How a local footy player on the Sunshine Coast turned into an Italian World Cup star

The Kangaroos better take note because there’s a young Aussie called Jake Maizen ready to help Italy produce the biggest upset of the World Cup.

Jake Maizen is a cult hero after his hat-trick on debut for Italy. Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWC

Jake Maizen played just six games in the Queensland Cup this season, but he’s the name on everyone’s lips after his hat-trick guided Italy to the biggest upset so far in this year’s Rugby League World Cup.

The 25-year-old care worker was outstanding on his international debut and could have scored four tries had he not dropped one over the line in Italy’s 28-4 win over Scotland.

It gives them a realistic chance of reaching the quarter-finals, so long as they beat Fiji or produce the mother of all upsets to knock off the Kangaroos.

For now, the focus is all on Maizen after his incredible performance that featured an early contender for try of the tournament when he ran 95m off a scrum.

And as Sunshine Coast Falcons coach Brad Henderson explained, that electric speed is why they signed him from the Capras for the 2022 season.

Jake Maizen scores his third try of the afternoon. Picture: Ashley Allen/Getty Images

“We knew there was plenty of raw speed because we’d seen him get into the backfield a lot, and that appealed to us a lot because we had an inability to score long-range tries last year,” he told the NCA NewsWire.

But speed alone won’t get you very far in rugby league, which is why Maizen had to wait until round 8 for his first opportunity with his new team.

Something clicked off the field, though, and Henderson said the speedy outside back would have been a mainstay in the side had he not hurt his shoulder while scoring a try against the Dolphins, while his cause wasn’t helped by the Melbourne Storm sending established players back to their feeder team.

Maizen started the year playing local footy and is now a big name on the world stage. Picture: Ashley Allen/Getty Images

“He didn’t have the year he hoped that he’d have with us,” Henderson said.

“A couple of other guys probably got the jump on him early in the season and they were able to keep their noses in front of him.

“He had some work to do in a few areas, but by the time we got to the back-end of the year, Jake had come a long way defensively.

“What we saw this morning is how much he’s improved with his tough carries coming out of trouble. He focused really hard on those things in the middle of the year when he was stuck in the local comp here in the Sunshine Coast.

“He tended to miss out a lot of the time and it wasn’t really his fault. A lot of the guys at the Storm who were injured got better at the same time, so they were sending back two wingers and centres each week.

“It took away any chance Jake would have had if he was healthy at the time.”

Maizen summed up his journey to the World Cup with an Instagram post that said “No words will ever explain the feeling of putting this jersey on and representing my family and heritage. Nonna, nonno and dad, this one’s for you.”

It’s an incredible tale given he took it hard when he missed out on the Queensland Cup squad, but his coach said his form switched the moment he started to believe what everyone else was telling him.

NRL teams might start paying close attention to the speedster. Picture; Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWC

“It took him a little while to realise that,” Henderson explained.

“He didn’t take it too well at the beginning when he wasn’t getting much action, but he really got his head right and got stuck into the work. I think the messages that he was receiving started to sink in.

“By the end of the year, we had the utmost faith and trust in him, which is a big credit to him from where he was at the start of the season.

“That try he scored from the scrum, he’s been doing that all year for us at training and in the local comp, which he was way too good for.”

It was a big day for the Falcons, with Luke Polselli and Daniel Atkinson both starring for the Azzurri, even though the latter played out of position at left centre next to Maizen.

Henderson said he was proud of the trio and paid special mention to Maizen, who does terrific work off the field with the disabled.

“Jake works in a completely different environment to a lot of footy players and he’s relied on heavily to be available all the time,” he said.

“But one thing I’ve always said about Jake is that he’s diligent and respectful in terms of punctuality and communication.

“When you meet Jake, you’d never think that’s the job he’s in because he’s a bit of a lad, but apparently he’s particularly good at his job.”