Chances open for Tawake
Knights prop to step up
The loss of gun prop Tereina McLean has opened the door for the man nicknamed The Fijian Sledghammer to make his mark on the Griffith Uni College Knights.
The most successful club in region, the Knights will enter the Gold Coast District Rugby Union season aiming for a fifth-straight premiership.
But they will have to do it without lion-hearted tighthead prop McLean, who has left the region to be closer to family.
It has opened the door for a new Knights hero to step up in the engine room, with Knights A Grade coach Shaun Cole picking out mobile big man Lesi Tawake as one to watch out for.
“Our veteran tight-head had to move away to look after his family and we wish him nothing but the best,” Cole said.
“(He was) one of the best players and people to have ever worn a Knights jersey.
“(Tawake’s) the cornerstone of our pack now with Tereina gone. Lesi is very quick for a prop and can break a game open through the middle.”
The Knights have also welcomed former Hinterland Celtics prop Israel Teremoana into their side for the 2204 season, who is expected to put pressure on the starting props each week.
While they have featured in the past eight GCDRU grand finals, and are the standard bearers of the competition over the past decade, Cole admitted this was the best he had seen his side.
Jaye Paton will lead the side into a grand final rematch against Surfers Paradise to start the season this weekend off the back of a huge pre-season.
“It’s been the best buy-in I’ve had during my years in charge,” Cole said.
“Our strength and conditioning coach Dan Adams has worked the lads hard with their cardio and we have picked up our game plan and structure a lot quicker than we have done in previous years.
“Gold Coast referees, in particular Scott Lynch, have set us very clear instructions on how the new tackle law will be refereed. This has provided our squad clarity around the change.
“Our standards are based around working hard for one another and making sure that the time we dedicate to rugby is time well spent.
“We’ve worked really hard to implement a well-structured rugby program for our lads to maximise our time together and I think that will help put us in a good position.”