This was published 5 years ago
Fijian flyer Mikaele Ravalawa inspires Bulls boilover
By Caden Helmers
Mikaele Ravalawa is a quiet bloke off the field and the Tuggeranong Bushrangers wish he was a quiet bloke on it. He isn't, which is exactly why a rival NRL club might have come knocking for the Canberra Raiders flyer.
Gungahlin played like Bulls in a china shop on their way to a stunning 22-12 win over the ladder-leading Tuggeranong Bushrangers in the Canberra Raiders Cup at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Saturday.
Mikaele Ravalawa may be wearing red and white next year.Credit: Jamila Toderas
Ravalawa scored two tries and set up another to gift the struggling Bulls their third win of the season and stunt Tuggeranong's momentum in the run to the finals.
The Fijian prospect sits third on the NSW Cup's leading try scorers list and the 20-year-old Mounties discard put in a man of the match performance in his second game for Gungahlin.
Bulls coach David Howell says Ravalawa slotted in seamlessly, much like he did in Canberra when he turned up with nothing more than the clothes he was wearing and the backpack slung over his shoulders last year.
He went on to win Canberra's under 20s player of the year award and was named in Fiji's squad for the World Cup, and now St George Illawarra have reportedly made a move to poach him - for good reason.
"He’s a quiet bloke, he gets along with everybody, not that he has had many chances," Howell said.
"He had the game against the [Queanbeyan] Blues and the training session before that, he was meant to play against [Belconnen] and something happened, then this week he didn’t get a chance to train either.
"We just kept it pretty simple and let him have a bit of free rein, he probably took that to his advantage with a few chip and chases.
"[It's important] for him to come back and enjoy footy and work on the things he needs to work on, then sort out whatever is going on above us. We’ll just make the most of it while he is here.
"He’s been told he is coming back to us to play a few games and we’ve just fitted him in, and I just basically told him to enjoy his footy down here because he is a step above this sort of level. He’s only going to improve."
The Bulls are starting to turn things around but there is still work to do.Credit: Jamila Toderas
The former Fijian under 18s rugby sevens star scored a length of the field try to put the Bulls on track for an upset and there would be no miracle comeback from the minor premiership hopefuls.
The Bushrangers dominated early but could only muster a 6-4 lead at the break before the Bulls clicked into gear on their way to the upset of the season.
"They’ve been the benchmark this year, very consistent performers. For our guys to get out there and match it with them physically, they definitely will take a lot out of it," Howell said.
"Things are just falling into place so hopefully the younger kids that are here can take a bit from this back end of the season and take it forward into next year and learn a lot from it."
The Queanbeyan Kangaroos are now one point behind Tuggeranong on the table after they comfortably accounted for the Belconnen Sharks, while the Yass Magpies kept their faint finals hopes alive in a thrilling 16-12 win over the West Belconnen Warriors.
The Blues snapped their horror winless streak with a dominant 44-12 win over the Goulburn Bulldogs to show signs of life heading into the final fortnight of the regular season.
AT A GLANCE
Canberra Raiders Cup round 16 -
GUNGAHLIN BULLS 22 (M Ravalawa 2, T Sherd, J Scholes tries; J Scholes 3 goals) bt TUGGERANONG BUSHRANGERS 12 (N Vanisi, L Tuicakau tries; J Mitchell, M Picker goals)
YASS MAGPIES 16 (Tries: T Warner, B Warner J Vatikani; Goals: S Davis 2) bt WEST BELCONNEN WARRIORS 12 (L Afa, J McDonnell tries; L Keeley 2 goals)
QUEANBEYAN BLUES 44 (T Eldridge 2, J Williams 2, F Fainifo, J Stein, G Stewart, J Stuckey tries; T Campese 4, J Baker goals) bt GOULBURN BULLDOGS 12 (C Brebner, A Marshall tries; C Hart, H Hodge goals)
QUEANBEYAN KANGAROOS 34 (Josh Ayers 2, D Hay 2, R Tuckwell, J Baxter tries; B Crisp 5 goals) bt BELCONNEN UNITED SHARKS 6 (J Brown try; A McDonald goal)