BUILDING A NEW LEGACY
THE Fotuaika name is synonymous with rugby league on the Gold Coast and goes hand-in-hand with powerhouse Keebra Park. Until now.
Meet Sione Fotuaika, the younger brother of Titans NRL prop Moeaki who helped lead Keebra Park to triumph in the Langer Cup in 2016.
Sione has snubbed the school in order to forge his own path to the NRL with Marsden State High, which will try to dismantle Keebra Park when they clash today.
The Langer Cup game will be live streamed at goldcoastbulletin.com.au.
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 is as highly regarded as any in Keebra’s illustrious sporting history but Stone has chosen to forge his own legacy at Langer Cup rival Marsden State High.
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.”
The clash between two large forward packs is a clear opportunity to establish himself on the Queensland scene.
Fotuaika is used to punching above his weight.
Spectators at the family’s backyard 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 coach Jesse Maclean praised Fotuaika’s work ethic and subtle skills.
“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.”
■ LIVE stream the Keebra Park v Marsden clash at goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport from 5pm on Wednesday.