Dolphins forward Connelly Lemuelu is like a runaway train when he gets up a head of steam. But it is the 4.57am train he caught each day as a schoolboy that started him on the road to the NRL.
The 24-year-old has been a revelation for the Dolphins in the first four rounds whether as a prop or in his favoured second-row position.
In 2016 Lemuelu, who faces St George Illawarra in Wollongong on Saturday night, was a schoolboy star attending Gold Coast rugby league powerhouse Keebra Park High School.
His aunt, who he was living with, would set the alarm for well before sunlight.
Connelly Lemuelu. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
He would be driven each day to Altandi train station in Brisbane’s south to catch the 4.57am train to the Gold Coast where schoolmates – current Gold Coast Titans David Fifita and Moeaki Fotuaika, along with Warrington’s Thomas Mikaele – would join him for the ride.
“It was the best time of my life. I loved it,” Lemuelu said.
“There were a few boys from Ipswich who would drive to catch that train. It was early in the morning but there were quite a few of us and it made it fun.
“Commitment and discipline are two factors that Keebra Park hold in very high account. I think it has shown with the amount of players they have produced who have had successful NRL careers.
“There are something like seven of us playing NRL now from that 2016 high school team.
“We have little chats on the field about what it was like to catch the 4.57am train from Altandi station down to the Gold Coast every morning.”
Titans half Tanah Boyd, Roosters outside back Jaxson Paulo and Brisbane’s Payne Haas were also in that Keebra Park First XIII squad that made the national GIO Schoolboy Cup final that year.
Lemuelu was signed to the Wests Tigers initially before making his NRL debut for North Queensland in 2020 and joining the Dolphins this year to get more consistent NRL.
He’d watched the majority of his school teammates debut in front of him and play regular NRL. Now it’s his turn.
“(The Cowboys) have a good, young team but to come down here and learn off premier back-rowers like Felise (Kaufusi) and Kenny Bromwich got me across the line to sign here,” he said.
Connelly Lemuelu during his Cowboys days. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
“I’ve played since round one and hopefully I can play the rest of the year out as well.
“I am learning off two of the best to play that position in the last ten-plus years. They are into me about not trying to be anyone else, just myself and backing my ability.”
The Auckland-born forward and his partner welcomed son Rome two months ago, who got to see his dad score in the Dolphins’ inaugural match against the Roosters
“It was my son’s first game and my parents came across from New Zealand and it was their first time watching me live playing NRL … a moment I’ll cherish forever.”
© AAP
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