TWEED TO TOWNSVILLE
MAL MENINGA CUP DECIDER:
BLACKHAWKS strike duo and housemates Ragarive Wavik and Dudley Dotoi loom as Townsville’s greatest weapons in the Mal Meninga Cup decider on Saturday.
The numbers tell a scary tale – 13 tries between them from just five games.
Dotoi said living with Wavik had helped develop his game and allowed their partnership to blossom.
Now they have one final chance to showcase how damaging their combination can be, with the Mal Meninga Cup on the line when the Blackhawks meet the Tweed Seagulls.
“When you live with Ragsy – he’s Queensland rep, could have been Australia rep – so you get a lot of tips and advice and it makes you want to work a lot harder to get to where he is,” Dotoi said.
For Wavik, the final is his last opportunity to justify his recognition as the under-18 tournament’s best player.
From the moment he crossed for his fourth try in Round 2 against the Pride, he became the name on everyone’s lips for his attacking prowess which earnt him a junior Cowboys contract.
Wavik and Dotoi know there could be retribution in the minds of their Tweed rivals, given many of their opponents featured in the Palm Beach Currumbin side which lost to their Kirwan Bears in the Phil Hall Cup schools final last year.
The Blackhawks boast a combination of the Kirwan and Ignatius Park teams from 2020 but Wavik said school allegiances had been forgotten.
“I didn’t really know what to expect, yeah we’re from different schools but we came together as Blackhawks,” Wavik said.
“It was kind of cool to see everyone come together, put aside the school-based footy and come into club.”