The Queensland Sevens teams have been named ahead of this weekend’s National Sevens Championships at Ballymore, which will run from Friday 7 December through to Sunday 9 December.
Queensland will field two teams in the senior men’s division, red and grey, while in the youth boys and you girls tournaments, the Queensland program has expanded to three teams, red, grey and white.
Queensland will be looking two defend two titles this weekend, chasing their third consecutive national championships in both the senior men’s and youth girl’s tournaments.
Preparation for the senior men’s sides has been assisted by the introduction of the Queensland Premier Rugby Sevens series, which has saw Queensland’s best domestic Sevens talent compete across four tournaments.
Head coach Cassidy Holland attended each event and has put together two strong sides, also bolstered by capped Australian Sevens players Joe Pincus, Jeral Skelton and Peter Lee.
Six players named in the Premier Rugby Sevens dream team of the series have been selected across the two teams - Corbin Kiernan (Bond), Hayden Sargaent (Bond), Charlie Tupou (Sunnybank), Connor Clancy (UQ), Neal McNamara (Sunynbank) and James Stannard Medalist (Player of the Series) Josh Coward (Souths).
The Queensland Grey side also features some regional representation, with former Youth Boys representative Sam Warner from Townsville Brothers earning selection, as well as Teachers Wests and Queensland Country Heelers scrumhalf Tom Vinson.
The Youth Girls sides have been largely selected off the back of the second annual Queensland Youth Girls Sevens State Championships held at Bond University in October.
From that tournament, the U17s Player of the Tournament – China Polata (Gold Coast) and the U15s Player of the Tournament – Faythe Manera (Gold Coast) have both been named in the Queensland Red side.
After her brother Josh recently signed a development contract with the Reds, Isabella Nasser, daughter of former Queensland and Wallabies backrower Brendan Nasser, has also been named in the Queensland Red side.
The Youth Girls program has also been bolstered by the presence of players who have already competed in the AON University Sevens, with Tarni Peepe, Kaitlin Shave, Taylor Fenton all having featured for Bond University in 2018.
The youth boys side features players from a wide range of schools, and will be coached by long serving Queensland Sevens coach Sione Fukofuka, while former Queensland Reds backrower Josh Afu, currently a QRU participation officer, has been named as a development coach.
The team will also be bolstered by players who have already represented Queensland in 2018, as part of the U16s and Schoolboys programs.
Queensland Sevens high performance manager Lachlan Parkinson said: “We’ve had a really good lead into the National Championships across the three divisions.
“Premier Rugby Sevens has helped us identify players for the men’s teams, while the All Schools Sevens and Youth Girls Sevens State Championships assisted in identifying talent for both the youth boy’s and girl’s teams.
“It’s also an exciting year for Queensland with us set to field three teams in both the youth divisions, showcasing the strength of our pathway and the number of talented players we have in our system.
“We’ve worked hard to create pathway opportunities for Queenslanders in the seven-a-side format of the game and the expansion to three teams talks to the growth of our players and staff, as well as the quality of our program.
“It’s also exciting for us to be hosting the event at the home of Queensland Rugby, Ballymore.”
The 2019 National Sevens Championships will take place at Ballymore from Friday 7 December through to Sunday 9 December.
Matches will be live streamed across the tournament via www.Rugby.com.au.
2018 Queensland Youth Girls Sevens team lists:
Queensland Red
- China Polata, Gold Coast
- Tarni Peepe, Brisbane
- Amy Brice, Sunshine Coast
- Faythe Manera, Gold Coast
- Natalie Wright, Brisbane
- Tiana Raftstrand-Smith, Gold Coast
- Kaitlin Shave, Gold Coast
- Nakita Sao, Brisbane
- Isabella Nasser, Brisbane
- Kayla Jackson, Darling Downs
- Taylor Fenton, Gold Coast
- Indiana Tillett, Far North Queensland
Queensland Grey
- Makenzie Weale, Brisbane
- Sara Sautia, Brisbane
- Alana Grace, Brisbane
- Gracie Wright, Sunshine Coast
- Jetaya Faifua, Gold Coast
- Jada Ferguson, Darling Downs
- Felila Kia, Brisbane
- Aliya Hura, Brisbane
- Sidney Taylor, Brisbane
- Teagan Levi, Gold Coas
- Tamika Bray, Townsville
- TBC
Queensland White
- Taleah McGrane, Darling Downs
- Lily Black, Darling Downs
- Maggie Harmer, Sunshine Coast
- Daisy D’Arcy, Townsville
- Lucy White, Sunshine Coast
- Paige Edwards, Darling Downs
- Maddison Levi, Gold Coast
- Grace Qaranivalu, Gold Coast
- Imogen McLeod, Sunshine Coast
- Holly Anlezark, Darling Downs
- Giverny Robinson, Sunshine Coast
- Breanna Raymond, Gold Coast
Staff
Program Head Coach/ Red Team Head Coach Luke Zeremes
Grey Team Coach Will Cotterill
Grey Team Coach Lawrence Faifua
White Team Coach Matt Chapman
White Team Coach Brent Mitchell
White Team Coach Alisi Wilson
Team Manager Dan Birrell
Team Manager Krystal Kirkman
Physio Jessica Rowlands
Physio Zac Coughy
Athletic Performance Campbell McIntosh
2018 Queensland Youth Boys Sevens team lists
Queensland Red
- Dougal Perrers, Marist College Ashgrove
- Faataape Timai, Keebra Park SHS
- Glen Vaihu, St Josephs College, Gregory Terrace
- Sam Dalton, Somerset College
- Dion Samuela, The Southport School
- Conrad Skelton, St Patricks College
- Jeremiah Thatchenko, St Peters Lutheran College
- Patrick Elekana, St Josephs College, Gregory Terrace
- Matthew Engelbrecht, St Josephs Nudgee College
- Nathan Stephensen, West Moreton Anglican College
- Kaleb Ngamanu, The Southport School
- Eziah Ulia, St Josephs Nudgee College
Queensland Grey
- Anthony Evans, Bribie Island State High School
- Nate Searle, All Saints College
- Darcy Reed, Downlands College
- Eden Zaupa, St Peters Lutheran College
- Fonofili Lologui, Redbank State High School
- Jack Smith, St Patricks College
- Jasper Melish, Siena College
- Jonte Connolly, St Columbians
- Louis Werchon, Sunshine Coast Grammar School
- Syris Schmidt, The Southport School
- Will Kepu, St Francis College
- Zach Hogan, Marist College Ashgrove
Queensland White
- Mack Naylor, Sunshine Coast Grammar School
- Liam Manssen, St Teresa's Catholic College
- Connor Scurr, St Patricks College
- Denver Taylor, Anglican Church Grammar School
- Dylan Cross, Sunshine Coast Grammar School
- David Vaihu, St Josephs College, Gregory Terrace
- Harry Baker, Brisbane Grammar School
- Ezra Howe, Brisbane State High School
- Lachlan Macdonald, Marist College Ashgrove
- Cullen Cooper Jones, All Saints
- Charlie Radford, St Josepsh Nudgee College
- Tom Feeney, Iona College
Staff
Head Coach Sione Fukofuka
Senior Assitant Coach (GREY HC) Manuel Cole Manolis
Assistant Coach (WHITE HC) Rama Chand
Development Coach Joshua Afu
Manager Kimberly Rase
Manager Ryan Webster
Physio Caitlin Bayley
Athletic Performance Sam Harrison
2018 Queensland Men’s Sevens teams
Queensland Red
- Joe Pincus, University of Queensland
- Jeral Skelton, Brothers
- Peter Lee, Sunnybank
- Josh Walker, Bond University
- Corbin Kiernan, Bond University
- Daniel Boardman, Bond University
- Hayden Sargeant, Bond University
- Neal McNamara, Sunnybank
- Joshua Coward, Souths
- Charlie Tupou, Sunnybank
- Larry Hermens, Wests
- Tom Harvey, University of Queensland
Queensland White
- Ryan Menzies, Bond University
- Harry Higgins, Wests
- Alec Fontalvo, Wests
- Mitchell Wood, Wests
- Jordan Luke, Norths
- Liam Dillon, Wests
- Tom Vinson, Teachers West, Townsville
- Nicholas Chapman, Norths
- Connor Clancy, University of Queensland
- Charlie Olsen, Easts
- Sam Warner, Brothers, Townsville
- Blessed Tumua, Sunnybank
Staff
Program Head Coach Cassidy Holland
Senior Assitant Coach (White HC) Chris Garrard
Assistant Coach Moea Niha
Manager Felicity Bennetts
Physio Lisa Cairns
Athletic Performance Leigh Smith
