Brandon Wakeham
Brandon Wakeham (born 11 January 1999) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback, five-eighth or hooker for Wests Tigers in the NRL. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
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| Born | 11 January 1999 Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 78 kg (12 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Five-eighth, Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] As of 13 May 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
Wakeham was born in Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Fijian and Lebanese descent.[2]
He played his junior rugby league for Chester Hill Hornets.
Playing career
2019
He made his international debut for Fiji in their 56-14 victory vs Lebanon in the 2019 Pacific Test, where he scored 20 points in the match.[3]
In round 15 of the 2019 NRL season, Wakeham made his NRL debut for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs off the interchange bench in his sides 14-12 win over the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Wakeham played majority of the game at five-eighth after Kieran Foran left the field in the early stages due to injury.
2020
Wakeham played a total of 16 appearances for Canterbury in the 2020 NRL season. The club finished in 15th place on the table, only avoiding the Wooden Spoon by for and against.[4]
2021
In round 7 of the 2021 NRL season, Wakeham became the first ever 18th man to take the field after Canterbury-Bankstown suffered a concussion which invoked the new 18th man rule which had been brought in by the NRL.[5]
Wakeham made a total of eight appearances as Canterbury claimed the wooden spoon.[6]
2022
On 1 June, Wakeham was suspended for four matches after being found guilty of eye gouging St. George Illawarra's Tyrell Sloan during a NSW Cup game at Belmore Sports Ground. He played a total of eight games for the club in the 2022 NRL season.[7] Wakeham captained Canterbury's NSW Cup team in their grand final loss to Penrith at the Western Sydney Stadium.[8]
2023
On 24 January, Wakeham signed a one-year deal to join the Wests Tigers ahead of the 2023 NRL season.[9]
Controversy
On 25 June 2021, Wakeham was one of three Canterbury players who were ordered to self-isolate after attending a Covid-19 exposure site in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. The NRL had ordered players of all 16 teams a week earlier not to attend any restaurants, clubs or bars in the Waverley Local Government area.[10]
References
- Rugby League Project
- "Fiji Bati thrashes Lebanon". FBC News. 22 June 2019.
- "Fiji vs Lebanon". Wide World of Sports. 22 June 2019.
- "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". www.foxsports.com.au.
- "'Desperate' 219-day upset brings coach to tears as Sharks bomb SIX tries: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
- "Canterbury Bulldogs set to sign Rabbitohs star Braidon Burns, Storm prop Max King for 2022 NRL season". wwos.nine.com.au.
- "Bulldogs playmaker Brandon Wakeham hit with four-game ban for eye gouge on Tyrell Sloan". www.sportingnews.com.
- "NSW Cup Grand Final 2022". www.nswrl.com.
- "Brandon Wakeham joins Wests Tigers on one-year deal". www.sportingnews.com.
- "Bulldogs Dylan Napa, Brandon Wakeham, Aaron Schoupp to self-isolate for visit to Bondi COVID exposure site". www.abc.net.au.