Waianga aims up against friends

A PUSH to lose weight and earn back his spot in the halves proved the catalyst for Addo Waianga’s breakthrough season. Now he is aiming to complete his first undefeated campaign since his junior days.

The Brothers halfback capped off a remarkable 2021 when he was honoured as the Townsville and District Rugby League’s player of the year with the Dr Rod Ward Medal.

A former Centrals Tigers ace, Waianga joined the Brethren last year in the joined competition with Mackay, initially in the centres.

But having grown up in the halves, the veteran wanted to claim the scrumbase as his domain, to which coach Roy Baira had a simple response.

Lose weight, and he would be in with a chance.

“He said to me if I wanted that position I’d be battling with a couple of other players like Brenn Foster who was there at the start,” Waianga said.

“He also said if wanted it I’d be looking at losing a fair bit of weight – the number seven jumper is only a medium.

“I think I dropped about five or six which he was pretty happy with. It was just a bit of hard work and cutting on the diet.” “I do feel like I can actually go through 80 minutes without cramping up towards the end. I’m lighter on my feet, not so short of breath and can be involved a bit more.”

A close friendship with halves partner Ty Carucci has been another contributing factor to Waianga’s rise, with the pair’s history dating back to their time with Kirwan Bears. Since then they rarely had the chance to play alongside each other, but now an opportunity awaits to remain an unbroken and premiershipwinning combination. Loyalties will also be tested across enemy lines for this Sunday’s grand final against Centrals, given Waianga’s connections to the club.

Initially it was only the Tigers’ decision not to partake in last year’s revised competition due to the Covid-19 pandemic which led to the halfback’s stint in new colours.

While he remains in the blue and white jersey, he still regards Tigers forward David Munro as one of his closest mates. Waianga also shared the scrumbase with Centrals’ Wes Barrie in their 2016 grand final appearance.

Waianga said it added extra excitement to this week’s decider as well as that shot at ultimate bragging rights between friends.