Storm apparently will field a second string side on Saturday
Storm apparently will field a second string side on Saturday
Looking forward to seeing Brian Kelly play this weekend he is similliar to David Mead from a style perspective. A real talent.
no not the full line-up, but apparently it is going to be near full strength, hopefully for me it is, looking forward to seeing all four Titans games
Titans NYC coach Q&A
Pat McLeod
Thu 20th February, 04:03PM
The Gold Coast Titans Under 20s Holden Cup squad is this season under the direction of Ben Woolf. The 33-year-old former Burleigh Bears player cut his coaching teeth at the highly successful Gold Coast rugby league nursery – Keebra Park State High School. Here he outlines the preparation and expectation of the Titans National Youth Competition (NYC) team in 2014.
Q: How has the pre-season been for the Titans NYC squad?
A: We have played two trials – against Tweed Seagulls and then the Broncos NYC. We play Melbourne this weekend when we will cut the squad down to 20 players. Hopefully we will get Jahrome Hughes back on the field for this game. We will be a bit closer to what we will put out in round one. The first trial was good. We used a lot of our fringe players and they played really well, showing the depth in the squad. In the second trial we started quite slowly, showing the inexperience in the squad. The Broncos blew us off the park. But we responded well in the second half and ended up losing that one 22-14.
Q: What are you hoping for this weekend against the Storm?
A: I am after generally an improved performance. We need to improve around the ruck and in a couple of key areas where we have been practicing. We need a bit more of a composed effort from the boys and overall and a better performance leading into round one.
Q: As far as finals appearances go, the NYC has not been a happy hunting ground for the Titans. How do you hope to change that this year?
A: We are just hoping to build consistency in the way we play. Better efforts defensively and learning how to compete for longer lengths of time. We have been trying to emulate that through training. Hopefully if we have some success there we will be able to compete for the full 80 minutes.
Q: For yourself personally, how have you found the change and the learning curve from schoolboy football to NRL Under 20s?
A: It has been really good. The boys’ attitudes have been great. Their attitude and effort in training has been fantastic. The biggest challenge for me has been not only working with a big squad, but also trying to get the best out of the boys and teaching them to play football for those longer periods of time. Obviously being a lot longer season than a schoolboy comp, playing longer halves there is going to be a lot more injuries and consistency is going to be a lot more crucial.
Q: Keeping younger players switched on for 80 minutes is a big hurdle?
A: Yes, most have not had any experience playing 80-minute football so it is difficult. And often by the time they get that experience they are ready to move up into senior football, so it is hard to keep those experienced heads on the field.
Q: It is early days, but do you see future NRL players in your squad?
A: Yes definitely. There are a couple of guys that are going very well. We have already lost a couple to injury. But yes, I believe there a number that could push through and play NRL.
Q: Are there many locals in this squad?
A: Yes. There are a lot from the Gold Coast region as well as Ipswich and the Brisbane area. Most are from the South East Queensland area.
http://www.titans.com.au/news/2014/0...coach_q_a.html
Eight Storm NYC eligible players have been named in eth Storm side to play in a trial against Easts Tigers on the weekend, so the storm will have a weaken side for the trial tomorrow
Storm 34 titans 10 with five to go when I left
We really did struggle in the game, Hayden Schwass did well in the second row, Jayden Connors did some good things at fullback in the 1st half, Caleb Moreahu made an impact when he came on. The brightest light in the game for me was Deacon Fletcher, playing at hooker. Jahrome Hughes limped off early in the second half with a groin injury, the physio seemed to think that it was not too bad, hopefully he will be fit for round one. Plenty of walking wounded boys there who did not play
I too watched the game before heading north for the weekend,I thought our Big forwards were the best for us.The backs on the other hand need alot of work IMO!!lot of drop ball that led to length of the field tries plus intercept tries.Im not sure how many players are injured but that cant have been close too full strength with the likes of Coleman,Palau,Fifita,Kelly,Hazard and co on the sidelines.I hope there combinations get better because they will need to be if they are going to compete this year.
Photo album of the first u20s trial vs tweed available here:
http://www.smpimages.com/gallery.php...id=3280&page=1
The Titans Holden Cup side to play the Tigers is:
1 – Jahrome Hughes
2 - Brian Kelly
3 - Jaiden Hawkes
4 – Soape Palau
5 - Connor Broadhurst
6 - Kane Elgey (capt)
7 – Daniel Schwasss
8 - Oshea Tuiasau
9 - Deacon Fletcher
10 - Ethan Price
11 - Caleb Morehu
12 – Jackson Clarke
13 - Parahi Wilson
INTERCHANGE
15 - Perry Ioane
16 - Jackson Briskey-Luscombe
17 - Anthony Colman
18 – Hayden Schwass
19 – Jayden Conners
20 – Sam Harold
21 – Jenan Wedderburn-Parish
(NOTE: No. 14 jersey not allocated)
Wests Tigers NYC R1 Team
1. Sione Alofi
2. Delouise Hoeter
3. Marion Seve
4. Nathan Milone (c)
5. John Ogden
6. Te Maire Martin
7. Eli Levido
8. Dallas Graham
9. Manaia Cherrington
10. Lokeni Gavet
11. Salesi Funaki
12. Lamar Liolevave
13. Matthew Woods
Interchange
14. Leki Taumalolo
15. Andrew Kazzi
16. Jake Dooner
18. Tyler Cassell
19. Dwayne Lemafa
22. Tom Satterthwaite
The inclusion of Daniel Schwass will make a huge difference as Hazard should never have played last week only lasted 10 minutes before succumbing to his ankle injury & then Jahrome Hughes had to play 7 which is not his place, watch for Danial's brother Hayden to come off the bench & into the forwards he is jumping at the bit to get in the middle & the bloke can tackle..
Looking forward to a hot Sunday arvo of Footy just very happy to be sitting in the Western Stand
#itaintweaktospeak
FYI: Jahrome Hughes did not play v sharks, Jayden Connor was fullback & Hazard came off in 2nd half & Connor went to half & Hawke to fullback & Coleman to left Ctr. 1st half was 40-0 & both edges were brittle in defence against good attacking team, 2nd half much better from Titans & ended up 22-10.
#itaintweaktospeak