My take on our top juniors

[RenegadeGC]

Will Evans and Nelson Grove having big games in the 14 Prem Major Semi for Burleigh

[mdrew]

Will have to revise the top five on the list with Stanley Jackson being left off, the young front rower is a very talented young player. Dre Siaosi Brown also should also be on the list.

[TITAN PETE]

Later today we have Burleigh v Mudgeeraba u17's playing off for a Grand Final birth , this will be a top class game with the Redbacks chasing their 5th premiership in a row & if they qualify they will have appeared in all 6 GF's since the finals were introduced & I'm told will become the most successful Gold Coast Junior Rugby League side in History.

The teams will have some quality players on the park that are already contracted to the Titans & Broncos with the likes of Brent Wolf,Duncan Harding, Steve Dressler, Jack Peacock,Apiata & co playing in what will be a very physical match, unlucky for Mudgy & Lucky for Burleigh is the fact that Ethan Paikea is out injured.

[DavidBouveng]

where is it at and what time? would be cool to come and watch

[shamus]

MAJOR SEMI'S THIS WEEKEND AT PARKWOOD!!

Sat U17 Div 1 against Burleigh at 6.15pm ; (From Mudgee Redbacks site)

[DavidBouveng]

cheers mate

[TITAN PETE]

Burleigh beat the Redbacks to advance to the GF 20-14 after 2 disallowed tries to Mudgeeraba , controversial but you have to expect that with the quality of officials running the games.

[palmbeachpariah]

will goes decent ..nelson sadly will be too small over the next 24 mths and still tackles with only one shoulder and too low

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dressler and peacock didnt play broken hand for one flu for the other

[TITAN PETE]

will goes decent ..nelson sadly will be too small over the next 24 mths and still tackles with only one shoulder and too low

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dressler and peacock didnt play broken hand for one flu for the other

Who is Will, Peacock has glandular fever & Nelsons speed around the ruck area is probably the fastest in the comp, size wise he's pretty close to Woolf

On Dressler he's off to Sydney this week to speak with a few clubs who have shown interest in him so he may be another young front rower leaving...

[mdrew]

The Titans originally signed Steve Dressler as a 12 year old from Yamba, so it would be certainly disappointing to lose such a talented and dedicated young player who has battled through a lot of injuries. I believe that the Titans have offered him a contract, hopefully we can keep him at the club, assuming that he wants to stay of course.

[RenegadeGC]

Who is Will, Peacock has glandular fever & Nelsons speed around the ruck area is probably the fastest in the comp, size wise he's pretty close to Woolf

On Dressler he's off to Sydney this week to speak with a few clubs who have shown interest in him so he may be another young front rower leaving...

TP, i think he was talking about Will Evans.

Shame that Dressler is leaving but who could blame him after the fiasco contract dramas. He has been in good form for both PBC and Burleigh all considering coming back from a knee operation as well.

Couple of big clashes this weekend in 15s, 16's and 17's -
15s - R Bay vs Burleigh (winner to play Ormeau in GF)
16s - Nerang vs Southport (winner to play R Bay in GF)
17s - Nerang vs Mudgeeraba (winner to play Burleigh in GF)

lol my bold predictions -
15s' Bay to beat Burleigh off the back of Tanah Boyd (and also to beat Ormeau in the final)
16's Nerang to beat Southport (should have too much strike power with Kees Nicholson, Arron Shelford, Jaxson Paulo and Iggy Sefo) although if Brocky Hamil gets some support this could be a close one. If Nerang makes it through to GF they may be able to upset Bay (tough ask when you see the Bay side on paper, lol its basically a combination of this years CC sides)
17s Nerang for upset in this one, unless Sam Clark and Ethan Paikea back. Burleigh to take out the GF.

[mdrew]

Ok, may as well start my run down, obviously my ratings and comments are arbitery but hey I am trying my best Lol. I would suggest that any list will change substantially as young players come to the Titans or move for other opportunities, juniors are the life blood of any team, and the Titans are no different.

50. Lui Lockington. He is a tall rangy winger hailing from the Cairns area. Unfortunately he was injured for most of this year, after having a breakout year for Northern Pride at the CC level in 2014. He has previously represented Qld Murri at the U16 level. Due to the injuries that he suffered he was only able to play one or two MM games this year, where he started on the wing for Northern Pride. He has already played in a Titans jersey on a couple of occasions, representing the Titans in two games late last year, one against Samoa at the U16 level, won by the Titans 44-0 and also at the U17 level against a Canberra Raiders development squad, which the Titans also won.

He is very quick down the sidelines with a good in and away to beat defenders on the outside and will not get caught from behind if he gets into open space. In addition to his speed he seems to have the ability to “freeze” his direct opponent with his ability to step off both feet before accelerating around them usually on the touchline side. Like most of the modern day wingers he also has the ability to find the try line in some unlikely situations where it appears that there is no way he could possibly get the ball down without going into touch.

In terms of chasing attacking kicks he has a very good leap and uses his forward momentum well to get above defenders, where the majority of the time he looks to catch the ball rather than hit it back to his team’s advantage, in my opinion that is not a bad thing. He also has very good hands low to the ground on grubber kicks or when defenders drop bombs and uses his reach to get to the ball quickly before defenders. He will also chase general play kicks with vigour trying to improve the effectiveness of his teams kicking game.

In defence, he is not the strongest winger, but will certainly look to come out of the line to stop the attack quickly. Like all younger players he just needs experience to ensure that he picks the right time to come out of the line. He will show his opposite winger the sideline and is confident that his speed will enable him to get across to make the tackle. He will occasionally stand quite shallow in defence and rely on his speed to get back and retrieve opposition kicks. In terms of defending kicks he will certainly go up to try to make the catch, but his standing leap is not huge compared to his leap when he has forward momentum. As he fills out he will become more effective defensively, not that there is too much wrong at present.

Unfortunately injuries curtailed his season, but barring something unforseen, he should be back fit and healthy for the 2016 season where he should be a key contributor for Northern Pride in the MM Cup competition. Whilst he could likely also play centre or fullback, his skill set to me suggests that his long term future is definitely on the wing. From a style perspective, think of someone like Anthony Topu from the Roosters as a tall rangy speedy winger who will be a factor in his teams attacking game both in terms of running the ball and being a target in the attacking kicking side of the equation.

[palmbeachpariah]

Steve had dropped a ton of weight ( not literally ) :0..and he has got rid of a lot of his pot plantness..not getting sinbinned for being 3rd man in etc..i believe he was considering repeating yr 12 next yr

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will evans ..i have a vested interest in the 15s gf and believe ormeau will continue their dominance against bay where their physical game upsets tanners play :0

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you have very good sources

[TITAN PETE]

TP, i think he was talking about Will Evans.

Shame that Dressler is leaving but who could blame him after the fiasco contract dramas. He has been in good form for both PBC and Burleigh all considering coming back from a knee operation as well.

Couple of big clashes this weekend in 15s, 16's and 17's -
15s - R Bay vs Burleigh (winner to play Ormeau in GF)
16s - Nerang vs Southport (winner to play R Bay in GF)
17s - Nerang vs Mudgeeraba (winner to play Burleigh in GF)

lol my bold predictions -
15s' Bay to beat Burleigh off the back of Tanah Boyd (and also to beat Ormeau in the final)
16's Nerang to beat Southport (should have too much strike power with Kees Nicholson, Arron Shelford, Jaxson Paulo and Iggy Sefo) although if Brocky Hamil gets some support this could be a close one. If Nerang makes it through to GF they may be able to upset Bay (tough ask when you see the Bay side on paper, lol its basically a combination of this years CC sides)
17s Nerang for upset in this one, unless Sam Clark and Ethan Paikea back. Burleigh to take out the GF.

Sam is a definate starter would've played last Saturday if it was do or die & every Nerang game in this age group usually has a sin bin or 2 so I'm hoping for a decent referee that isn't a Nerang local but class will shine through in the end

[TITAN PETE]

The Titans originally signed Steve Dressler as a 12 year old from Yamba, so it would be certainly disappointing to lose such a talented and dedicated young player who has battled through a lot of injuries. I believe that the Titans have offered him a contract, hopefully we can keep him at the club, assuming that he wants to stay of course.

Fairly sure he has lost his titans contract after breaking his hand while playing for Palm beach against Keebra & then playing the following match against Kirwan when told not to play.

The Titans are very strict with their juniors & playing with injuries, no excuses accepted.