Courtesy of the Mackay Daily Mercury
MACKAY Cutters are likely to have the services of one of the quickest young outside backs in the NRL for this season’s Queensland Cup.
Obe Geia, 21, was yesterday named as one of 15 North Queensland Cowboys players who will be dual registered with the STM Cutters.
Geia is one of four players who have not previously been linked with the Cutters, including Cowboys recruits Shannon Gallant and Isaak and Leeson Ah Mau.
Former Mackay junior Grant Rovelli, who played a number of matches for the Cutters in 2009, is also on the list but is seen as the Cowboys’ first-choice five-eighth after the departure of Travis Burns.
The Cutters will get as many as six Cowboys players from the dual-registered list each week, depending on injuries or form.
Cutters coach Paul Bramley said he was looking forward to seeing Geia.
“He’s a very talented outside back, he can play fullback, centre or wing,” Bramley said.
“I think he’s the quickest in Australia in his age group.”
Geia, from Townsville, has been in the first grade squad for two seasons and has played two NRL matches.
The former Australian schoolboys rep is seen as a possible star of the future, boasting the excitement factor of a young Matty Bowen.
Winger/fullback Gallant has joined the Cowboys this season from Wests Tigers and is seen as a standby for Bowen who is coming back from knee surgery.
“He’s a specialist fullback and he’ll be a replacement for Matty,” Bramley said.
“We may not see a lot of him, at least early in the season.”
The Ah Mau brothers, originally from New Zealand, have both joined the Cowboys this season.
Isaak, 17, a second-rower, played four games for the Broncos in 2008-9 but spent much of last season in the Queensland Cup with Easts Tigers. Leeson, 19, a prop, debuted for the Warriors last season.
Seven of those listed played for the Mackay Cutters at one stage last season, including Rovelli, Mitchell Achurch, Ben Harris, Antonio Kaufusi, Donald Malone, Steve Rapira and Anthony Watts.
“It’s a good list,” Bramley said of the Cowboys players.
“I’d be guessing as to who will turn up for us, it’ll come down to the trials.
“They’re all a chance of playing NRL, it’ll come down to how they trial and what injuries they have.
“I know what we’ve got here and we’ll wait and see what we get.”
Bramley said the task of incorporating the Cowboys players in the team would be made easier this season by a strategy of playing the same moves as the NRL side.
“We’ll play the same as the Cowboys, there’s less opportunities for mistakes that way,” he said.
“We want them to feel they’re part of the team. We’ll let them know what we’ve been doing in the pre-season and what it means to be a part of the Mackay Cutters.”
© Mackay Cutters 2010. All rights reserved.
Website by
