![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sua-1.jpg\")
Sebastian Su\u2019a is a rookie Dolphin forward set to make his mark on the NRL in 2026. Picture: PR<\/p>\nThe work ethic of a former Test fast bowler and the mentorship of an elite prop are inspiring Dolphins rookie Sebastian Su\u2019a\u2019s NRL quest.<\/p>\n
Murphy Su\u2019a, Sebastian\u2019s father, was the first player with Samoan heritage to play Test cricket for New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The trailblazing left-arm paceman paved the way for legend Ross Taylor, also of Samoan background, to carve out his own illustrious career for the Black Caps.<\/p>\n
Sebastian is a tall, mobile forward who the NRL will come to know much about this year.<\/p>\n
Sebastian Su\u2019a is a rookie Dolphin forward set to make his mark on the NRL in 2026. Picture: PR<\/p>\n
He looks up to Dolphins and NSW prop Daniel Saifiti, who was a major factor in his switch from Newcastle to the Dolphins.<\/p>\n
Cricket was an early option for New Zealand-born Sebastian, but he discovered his own journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI played cricket coming through school and for club, but I went down the rugby path. I just like the physicality,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad put a lot of pressure on me out of love and wanting me to do well. That pushed me away from cricket a bit, but in hindsight I am grateful for the pressure he put on me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has instilled good ethics in me in the rugby league space and the work ethic to get where I want to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Murphy played 13 Tests, which included a career-best 5-73 against Pakistan in 1993, and 12 ODIs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is definitely a good challenge for me to get to the international level he represented,\u201d Sebastian said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a goal of mine. Having him as my father and knowing he has gone through the professional sporting area, he can guide me along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Su\u2019a, 22, secured a release from the Knights a year early after conversations with coach Kristian Woolf and senior forwards Tom Gilbert and Saifiti. The culture appealed to him, with Saifiti\u2019s words striking a chord<\/p>\n
\u201cI was with Daniel at Newcastle and I was really close with him and his brother Jacob. They took me under their wing,\u201d Su\u2019a said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel is somebody I really trusted and when he told me about how it was up here I really trusted his word. It all felt right and somewhere I could fit in.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is really good with the younger boys who aspire to get to that level in the NRL. He is a great mentor for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Su\u2019a arrived at the Dolphins in March 2025, only to suffer an injury blow.<\/p>\n
He almost became the forgotten man of the classy forward rotation due to his absence from the field until late-season Queensland Cup games for Norths Devils.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my first training session when I \u00a0tore my meniscus. That was pretty disappointing because I was excited,\u201d Su\u2019a said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in rehab for the whole year but managed to get a couple of games in for Norths Devils.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had a full pre-season and am looking forward to the season ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the boys here got around me and helped me get through that rehab period.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that I am out the other side I know it was all worth it. I have only played one NRL game and am aspiring to get to that next level.\u201d<\/p>\n
-with AAP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The work ethic of a former Test fast bowler and the mentorship of an elite prop are inspiring…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-459115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}