Chris Faagutu scores try on debut in Q-Cup for Souths Logan

A year 12 student who scored on his Q Cup senior debut for Souths Logan on Saturday is one of seven Qld schoolboys who will be helping resurrect fallen NRL powerhouse Wests Tigers.

Marsden SHS’s Chris Faagutu. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Wests Tigers schoolboy signing from Queensland Chris Faagutu remarkably scored a try on debut when he played his first senior match in Saturday’s Hospital Cup clash between Souths Logan and the Capras.

Faagutu, a Year 12 student at Cameron Smith’s old school of Marsden SHS, played No.13 as an interchange forward and scored a powerhouse individual try in the 33rd minute.

Faagutu, who earlier this year was selected for both the Queensland and Australian schoolboys, importantly is not a young giant whose main asset at schoolboy level is size.

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Rather he is a skilled middle forward with agility and pace, all the while being very powerful with his leg drive at the point of contact.

Marsden SHS’s Chris Faagutu burst through a tackle. Picture: Liam Kidston.

The mobile No.13 is deceptively powerful when carrying the ball who has been the Marsden SHS Langer Trophy captain for the last two season and is a model student.

Already he has impressed Wests Tigers supremo Tim Sheens when Sheens observed him training with the Tigers during the last off-season.

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Last season Faagutu was joint winner of the Justin Hodges Medal for Langer Trophy Player of the Year and earlier this year helped the Karmichael Hunt-coached Souths Logan win the under 18 Meninga Cup grand final.

Marsden SHS Chris Faagutu with his Justin Hodges Medal

Last year Faagutu also captained Marsden to its first every Langer Trophy.

Faagutu is from Marsden SHS which has an extraordinary pedigree in rugby league. It is the old school of Tesi Niu, TC Robarti (both Broncos), Jayden Su’a (Dragons) Cameron Smith (Queensland great), Israel Folau (dual international), Brenko Lee (Broncos) and Antonio Winterstein (Cowboys premiership winner), just to name a few.

Last season the Wests Tigers extracted Herman Tofaeono (Keebra Park SHS), Dudley Dotoi (Kirwan SHS) and Kienan Tempest (Marsden SHS) out of the Queensland schoolboy system and this year will welcome Faagutu (Marsden SHS), Junior Taungatua (Wavell SHS) and Mou Taumaletila (Marsden SHS). The 2021 Queensland 14-15 schoolboys representative Javon Andrews is also contracted to the Wests Tigers.

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Taungatua is another impressive middle forward while Taumaletila played prop in the prestigious Langer Trophy this season.

Chris Faagutu, middle, was a premiership with South Logan this season.

The Langer Trophy competition was where possibly the Wests Tigers greatest player, Benji Marshall (Keebra Park), honed his skills before embarking on a remarkable career, while 2005 premiership captain Scott Prince (Ignatius Park College) played in the North Queensland equivalent, the Payne Cup.