Brandon Wakeham
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| Born | 11 January 1999 Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (12 st 8 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Five-eighth, Halfback, Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
[edit]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
[edit]2019
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]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
[edit]On 9 January 2024, it was announced that he would join Blacktown Workers for 2024.[11][12]
Controversy
[edit]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]
On 15 May 2024, it was alleged that Wakeham had been arrested by police at a Blacktown Workers training session. It had been reported that Wakeham was not charged by police but was suspected of possessing cocaine and supplying MDMA.[14] The following day, Wakeham was granted bail in court. He was charged with taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug in greater than a large commercial quantity, taking part in the supply of a prohibited drug in greater than an indictable amount and less than a commercial quantity, and participating in a criminal group.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ "Fiji Bati thrashes Lebanon". FBC News. 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Fiji vs Lebanon". Wide World of Sports. 22 June 2019.
- ^ "Dogs confirm EIGHT-man clean-out in first glimpse of Barrett era". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "'Desperate' 219-day upset brings coach to tears as Sharks bomb SIX tries: 3 Big Hits". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Canterbury Bulldogs set to sign Rabbitohs star Braidon Burns, Storm prop Max King for 2022 NRL season". wwos.nine.com.au.
- ^ "Bulldogs playmaker Brandon Wakeham hit with four-game ban for eye gouge on Tyrell Sloan". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "NSW Cup Grand Final 2022". www.nswrl.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ "Brandon Wakeham joins Wests Tigers on one-year deal". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "'Circus act' that summed up year from hell... and big call left for Benji: Wests Tigers Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Fiji star Brandon Wakeham lands new club in Australia: 'We didn't hesitate to grab him'". Love Rugby League. 9 January 2024.
- ^ "Blacktown Workers sign Brandon Wakeham". www.seaeagles.com.au.
- ^ "Bulldogs Dylan Napa, Brandon Wakeham, Aaron Schoupp to self-isolate for visit to Bondi COVID exposure site". www.abc.net.au.
- ^ "Former Tigers, Bulldogs playmaker reportedly arrested at training". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Former NRL player among three men charged with alleged drug offences". www.9news.com.au.