NRL players take great delight in engaging with the community and boosting spirits.
And while these deeds are not done for praise or attention, the off-field work of 13 players has been recognised with a nomination for the 2021 Ken Stephen Medal, sponsored by Your Local Club.
The nominees, put forward by their NRL clubs as part of the annual NRL Community Awards, are listed below with their junior teams:
Adam Doueihi (Wests Tigers/Strathfield Raiders)
Cody Walker (South Sydney Rabbitohs/Casino Cougars)
Jamal Fogarty (Gold Coast Titans/Beaudesert Kingfishers)
Jamayne Isaako (Brisbane Broncos/Aranui Eagles)
Jarrod Croker (Canberra Raiders/Goulburn Stockmen Juniors)
NRL 2021: David Fifita, Gold Coast Titans ace s best yet to come
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If all goes to plan for coach Justin Holbrook, David Fifita won t start for Gold Coast any time soon after his bold call to unleash his marquee man from the bench had spectacular results on Sunday.
A fired-up Fifita was unstoppable at times, wreaking havoc off the interchange to inspire a 32-10 thumping of St George Illawarra at Cbus Super Stadium and keep the Titans finals dream alive.
It was almost men against boys as Fifita scored a barnstorming 34th-minute try and set up another, finishing with two line breaks, one line break assist and 13 tackle busts while running 127 metres.
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Fifita terrorised centre Ramsay and halfback Ben Hunt on the Dragons left edge and was on the field for just 11 minutes when he bumped them both off to score a freakish solo try.
He was denied a second under the sticks early in the second half after he was stripped by Jack Bird, but in the next set he steamrolled Ramsay to set up Greg Marzhew with a flick pass to put the Titans ahead 18-6.
The 21-year-old finished with a whopping eight tackle-breaks, two linebreaks, a try, a try-assist and 111 metres in the important victory. Possibly, yeah, Holbrook said when asked if he d play Fifita in a similar way over the last six games.
Toby Sexton will draw confidence from the way his representative schoolboy teammates have handled the step up to NRL level when he makes his debut for the Titans.
Sexton, who recently signed an upgraded contract with Gold Coast until 2024, has been watching teen stars Sam Walker, Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow shine in their rookie NRL seasons while he has been helping the Tweed Seagulls into third place in the Intrust Super Cup.
However, Titans coach Justin Holbrook said the 20-year-old halfback was NRL ready and he will finally get his chance against St George Illawarra on Sunday after Jamal Fogarty was ruled out with a hand injury.
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