharp. Like Maguire, Jayden Sharp works all day both in attack and defence and when you least except in, he will produce a great offload or massive hit to ignite his team.

Jayden Sharp has handled everything that has been thrown at him over the last couple of seasons and that bodes well for the future for this talented young man.

[mdrew]

Juwan Compain. The former PBC State High School second rower, late in 2018 signed a contract with the Titans in a major coup for the club and continues the Titans recent success at bringing Gold Coast players back to the Titans, “buying” back the farm if you will.

In Round Twelve of the 2021 Queensland Cup competition, Juwan Compain was named to start from the interchange bench for the Tweed Heads Seagulls against the Souths Logan Magpies, but he was a late scratching.

Juwan Compain did however come off the bench for his first Queensland Cup match of the 2021 season and career third match against the Sunshine Coast Falcons. Playing twenty eight minutes, Juwan Compain ran for forty five metres (seventeen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.31 seconds and made eight tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.89%.

Juwan Compain was initially named to continue off the bench in the previously postponed Round Twelve against the Souths Logan Magpies but he ended up starting the match at left second row and playing the entire eighty minutes.

Juwan Compain was outstanding running for 144 metres (thirty post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.32 seconds and made twenty four tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.89%.

After a Covid 19 hiatus, Juwan Compain was named to start from the bench for Round Nineteen against the Northern Pride and playing thirty two minutes in the Seagulls 34 – 12 victory.

In his time on the field, Juwan Compain ran for thirty five metres (eighteen post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.86 seconds and made two tackles.

Juwan Compain moved into the Tweed Heads Seagulls starting side at left second row in Round Twenty against the Townsville Blackhawks.

Juwan Compain was named on the interchange bench in Week Two of the 2021 Queensland Cup Finals series against the Redcliffe Dolphins.

In 2021 Juwan Compain was part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and started in the left second row position in their final 2021 trial against the Burleigh Bears. Juwan Compain made some strong runs over the course of the match with one of his best being a strong effort down the left where he made ten metres, many of which were post contact in the 33rd minute.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Juwan Compain start at left second row for the Tweed Heads Seagulls when they took on the Souths Logan Magpies.

Juwan Compain was in the match early taking just the third hit-up of the match after Souths Logan kicked off. In the 5th Juwan Compain showed his class with an impressive cut out pass to his left near the halfway mark after he took the ball to the line to send left winger Brenton Daley-Holten away down the touchline.

Juwan Compain continued his strong early match involvement in the 11th minute with a hit-up, getting the ball to near the halfway mark before a good right arm offload, his second of the match.

Juwan Compain also started at left second row in Round Two in the local derby against the Burleigh Bears and had a big game including a strong effort in the 7th minute that accounted for ten hard metres, seven of which were post contact to get the ball to thirty five metres out.

In the 13th minute, Juwan Compain continued his strong start to the match when he made a twelve metre surge on the left to get the ball to within one metre of the try line. Juwan Compain produced another strong run in the 34th minute when even though he was held by three defenders, after making eight metres, was able to get a right arm off-load away to his right to Jed Edwards who burst through the Burleigh line to make twenty five metres.

Juwan Compain strong match continued into the second half when in the 49th minute he was able to make twelve metres down the left channel, utilising a strong fend to beat two would be tacklers.

Juwan Compain also started at left second row in Round Three against the Redcliffe Dolphins being named the Seagulls best in the match, running for 141 metres (seventy eight post contact) and made twenty seven tackles whilst playing the entire match.

Juwan Compain also started at left second row in Round Four against the Ipswich Jets as well as in Round Five against the Northern Pride.

Juwan Compain continued his run of starts at left second row in Round Six against the Easts Tigers, match that saw him lead the Tweed Heads Seagulls in running metres. Juwan Compain once again started at left second row in Round Seven against the Norths Devils and was one of the Seagulls try scorers as they racked up fifty points in their big victory.

Juwan Compain continued at left second row in Round Eight against the Mackay Cutters and also in Round Nine against Wynnum Manly. Juwan Compain then moved to lock for the Round Eleven local derby against the Burleigh Bears.

After a Covid 19 enforced hiatus, Juwan Compain was named to start in the second row in Round Sixteen against the Northern Pride. Playing the entire eighty minutes, Juwan Compain ran for fifty metres (seventten post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.39 seconds and made twenty five tackles at a tackling efficiency of 96.15%.

Juwan Compain continued in the second row in Round Seventeen against the PNG Hunters, playing the entire eighty minutes of the match. In the match, Juwan Compain ran for forty five metres (fourteen post contact), broke a tackle, played the ball at an average speed of 4.82 seconds and made twenty two tackles.

Juwan Compain then continued in the second row in the Seagulls Week One Final against the Norths Devils. Playing the entire match, Juwan Compain ran for forty two metres (twenty four post contact), played the ball at an average speed of 3.85 seconds and made a team leading twenty four tackles.

Juwan Compain also started at right second row in the Preliminary Final against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls scoring the Seagulls first try of the match in the 17th minute.

Playing forty six minutes, Juwn Compain ran for sixty seven metres (twenty five post contact), broke four tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.43 seconds and made twenty tackles.

In total in the 2021 Queensland Cup competition Juean Compain played four matches, broke three tackles, ran for 283 metres (eighty three post contact) and made fifty nine tackles at a tackling efficiency of 88.1%.

Juwan Compain was on a Titans NRL Development contract in 2020 and spent the 2019/20 NRL pre-season training with the Titans NRL squad.

When Juwan Compain returned to rugby league he played for the Currumbin Eagles in the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League U20 competition, including starting the 2020 GCRL U20 Grand Final at right second row as the Eagles took on the Helensvale Hornets.

In the final regular season round of the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition being Round Ten, Juwan Compain started from the bench for the Currumbin Eagles as they took on the Ormeau Shearers.

To cap off an outstanding 2019 season Juwan Compain, in late December was named in the 2020 Queensland U20 Emerging Origin Squad.

In May 2019 Juwan Compain was selected in the Queensland U18 side for their annual interstate match against their New South Wales counter parts in a State or Origin curtain raiser where Juwan Compain started at lock in Queensland’s big win.

Juwan Compain was at his classy best in the U18 representative match which came as no surprise to people who have seen Juwan Compain develop for PBC and for junior representative sides for a number of years.

In the Interstate match, Juwan Compain played the entire seventy minutes of the match in the right second row position, running for 60.9 metres (23.9 post contact) and made ten tackles at a 90.9% tackling efficiency.

In early 2019 Juwan Compain started in the second row for the Titans U18 side against the Newcastle Knights SG Ball squad in Coffs Harbour on an exceptionally hot Sunday afternoon and had a typically strong match on the right side of the field.

Juwan Compain also started at right second row for the Titans U18 side in their big win over PNG at Pizzey Park in October 2019 with Juwan Compain scoring a first half try when he ran on to a good pass to charge over mid-way between the touch line and the right goal post at the dressing shed end of Pizzey Park.

Juwan Compain kicked off the 2019 season off starting in the second row for the Burleigh MM Cup side’s Round One match against the Western Mustangs and had a huge match including scoring a double in Tweed Heads big 58 – 18 victory.

Both of Juwan Compain’s tries, one in each half were whilst he was playing in the right second row position for Tweed Heads. For his first try Juwan Compain received an inside pass from fullback Reece Walsh and for his second Juwan Compain ran a great outside shoulder route to score out wide near the right corner.

Juwan Compain also was heavily involved in the first try of the match when he was able to generate a quick play the ball after a storming run in the second minute of the match which allowed hooker Jed Edwards to dive over from dummy half from close range.

In total in the 2019 MM Cup competition, Juwan Compain played in all nine of Tweed Head’s matches starting all at right second row including both the Queensland Grand Final against Wynnum Manly and the National U18 final against the Illawarra Steelers.

In Tweed Heads impressive semi-final win over Souths Logan, Juwan Compain was credited with a try assist. Playing right second rower, Juwan Compain threw a great inside ball to his left for fullback Reece Walsh to score near the right upright.

Juwan Compain also had a try assist in the Queensland MM Cup Grand Final victory over the Wynnum Manly Seagulls. Late in the first half Juwan Compain received a great short ball from Solomon Torrens and charged down field drawing the Wynnum Manly fullback to send five eight Kade Hill away to score under the posts.

Juwan Compain extended his try assist record in the National U18 Championship match against Illawarra. After some good work on his inside, Juwan Compain charged down field from his right second row position to draw the Illawarra fullback to send Reece Walsh away to score under the posts in the second half to extend Tweed Heads lead.

Juwan Compain played the entire seventy minutes in the 2019 U18 National Final, running for 140 metres (forty post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 2.9 seconds and made thirteen tackles at a tackling efficiency of 86.7%.

At the Tweed Heads Seagulls Awards night Juwan Compain was awarded the 2019 Tweed Heads Seagulls MM Cup Coaches award and in the 2019 MM Cup Player of the season voting Juwan Compain finished with five votes.

Juwan Compain made his Hastings Deering’s Colts debut in Round Eleven of the 2019 season for Tweed Heads against the Northern Pride and wasted no time in getting his hands on the ball. From a penalty from the kick off Juwan Compain, playing right second row, charged straight at the Northern Pride defence to show that he deserved his place at that level.

Juwan Compain made his first line break later in the first half, when he broke through the Northern Pride defence to charge down field on the right for what was ultimately a forty metre run before he was dragged down from behind.

Juwan Compain scored his first Hastings Deering’s Colts try in Round Thirteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons when he scored in the second half. The ball was spun to the right by Tweed Heads, with Juwan Compain receiving the ball about ten metres out, spearing through the Falcons left side defence to score out wide.

Juwan Compain also scored in Round Seventeen of the Colts competition when he scored in the 2nd minute of the second half against Burleigh and added another try in Round Twenty Two against Souths Logan.

Operating on the right against Souths Logan, Juwan Compain, after receiving the ball from the inside engaged his immediate defender before spinning counter clock wise 360 degrees to score wide out in the attempted tackle of the Magpies defender.

Juwan Compain made his Queensland Cup debut starting in the centres for Tweed Heads in Round Fourteen of the 2019 season when the Seagulls travelled to Port Moresby to play the PNG Hunters, playing all 80 minutes of the match. In those 80 minutes Juwan Compain ran for 52 metres (nineteen post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.27 seconds and made ten tackles at a tackling efficiency of 90.91%.

Juwan Compain was also part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup side in Round Fifteen, starting from the bench against the Townsville Blackhawks, playing in the right second row position when came on late in the first half, scoring not long after he came on when he received an inside ball from half Luke Jurd to score under the posts after a ten metre burst.

In total in the Round Fifteen match against Townsville, Juwan Compain gained thirty two minutes of invaluable experience, running for twenty one metres (four post contact), broke two tackles, played the ball at an average speed of 3.52 seconds and also made eleven tackles.

In total in his two 2019 Queensland Cup matches for the Tweed Heads Seagulls Juwan Compain played 112 minutes out of a possible 160 minutes (70%), ran for seventy three metres (twenty four post contact) and made twenty tackles at a solid tackling efficiency of 82.1%.

Juwan Compain’s 2019 Queensland Cup per game totals included playing fifty six minutes, running for 36.5 metres and made ten tackles. Thus per eighty minutes, Juwan Compain, in the 2019 Queensland Cup competition ran for 52.14 metres and made 14.29 tackles.

Juwan Compain played a number matches for Titans Development Squad in the U13 age group back in 2014 before signing with the Broncos but it is great to see him back in Titans colours for the next three seasons at least.

Juwan Compain was selected in the Australian School Boys side for their Great Britain tour late in the 2018 season after starring for the Queensland U18 School boy side in the ASSRL Championships. In those Championships Juwan Compain started all four of Queensland matches in the second row scoring on Day One against New South Wales Combined High Schools and was one of two vice captains of the Queensland side.

For the Australian School Boys side on their England tour, Juwan Compain scored in their third match of their UK Tour in a 30 – 18 win at Manchester Regional Arena against the Lancashire Academy. Juwan Compain started in four of the five matches that the Australian School Boys played in the UK including starting in the second row in both of the International’s against the England Academy side.

In 2018 Juwan Compain was also part of the Queensland U18 Emerging Origin squad and received a Rugby League Excellence Award for National Representation at the 2018 PBC Sports Awards night.

Juwan Compain was also recently been selected in the 2019 U18 Queensland Emerging Origin Squad with fellow Titans Will Evans, Tristian Powell and Lofi Khan-Periera.

For the Tweed Heads Seagulls in the 2018 MM Cup competition Juwan Compain played in all seven of their matches including their semi-final loss to Souths Logan. Juwan Compain started in the second row in each of the seven matches scoring two tries which came against Burleigh in Round Three and Wynnum Manly in Round Six.

Juwan Compain also played in one Hastings Deering’s Colts U20 match in 2018 when he started in the second row for Tweed Heads in their Round 16 local derby match against Burleigh.

Juwan Compain only played in one club match in 2018 for Currumbin in the U17 Division One competition which was against Helensvale midseason.

Juwan Compain was superb for the PBC Open Rugby League side in 2018 and in two of the matches that I saw being against Keebra Park and Marsden SHS was the most dominant player on the field from my perspective.

In the Queensland GIO Cup semi-final against Ignatius Park, Juwan Compain was once again in outstanding form terrorising the Ignatius Park defence on the left side of the ruck.

In the Queensland GIO Cup final against Kirwan State High School, Juwan Compain started in the second row scoring a second half try as PBC were victorious 32 – 26 to qualify for the National GIO Cup Final.

Juwan Compain also started in the second row for PBC in the GIO Cup National Final against Patrician Brothers College Blacktown and became a 2018 GIO Cup National Champion on the back of a PBC 20 – 12 victory.

In 2017 Juwan Compain was part of the U16 Queensland Academy of Sport squad and has previously represented Queensland at the U12 level.

Early in 2017 Juwan Compain, represented the Gold Coast Vikings White side in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition, scoring in Round Five against Gold Coast Green. After the completion of that competition, Juwan Compain was selected in the South East Queensland U16 training squad.

In 2016 from PBC, Juwan Compain represented South Coast at the QSSRL U15 Championships scoring against Sunshine Coast and from there was selected to represent the Queensland Maroon U15 school bot side at the ASSRL U15 championships.

Juwan Compain has previously played for the Titans Development Squads including at the U13 level when they played against Marsden State High School at Pizzey Park in 2014, from memory I believe that Juwan Compain played in the centres that day.

Also in that Titans U13 side was Will Evans who was a standout at fullback for the Titans. It is great to see the two talented young men back with the Titans for the 2019 season and beyond.

Juwan Compain also played club rugby on the Gold Coast in the U14 and U14 age groups I believe but his future is firmly in rugby league and luckily for Titans supporters on the Gold Coast.

Rarely can you find a young player who is equally at home running on both sides of the ruck but that is what a team has with Juwan Compain, he runs a superb inside or outside shoulder line and his excellent footwork enables him to step off either foot to enable Juwan Compain to cut back against the movement of the defensive line to take advantage of gaps back on the inside of his direct opponent.

For a big strong young man, Juwan Compain also has above average (to plus) speed for a second rower, not just off the mark but also when he is in clear space, when he makes a break Juwan Compain is more than capable of going the distance and normally easily out paces the cover defence.

Juwan Compain is not just a strong runner of the ball he as noted above has excellent footwork prior to the line and also some very good short passing both before the line and when in contact with a defender.

Juwan Compain in schoolboy rugby league and junior age groups was a magnet for defenders and is adept at identifying when multiple defenders are vectoring towards him and identifying the appropriate force to be applied to his passing.

Juwan Compain also waits until the last possible second to off load the ball and most of the time he does not telegraph his pass to enable defences the readjust before the ball is passed.

On a lot of his runs Juwan Compain rather than trying to step his opposite number will really look to initiate the contact and then use his strength to hold the defender off his body to either push through the tackle or draw in the next defender to create space for his outside support.

Whilst his ball running skills are the first thing that you will likely notice when seeing Juwan Compain play his defence is equally effective even though it may not be as noticeable at first glance.

Defensively Juwan Compain has a hard edge to his play and his initial contact is more than sufficient to redirect the momentum of the ball carrier either in the centres or when defending in the forwards. Juwan Compain sets a very good base which he uses to explode into the ball carrier looking to use their own momentum against them.

Juwan Compain good situation awareness also enables him to be well positioned when he is defending against smaller quicker players on the fringes of the ruck and he endeavours to minimise the time available for the opposing attacker to generate speed and to utilise their footwork.

Juwan Compain is also able to change direction quickly to adjust to the directional changes of the attacker especially when he is marking up against multiple attackers running in his direction where he will hold his ground to let the play to develop in front of him before committing to a specific defensive course of action.

Juwan Compain is not currently contracted to an NRL club but that will surely change sooner rather than later. Juwan Compain will start the 2022 season as part of the Tweed Heads Seagulls Queensland Cup squad and by the end of the 2022 season he will be considered one of the best players out side of the NRL.

With the rule changes now in place since the competition has restarted, with his outstanding speed and footwork, I can also see a scenario where Juwan Compain could easily find himself at lock as a bigger, stronger and faster version of Victor Radley or Cameron Murray, yes Juwan Compain is that good.

For me, though when all is said and done, with his physical attributes and skill set Juwan Compain will settle into the second row as his long term position with no need for a positional switch and will be a representative level second rower at that.

From a style perspective think of a someone along the lines of Titans boom second rower David Fifita as an intense aggressive well-rounded backrower with the ability to break the line by himself or as a result of running a good line, Juwan Compain then has enough speed to break into space prior to looking for his support players.

Like Fifita, Juwan Compain is also an extremely efficient and effective defender who will hit hard when the opportunity presents itself and looks to always dominate his opponents both mentally and physically in all aspects of the game.

Juwan Compain has a huge future ahead of him in the NRL and also from a representative level perspective and shapes as a corner stone of the Titans NRL forward pack for many years to come as well as for representative sides.

Juwan Compain is right up there with the very best rugby league players running around for his age in Australia as is evidenced by his 2019 performances for Tweed Heads in the MM Cup, Colts and Queensland Cup and selection and subsequent performances for the 2018 Australian School Boys Rugby League side that toured the UK in November and December 2018 and for PBC in their successful 2018 Queensland and National GIO Cup campaigns.

On the Australian School Boys 2018 tour Juwan Compain started both of the International matches against the England Academy in the second row as well as two of the other three tour matches also in the second row.

The thing that impresses me the most about Juwan Compain is his rapid and sustained improvement over the last couple of seasons, improvement that shows no sign of abating as Juwan Compain surges towards the NRL at an increasingly rapid rate and the fact that his probable NRL debut will be in Titans colours in 2022 will make it even more exciting for Titans supporters.

[mdrew]

Tristin Powell. The young backrower spent three seasons in the Brisbane Broncos Junior Development system but after a break out 2018 which saw him play a number of MM Cup matches for Norths as a 17 year old and also representing Queensland at the ASSRL U18 Championships Tristian Powell inked a two year deal with the Titans and spent the last off-season training with the Titans NRL squad on an NRL Development Contract that expired at the end of the 2021 season.

After spending the 2020/21 off-season training with the Titans NRL squad Tristian Powell’s first 2021 match came in mid-February when he started from the bench for the Titans in their first trial against the Burleigh Bears coming on for the second half at lock. Tristian Powell as in fact named to start at lock but moved to the bench to accommodate Herman Ese Ese coming into the Titans starting side late in the week.

Mid-way through the second half, Tristian Powell also scored his first try in a Titans jersey when he received the ball and charged ten metres towards the line but was brought down less than a metres away from the line.

Defensively Tristian Powell had some outstanding moments in the match including a try saving tackle in the 56th minute of the match when a last ditch tackle on Burleigh’s Shallin Fuller prevented a try after Tristian Powell had moved quickly to his left.

Tristian Powell was on hand once again in the 62nd minute to prevent another try when his heavy contact after moving to his right saved another try.

A week later Tristian Powell started from the bench for Burleigh in their Queensland Cup trial against the Easts Tigers. Tristian Powell then started at lock for Burleigh Second’s side in their final 2021 Queensland Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

During a Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts bye week, Tristian Powell moved to the Burleigh Gold Coast Rugby League side, starting at lock in Round Three against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks.

Tristian Powell maintained his place in the Burleigh First Grade side for their Round Four match against the Southport Tigers with Tristian Powell starting in the front row and scoring twice as the Bears routed Southport 88 – 0.

Tristian Powell scored in the 71st and 76th minutes with both tries in many respects similar in nature. In the 71st minute, Tristian Powell, after the ball had been thrown around by the Bears close to the try line, took it upon himself to charge at the line from five metres out, spinning counter clockwise after he had engaged the defensive line near the try line to get the ball down whilst being tackled by three defenders five metres from the right upright.

In the 76th minute, this time from eight metres out, Tristian Powell beat two defenders to once again get the ball down near the right upright.

Tristian Powell was impressive from the opening kick-off taking the ball from the kick-off into the Southport line with vigour and then in the 3rd minute, Tristian Powell made another strong charge from four metres out, only to be tackles centremetres short of the line.

Tristian Powell also started in the front row in Round Five against Runaway Bay once again scoring a double in Burleigh’s 26 – 18 victory. Tristian Powell’s match started with him taking a strong hit-off the kick off and only got better from there.

Tristian Powell scored his first try of the match in the 17th minute when he ran straight at the defence from five metres out, a crash line if you will, and after absorbing the initial contact got the ball down under the posts.

Tristian Powell scored his second try in the 69th minute that came once again from a hard straight run from close range, on that occasion from ten metres out. After engaging the defensive line, Tristian Powell spun clockwise to gain separation before getting the ball down three metres to the right of the uprights.

Tristian Powell also started at lock in Round Seven against the Currumbin Eagles before moving into the front row for Round Eleven against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks.

After the Covid 19 enforced lock down, Tristian Powell was named in the front row for Round Eleven against the Southport Tigers and also lined up in the front row in Round Twelve against Runaway Bay with Tristian Powell scoring in the 11th minute of the match when he was able to surge over under the posts from close range. After receiving the ball four metres out to the left of the dummy half, Tristian Powell twisted clockwise to get the ball over the line.

Tristian Powell then continued in the front row in Round Fourteen against the Currumbin Eagles.

In the 2021 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Grand Final Tristian Powell started from the bench for the Burleigh Bears in their victory over the Tugun Seahawks.

Tristian Powell into the game in the 24th minute, almost immediately taking a hit-up with the run which was to the right of the play the ball making fifteen metres to get the ball within fifteen metres of the line. Tristian Powell then backed up to take a second hit-up just a tackle later with Tristian Powell getting to withing three metres of the line before he was dragged to ground but three Seahawks defenders.

Tristian Powell then added another strong charge in the 49th minute making twelve metres to get the ball within forty metres of the try line after running onto the ball to the right of the dummy half. Then in the 60th minute Tristian Powell ticked off another fifteen metres once again from a hit-up to the right of the play the ball to get Burleigh within thirty metres of the try line.

Round One of the 2021 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition saw Tristian Powell start in the front row for the Burleigh Bears when they took on the Easts Tigers and he took the first hit-up of the match after the Tigers had kicked off.

Tristian Powell came close to scoring himself in the 8th minute he ran an underneath route making ten metres to get within two metres of the try line. With Burleigh scoring later in the same set of six tackles through Sam McIntyre. From the subsequent Easts kick-off, Tristian Powell took the first hit-up getting the ball back to near the twenty metre mark.

Tristian Powell made a further strong run from the kick-off after Lofi Khan-Pereira’s try getting the ball back to the eighteen metre mark. Then in the 60th minute took yet another hit-up, dummying to his right before making thirteen metres to get within twelve metres of the line.

Tristian Powell’s strength and endurance was only enhanced by the training that he did with the Titans NRL squad and his constant effort through Round One against Easts proved that. In addition to all that he had previously done in the match, Tristian Powell in the 66th minute continued to work hard with a twelve metre run after a Ronin Rio intercept.

Tristian Powell’s strength was not just displayed running with the ball but also in defence including in the 67th minute when after the Tigers right winger broke through the line and when he tried to step Tristian Powell he was monstered by the big front rower.

Tristian Powell also started in the front row in the Round Two local derby against the Tweed Heads Seagulls, getting involved in the first tackle of the match on Tweed Heads front rower Ben Liyou alongside team mates, Jayden Sharp and Blake Campbell.

In the 54th minute Tristian Powell was involved in one of the stranger tries that you will see. After Burleigh had kicked off after a Tweed Heads try, the ball hit the right goal post on the full bouncing back into the field. Tristian Powell had run downfield from the kick-off and was able to retrieve the ball on the bounce and get to within eleven metres of the line. Replacement hooker Vaka Sikahele ran from dummy half after Tristian Powell had played the ball to score.

In the set of six after the try Tristian Powell was able to make an additional ten metres down a short left blindside on the second tackle and then made a further fifteen metres from a hit-up on the 4th tackle of the same set.

Tristian Powell also started in the front row in Round Three against the Western Mustangs but moved back to start in the second row in Round Four against the Norths Devils.

Tristian Powell also started in the second row in Round Five against the Ipswich Jets and scored his first try of the season in the Bears big win.

After two weeks with the Burleigh GCRL First Grade side Tristian Powell started in the front row in Round Eight against the Redcliffe Dolphins in the Bears tough two point last minute loss.

With the Burleigh GCRL First Grade side having a bye, Tristian Powell started from the bench for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in their Round Fourteen match against the Northern Pride with Tristian Powell easily as good as any forward on the field.

Tristian Powell scored a deserved try in the 78th when he charged over from five metres out on the right side of the field, spinning counter clock to get the ball down ten metres in from the right corner post after receiving a good short pass from Cameron Brown.

Tristian Powell came onto the field to play at right second row with his first run in the 22nd minute accounting for twelve metres to get the ball out to his own forty metre mark. Tristian Powell made another strong run in the 34th minute from the kick-off to Isaac Matalavea-Booth’s try to get the ball to thirty metres away from his own line.

Tristian Powell started from the bench in the Titans first NRL trial of 2020 against Burleigh at Pizzey Park in an impressive senior rugby league debut. In total in the match Tristian Powell ran for 106 metres (thirty five post contact) and made fifteen tackles.

Tristian Powell started from the interchange bench for Burleigh in their final Queensland Cup trial against the Tweed Heads Seagulls.

Tristian Powell started Round One of the 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition for the Burleigh Bears in the second row against the Wynnum Manly Seagulls.

When the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League competition restarted in August, Tristian Powell was part of the Burleigh Bears side that was looking to repeat their 2019 Premiership success starting Round One of the GCRL First Grade competition against Southport from the interchange bench.

After an impressive performance off the bench in Round One, Tristian Powell was promoted to the starting line up at right second row in Round Two against the Currumbin Eagles and maintained his place as the starting right second rower for Round Three against the Ormeau Shearers.

In Round Four against the Tugun Seahawks Tristian Powell started at right second row again and scored in a 66 – 0 victory. Tristian Powell’s try was a result of an impressive hard straight run three passes of the ruck as Burleigh threw the ball to the right. Tristian Powell took the ball twenty metres out and ran straight between two defenders and gave the defensive line no chance.

Tristian Powell also started at right second row in Round Five against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks, in Round Seven against Runaway Bay and in Round Eight against Southport, a match that saw him score a second half when he charged onto the ball from a pass off the dummy half to crash over adjacent to the right uprights from three metres out.

Tristian Powell continued his run of second row starts in Round Nine of the GCRL First Grade competition against the Currumbin Eagles and was involved in Allan Lockwood’s first half try when he got the ball quickly to Allan Lockwood when he was in space.

In the final regular season round of the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition, being Round Ten, Tristian Powell started in the second row for the Bears against the Mudgeeraba Redbacks.

In Burleigh’s 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Semi-final Tristian Powell started at right second row against the Southport Tigers.

Tristian Powell also started at right second row for the Burleigh Bears against the Runaway Bay Seagulls in the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade Grand Final.

Tristian Powell was a member of the 2019 Queensland U18 Emerging Origin squad. Subsequently Tristian Powell was selected in the Queensland U18 side for their annual match against their New South Wales counter parts in a State or Origin curtain raiser starting in the front row.

Tristian Powell was immediately in the action in the match taking the second hit-up and winning a penalty for Queensland when he was held down too long as he fought to get a quick play the ball.

In the Interstate match, Tristian Powell played fifty five minutes of the match, running for 102.9 metres (32.3 post contact), had an offload and made a team leading twenty two tackles at a 88% tackling efficiency.

Tristian Powell played in five matches for Burleigh in the 2019 MM Cup competition starting all in the front row. Deservedly Tristian Powell was also named the 2019 Burleigh MM Cup Player of the Year.

In Round Four against Townsville, Tristian Powell was credited with a try assist when he popped a good short ball to his left for left second rower George Etuala-Noa to run into a yawning gap to score from around eight metres out.

Instead of playing Round Six in the 2019 MM Cup, Tristian Powell was promoted to the Burleigh U20 Hastings Deering’s Colts side starting in the second row against Wynnum Manly and celebrated his debut by scoring in the Bears big 50 – 20 victory.

Tristian Powell also had an outstanding game in Round Nine against Redcliffe playing right second row and was heavily involved in two of Burleigh’s tries. His first try involvement was when he off-loaded out the back of his hand to his right for Jayden Campbell to score and in relation to the second once again in a tackle Tristian Powell was able to get his arms free to offload to his right to Jayden Campbell who then drew the fullback for debutant Trey Peni to score his first Colts try.

Tristian Powell was also outstanding in Round Ten against the Northern Pride when he was at least the equal of any forward on the field, both in attack and defence.

Tristian Powell added a try assist in Round Twenty One against the Northern Powell when he produced a great right arm off-load to Shallin Fuller to score under the posts in the first half.

In Week Two of the Finals Tristian Powell scored an outstanding try in Burleigh’s 42 – 12 win against Norths after starting the match in the front row. Tristian Powell burst onto a pass on the right side of the field about twenty five metres out, running a slight inside shoulder route before rounding the fullback to scored adjacent to the right upright.

Tristian Powell’s 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts season came to an end when he started in the front row for Burleigh as they went down 23 – 16 to Sunshine Coast in the Preliminary Final

In total in the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts competition, Tristian Powell played in seventeen matches scoring two tries.

As noted above Tristian Powell came into the Burleigh Colts side in Round Six in the second row and went on to start in seven matches in the second row, one at lock being Round Eleven against Central Queensland, Round Sixteen from the interchange against Souths Logan and the remaining eight in the front row including Burleigh’s three 2019 finals. Tristian Powell’s first start in the front row came in Round Seventeen in the local derby against Tweed Heads.

In the 2019 Hastings Deering’s Colts Player of the Year Award tally Tristian Powell finished with three votes.

Tristian Powell was also part of the Titans U18 side that played North Queensland in the Titans v Warriors curtain raiser in June.

During the Round Nineteen Hastings Deering’s Colts bye week, Tristian Powell turned out for Burleigh in the GCRL U20 competition, starting from the bench and scoring in a Bears 40 – 14 win over Runaway Bay.

To cap off an outstanding 2019 season Tristian Powell, in late December was named in the 2020 Queensland U20 Emerging Origin Squad.

In the MM Cup competition in 2018 Tristian Powell played in six matches for the Norths Devils including their semi-final victory against the Mackay Cutters and North’s Grand Final loss to Souths Logan.

Tristian Powell started the opening two rounds of the season in the front row and Round Three against Souths Logan from the interchange bench before missing a number of matches, coming back into the side from the bench for Round Seven and the subsequent finals series.

In his six matches Tristian Powell had a try scoring strike rate of 50% with his tries coming in Round Two against Central Queensland, Round Three against Souths Logan and Round Seven against Townsville.

Over the course of the 2018 season Tristian Powell represented Met North at the U18 ASSRL Championships starting all of their matches in the front row and from there represented Queensland at the ASSRL U18 Championships.

Tristian Powell is another product of the GPS school boy rugby system playing the 2017 and 2018 seasons for the Nudgee College First XV side, spending a lot of time at outside centre in the blue and white hoops of Nudgee College.

In 2017, his first at Nudgee after moving down from Toowoomba, Tristian Powell represented Brisbane Grey in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition, scoring in Round Three of the competition against Brisbane Blue and also was selected in the Queensland U16 side, starting the annual interstate match against New South Wales in the second row along fellow St Mary’s student hooker Jake Simpkin.

In 2016 Tristian Powell represented Darling Downs at the U15 QSSRL Championships, starting at lock. In those Championships he scored on Day Four against Sunshine Coast and on Day One was named the Darling Downs Player of the Match against South Coast.

In 2016 Tristian Powell captained the St Mary’s College U15A side that won the Devere Cup beating Mountain Creek High School 42 – 10 in the final at Bishop with Tristian Powell scoring a strong second half try for the Toowoomba based school.

The first thing that you will notice when you see Tristian Powell on a football field is his size, speed and athleticism that he exhibits every time that he is around the ball. Running with the ball he is effective running wide of the ruck where he can utilise his speed and power more effectively by targeting individual defenders rather than running at a set defensive line where defenders will be converging from multiple axis simultaneously.

Tristian Powell also has the speed to finish off movements himself when he gets into space. Tristian Powell’s best timed speed during a match was 32km per hour in the Grand Final of the 2020 Gold Coast Rugby League First Grade competition for the Burleigh Bears against the Runaway Bay Seagulls.

I am not saying that he is not effective running in the centre of the ruck but his effectiveness multiples exponentially running on the fringes of the ruck and another positive is that he is effective running both on the left or right of the field.

In addition to his speed, which I would suggest is above average to plus for a second rower Tristian Powell has a powerful fend and thus he can keep defenders from getting into his body enabling him to maintain his balance and running line and thus he has a stable base from which to look to offload.

Defensively Tristian Powell’s athleticism also shows out, his strength enables him to handle the biggest of forwards on a one on one basis and his athleticism particularly in relation to his lateral movements enables him to deal with smaller quick stepping halves how look to try to exploit and perceived speed advantage.

When the opportunity presents Tristian Powell has the ability to hit very hard, by setting a good base and driving through his lower body and core into his opponent.

Ultimately though Tristian Powell is a strong defender with a good front on technique and good lateral movement to track and defend against smaller opponents either on the fringes or centre of the ruck.

If Tristian Powell does not get another opportunity with another NRL club in 2022 he will be one of the best players in the Queensland Cup competition whether that is with the Tweed Heads Seagulls, Burleigh Bears or another lucky club. Tristian Powell is still only young and I have no doubt that with his considerable talent and physical attributes, he will definitely get another NRL opportunity sooner rather than later.

I appreciate that Tristian Powell has spent a lot of time in the front row in recent seasons but
with his speed, footwork and athleticism I would prefer, for the short to medium term at least to see Tristian Powell play in the second row where he can operate on the fringes of the ruck.

At 184cm and 100kg, Tristian Powell has the requisite size and speed combination to be an asset on the fringes of the ruck more so than playing in the front row where he would be confined more towards the middle of the field.

When Tristian Powell started for the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side in the second row this season you could see the damage that he was able to do on the fringes of the ruck, a circumstance that helped me confirm my opinion.

A current NRL player with a similar playing style to Tristian Powell for me is recently retired former Titan and Parramatta Eel Keegan Hiprgave. Both are very hard running very quick players on the fringes of the ruck who also can really cut players in half defensively all while playing big minutes in a match.