Tanah Boyd to debut for Burleigh Bears off the bench against Ipswich Jets

Emerging halfback Tanah Boyd will get the chance to impress Titans coach Garth Brennan when he makes his Intrust Super Cup club debut for Burleigh on Saturday night.

EMERGING halfback Tanah Boyd will get the chance to impress Titans coach Garth Brennan when he makes his Intrust Super Cup club debut for Burleigh on Saturday night.

The 18-year-old was blooded by the Bears in their 24-16 Rugby League Gold Coast A-grade win over Ormeau last weekend and will now progress straight into their ISC squad.

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Boyd, who played 10 ISC games for Souths Logan earlier in the year before being signed by the Titans, will be deployed off the bench in a Round 15 away meeting with the razzle dazzle of Ipswich.

Bears ISC coach Jimmy Lenihan had a juggling act on his hands, given that he was already carrying three halves – Jamal Fogarty, Josh Rogers and Dylan Phythian – in his top 17 but will squeeze in another playmaker by utilising the latter’s utility value in a different position.

Tanah Boyd at Titans training. Picture: AAP Image

The supersub role designated for Boyd is part of easing him in to the second-placed side’s systems.

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“While he’s certainly talented, still being a very young playmaker in a side that is fairly established is something that we’ll have to take our time with,” Lenihan said.

“We don’t want to put him in the deep end … a soft approach to start with for Tanah I think will be the best thing for everyone.”

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Of his performance against Ormeau, Bears A-grade coach Matt Foster said Boyd did a fine job after having just one training run with the team.

Tanah Boyd played earlier in the year for Souths Logan. Picture: AAP Image

“You could see in his passes and his movements that he’s a quality footballer for sure,” Foster said.

“He’s pretty strong for his size, he has got a good build.”

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Fellow Titans mid-season recruit Sam Stone could also make his Burleigh senior debut at North Ipswich Reserve.

The duo’s addition to Lenihan’s stocks come as ace second-rower Blake Leary returns from France. He will start back at training on July 9.

Jamie Dowling and Dylan Kelly are due to make their injury comebacks soon too.