Rabbitohs duo to bolster Utah team for Vegas 9s
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Former Rabbitohs duo Faresa Palu and Benedict Tomu-Lopeti are set to boost the prospects of Utah's Riverton Seagulls at next month’s NRL 9s tournament in Las Vegas.
Palu came through the junior representative ranks at South Sydney with Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i, Davvy Moale and Tallis Duncan, earning selection alongside them in the NSWRL U16s team in 2019.
The talented centre left the game in 2021 to undertake a Mormon mission before returning to the Rabbitohs two years later on a train-and-trial contract.
He starred for the Seagulls in last year’s Vegas 9s and was due to contest the jetwinvip.combine at UFC HQ in a bid to gain another shot at the NRL but missed his chance after suffering an injury in the tournament.
Palu will return to Vegas with Riverton at this year’s NRL 9s tournament, being held at Silver Bowl Park on February 27 and 28 ahead of the quadruple-header at Allegiant Stadium.
The Seagulls have also recruited Tomu-Lopeti, who played second-row for the Rabbitohs U17s Harold Mathews Cup team in 2022.
The pair will join a squad that includes USA 2024 Touch World Cup representative Michael Randall and other talented locals who play for Riverton in Utah’s Hopoate Cup.
The Hopoate Cup is named after former Tonga captain Will Hopoate, who also took time off from his NRL career for a Mormon mission.
“Last year was the second season of a four-team competition and hopefully this year we will see the competition grow to five or six teams,” Seagulls coach Aaron Thompson said.
“There is a lot of talent here in Utah, mainly due to the large Polynesian population. Our team is lucky to have a number of expats from NZ and Aussie, with a nice blend of talented locals.”
Star playmaker Celcius Tarawhiti has been ruled out of the NRL 9s after being selected in the USA Hawks squad to play Greece in a two-Test series in Vegas on February 26 and 28.
The series is part of a festival of rugby league in Vegas, culminating with the Allegiant Stadium quadruple-header featuring the Wigan-Warrington Super League clash, two NRL matches - Raiders v Warriors and Panthers v Sharks - and a women's Test between Australia and England.
“Celcius was part of the USA team last year for the game against Canada in Vegas,” Thompson said.
“We also have probably another half a dozen players that in my opinion should be in the USA team. Guys like Jardyn Stilinovich-Watene, Jay Tafa, Wineera Elkington, Tanner Blackhurst, Lowell Lolesio, Kainalu Shortland and Sam Merrill, just to name a few.”
After finishing third in last year’s NRL 9s, Riverton will field two teams and are hoping to claim a share of the prizemoney, but Thompson expects the standard to be higher this year.
“Hopefully this time we can go a couple of spots better, but it also looks like there is going to be a lot stronger competition with teams entering from Australia,” he said.
“But the biggest challenge we have is the climate here in Utah going into February’s competition. With snow on the ground and freezing temperatures it’s hard to find places to train.
“Because everyone has headed inside to indoor training facilities, getting time is difficult and expensive, especially when the boys have to pay out of pocket themselves for everything.”
