Brandon Wakeham
Personal information
Born (1999-01-11) 11 January 1999
Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia
Height172 cm (5 ft 8 in)
Weight80 kg (12 st 8 lb)
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth, Halfback, Hooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019–22 Canterbury Bulldogs 25 2 4 0 16
2023 Wests Tigers 15 2 27 0 62
Total 40 4 31 0 78
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2019– Fiji 8 1 44 1 66
Source: [1]
As of 9 January 2024

Brandon Wakeham (born 11 January 1999) is a Fiji international rugby league footballer who plays as a Five-eighth, Halfback or hooker for Blacktown Workers in the NSW Cup. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Wests Tigers.

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] Wakeham played a total of 15 games for the Wests Tigers in the 2023 NRL season with 2 tries and 8 try assists and kicking 27/33 goals as the club finished with the Wooden Spoon for a second straight year.[10]

2024

On 9 January 2024, it was announced that he would join Blacktown Workers for 2024.[11][12]

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.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Rugby League Project
  2. ↑ "Fiji Bati thrashes Lebanon". FBC News. 22 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "Fiji vs Lebanon". Wide World of Sports. 22 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". www.foxsports.com.au.
  5. ↑ "'Desperate' 219-day upset brings coach to tears as Sharks bomb SIX tries: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
  6. ↑ "Canterbury Bulldogs set to sign Rabbitohs star Braidon Burns, Storm prop Max King for 2022 NRL season". wwos.nine.com.au.
  7. ↑ "Bulldogs playmaker Brandon Wakeham hit with four-game ban for eye gouge on Tyrell Sloan". www.sportingnews.com.
  8. ↑ "NSW Cup Grand Final 2022". www.nswrl.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Brandon Wakeham joins Wests Tigers on one-year deal". www.sportingnews.com.
  10. ↑ "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  11. ↑ "Fiji star Brandon Wakeham lands new club in Australia: 'We didn't hesitate to grab him'". Love Rugby League. 9 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "Blacktown Workers sign Brandon Wakeham". www.seaeagles.com.au.
  13. ↑ "Bulldogs Dylan Napa, Brandon Wakeham, Aaron Schoupp to self-isolate for visit to Bondi COVID exposure site". www.abc.net.au.
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