The Gold Coast Titans are putting their faith in their 'generation next' to help them set a winning tone in the opening rounds of the NRLW competition.
Karyn Murphy's side blooded several debutants in their impressive Round 1 win over the Cowboys – Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Destiny Sinapati-Mino along with experienced rugby sevens convert Niall Williams-Guthrie – while Sienna Lofipo also got her opportunity to get on the field after the 18th player was activated.
And with Jillaroos playmaker and star recruit Taliah Fuimaono (ankle) facing time on the sideline, Murphy could be forced to lean even more into her rich rookie class as they take on the Broncos this Thursday night.
“With Karina Brown still coming back from injury, Destiny got her debut today and I thought she was great. 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,” Murphy said after her side's Round 1 win.
“We had Chantay in the halves and obviously we had to activate the 18th and Sienna came in and so there's some young players there, but they're playing well.”
Sienna Lofipo: ‘It was tough out there’
The club recently had eight players represent Queensland in the Under 19 State of Origin win, with Murphy confident that the positives signs seen throughout the pre-season would continue to carry over throughout the competition proper.
“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 told pan66.com of the young recruits who are part of the club’s top 24 this season.
“Chantay is obviously an exciting young talent and we had her as a development player in our squad last year and she really impressed training with the NRLW girls.
“I watched her through BMD Premiership again this year and she's developing nicely, so it’s really exciting to see how she goes.
“She's got that versatility [to play in the halves and fullback] and she’s athletic player with very good passing game and also a very good kicking game as well.
“She's an exciting player of the future and we are excited to have her at our club and she's one of a few young ones.
“Destiny Mino-Sinapati, she’s come across from basketball in the last couple of years and she's got a massive future, she’s really athletic.
“We’ve also got Sienna Lofipo … who played a crucial role in Wynnum Manly’s (BMD Premiership side) and was a big part in them going through to the final.”
With the extent of Fuimaono's ankle injury still to be determined, Murphy could name a starting halves line-up of Kiria-Ratu and Lofipo for their Round 2 clash.
Despite their age and inexperience, the pair have played together before, getting the job done against New South Wales in their recent representative match.
This article contains content that is only available on pan66.com