Month: September 2019

2019 Rep Teams Announced!

The 2019 Kick It Touch Representative Tournament teams have been finalised for the September 29th event at Jack Cook Park, Taringa.

The fourth Rep instalment will feature some of the game’s very best with North Brisbane Sharks Mixed and Toowoomba Titans mens set to defend their titles.

North Brisbane will boast just four faces to the side went undefeated in last year’s mixed bracket with a number of forced changes and departures.

Lead by New South Wales Blues stars Shaun Tupou and Chloe Storm, the Sharks will be looking to make it three Rep victories in four tournaments.

Keys to victory: Attacking focus with girls.
Last year the Sharks girls tallied nine girl tries in the three pool matches lead by Tarni Stabe and Jess Sleep.
Kiara Garbuio and Tiff Hodson will need to fill the void left by Tarni Stabe.

The Sharks mens team will be aiming to reach the finals for the first time in three years.

Not since 2012 have they won the mens side of the Rep draw with Joey’s Matthew Allen the lone survivor from the Shaw Road event.

Featuring five new faces from the top four mens sides at the Stafford, their side is in-form and ready to go.

Key to victory: Attack the edges.
Jayden Turnbull and Sam Turnbull combined for four tries and three try assists rucking on the edge, while Jack Woodbridge and Corey Pocock found success using their speed on the wing.
Without Sam Turnbull, they will need to find someone else to carry out this successful formula.

South Brisbane Tigers have seen the highest turnover of players with just eight representative stars from last year’s tournament available for selection.

A whopping 15 players will make their Rep debut with two returning from the 2017 event including mixed captain and reigning leading try scorer at Taringa and Stafford, Eliza Mooney.

New Taringa champions Kickaholics Anonymous dominate selections (with five) including reigning mixed top try scorer Trent Gossner and try assist leader Isaac Toohey.

Key to victory: Rely on team combos.
Nine of the listed 13 players have played in the same team at some point throughout 2019, none more so than Isaac Toohey and Trent Gossner who combined for 21 tries and 20 try assists last season.

Returning Tiger Jason West will play his third Representative Tournament after making his debut back in 2012, while Corey Smith, Antony Tatkovic and Aaron Tomoana mark the only others to return from last year.

Captain Chris Honnery will make the switch from mixed to mens and lead out the Tigers who have made the mens grand final in the last two years. Aaron Tomoana will vice captain the side for the second time.

Jacob McMahon will look to continue his strong form after making his Blues debut earlier this year.

John Kerr is the only other player with Rep experience after making an appearance in the 2012 State Of Origin for Queensland.

Key to victory: Improve Defence.
The Tigers have allowed 29 tries in their past 8 matches (including grand finals), while scoring just over 3 tries per game.

Toowoomba Titans will look to make it a three-peat in this year’s event after running the table in 2018.

After defeating the South Brisbane Tigers in the previous two grand finals, the experienced Titans’ boys will be ready for the fresh-faced Brisbane teams.

Lead by Queensland Representative Ben Burstow and Jono Graf, they lead an experienced side to Taringa.

Key to victory: Stout Defence. The Titans allowed just 8 tries in last year’s event (which included the grand final). It was a similar result in 2017 with 10 tries allowed.
Strong communication and team combos will once again be on display.

Titans Mixed will be seeking redemption after going down to the Sharks in a hotly contested mixed grand final last year.

Starring a host of long-serving players, they will be lead by Queensland Origin Representatives Kohen Mathiesen and Jasmin Lucas. Kevin Platz and Reegan McCarthy will once again be the focus points with the pair combing for four tries last year’s event.

Key to victory: With up to six new faces, the Titans will be relying on their middles and edges to be in-sync. The return of Jamie Thorburn will help shore up the edges and will assist the girls in scoring some tries.

The Toowoomba Storm will run out onto Jack Cook Park with a much improved side to 2018.

Lead by experienced duo of Martin Baldo and Josh Brunner, their side will be looking to get a win early against the South Brisbane Titans.

Locky Stephson will be the focus point of the Storm attack after starring for the Titans in last years event.

Key to victory: Manufacture points.
The Storm mens side averaged just two tries per game in 2018 with nobody scoring more than one try.
This should be aided with the inclusion of Locky Stephson, who lead the mens competition with three tries throughout the pool matches.

Rachael Parker will lead out the Storm in what will be a do-or-die match against the Tigers in the first pool match.

Featuring eight new faces, including experienced vice captain Robbie Halliday, the mixed team will need to gel early if they are to make an impact in this year’s event.

Key to victory: Shore up the edge defence.
The Storm mixed side allowed 32 points in three pool games last week, almost half of which were to girl tries.
Take away the easy girl tries and they’re in with a chance.

Stay up to date via the 2019 Representative tournament page.
Re-live the Sharks Mixed and Titans Mens outstanding victories in 2018