Langer Cup 2020: Moeaki Fotuaika’s brother Sione returns to haunt Keebra Park
The kid brother of a Gold Coast Titans superstar has snubbed the school his brother made history at to break free of his shadow and blaze his own trail to the NRL.
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The kid brother of Gold Coast Titans prop Moeaki Fotuaika has snubbed the school his brother made history at to break free of his shadow and blaze his own trail to the NRL.
Sione Fotuaika, 16, moved to Queensland from New Zealand this year to follow in the footsteps of his three older brothers into professional sporting careers.
His family is practically royalty at Gold Coast rugby league nursery Keebra Park.
Eldest Mosese won the Langer Cup with Keebra in 2009 before joining Wests Tigers while Moeaki raised the prestigious trophy in 2016 before signing with the Titans.
Middle child Feao’s path led to the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby.
The family are as highly regarded as any in Keebra’s illustrious sporting history but Sione has chosen to forge his own legacy at Langer Cup rivals Marsden State High instead.
He’ll find out if he made the right choice on Wednesday when he visits his brothers’ old school for the first time, on a mission to conquer it.
“I wanted to find somewhere new and find my legacy with myself,” the quietly-spoken prop said.
“Everyone is always talking about my brothers and forgetting me out of the picture.
“I’m here to start proving my skills.”
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The clash between two large forward packs is a clear opportunity to establish himself on the Queensland rugby league scene.
Fotuaika is used to punching above his weight.
Spectators at the family’s backyard football matches almost needed hard-hats to safely observe the demolition scene as the Fotuaikas practised their wrecking-ball tackling.
The influence of those backyard smackdowns on Sione’s development is clear.
“Watching them play when I was young made me want to play rugby like them,” he said.
“We played a lot of time in the backyard, me and my brothers.
“They taught me some skills like how to tackle, giving me tips on how to improve my skills and get a little bit better.
“It’ll be pretty special (to play against their old school) but hopefully they’ll be cheering for me.”
Marsden State High coach Jesse Maclean praised Fotuaika’s work ethic and subtle ball skills for a front-rower.
“He’s focused on improving his game,” he said.
“His work ethic is really noticeable even though he’s only young and developing.
“Sione’s got sneaky ball skills and I hope over the next two years we can really promote that part of his game.
“He’s a pretty similar build to his brother (Moeaki) but he’s his own person.”
The Bulletin will livestream the Keebra Park clash with Marsden SHS at goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport from 5pm Wednesday.
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