Crew who always kept the faith
dunks his bread in milk and will eat a whole loaf. I think he just wasn’t used to food up there in the islands so he appreciates everything he gets.”
On Darnley Island, home to 400 people, he didn’t even have rugby league.
Gela-Mosby was so engrossed in his touch football and volleyball, NRL stars such as Matt Bowen, who he eventually got to play alongside at the Auckland Nines in 2016, were unknown to him, but not for long, according to dad Michael.
“In his room he had a big poster of Matty Bowen, standing in his Cowboys suit,” he said. “When we first put the poster up, he asked: ‘Dad, who’s that?’
“I said: ‘That’s Matty Bowen, he plays for the Cowboys’.
“Then he said to me: ‘What? He plays touch?’”
But it was his cousin George, a teacher at the school on the island, who made sure Gela-Mosby grew up with a football in his hand.
“On the island we started an open competition. He was only 10 years old,” he said.
“We made a primary school side against the big fellas. They went pretty good and Gideon was always scoring, because he was quick. “The boys worked out quickly to give him the ball. It was giving him a sense of structure and competition. That was a glimpse of what he’d be able to do.”
The other thing that made him keep clearing whatever obstacle was placed in front of him was his incredible support network – mums, dads, the Cairns touch community, the Parramatta State School community and of course at Cairns Kangaroos Junior Rugby League Club.
“There’s a lot of people I want to say thank you to, because Gideon came down here and didn’t know how to play rugby league,” Gela said.
“I really thank God for everything, for steering us in the right direction for him.
“We put him into Kangaroos because it’s a family team. The first time he played in under-15 at Mann St, he came off the bench, Eddie Sailor ran him on, they played the ball and he scored from dummy half, went straight through them
“There was never a step back down. There’s a lot of obstacles but he jumps them and every time he jumps, we jump with him.” IF the world doesn’t know who Gideon Gela-Mosby is, they’re certainly about to find out and he’s out to make sure it’s both a long time and a good time.
Some say the Cowboys winger is too small, he’s not ready, but his dad Michael Gela said after watching him excel in everything he put his hand to, there was no reason for anyone to doubt him.
“Gideon won’t let nobody down, small or big. He’s just that kind of person,” he said.
“Gideon was a pretty playful kid. He played anything. I think that’s probably what made him into who he is. He plays anything and he does best in it.
“He’d come home with trophies from beach volleyball. We didn’t know he was even playing volleyball.”
Gela said his son was cool and calm before heading to the Gold Coast for his NRL debut.
“He said to me he’s ready and he’s looking forward to it and he said one thing to me before he went from Cairns to Townsville: ‘Dad, I’ll cement that spot and I won’t get out of it. That’s my spot.’,” he said.
“For me and my wife it’s a dream come true.
“We left our home, we left our island, we left our jobs to come here in 2009, because we wanted to give him the opportunity.”
“The whole island is buzzing. Everyone in the Torres Strait is behind him. But his is-