SG Ball: Larry Muagututia climbing the ranks at Parramatta Eels

He’s the Junior Paulo-Nathan Brown hybrid turning heads at Parramatta. PLUS who to watch in week two of the SG Ball, Harold Matthews and Tarsha Gale competitions.

Jocelyn Airth

4 min read

February 12, 2021 - 3:00PM

News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom

Eels SG Ball star Larry Muagututia, 17, at the Eels training centre in Kellyville. Picture: Toby Zerna

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Bringing big Larry Muagututia to ground is no easy feat.

Generally, it’ll take at least three defenders to pull down the Eels youngster who channels Junior Paulo every time he takes a hit-up.

On Saturday, the SG Ball star is determined to secure Parramatta’s first win of the season and he’s looking up to the club’s first graders for inspiration.

“I really look up to big Junior Paulo, I play that same position. I’ve seen him around, also at touch carnivals too,” Muagututia.

“And Nathan Brown, he’s from where I live. He’s a workhorse out on the field, I want to emulate that work ethic.”

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Eels SG Ball star Larry Muagututia 17 is climbing the ranks at Parramatta with coaches keeping a keen eye on him. Picture: Toby Zerna

Muagututia starred for NSWCCC at the 2018 Australian Secondary Schoolboy Rugby League Championships.

In 2019, he made the NSW under-16s training squad and played for Pasifika under-16s.

Last year, Muagututia starred for Patrician Brothers Fairfield in the NRL Schoolboy Cup and was named in the 2020 team of the tournament.

The 17-year-old prop has long been on the radar of Parramatta’s Jersey Flegg coach Dean Feeney.

“I’ve been waiting to get my hands on Larry, as the Flegg coach. He’ll hopefully come up with me after SG Ball finishes. Everything I hear about him is good and he works hard,” Feeney said.

But what has impressed Feeney the most about Muagututia?

The youngster’s determination to work as a teacher‘s aide while playing footy to support his family of seven.

“During my schooling years, I had teachers come out of the blue, give out their hand to me … they made a huge impact on me. Being a teacher‘s aide, I can do the same thing with the younger kids,” Muagututia said.

Larry Muagututia (left) played schoolboy footy for Patrician Brothers alongside Hayden Reti-McClintock, Freeman Forsythe, Jaxon McGrath and Tyler Manu'a. Picture: Phil Hillyard

The local junior is one of 13 Eels currently qualifying as a teacher’s aide via the club’s Giant Steps program — notable alumni include Reed Mahoney, Oregon Kaufusi, Ray Stone, Dylan Brown and Sean Keppie.

Feeney — also Parramatta’s wellbeing and education manager — knows too well that players who are stable off the field, tend to thrive on the field.

“We call it “Two Plan A’s” here. All the boys in our first grade squad, hand on heart, are studying at the moment, whether it’s real estate or carpentry course,” Feeney said.

The under-20s coach has placed a big whiteboard above his desk — he’s written a list of Parramatta’s 30-man roster and exactly what each player is doing for work or study.

“Big RCG (Reagan Campbell-Gillard) has just got his truck licence,” Feeney said.

“And Mitch Moses is doing real estate and financial planning.”

While he’s studying, Muagututia is determined to take his footy to another level in 2021.

After losing to Manly last week, the prop said that the Eels would have zero lapses in concentration when they faced North Sydney on Saturday.

“We started off a bit slow. As the game went on, we found our feet but then at the end didn’t get the result we wanted,” Muagututia said.

“We have a lot of boys my age, playing one year up. That’s good for the club moving forward. The older boys bring great with the experience too.”

The Sea Eagles must now take on a formidable Bunnies side starring prop Davvy Moale — a former SG Ball teammate of Joseph Suaalii who spent the summer training with Souths’ NRL squad.

The Dogs are also in the hunt for back-to-back wins after explosive centre Paul Alamoti secured a win over the Roosters last week — the young pup impressed Sydney boss Nick Politis who was watching from the stands.

Paul Alamoti starred for the Bulldogs in their SG Ball win over the Roosters. Picture: David Swift

Balmain will be desperate to record their first victory against Newcastle at Leichhardt Oval, but it won’t be easy — they’re up against many of the kids from the Knight’s 2019 Harold Matthews Cup-winning side. The Tigers are also missing their captain and NSW star Brandon Tumeth this week, but lock Braydon Guyan — a NSW Waratahs Gen Blue alumnus — is more than capable of stepping up.

In the under-17s, Manly will head into their clash against Rabbitohs with confidence after fullback Lehi Hopoate — yes, there’s another Hopoate — scored a last-minute try to beat Parramatta last week. The Knights, Panthers and Central Coast Roosters will each look to continue their dominance in Round 2.

Reigning Tarsha Gale champions Illawarra will take on a strong Roosters side that is still buzzing with confidence after scoring 42 unanswered points against Canterbury — the Steelers will have to shut down winger Charlize Lloyd-Phillips who scored an incredible hat-trick last week.

* The SG Ball clash between the Bulldogs and Victoria Thunderbolts has been cancelled after Melbourne went into lockdown following a COVID-19 outbreak.