Teenager tipped to be a star

CAIRNS coach Atul Chowdary has seen enough of 17-yearold Etuina Suavai to suggest there is a bright future for her in rugby league.

The Kangaroos junior was a standout in the Northern Pride’s recent under-19s campaign and had her first taste of senior state rugby league last week after earning a call-up to make her BHP Premiership debut with Valkyries.

Suavai (right), who usually plays hooker, showed her versatility in a 50-minute stint at lock, running for 90m from nine runs, including an incredible 41m post-contact, and making 21 tackles.

She will take her place in the centres for Cairns when they take on Townsville this Foley Shield weekend.

“She’s one of our youngest players but she’s just a really, really good kid — always prepared, always punctual, always presentable and always willing to work hard,” Chowdary said.

“For a young kid to be able to play in the BHP Premiership, she’s very talented and she puts a lot of effort in.

“Every now and then someone comes through and you look at the way they move and the way they play and their skill level — she’s quick, she’s powerful, she’s just an athlete.”

Chowdary said Suavai’s greatest asset was her adaptability.

“She’s capable of playing in the backrow, she played lock in the BHP Premiership, she played hooker for Pride, and she’s going to help us out in the centres this weekend,” he said.

“Depending on how the game folds out, she might find herself in the halves as well.”

Chowdary said the weekend presented a great opportunity for the players.

“It’s just a really good opportunity for the girls to be rewarded and experience going down to Townsville and playing as part of a rep team under the Cairns banner and just representing themselves and their families,” he said.

Cairns take on Townsville at 12.30pm tomorrow. The game will be livestreamed on the QRL website, the Intrust Super Cup app and the QRL North Facebook page.