Peter Hola is ready for his first finals series with Norths before he reignites an NRL career that has connections across the modern era.

Hola will start for the Devils in Saturday’s home Hostplus Cup qualifying final against Townsville Blackhawks – the team whose jersey Hola first wore when he moved from New Zealand to Australia.

Hola was then a teenager, signed after North Queensland Cowboys scouts had gone to Auckland to watch one of Hola’s teammates.

They were more impressed with the rangy forward who had only just begun to take football seriously despite his NRL family ties through first cousin and 307-game veteran Michael Jennings.

Hola left Auckland for the tropics as a 16-year-old, playing in the Blackhawks’ and Northern Pride junior representative systems before making his NRL debut months after his 20th birthday.

He played for late Cowboys coach Paul Green against the Broncos in a match featuring the likes of Michael Morgan, Josh McGuire, Darius Boyd, Matt Scott, David Fifita and Anthony Milford.

Since then, Hola represented the Canberra Raiders and he played twice for the Dolphins this season when called up from the Devils.

Next year, he begins a two-season deal with the Newcastle Knights in recognition of his impressive year for the Devils under the coaching of Rohan Smith.
Hola, 26, joins a growing list of players who have gone from Devils contracts to full-time deals in recent years including premiership winners Danny Levi, Michael Molo, Tuki Simpkins, Ben Nakubuwai and Nene Macdonald.

But he’s first determined to help the Devils through another finals campaign which begins with a top-four playoff against the impressive Blackhawks. The winner will get a weekend off and a place in the preliminary final.

“I was close to playing in England this year but I felt like I still wanted to play in the NRL and I was told Norths was the best place to come for that,” Hola said.

“It was good advice because this is one of the most enjoyable years I’ve had.
“For a little while before I came here, I was wondering if I should just move on from footy. But this year has made me really enjoy it again.

“It’s a real family at this club and now we have the chance to play finals.”

Hola has been a constant presence in the middle for the Devils this season when he hasn’t been needed by the Dolphins to boost their NRL forward stocks.

He played in matches against the Cowboys and Broncos this season, backing up for the Devils two days after playing at Suncorp Stadium.

“Finals are always exciting. You play all season to get to games like this,” Hola said.

The Devils finished in second place this season, ending their regular season last Saturday with a win over CQ Capras at Bishop Park on Old Boys’ Day.

Photo by Alan Drinnen