I’ll quit the Gold Coast Titans head coach if he’s not let go.
In their stunning Round 1 victory over the Cowboys, Karyn Murphy’s team turned out a number of rookies, including Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Destiny Sinapati-Mino as well as seasoned rugby sevens convert Niall Williams-Guthrie. Sienna Lofipo also had the chance to play after the 18th player was activated.
With Jillaroos playmaker and top recruit Taliah Fuimaono (ankle) out for some time, Murphy may have to rely even more on her talented rookie class when they play the Broncos this Thursday night.
Karina Brown is still recovering from her injury, so Destiny had her debut today, and I thought she did fantastic. Murphy remarked after her team won Round 1: “She picked up a try and she probably could have got a couple more so I thought she was really good for us today in her first game.”
“There’s some young players there, but they’re playing well. We had Chantay in the halves and obviously we had to activate the 18th and Sienna came in.”
‘Tough out there,’ says Sienna Lofipo.’Tough out there,’ says Sienna Lofipo.
‘Tough out there,’ says Sienna Lofipo.
Eight members of the team recently represented Queensland in the Under 19 State of Origin victory, and Murphy is sure that the encouraging early-season indicators will continue into the actual competition.
“That’s been a really big thing from us at the Titans that we’ve always spoken about, particularly with the game expanding with a lot more clubs and we really want to keep that local talent here on the Gold Coast,” Murphy said to NRL.com of the young recruits who are part of the club’s top 24 this season.
“We had Chantay as a development player in our team last year, and she truly impressed training with the NRLW ladies. She is clearly an intriguing young talent.
She’s growing wonderfully, as I saw when I watched her through BMD Premiership again this year, so I’m eager to see how she does.
She is an agile player with a very excellent passing game and a very good kicking game in addition to her versatility [to play in the halves and fullback].
Being one of the younger players, she is a promising player of the future, and we are thrilled to have her at our team.
Destiny Mino-Sinapati is incredibly athletic and has a huge future. She came across from basketball in the past few years.
Sienna Lofipo is another one we have… who was a key member of Wynnum Manly’s (BMD Premiership team) and helped them reach the final.
For their Round 2 match, Murphy may choose a starting halves lineup of Kiria-Ratu and Lofipo, depending on how serious Fuimaono’s ankle ailment is.
The two have played together before despite their youth and inexperience; they did well against New South Wales in their most recent representative encounter.
