Broncos unleash wrecking ball
By Mick Daly
June 28, 2006
BRISBANE will unleash their own "Jake the Muss" when Kiwi wrecking ball Ben Vaeau makes his NRL debut against the Sharks at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Like the infamous Once Were Warriors film character he resembles, the 106kg, 184cm Vaeau is a formidable figure who has overcome the mean streets of Auckland to realise his rugby league dream.
The 22-year-old forward of Cook Islands heritage said yesterday he had no fear of the NRL's toughest men after surviving a challenging upbringing in which crime and punishment was the norm.
"My upbringing was as rough as they come. That's no joke," he said. "There were a lot of negative elements around me. I grew up in an area where there was a lot of drugs, alcohol, crime and gang warfare.
"Being a part of a gang was a way of life. I used to go to school thinking, 'Am I going to get into trouble with a gang today?' It was full on, but I got through it."
Vaeau played his junior league for Auckland clubs Manakau and Mangere East before linking up with the Otahuhu Leopards in the Bartercard Cup.
He moved to Australia by himself in 2004 to play for Sydney's Newtown Jets, from where he was scouted by the Broncos.
He played for Brisbane in a trial match against Melbourne Storm last year and had a handful of games for Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Queensland Cup before fracturing his kneecap.
He missed the opening nine weeks of this season recovering from the injury but has impressed in Toowoomba's past five matches.
Advertisement:
Vaeau, who also played union at Mangere College, said he was a stronger character for having leapt the hurdles he had.
"A lot of people who know me remember me as a hard man. I could stand my own ground. I wouldn't take a backward step against anyone," he said.
"My reputation helped me get through those years.
"I was the guy that you just don't want to mess with.
"I didn't seek trouble. It's just that once people saw what I could do on the field, they didn't want to go with me off it."
The Sharks boast what is arguably the NRL's most in-form pack but Vaeau was confident that he could handle them.
He said that he respected all of his opponents but that he would never be intimidated.
"I hate being stood over. I'd go with anyone. Reputations mean nothing to me. I couldn't care less," he said.
"That's just the way I've been brought up. I want people to think twice about running into me."
Teammate Brett Seymour, who will play five-eighth for the Broncos this week, predicted Vaeau would rattle some bones: "I've played with him the last couple of weeks (for Toowoomba) and he is a machine," he said. "He is very big and strong and he's got a good offload on him."
With six players on Origin duty and regular choices Justin Hodges, Karmichael Hunt, Ben Hannant and Greg Eastwood injured, the Broncos will field a makeshift line-up against the Sharks.
Scott Minto, playing his first game of the season after overcoming a pectoral tear, will start in the centres alongside usual second rower Dane Carlaw, while Vaeau joins Nick Kenny, Joel Moon and Ian Lacey on an inexperienced interchange bench
By Mick Daly
June 28, 2006
BRISBANE will unleash their own "Jake the Muss" when Kiwi wrecking ball Ben Vaeau makes his NRL debut against the Sharks at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
Like the infamous Once Were Warriors film character he resembles, the 106kg, 184cm Vaeau is a formidable figure who has overcome the mean streets of Auckland to realise his rugby league dream.
The 22-year-old forward of Cook Islands heritage said yesterday he had no fear of the NRL's toughest men after surviving a challenging upbringing in which crime and punishment was the norm.
"My upbringing was as rough as they come. That's no joke," he said. "There were a lot of negative elements around me. I grew up in an area where there was a lot of drugs, alcohol, crime and gang warfare.
"Being a part of a gang was a way of life. I used to go to school thinking, 'Am I going to get into trouble with a gang today?' It was full on, but I got through it."
Vaeau played his junior league for Auckland clubs Manakau and Mangere East before linking up with the Otahuhu Leopards in the Bartercard Cup.
He moved to Australia by himself in 2004 to play for Sydney's Newtown Jets, from where he was scouted by the Broncos.
He played for Brisbane in a trial match against Melbourne Storm last year and had a handful of games for Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Queensland Cup before fracturing his kneecap.
He missed the opening nine weeks of this season recovering from the injury but has impressed in Toowoomba's past five matches.
Advertisement:
Vaeau, who also played union at Mangere College, said he was a stronger character for having leapt the hurdles he had.
"A lot of people who know me remember me as a hard man. I could stand my own ground. I wouldn't take a backward step against anyone," he said.
"My reputation helped me get through those years.
"I was the guy that you just don't want to mess with.
"I didn't seek trouble. It's just that once people saw what I could do on the field, they didn't want to go with me off it."
The Sharks boast what is arguably the NRL's most in-form pack but Vaeau was confident that he could handle them.
He said that he respected all of his opponents but that he would never be intimidated.
"I hate being stood over. I'd go with anyone. Reputations mean nothing to me. I couldn't care less," he said.
"That's just the way I've been brought up. I want people to think twice about running into me."
Teammate Brett Seymour, who will play five-eighth for the Broncos this week, predicted Vaeau would rattle some bones: "I've played with him the last couple of weeks (for Toowoomba) and he is a machine," he said. "He is very big and strong and he's got a good offload on him."
With six players on Origin duty and regular choices Justin Hodges, Karmichael Hunt, Ben Hannant and Greg Eastwood injured, the Broncos will field a makeshift line-up against the Sharks.
Scott Minto, playing his first game of the season after overcoming a pectoral tear, will start in the centres alongside usual second rower Dane Carlaw, while Vaeau joins Nick Kenny, Joel Moon and Ian Lacey on an inexperienced interchange bench
