Queensland’s Junior Touch Talent Shines Bright at the Q Youth Academy

The Queensland Touch Football Q Youth Academy made its highly anticipated return to the Gold Coast for an intensive three-day Touch Football training camp. Hosted at the Gold Coast Performance Centre in Runaway Bay, the camp saw 207 Coaches, Referees and Players from across Queensland combine to represent three NRL teams: the Cowboys, Broncos, and Titans.

This year’s academy featured 12 teams from the U14 and U16 Boys and Girls divisions, plus a dedicated Referee Junior Emerging Talent Squad (JETS). This talent development program provides a clear pathway to representative opportunities in both Touch Football and NRL programs.

Queensland Touch Football Pathways and Performance Manager, Tristan Mana highlighted the importance of the academy in developing our future talent.

“”The Q Youth Academy is Queensland Touch Football’s pinnacle talent development program providing the next generation of Queensland’s Rising Stars an opportunity to be nurtured through a Touch Football training camp environment just like our Queensland Men’s & Women’s State of Origin teams would experience.”,” said Tristan.

“We’re excited to follow their development beyond this weekend as they continue their journey in our sport,”

“As part of our broader Pathways Review, QTF are looking to further refine our talent pathways to provide clear, transparent and accessible pathways across Queensland, leading to representative honours for both Queensland and Australian Emus.”

Queensland Touch Football’s Referee Director Dave Field and Regional South Queensland Sharks Referee Director Lee Rossow also worked together to deliver a program to the JETS referee squad.

Junior players and referees were put to the test in training sessions, competitive games and performance testing. They also took leadership and body management workshops led by some of Queensland’s most experienced coaching staff.

Elite players contributed to the program, with Queensland Men’s Open Player, Jayden Benbow delivering a session on maintaining peak performance, while Riley Madden provided an in-depth analysis of the GPS data after tracking the players during their games.

Queensland Touch Football’s Referee Director Dave Field and regional affiliate South Queensland Sharks Referee Director Lee Rossow also worked together to deliver an intensive development program to the JETS referee squad.

Congratulations to the Titans, who were named Champion Permit for their outstanding performance and commitment both on and off the field. The Cowboys 14s Girls team was also recognised as Team of the Tournament by QTF staff.