Dwayne Vale was paid to gain weight as part of his first NBL contract

Dwayne Vale gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘pay by the kilo.’ SUBSCRIBE TO READ MORE

DWAYNE Vale gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, ‘pay by the kilo.’

When the now North Gold Coast Seahawks general manager signed as a development player with the Cairns Taipans, a clause in his contract financially rewarded for every kilogram he gained.

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Initially weighing in at 75kg, Vale recalls bulking up to 90kg in no time when he started to impact at state league level.

It eventually paved the way for Vale to make his NBL debut after deciding to move from his home in Townsville to Cairns back in the mid-2000s.

Dwayne Vale during his time at the QLD Academy of sports.

Feeling hard done by in his home town, even being told by a Townsville Crocs academy coach he ‘needed to be better’ Vale and his parents sat down with Cairns Taipans assistant coach Aaron Fearne who offered Vale the chance to travel to China with the team.

“They said if I enjoyed it, I could come and join their academy,” Vale said.

“I was a bit unsure about it all but it was the best two weeks of basketball I’ve experienced so I went back home and told my parents that I’d found what I wanted to do.”

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Still a teenager, Vale moved north where he joined the Taipans academy and trained on the court or in the gym five days a week.

“Those first few weeks at the academy hurt but I was forced to reset my mindset to enjoy the grind,” he said.

“My skillset started to improve and it clicked for me that basketball was what I wanted to do.”

It wasn’t long until Vale offered a contract as a development player where he remained at the bottom of the pecking order.

NQ U18 vs Kuiyam Pride, ) Dwayne Vale of Townsville Picture: Ned Kelly

“You were basically a fill-in when they needed numbers so went back and played state league and didn’t play much the first three or four games,” Vale said.

“I was thinking ‘what have I done’ but then we went back to Townsville and I had my breakout game where I started thinking I could mix in with the big boys and I gained a lot of momentum and confidence after that game.”

Vale’s chance on the big stage came in September 2005 when the Taipans were 30 odd points up against the New Zealand Breakers.

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“Deba George was tapping my leg with a few minutes to go saying ‘we’re going to get on here,’” Vale said.

“I started getting the shakes and had a dry mouth and then the coach came and pointed as us both.

“It was a packed house and Deba brought the ball down the court and put it out to me and that was when I put down my first NBL points.”

TCP Sport 05/08/2006 Cairns Marlins Dwayne Vale foul's Townsville Heat's Grant Kruger during the QABL Cairns Marlins vs Townsville Heat at Aumuller St basketball stadium Keywords / Basketball / QABL / Sport / Marlins

Even after playing 90 NBL games and also forging a successful state league career including two state and one national championship, Vale still believes his career was one big overachievement.

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“I wasn’t the most talented player and everything I got was from working my butt off,” he said.

“I managed to extract every ounce of talent in my genes.

“In my head, I consider myself a Marlins player, not a Taipans player because the Marlins were home to me.

“All I thought I’d ever be able to do was play state league basketball.”