Brandon Wakeham

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

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 34 0 66
Source: [1]
As of 20 July 2023

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]

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.[11]

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. "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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