Waqa Blake

Waqa Blake
Blake playing for the Panthers in 2014.
Personal information
Born (1994-10-26) 26 October 1994
Lautoka, Fiji
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 101 kg (15 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position Centre, Wing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015– Penrith Panthers 39 13 0 0 52
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015 NSW City 1 0 0 0 0
As of 31 July 2016
Source: [1]

Waqa Blake (born 26 October 1994) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League. A New South Wales City representative, he plays at centre and wing.

Background

Born in Lautoka, Fiji, Blake moved to Sydney, Australia as a 9-year-old and played his junior football for the Brighton Seagulls. Blake then moved to Perth and played for Joondalup Giants in the Western Australian Rugby League competition before making the Perth Pirates S. G. Ball Cup representative team.[2] At the end of 2012, after being spotted playing for the Pirates, Blake was signed by the Penrith Panthers.[3]

In 2013 and 2014, Blake played for the Penrith Panthers' NYC team.[4] Blake played in the Panthers 2013 NYC Grand Final match against the New Zealand Warriors at centre, scoring a try in the Panthers 42-30 win.[5]

In May 2014, Blake was named on the interchange bench for the Fiji international team for the Pacific Rugby League International test against Samoa but was lately replaced by Petero Civoniceva.[6][7] In the second half of the 2014 season, Blake moved on to the Panthers New South Wales Cup team, later earning selection in the New South Wales Residents team at centre in the 24-16 loss against Queensland Residents at Suncorp Stadium.[8][9] On 28 September 2014, Blake played at centre in the Panthers 2014 New South Wales Cup Grand Final match against the Newcastle Knights and scored a try in the Panthers 48-12 win.[10][11] On 5 October 2014, Blake scored a try in the Panthers 32-28 loss to the Northern Pride in the 2014 NRL State Championship.[12]

Playing career

2015

On 26 February 2015, Blake extended his contract with the Panthers from the end of 2016 to the end of 2017.[13] In Round 5 of the 2015 NRL season, Blake made his NRL debut for the Penrith Panthers against the North Queensland Cowboys at centre in the Panthers 30-10 loss at Penrith Stadium.[14] In Blake's next match in Round 6 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Blake scored his first NRL career try in the Panthers 22-12 win at Penrith Stadium.[15] On 3 May 2015, Blake played for New South Wales City against New South Wales Country, playing at centre in City's 34-22 loss.[2][16][17] He finished off his debut year in the NRL having played in 18 matches and scoring 5 tries for the Panthers.[18]

References

  1. ↑ "Waqa Blake - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  2. 1 2 Walshaw, Nick (26 April 2015). "Waqa Blake a Future State of Origin Star". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Chammas, Michael (10 April 2015). "Panther Rookie Waqa Blake played Rugby League by Accident". Sydney Morning Hearld. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Waqa Blake". NYC DATABASE. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  5. ↑ Ben Horne. "Penrith Panthers seal thrilling 42-30 Holden Cup victory over New Zealand Warriors". Daily Telegraph.
  6. ↑ "NRL big guns for Samoa, Fiji teams". NRL.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  7. ↑ Badel, Peter (3 May 2014). "Samoa ruin Fijian prop Petero Civoniceva's shock comeback to rugby league". Courier Mail. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "VB NSW Cup Representative side named". NRL.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  9. ↑ "Queensland Residents scrape home". NRL.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  10. ↑ Adrian Warren (20 July 2015). "Tonga smash Samoa 36-4". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  11. ↑ "Penrith Panthers Take VB NSW Cup Title With Win Over Newcastle Knights". Daily Telegraph.
  12. ↑ "Northern Pride stun Penrith Panthers in NRL's State Championship". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  13. ↑ "PANTHERS RE-SIGN PEACHEY AND BLAKE". Rugby League Week.
  14. ↑ Chris Garry. "North Queensland Cowboys defeat Penrith Panthers 30-10 inspired by Johnathan Thurston". Courier Mail.
  15. ↑ "Penrith Panthers beat Manly Sea Eagles in injury-ravaged clash". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  16. ↑ "Representative Round team lists". NRL.com. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  17. ↑ "City Country Origin Coach Laurie Daley Praises Matt Moylan, Josh Jackson". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  18. ↑ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
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