Waqa Blake

Waqa Blake (born 26 October 1994) is a Fijian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre and winger for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL and Fiji at international level.

Waqa Blake
Personal information
Born (1994-10-26) 26 October 1994
Lautoka, Fiji
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Playing information
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–19 Penrith Panthers 88 34 0 0 136
2019– Parramatta Eels 30 9 0 0 36
Total 118 43 0 0 172
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015 City Origin 1 0 0 0 0
2017 Fiji 1 0 0 0 0
2019– Fiji 9s 2 0 0 0 0
As of 20 October 2019
Source: [1]

He previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League and New South Wales City.

Background

Blake was born in Lautoka, Fiji, and is of Tongan descent through his biological father, and Fijian descent through his mother. Blake moved to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia as a 9-year-old.

He 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]

Playing career

2013

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

Blake playing for the Panthers

2014

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 later 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 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 defeat by the Northern Pride in the 2014 NRL State Championship.[12]

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]

2016

In February 2016, Blake was named in the Panthers 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[19] After New Zealand international representatives and usual backline starters Peta Hiku and Dean Whare suffered season ending knee injuries, Blake made the right centre position of his own, having some blockbusting performances in the late rounds of the season during the Panthers charge into the finals, a great transformation after he explained that he returned to pre-season training 12 kilograms overweight and coach Anthony Griffin mentioning to him that "if you want to play in the outside backs, you need to trim down, otherwise you’ll be playing in the forwards".[20] Blake enjoyed his 2016 NRL season with him playing with playing in 21 matches and scoring 8 tries for the Panthers. On 14 November 2016, Blake extended his contract with Panthers to the end of the 2019 season.[21]

2017

In February 2017, Blake was named in the Panthers runners-up 2017 NRL Auckland Nines squad where he was named in the Team of the Tournament.[22] After the Panthers Round 5 clash against the Melbourne Storm, where they lost 28-6 at AAMI Park, Blake alongside Panthers captain Matt Moylan and Peta Hiku were dropped to the Panthers NSW Cup team for 1 match after they breached the booze curfew by being out in the Melbourne nightlife into the early hours of the next morning.[23] On 6 May 2017, Blake made his international debut for Fiji against Tonga, playing at centre in the 26-24 loss at Campbelltown Stadium.[24][25] In Round 26 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Blake suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the Panthers 28-12 loss at Brookvale Oval, unfortunately resulting him of missing the finals series and representing Fiji for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.[26] Blake finished the 2017 NRL season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 7 tries for the Panthers.

2018

In Round 1 against cross-city rivals, the Parramatta Eels, Blake started the 2018 season with a bang, scoring two tries for the Panthers as they came back from a 14-0 deficit to achieve a 24-14 victory at Penrith Stadium.[27] As Blake showed great form in the early rounds, unfortunately in Round 5 against the Parramatta Eels, who the Panthers played against a month earlier, Blake suffered a high-grade syndesmosis injury in his right ankle in late in second-half as the Panthers walked away with a close 12-6 win at ANZ Stadium.[28] Blake was set to miss four rounds but unfortunately was ruled out for longer. Blake finally made his return for the Panthers in Round 17 against the New Zealand Warriors, scoring a try in the 36-4 upset win at Penrith Stadium.[29] Blake finished the 2018 NRL season with him being the Panthers highest tryscorer with 12 tries in 15 matches.

2019

Blake started the 2019 NRL season as one of Penrith's first choice centres. Blake would play the first 10 games of the season for Penrith as the club struggled on the field winning only 2 of their first 9 matches which left the side last on the table. Blake's final game for Penrith was in Round 11 against Parramatta at the new Western Sydney Stadium which Penrith won 16-10. The following week, it was revealed that Blake would be ruled out for 10 weeks with a knee injury. On 26 June, it was announced that Blake was released by Penrith and had signed a four-and-a-half year deal with Parramatta.[30][31][32]

Blake made his debut for Parramatta against the New Zealand Warriors which ended in a 24-22 victory at the new Western Sydney Stadium.[33]

In Round 22 against the Gold Coast, Blake scored his first and second tries for Parramatta in a 36-12 victory at Cbus Super Stadium.[34]

2020

In round 5 of the 2020 NRL season, Blake scored a try and had one try assist as Parramatta defeated his former club Penrith 16-10. The result saw Parramatta win their first five games of the year, the club's best start to a season since 1986.[35]

Blake played a total of 22 games for Parramatta in the 2020 NRL season as the club finished third but were eliminated in straight sets from the finals. Blake came under intense criticism in the second half of the season after numerous poor defensive displays.[36][37]

References
  1. "Waqa Blake - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2015-12-25.
  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.
  19. http://www.nrl.com/2016-downer-nrl-auckland-nines-official-squads/tabid/10874/newsid/91563/default.aspx
  20. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/panthers-ace-waqa-blake-only-has-an-appetite-for-terrorising-nrl-rivals/news-story/314288086fc7aad3fc29ffecaf9389e6
  21. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/penrith-panthers-impressive-retention-drive-continues-with-waqa-blake/news-story/a7869c6619293dfdd245d8433954afab
  22. http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/auckland-nines/auckland-nines-2017-teens-and-tyros-headline-team-of-the-tournament/news-story/ed6fa4870af397b9098421b5d116e771
  23. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/panthers-captain-matt-moylan-peta-hiku-and-waqa-blake-dropped-for-team-protocol-breach/news-story/1391986c013ff978eed668f520bffdc2
  24. https://www.nrl.com/news/2017/05/04/tonga-v-fiji-preview/
  25. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/unlikely-hero-leilani-latu-inspires-12man-tonga-to-a-thrilling-victory-over-fiji/news-story/bdd8f6d8c4d3f8530cf994b465d5609f
  26. https://www.nrl.com/news/2017/09/08/penriths-blake-out-of-manly-clash/
  27. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nathan-cleary-leads-penrith-panthers-to-2414-win-over-parramatta-eels/news-story/e35ba9d38ed5d4531fb781b2a0a318b6
  28. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/waqa-blake-adds-to-panthers-injury-woes-20180409-p4z8li.html
  29. https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/new-zealand-were-completely-outplayed-by-a-rampant-penrith/news-story/beb6c78d5e9719b079676f6a381545a7
  30. "Eels snatch Panthers star in mid-season signing frenzy". Fox Sports.
  31. "Westfund Injury Update: Waqa Blake". Penrith Panthers.
  32. "Penrith Panthers beat Parramatta Eels 16-10 to end NRL losing run". ABC.
  33. "Parramatta Eels edge New Zealand Warriors 24-22 in controversial stunner". News.com.au.
  34. "Moses guides Eels past sorry Titans in NRL". 7 News.
  35. "Friday Night Results". www.abc.net.
  36. "Parramatta Eels farewell 11 players in mass exodus following disappointing finals exit". www.sportingnews.com.
  37. "I know what I am capable of". wwwsmh.com.au.
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