Ace homes in on goal
PNG prodigy pursuing AFL dream through scholarship deal with Suns
LYING under the stars in a makeshift bed on the veranda of his family home in Papua New Guinea, Hewago Oea dreamt of playing in the AFL.
Not for premierships or playing in front of packed stadiums but so he can build a new home and life for his family back home in the small Port Moresby suburb of Gordon.
“Playing in the AFL would be good for me because it could change the life of my family back home,” Oea said.
“My dream is to play in the AFL. I want to play footy and build a house back home for my family, maybe bring them here (to Australia).”
Oea, affectionately known as Ace by his Australian friends, has taken a step towards fulfilling his dream after signing with the Gold Coast Suns on a two-year international scholarship.
The 16-year-old is considered a big chance to reach the AFL, drawing praise from the likes of Suns academy coach Andrew Raines for his speed, endurance and developing skills.
If successful, Oea would become the sixth PNG-born player to be listed by an AFL club and fifth to play a senior game.
They are big plaudits for a young man who has spent just two years playing Australian rules competitively after first being introduced to the game by AFL Queensland Asia Pacific development co-ordinator Ben Drew in 2013.
Oea, who stands at 171cm and weighs 62kg, first came to Australia while representing the under-14 South Pacific team, made up of PNG, Fiji, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Nauru, at the Queensland championships.
The forward caught the eye of Suns officials after kicking five goals in one of the under-16 state title games last year and was selected in the national AFL academy as a result.
He has since toured New Zealand with the national academy team and caught the eye of several AFL clubs, including
St Kilda and Essendon, before signing with Gold Coast.
Oea, whose mother Lala Mai died when he was two, is the youngest of seven children who lived together in a small two-bedroom flat in PNG.
His father, Paul Oea, sleeps in one room and his three sisters in the other, leaving
Oea and his brothers to happily bunker down on mats on the veranda.
Back home, the local football fields are made up largely of hard dirt and clay.
The Suns have given Oea two brand new pairs of football boots but the talented teenager opts to use the old pair – now too small for his
growing feet – in order to preserve the others.
Chicken and rice is the staple dish at home and it has taken time for Oea to become comfortable with the variety of food on offer at a professional sports organisation that has catered cuisine.
It’s an insight into the mindset of the humble young player who has been given little in life but thrived off the simple things.
“To see what Ace has been up against – with the challenges of a developing country – to play some good football and even learn the game that is not native to them, it’s quite an incredible feat what he has done so far,” Raines said.
Oea has been living with Gold Coast-based AFL Queensland development coordinator Tim Searle and his wife Kris who, along with a tutor, have been teaching him how to read and write.
“He is a ripping kid,” Searle said. “My wife loves him and he has fitted in really well at home.”
Raines, who flew to PNG to meet Oea’s father and sign the deal with the Suns, said he believed he had a bright future in footy.
“(Oea) came to a training session with our highperformance group last year and he wasn’t missing targets, he was quick, elusive and trained the house down,” Raines said of a player who runs 20m in 2.91 seconds.
“From then on we thought this kid had something. He still has a bit of work to do in terms of playing at that next level and executing his skills under pressure.
“What I love about him is his tenacity. He is fierce, tough and works hard. His third, fourth and fifth efforts are incredible and he has genuine leg speed.”