Some of rugby league’s best forwards have helped Braden Hamlin-Uele to where he is today

Some of rugby league’s biggest names have helped mould late-blooming Sharks prop Braden Hamlin-Uele into the player he is today.

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From stinging runs to a cheeky offload, Jason Taumalolo, Sonny Bill Williams and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves have taught Cronulla’s Braden Hamlin-Uele what it takes to be an NRL forward.

Hamlin-Uele is making a mark in the Sharks’ experienced pack but it’s the time spent at two of the competition’s most successful clubs that has helped turn him into the player he is today.

“I just like running hard and putting some sting in defence,” Hamlin-Uele said. “It was learned and taught to me.

“I’ve come through established clubs like the Roosters and Cowboys and now at Cronulla even. They are teams always at the top end of the ladder.

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“Just having blokes around you that are footy smart rubs off on you and pick up skills that they have.

Hamlin-Uele wasn’t rubbing shoulders with just any “blokes”, he was in the company of some of the most prominent forwards in modern NRL history.

“When I was at the Cowboys in 2015, it was Jason Taumalolo,’’ he said. “He’s just been so damaging ever since the moment he took to the field and he is someone I aspire to be like.

“He’s a freak of nature. He’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime-type forward.”

Before the Tongan powerhouse, there was Sonny Bill Williams. Born in Auckland, Hamlin-Uele first arrived in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs as a teenager in 2013 - to play for the Roosters’ SG Ball and under-20s side - and it was there he started to shape his game on the fellow New Zealand internationals around him.

“When I was at the Roosters, Sonny Bill was there,’’ he said. “He was a superstar and known for his offload.

Hamlin-Uele has impressed since joining Cronulla. AAP Image/Craig Golding.

“Jared Waerea-Hargreaves as well. He was the aggressor and always wanted to run hard. They’re the things that I try and go out to do on the field.”

Hamlin-Uele’s admiration for Taumalolo quickly turned into a budding bromance. And though the Glenora Bears junior departed Townsville at the end of 2017, the two players remain close.

“We had a bit to do with each other when I was up there, played a couple of trials together and I got my NRL debut with him [in 2017],’’ he said. “We became pretty close and we still keep in contact.”

Their friendship has done nothing to dampened the rivalry between them and Hamlin-Uele has Cronulla’s round-19 clash against North Queensland circled in thick red pen in his calendar.

“It’s not really playing the Cowboys, it’s playing against Jason. I’ll make sure to blind shot or something like that,” Hamlin-Uele said with a laugh.

“He’s always ripping on me. He beat me in one game of 5m touch and he hasn’t let me live it down. This was back in 2016.

Hamlin-Uele is a late bloomer. AAP Image/Craig Golding.

“I haven’t been able to play him yet but when I do, hopefully I put a shot on him and see what happens now.”

Facing an injury crisis after losing Aaron Woods in April to a foot injury, Sharks coach John Morris called Hamlin-Uele into first grade in round five.

In the seven games since, the 115kg forward has been averaging 98m per game, has clocked 216 post-contact metres, made 25 tackle busts and scored two tries — all in limited game time off the bench.

Halfback Chad Townsend is expecting more of the same against the Parramatta Eels at PointsBet Stadium Saturday night.

“He’s been outstanding,” Townsend said. “He has led the energy off our interchange bench.

“His sheer size is something we probably lacked a little bit of and his aggression, leg drive and post-contact metres have been outstanding.”