The past 12 months have gone about as well as Jacob Halangahu could have hoped for on the football field.
An Australian Schoolboys nod a year ago sparked a period which saw the 17-year-old help lead the Dragons to a drought-breaking SG Ball Cup premiership before earning selection for Under 18s City and Under 19s NSW.
Halangahu was named the NSWRL’s Player of the Match for the Grand Final before being awarded the side’s Player of the Year award at the end-of-year presentation night.
As if his silverware cabinet was not full enough, he also earnt a Player of the Match gong in City’s 48-18 rout of Country.
“I’m pretty grateful for this journey that I'm on and the amount of footy that I'm getting,” Halangahu said.
“I look at those achievements as little stepping stones towards to the main goal which is that NRL debut.”
A Patrician Brothers’ College, Blacktown product, he followed up those efforts by helping lead NSWCCC to a 40-12 win over NSWCHS to claim a second-consecutive ASSRL National Championships title just last week taking home Most Valuable Player honours for his side in the process.
“We started a bit slow in that first game. From there, the team kind of flicked the switch,” he said.
“To find out we were going to play the NSWCHS team again that we played in the Grand Final last year, it was kind of an ‘oh, here we go again’ type of moment. To blow them off the park like we did last year was pretty good.”
His inclusion in the Australian Schoolboys side for the second season in a row was but a formality as he shifts his attention back to the Red V’s Jersey Flegg Cup campaign in which he has already made a trio of appearances.
“This year, it’s more of a privileged feeling being one of the senior boys in the team. I’m keen on that role of teaching these younger boys the expectations and what it’s like to put on that green and gold jersey,” he said.
“I credit that to a few of the older Dragons boys and coaching staff like Willie (Talau) and Loko (Pasifiki Tonga), who I’ve learnt a lot off… Especially Origin camp, I took that kind of as a camp where I can learn off a lot of those older boys because some of them had already played a few NRL games. Everything’s just been a bit of a learning curve and I’ve just taken everything I’ve learnt under my wing.”
Halangahu will link up with the Dragons for his first NRL preseason at the end of the year as he continues progressing towards his ultimate goal of a first-grade jumper.
This winning feeling just makes you want to keep winning. You don’t want to feel that losing feeling anymore.
“I’m just hoping to get used to the new standards and speed. I was speaking to Willie, and, each grade you go up, it gets faster and more physical,” he said.
“You can see the benefits that those preseasons have just the way Loko and Finau (Latu) have come back this year and tore up SG Ball. The results are there, you’ve just got to get through that hard work… This winning feeling just makes you want to keep winning. You don’t want to feel that losing feeling anymore.”
Halangahu’s family has played a huge role in helping him reach the heights that he has.
The eldest of eight children, Halangahu is grateful for the sacrifices that his parents have made as his chases his rugby league dream.
“My family is pretty much my rock,” he said.
“Just the sacrifices my parents make for us. We just moved down here to Wollongong; we finally got a house down here, but Dad stills lives up in Sydney so he can work. Probably my biggest rock out of anyone has to be my dad. For those that know my dad, they know how hard he can be on me but everyone knows deep down it’s for the best because he knows how much potential I have.”
