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  1. #331
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    Lizaya Iti. (Revised) The tough hard as nails forward displays a hard-nosed old fashioned approach to rugby league, rarely seen in the game anymore.

    Lizaya Iti played the 2019 season with Souths Sydney in the NSW Rugby League U20 jersey Flegg competition. In that competition Lizaya Iti played in eight matches after coming in the Rabbitohs side in Round Nineteen against St George when he started from the bench. Lizaya Iti made his first Jersey Flegg start in Round Twenty Four against the Roosters starting in the front row. In total Lizaya Iti started four matches in the front row including Souths Sydney’s two finals against Penrith and Canberra and his remaining four matches from the bench.

    In his eight matches Lizaya Iti was on the field for 168 metres, made 315 metres (104 post contact), broke twelve tackles and made eighty one tackles at an 84% tackling efficiency. Lizaya Iti’s 2019 Jersey Flegg per game averages included playing twenty one minutes, running for 39.5 metres and making 10.13 tackles.

    In Round Twenty Six against the Cronulla Sharks Lizaya Iti ran for eighty metres, broke four tackles and in the first week of the Finals against Penrith Lizaya Iti made fifteen tackles.

    Lizaya Iti played a number of matches for the Titans junior development squads when they played annual matches against the Redlands Junior Rugby League Club a number of years ago.

    Lizaya Iti started his young rugby league in the Black and Red of the historic Wests Panthers club in Brisbane. Lizaya Iti also has representative experience with various South East Queensland representative sides over the last couple of seasons and is a former Coombabah State High School student.

    At the start of 2018, Lizaya Iti commenced attending Ipswich State High School and represented the Met West region in the U18 QSSRL Championships and was subsequently selected in the QSSRL U18 side to contest the ASSRL U18 Championships later in the year.

    Lizaya Iti started the 2018 season off in the MM Cup Competition with the South’s Logan Magpies and also recently has progressed to the South’s Logan U20 Colts side.

    In the MM Cup competition in 2018 for South’s Logan Lizaya Iti was only able to play in three matches, but in a show of the high regard that he is held in, two of those matches were finals matches.

    Lizaya Iti came into the South’s Logan side in Round Five from the interchange bench against Wynnum Manly and also started from the bench in the Grand Final victory over Norths. Lizaya Iti’s sole start came in Souths Logan’s opening finals appearance against Tweed Heads when he started in the second row.

    Post the MM Cup competition, Lizaya Iti played for Waterford in the 2018 GBJRL U18 Nev Blair Cup competition.

    For the South’s Logan U20 Colts side in 2018, Lizaya Iti came into the side in Round Fourteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons starting at lock and celebrated by scoring a first half try.

    Lizaya Iti was also involved in the MM Cup competition in 2017 again playing for Souths Logan including starting in the second row in their tough 40 – 30 MM Cup Grand Final loss to the Western Mustangs.

    During the 2016 season, Lizaya Iti was part of the South’s Logan U16 CC side that were defeated in the Queensland final by the Townsville Stingers in a match that they led for large parts before being run down by the Townsville based side.

    Over the course of the 2016 CC season, Lizaya Iti started in the second row in all of the matches that he played in, only missing Round Three and the Semi-final victory over the North’s Devils, but he was back to start in the second row in the Grand Final. Over the course of the CC season, Lizaya Iti scored four tries, including a double in a big win over the Easts Tigers and he also scored against the Gold Coast sides, being GC Green and GC White.

    Lizaya Iti is a solidly built forward with a low centre of gravity making him a difficult proposition to tackle for opposing defences. He may not look it but Lizaya Iti is actually quite quick especially off the mark and will surprise a defence line in terms of how fast he gets to them and thus he is in a position to bump off the initial defender who on occasion has been unable to set up for the tackle properly.

    Lizaya Iti does not have a lot of footwork prior to the line preferring to aim to get to his terminal velocity prior to contact and will drop his shoulder into the defenders as well. To say that he continues to fight in the tackle once contact has been established is an understatement. Lizaya Iti seems to take every confrontation personally and is intent on winning every individual battle.

    Where Lizaya Iti’s greatest impact on a game is going to be is his defence. His has a great tackling technique and a hard hitting aggressive style to go with it. I think that in every game that I have seen him play, including representative games Lizaya Iti has made a huge impact defensively.

    It is not a reckless style where Lizaya Iti runs in trying to pull off the biggest hit possible, it is a cold, calculating style where he uses a great technique to hit opposing forwards just under the rib cage to devastating effect.

    Lizaya Iti sets a strong lower base by setting his legs and generating force by driving through the tackle with his lower body, gaining leverage and momentum, culminating with the power projecting through his shoulders into his opponent.

    When the opportunity presents itself such as when an opponent starts to run slightly across field, Lizaya Iti will clinically and effectively make the opposition player pay for his angled run. When he drives a much larger opponent backwards, you can see the impact of the tackle immediately, his team are galvanised and generate additional confidence, conversely you can see the opposition forward’s head drop, and on a few occasions followed by the ball.

    As games progress you can actually see opposition forwards who are running the ball, look for where Lizaya Iti is in the defensive line. As a result he has the ability to seal off one side of the ruck, enabling his team’s defensive strategy to be adjusted accordingly. He will also ensure that the tackle is finished off.

    Lizaya Iti will play the 2019 season at the U20 level, his last year of Colts eligibility.

    From a position perspective, Lizaya Iti is an ideal rugby league second rower at 185cm and 96kg with some sneaky pace, strength, power and a bit of mongrel in his game. I personally believe that every team needs at least one intimidating presence in their forward pack and Lizaya Iti is the player that can successfully fill that role in a team.

    Earlier in his junior career Lizaya Iti did give away a few penalties for being overly aggressive but certainly over the last couple of seasons his discipline has improved immensely and consequently so has his positive impact on matches.

    From a player comparison, I am going back quite a way to an era where players got away with a lot more ‘physical’ play, but for me with his solid build and hard running, hard tackling style, Lizaya Iti plays similar to former Many Sea Eagle, New South Wales and Australian test second rower Les Boyd as an intimidating presence on a football field who lets the opposition know when he is on a field through sheer physical aggression.

    Identifying a current NRL player with a similar playing style for Lizaya Iti is a tough one, but for comparison purposes think of a cross between current Titan Keegan Hipgrave and former Titan Greg Bird, Yes I am absolutely serious.

    I love watching this young man play he certainly leaves it all on the field. Lizaya Iti is just a tough tough young man who sometimes is unfairly targeted due to his aggressive playing style.

    I do have to provide a caveat however, yes he is an intimidating presence on the field but Lizaya Iti also has the skill set of an outstanding rugby league second rower as well.

  2. #332
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    Damon Somerville. The former Titans Development Squad member is off contract with the Brisbane Broncos at the end of the 2020 season and it would be great to see him back with the Titans sooner rather than later. In late 2019 Damon Somerville was named in the 2020 U18 Queensland Emerging Origin Squad highlighting his ability.

    Damon Somerville started the 2019 season with Burleigh in the MM Cup competition, playing in all six of their matches, spending time at both centre and second row. Damon Somerville started in the centres in Rounds One and Five against Norths and Souths Logan respectively, starting in the second row in his remaining four fixtures.

    Damon Somerville ended the 2019 MM Cup campaign with two tries with those tries coming in Round Two against Ipswich and Round Four against the Townsville Blackhawks.

    Damon Somerville also was part of the South Coast U18 QSSRL side but unfortunately was injured in the QSSRL U18 Championships.

    Damon Somerville was also part of the Burleigh U18 Division One side this season but only played a limited number of matches as a result of the arm injury suffered playing for South Coast.

    Damon Somerville started in the centres in his first U18 Division One match of the 2019 season in Round Ten and scoring against Currumbin. Damon Somerville moved to fullback for Round Eleven against Runaway Bay, scoring as well in that match and made it three from three when he scored in Round Twelves whilst playing in the centres against Helensvale.

    Damon Somerville moved to the second row for Round Thirteen against Bilambil but that did not scoring his scoring run scoring for the 4th match in a row.

    In Week Two of the U18 Division One Finals series Damon Somerville started in the centres for Burleigh in their victory 34 – 8 against Southport to progress directly to the Grand Final contributing a try to the dominating victory.

    Damon Somerville was outstanding from the right second row position in the Grand Final for Burleigh scoring an outstanding solo try that showcased power running and a strong fend as he beat at least four Southport defenders to score. Burleigh went on to win the Grand Final 28 – 12.

    With his finals tries and those in his three U18 Division One regular season rounds, Damon Somerville scored a try in each of his six 2019 matches.

    The 2018 Queensland U16 Emerging Origin Squad member was part of the PBC Rugby League Excellence Program and has been a Burleigh Heads Junior his entire career. Damon Somerville’s younger brother Kaden is contracted to the Titans.

    Damon Somerville was an ever present for the PBC side in 2018 playing a key role for the PBC Open side that won the National GIO Cup competition. Damon Somerville primarily came off the bench for PBC playing left second row when he came on.

    Damon Somerville in 2018 played four matches in the GCRL U16 Division One competition for Burleigh and certainly made an impact on his way to scoring five tries, including a hat trick against Mudgeeraba and tries against Nerang and Currumbin.

    Damon Somerville also played one match at the U17 Division One level which was against Mudgeeraba in May 2018. In that match Damon Somerville was one of the Burleigh try scorers.

    Damon Somerville first wore a Titans jersey in 2014 when he started at five eight for the Titans U13 Development Squad in a match against a Toowoomba U14 selection and that morning at Pizzey park he cut Toowoomba apart including scoring a try under the posts with a great show and go splitting the Toowoomba defence from about 40 metres out.

    Earlier this season Damon Somerville was part of the Gold Coast Vikings side that played in the South East Queensland U16 pre-season competition. In 2017 Damon Somerville was part of the South Coast U15 side that competed in the U15 QSSRL competition, playing four matches in the centres and from there was selected in the U15 Queensland Maroon side for the U15 ASSRL Championships.

    For Queensland Maroon, Damon Somerville played in four matches and scored against Queensland White and ACT.

    In 2014 Damon Somerville was part of the Queensland Rugby League U12 side. A team mate in that side was Titans contracted and fellow PBC student Ediq Ambrosyev. Damon Somerville has also represented Gold Coast Viking at the U13 and U14 levels to round out an extensive representative resume.

    For a centre, Damon Somerville is a big strong young man who does not rely just on his size and speed and using his natural running balance to either engage the opposing defenders and off load, run either an inside or outside shoulder route or an in and away to slow the forward momentum of the defender and accelerate on the outside.

    For a player of his size, Damon Somerville also has a very good passing game especially to his right side. When the ball is passed out to the back line, Damon Somerville is very good at straitening up the attacking vector of his team and pass to his outside supports if they have room to move further out wide.

    From a speed perspective Damon Somerville has above average speed for both his size and position and when he breaks into open space, he will not be caught from behind other than from only the fastest of opponents and he is also very good at positioning his support players when he gets to the fullback.

    The only possible question about Damon Somerville’s speed is whether it will stay at or near the above average to plus category as he matures and inevitably continues to fill out.

    Defensively Damon Somerville uses his size to good effect, he drives with his shoulder into his opponent and has very good timing in terms of when to come out of the line and certainly has the speed to readjust and chase if his timing is slightly off and his opposing centre gets on his outside.

    For me when I saw him play for either PBC or Burleigh Damon Somerville was the defensive leader of the three quarter line and other defenders keyed off him in terms of whether to use an up and in methodology and slide to the outside.

    Damon Somerville on an individual level has the body control to redirect quickly and mirror the movement of the opposing attackers and anticipate what vector the attack comes from and innately understands when to allow the attacking play to develop in from of him and when to come out of the line to disrupt the attacking play prior to its formation.

    Damon Somerville will start the 2020 season as part of the Burleigh MM Cup squad and postthat competition will line up for Burleigh U18 Division One side and may well also get an opportunity in the Burleigh Hastings Deering’s Colts side as the 2020 season progresses.

    Damon Somerville has played primarily in the centres and five eight throughout his junior rugby league career but has spent a lot of time in the second row in the last season or two, especially for PBC and the Burleigh MM Cup squad.

    For me though it is far too early to write Damon Somerville off in terms of not being able to stay in the centres long term.

    A player with a similar playing style for me for Damon Somerville would be Cronulla Sharks centre Ricky Leutele, they are both around the same size and look to use their size and speed to their advantage to dominate the opponent directly in front of them.

  3. #333
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    Stocky but powerfully built 18 year old New Zealand front rower Memphis Hennessy is a 182cm, 113kg wrecking ball and is a player of immense potential only just coming into his own who I am sure will be on NRL teams radar sooner rather than later.

    Already in 2020 Memphis Hennessy has taken part in the New Zealand U18 Talent Development Program which was held in January.

    In 2019 in addition to playing for the Manukura club in New Zealand’s Central Zone, Memphis Hennessy started all five if the Mid-Central Vipers U17 side’s matches at the 2019 U17 National Youth Championships in the front row. Included in those matches were two matches against the Akarana Falcons and matches against the Auckland Vulcans, the Wai-Coa Bay Colts and the South Island Scorpions.

    Also in 2019 Memphis Hennessy represented the senior Raukawa Ki Runga Maori side as well as the Manawatu Mustangs U17 representative side.

    In 2018 Memphis Hennessy also played for the Manawatu Mustangs U17 representative side as well as the Manakura U17’s side and the Taranaki Whanui MRL U17’s.

    In 2017 he represented the Mid-Central Vipers U15’s at the 2017 U15 National Youth Championships, the Manawatu Mustangs U15 representative side and the Palmerston North Boys 7’s side.

  4. #334
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    Tepa Arokapiti. The big strong young second rower from the Logan Brothers Junior Rugby League Club is currently part of the Souths Logan Magpies Hastings Deering’s Colts squad and has started in the second row in both of their trials against Easts 9Trial One) and Ipswich (Trial Two).

    In 2019 Tepa Arokapiti was Marsden State High Schools vice-captain and was part of their great run all of the way to the Queensland GIO Cup Final loss to Kirwan State High School.

    In 2019 Tepa Arokapiti played in four matches off the bench for the Souths Logan MM Cup side with his first match being in Round One against the Central Queensland Capra’s.

    In 2017 Tepa Arokapiti represented Brisbane Stingers Blue in the U16 pre-season competition. 2017 was not Tepa Arokapiti’s first taste of representative rugby league after representing the Brisbane at the U13 level in 2014.

    The young Cook Islands representative at the U14 level in 2015 was also part of the U15 Marsden State High School side that in October 2016 took part in the Queensland All Schools Rugby Sevens tournament held at Ballymore. Marsden went through the competition undefeated beating two GPS rugby schools ,including TSS on Day One 31 – 10 and in the final Brisbane State High School 34 – 17 in an outstanding display by the rugby league orientated school which must have sent shivers through the Queensland Rugby establishment.

    Other schools that Marsden defeated on the way to winning the Sevens Rugby tournament included Marymount College 46 – 12, Immanuel Lutheran College 60 – 0, North Lakes A 50 – 10 and Ormiston College from the TSS Schools competition 37 – 7. Not bad at all considering the tournament rules mandated seven minute halves.

    As noted Tepa Arokapiti is a big strong second rower who is a powerful runner of the football, who knows only one way and that is straight ahead and has shown flashes of the ability to offload once he has impacted the defensive line or has crashed through it. For a big forward he does actually have quite decent speed and footwork, certainly well above average for a player of his size.

    This good footwork enables Tepa Arokapiti to step prior to the line, usually back towards the centre of the ruck targeting the area behind the play the ball, creating little half breaks which enhances his ability to off-load the ball both whilst in contact with the defensive line and just prior to it.

    Tepa Arokapiti ‘s core body strength also enables him to make significant ground after contact dragging defenders with him.

    Tepa Arokapiti makes a lot of his metres after his initial contact with the defensive line through continuing to pump his legs until the defence brought him to the ground. This was not an isolated incident as during the 2016 season with Logan Brothers at the U15 GBJRL Premier Division level it was a regular occurrence. Tepa Arokapiti is also adept at getting quick play the balls to maintain his side’s momentum.

    Tepa Arokapiti’s calling card from a defensive perspective is his strength and power to effectively engage the opposing forward early in their run and use his natural strength to win the forward battle in the centre of the ruck.

    Tepa Arokapiti can defensively handle any one on one battle that presents itself. At times in games he really does prevent opposing gaining any ground at all through the centre of the ruck. It is now a matter of extending the duration of his ruck dominance to entire halves and then to entire games, Tepa Arokapiti certainly has it the ability within.

    Tepa Arokapiti will line up for the Souths Logan Magpies Hastings Deering’s Colts side in 2020 and is also Colts eligible in 2021.

    Tepa Arokapiti has not even scratched the surface of the potential that he has which is a scary thought for opposing teams over the coming years.

    At this stage he is still a little raw but with continued representative experience and playing with such a great club as Souths Logan his game will surely continue to develop and Tepa Arokapiti will become an explosive damaging second rower in the higher age groups with the ability to be just as effective in the defensive side of the game.

    The hard running, hard tackling style that Tepa Arokapiti exhibits on the football field reminds me a lot of Parramatta Eels front row star Reagan Campbell-Gillard as a powerful strong running forward. I note that I envisage that Tepa Arokapiti will end up in the second row and Campbell-Gillard is a front rower but their running style especially is similar.

  5. #335
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    Jett Trembath. The tough feisty young Logan Brothers hooker is currently part of the Souths Logan Magpies 2020 Hastings Deering’s Colts squad.

    In 2019 Jett Trembath captained the Souths Logan Magpies MM Cup side starting at hooker in six of the Magpies seven matches including their Week One Finals loss to Tweed Heads, missing only Round Six.

    Jett Trembath scored three MM Cup tries in 2019 which came in consecutive rounds from Rounds Two to Four against the Mackay Cutters, Norths Devils and Redcliffe Dolphins respectively.

    In 2018 Jett Trembath started at hooker in seven MM Cup matches for Souths Logan including their Week One Finals victory over Tweed Heads when he scored his first try of the season in the second half and their MM Cup Grand Final victory over Norths.

    In 2017 Jett Trembath represented Brisbane Stingers Red in the U16 pre-season competition and like when he plays for Logan Brothers is an absolute terrier on the field with his competitive nature coming to the fore every time that he crosses the white line. Jett Trembath got on the score board in Round One of the U16 competition scoring for Brisbane Stingers Green in a 34 – 4 victory over Gold Coast Green for whom Titans contracted outside back Alofiana Khan-Periera was the sole try scorer.

    Jett Trembath also started at hooker for the Logan Brothers U15 GBJRL Premier Division side that defeated Carina in the Grand Final in 2016.

    Jett Trembath is an extremely talented all round hooker, who excels at all three critical aspects that a modern day hooker must have to be successful, those being his distribution and game management out of dummy half, selective running out of dummy half and defending in the centre of the ruck where he is more effective than people would think when they first see him play.

    In terms of his distribution out of dummy half, Jett Trembath is extremely efficient in his passing and there is no wasted movement or energy as he passes in one motion off the ground rather than two distinct movements like many hookers where they first stand first then pass. There is no discernible difference between his passing from either side of his body, and his passes are crisp and flat and also he can pass a reasonable distance off the ground when the first receiver is standing a little wider of the play the ball.

    Where Jett Trembath is also extremely effective is leading his forwards onto the ball, he passes in front of the forward ensuring no loss of momentum to the run. In short he is a very good game manager from the hooking position.

    Jett Trembath is also a good communicator on the field, he is constantly encouraging his team both in attack and defence. He does not yell and scream, like the other parts of his game, he is calm and composed and uses positive reinforcement rather than yelling and screaming to get his point across to team mates but he does make it clear that he is in charge however.

    Where Jett Trembath really stands out in terms of attacking play, is his speed out of dummy half, he is extremely quick and has good footwork to take advantage of tiring forwards, using a step usually off his right foot, although he does not necessary run much out of dummy half. The times that he does run though, he targets forwards who are offside, if the offside forward is called out of the play he has the speed to break into open space. Once in open space Jett Trembath does not usually have the speed required to finish things off himself but he invariably will make the right decision with the ball in terms of whether to take the tackle or pass to a support player.

    Jett Trembath’s defence for a hooker is very good for a small hooker, he is certainly on the small side but that is no hindrance to how he currently plays the game, nor to his ability to reach his long term potential. He does not necessarily hit hard but due to his very good low technique he 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 into opposing forwards.

    His intensity and continuous effort means that Jett Trembath will track the ball across the field and thus is in a good position when the ball is passed back inside. Jett Trembath literally tackles everything that moves in the centre of the ruck even though he is always the smallest forward on the field. He is also very good at getting out of dummy half quickly to put pressure on the opposing teams kickers in all parts of the field.

    Jett Trembath is part of the Souths Logan Magpies 2020 Hasting Deering’s Colts squad and is also Colts eligible in 2021.

    Jett Trembath projects as an 80 minute player, who will probably be known more for his organisational and distribution skills rather than his running out of dummy half, but do not be fooled, he may not run a lot out of dummy half, but when he does he invariably makes a lot of ground, he chooses his time to run wisely.

    It is unlikely that Jett Trembath will make many representative sides into the future because he is not a flashy player but he will undoubtedly be appreciated by his team mates due to his calm, measured and clinical approach to how he plays rugby league.

    From a player comparison perspective, due to his distribution, running and defence that Jett Trembath plays the game at, a playing style and comparison akin to the hooking version of former Manly Sea Eagle Geoff Toovey is appropriate even down to his size but with less arguing with officials.

    The first time that I saw Jett Trembath play was the 2015 GBJRL Grand Final when his Logan Brothers when his U14 Logan Brothers side had a solid win against Wynnum that Sunday morning after beating back a fight back from Wynnum early in the second half

  6. #336
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    Lizaya Iti. (Revised) The tough hard as nails forward displays a hard-nosed old fashioned approach to rugby league rarely seen in the game anymore.

    After starting at lock in the majority of the Rabbitohs 2020 U20 Jersey Flegg trials, Lizaya Iti missed Round One and unfortunately the only round of the competition as Souths Sydney prevailed by two points.

    Lizaya Iti played the 2019 season with Souths Sydney in the NSW Rugby League U20 jersey Flegg competition. In that competition Lizaya Iti played in eight matches after coming in the Rabbitohs side in Round Nineteen against St George when he started from the bench.

    Lizaya Iti made his first Jersey Flegg start in Round Twenty Four against the Roosters starting in the front row. In total Lizaya Iti started four matches in the front row including Souths Sydney’s two finals against Penrith and Canberra and his remaining four matches from the bench.

    In his eight matches Lizaya Iti was on the field for 168 metres, made 315 metres (104 post contact), broke twelve tackles and made eighty one tackles at an 84% tackling efficiency. Lizaya Iti’s 2019 Jersey Flegg per game averages included playing twenty one minutes, running for 39.5 metres and making 10.13 tackles.

    In Round Twenty Six against the Cronulla Sharks Lizaya Iti ran for eighty metres, broke four tackles and in the first week of the Finals against Penrith Lizaya Iti made fifteen tackles.

    Lizaya Iti played a number of matches for the Titans junior development squads when they played annual matches against the Redlands Junior Rugby League Club a number of years ago.

    Lizaya Iti started his young rugby league in the Black and Red of the historic Wests Panthers club in Brisbane. Lizaya Iti also has representative experience with various South East Queensland representative sides over the last couple of seasons and is a former Coombabah State High School student.

    At the start of 2018, Lizaya Iti commenced attending Ipswich State High School and represented the Met West region in the U18 QSSRL Championships and was subsequently selected in the QSSRL U18 side to contest the ASSRL U18 Championships later in the year.

    Lizaya Iti started the 2018 season off in the MM Cup Competition with the South’s Logan Magpies and also recently has progressed to the South’s Logan U20 Colts side.

    In the MM Cup competition in 2018 for South’s Logan Lizaya Iti was only able to play in three matches, but in a show of the high regard that he is held in, two of those matches were finals matches.

    Lizaya Iti came into the South’s Logan side in Round Five from the interchange bench against Wynnum Manly and also started from the bench in the Grand Final victory over Norths. Lizaya Iti’s sole start came in Souths Logan’s opening finals appearance against Tweed Heads when he started in the second row.

    Post the MM Cup competition, Lizaya Iti played for Waterford in the 2018 GBJRL U18 Nev Blair Cup competition.

    For the South’s Logan U20 Colts side in 2018, Lizaya Iti came into the side in Round Fourteen against the Sunshine Coast Falcons starting at lock and celebrated by scoring a first half try.

    Lizaya Iti was also involved in the MM Cup competition in 2017 again playing for Souths Logan including starting in the second row in their tough 40 – 30 MM Cup Grand Final loss to the Western Mustangs.

    During the 2016 season, Lizaya Iti was part of the South’s Logan U16 CC side that were defeated in the Queensland final by the Townsville Stingers in a match that they led for large parts before being run down by the Townsville based side.

    Over the course of the 2016 CC season, Lizaya Iti started in the second row in all of the matches that he played in, only missing Round Three and the Semi-final victory over the North’s Devils, but he was back to start in the second row in the Grand Final. Over the course of the CC season, Lizaya Iti scored four tries, including a double in a big win over the Easts Tigers and he also scored against the Gold Coast sides, being Gold Coast Green and Gold Coast White.

    Lizaya Iti is a solidly built forward with a low centre of gravity making him a difficult proposition to tackle for opposing defences. He may not look it but Lizaya Iti is actually quite quick especially off the mark and will surprise a defence line in terms of how fast he gets to them and thus he is in a position to bump off the initial defender who on occasion has been unable to set up for the tackle properly.

    Lizaya Iti does not have a lot of footwork prior to the line preferring to aim to get to his terminal velocity prior to contact and will drop his shoulder into the defenders as well. To say that he continues to fight in the tackle once contact has been established is an understatement. Lizaya Iti seems to take every confrontation personally and is intent on winning every individual battle.

    Where Lizaya Iti’s greatest impact on a game is going to be is his defence. His has a great tackling technique and a hard hitting aggressive style to go with it. I think that in every game that I have seen him play, including representative games Lizaya Iti has made a huge impact defensively.

    It is not a reckless style where Lizaya Iti runs in trying to pull off the biggest hit possible, it is a cold, calculating style where he uses a great technique to hit opposing forwards just under the rib cage to devastating effect.

    Lizaya Iti sets a strong lower base by setting his legs and generating force by driving through the tackle with his lower body, gaining leverage and momentum, culminating with the power projecting through his shoulders into his opponent.

    When the opportunity presents itself such as when an opponent starts to run slightly across field, Lizaya Iti will clinically and effectively make the opposition player pay for his angled run. When he drives a much larger opponent backwards, you can see the impact of the tackle immediately, his team are galvanised and generate additional confidence, conversely you can see the opposition forward’s head drop, and on a few occasions followed by the ball.

    As games progress you can actually see opposition forwards who are running the ball, look for where Lizaya Iti is in the defensive line. As a result he has the ability to seal off one side of the ruck, enabling his team’s defensive strategy to be adjusted accordingly. He will also ensure that the tackle is finished off.

    Lizaya Iti was set to play the 2020 season at the U20 level, his last year of Colts eligibility. It would be great to see Lizaya Iti back in South East Queensland in 2021 pushing for a Queensland Cup berth and I am sure multiple clubs at that level would be interested in bringing some one with his skill and toughness into their squad.

    From a position perspective, Lizaya Iti is an ideal rugby league second rower at 185cm and 96kg with some sneaky pace, strength, power and a bit of mongrel in his game. I personally believe that every team needs at least one intimidating presence in their forward pack and Lizaya Iti is the player that can successfully fill that role in any team.

    Earlier in his junior career Lizaya Iti did give away a few penalties for being overly aggressive but certainly over the last couple of seasons his discipline has improved immensely and consequently so has his positive impact on matches.

    From a player comparison, I am going back quite a way to an era where players got away with a lot more ‘physical’ play, but for me with his solid build and hard running, hard tackling style, Lizaya Iti plays similar to former Many Sea Eagle, New South Wales and Australian test second rower Les Boyd as an intimidating presence on a football field who lets the opposition know when he is on a field through sheer physical aggression.

    Identifying a current NRL player with a similar playing style for Lizaya Iti is a tough one, but for comparison purposes think of a cross between current Titan Keegan Hipgrave and former Titan Greg Bird, Yes I am absolutely serious.

    I love watching this young man play he certainly leaves it all on the field. Lizaya Iti is just a tough tough young man who sometimes is unfairly targeted by referees due to his extremely aggressive and in your face playing style.

    I do have to provide a caveat however, yes he is an intimidating presence on the field but Lizaya Iti also has the skill set of an outstanding rugby league second rower as well.

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    Gee mdrew like the sound of Iti a lot.
    Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.

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    Agree mate he is an old school type of player

    Quote Originally Posted by Titanic View Post
    Gee mdrew like the sound of Iti a lot.

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    Mdrew. In all honesty are the Titans in the mix the bring Xavier Coats to the club at all ? Or do you believe that he will stay with Brisbane ???
    #TitansThruNThru #WeAreReady

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    Xavier only recently signed a four year deal with the Broncos mate so not in the medium term

    Quote Originally Posted by Bayside Titan View Post
    Mdrew. In all honesty are the Titans in the mix the bring Xavier Coats to the club at all ? Or do you believe that he will stay with Brisbane ???

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    Quote Originally Posted by mdrew View Post
    Xavier only recently signed a four year deal with the Broncos mate so not in the medium term
    Oh. I thought I saw an article today saying that he is unsigned and the Broncos want to keep him and a few clubs we’re looking at him ?
    #TitansThruNThru #WeAreReady

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    We have a young man in our system Bayside in Kaleb Ngamanu who may be even better mate.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bayside Titan View Post
    Oh. I thought I saw an article today saying that he is unsigned and the Broncos want to keep him and a few clubs we’re looking at him ?

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    Exciting young U18 outside back Luciano Iketau makes his senior debut this afternoon for Marist Saints in their Auckland Rugby League Premier Reserve Round Two match against the Northcote Tigers.

    The young man is an exciting talent.

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    2018 Southport Tiger Beau Cordtz had a big Round One match last weekend in the Auckland Fox Memorial Premiership when he scored a hat trick from fullback for the Point Chevalier Pirates in their 54 - 10 win over the Bay of Roskill.

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    Former New Zealand Warrior U20 centre, 21 year old Lewis Soosemea started at left centre and scored a hat trick for the Point Chevalier Pirates in Round One last weekend as they defeated the Bay of Roskill in Round od the Auckland Fix Memorial Premiership.

    Lewis Soosemea was set to join Wynnum Manly this season in the Queensland Cup prior to the Covid 19 pandemic.


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