Jordan Earns Double Rep Honours

It’s certainly been a big month for Seagulls under-16s prop Jordan Tauali’i, one of the brightest prospects in the junior club.

And the Palm Beach Currumbin year 11 student certainly does things big – he is a whopping 124kg!

Days after returning from touring New Zealand with the NSW Country under-16s squad, Jordan was last weekend chosen in the Queensland Samoan 16s team to play Queensland-based Cook Islands, Tonga, Maoris and PNG heritage teams in Brisbane at season’s end.

He is a player who Seagulls Intrust Super Cup coach Aaron Zimmerle, coach of the PBC open age side, believes has the attitude to progress far in the game.

“Jordan has worked really hard to achieve what he has this year and it’s great to see him being recognised,” Zimmerle said.

“At the start of the year we wanted to put him in the position to make the open A side and he has emerged to be our starting front-rower.

“Once or twice a week, he does 20-minute efforts on the ‘ergo’ machine which is often rowing 5km which is quite an effort. And that’s on top of the four or five other sessions we do.

“He knew he had to improve aerobic capacity. He has played 40 minutes unchanged in one match which was unheard of a year ago; he has   found the drive to want to improve himself. He is massive, although he dropped five kilos this season.”

Jordan, whose father is Samoan-born, moved with his family to the Gold Coast when he was young and has been in the Seagulls ranks since he was six, although he had a couple of seasons playing rugby union.

He said the experience of playing in New Zealand was invaluable, despite the chilly weather.

“One morning it was minus six when we got up and we had to train in it,” he smiled.

Now Jordan, a member of the Gold Coast Titans elite development squad, wants to play a major role in the Seagulls under-16s, coached by Brendan Towell, making the finals (they are placed fourth) and do well for PBC.

The player he tries to base himself on – Aaron Woods, Nate Myles, Jason Taumalolo? It’s 18-year-old Payne Haas, the Keebra Park high product and 2016 Australian Schoolboys star, who is in the Broncos under-20s squad.

“I watch the way he plays and try to play like him; he’s always been quite big for his age like me,” Jordan said.

Jordan and his mother Louise particularly wanted to thank the Tweed Head juniors and senior clubs who have each provided $300 towards his costs for going into camp with the Samoan side.

“I’m pretty stoked with what has happened the past few months. I wasn’t expecting to make the NSW Country side and to make the Samoan Queensland side after getting all the way to NSW Country just tops it off,” he said.

“And the support from the Seagulls is really appreciated.”

For highlights of NSW Country v Canterbury match, in which Jordan makes a big bust, CLICK HERE