Kiwi-NRL Junior Siua Wong's Crazy Year Of Footy
Siua Wong is a young lad from Auckland who played SG Ball, Jersey Flegg, NSW Cup and NRL trials for Roosters this year before making his international Test debut for Fiji at the Rugby League World Cup. The 19-year-old has played every level except for proper NRL footy in the same year and he is likely to slide into the Roosters NRL summer training ahead of a possible debut next year.
There isn't much information about Wong's grassroots footy in Auckland. Wong went to Mt Albert Grammar School where he appears to have played rugby union and also popped up in a Under 14 Hakula Tonga team in 2017. The lack of grassroots information about Wong's junior footy is part of a low key Roosters Kiwi-NRL recruitment trend as they are the best at scouting undercover players and embedding them in the Roosters system.
Sitili Tupouniua is a lovely comparison as he was also recruited out of MAGS and while he made a few appearances for Akarana, Tupouniua wasn't a decorated junior in Aotearoa. Joseph Manu's talent may have been obvious to anyone who saw him playing footy for Tokoroa High School, yet he wasn't a regular in NZRL representative teams. Naufahu Whyte is another example as he was recruited out of Kelston Boys High School/Waitemata without the same buzz that many other Kiwi-NRL juniors have.
Roosters are the best Kiwi-NRL organisation because they find value with both methods. Christian Tuipulotu was one of the most decorated juniors in Aotearoa when Roosters signed him from NZ Warriors for example. Roosters currently have Benaiah Ioelu (Howick/Mt Albert), Salesi Foketi (Manurewa) and Cassius Tia (Marist) in their SG Ball squad; all three were part of the 2020 NZRL Under 16 Residents team.
There is also balance in how Roosters invest in their Kiwi-NRL juniors. Some wait to finish school in Aotearoa before moving to Roosters. Roosters also have ample resources to shift Kiwi-NRL juniors during their school years which requires housing, schooling and general supervision. Then there is the Manu situation where he would leave Tokoroa on a Friday, flying to Sydney where he played weekend footy and returned to Tokoroa to be in school on Monday.
Wong left Auckland and played 1st 15 for Scots College. This passage sums everything up fairly nicely...
Young Roosters player Siua Wong, 19, left a positive impression on the room as he recalled his journey from New Zealand as a 14-year-old to board at The Scots College in Bellevue Hill, where he completed high school in 2021. He has since been housed in one of the units in the block purchased by the Roosters as a member of the club’s academy. He spoke of the systems the Roosters had in place to support him as he has come through the club’s junior grades.
Roosters bring in players from Queensland and around New South Wales, yet they invest more in building a strong group of Kiwi-NRL juniors. Compared to other NRL teams, Roosters have the best system and support for Kiwi-NRL juniors which is all on display in Wong's career.
Wong started his Roosters journey in 2019 with their Harold Matthews team and this year was his third year of Roosters SG Ball. Wong went from SG Ball to NRL trials where he scored a try, then he played Jersey Flegg before settling into 10 games of NSW Cup footy. In reserve grade Wong played as an edge forward for North Sydney Bears and churned out 80 minutes in all 10 games, averaging 113m/game and tackling with 90.6 percent efficiency.
Wong was then a consistent presence in Fiji's forward pack throughout RLWC. The youngster played edge and middle forward at the highest level, showcasing his maturity as he looked comfortable in the Test arena. That shouldn't be a surprise considering that Wong played SG Ball and 10 games of NSW Cup footy in the same year.
Roosters have lost Otara junior Siosiua Taukeiaho for next season, after Otahuhu junior Isaac Liu departed a year prior. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is still leading the Roosters forward pack although there is a shift from that crop of Kiwi-NRL forwards to the next wave. Brandon Smith's mahi at hooker will be extremely fun to track, plus Roosters have Tupouniua returning from injury, Whyte hoping to get back into NRL and Wong hunting his first opportunity.
Wong is likely to dabble in middle forward duties off the bench, then transition to edge forward. That's how Roosters brewed Tupouniua into a 80-minute edge forward and the creepy similarities between these two players can't be ignored. Wong has however displayed the skills, mindset and humility to quickly adapt to any level of footy and a full summer of training could see him settle at edge forward swiftly.
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