On the back of just 64 minutes in the NRL, Bulldogs forward Jack Underhill felt confident enough to make a Captain\u2019s Challenge at a crucial point in Friday night’s clash with the Storm.<\/p>\n
Scores were locked at 20-20 when the\u00a0rookie prop charged down a Jahrome Hughes\u00a0kick, which referee Wyatt Raymond ruled a knock-on, but Underhill was adamant it wasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was proved right on video review, the Bulldogs retained possession, scored three sets later and eventually won the match 30-20 on the back of Jacob Kiraz’s 78th minute sealer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t feel like I dropped it \u2013 I was saying \u2018no way\u2019 so I was really confident because I slowed into it (the tackle),\u201d the 21-year-old said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the sort of courage Underhill showed late in the first half, when he put Storm back=rower Alec MacDonald on his backside in a front-on tackle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boys got around me straight away \u2013 it was just a confidence boost when you put a hit on like that,\u201d Underhill said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Underhill goes BOOM!<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t for a minute think the 21-year-old Bulldog, who made his debut against the Sharks in Magic Round, has any traits of arrogance in him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is a man who lost his mum to cancer when he was seven and has a tattoo to remember her by \u2013 so does his sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He is also a player that has had to fight hard to try and get to the NRL.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been on my radar and I\u2019ve had a lot of chats with Ciro (coach Cameron Ciraldo) and just kept trying to push myself. I got my opportunity and I don\u2019t want to lose it,” he said.<\/p>\n
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The Bulldogs roar back as Rinakama bags two<\/p>\n
Originally from the Sunshine Coast he came into the Bulldogs system in 2023 and played SG Ball Cup (Under 19s) before being a part of the Bulldogs Jersey Flegg Cup (Under 21s) premiership win over Cronulla in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bulldogs great Josh Jackson coached him there and kept encouraging him to stick with his dream, even when he was playing Ron Massey Cup trying to break into the NRL squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably wouldn\u2019t be here if it wasn\u2019t for Jacko \u2026 he flogged me and kept challenging me,” Underhill said.<\/p>\n
His tackling technique has given Underhill the nickname \u2018The Undertaker\u2019 which he\u2019s not particularly fond of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a Newtown commentator that started it… some smart arses put it up on social media… it\u2019s sort of funny.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also been compared to several blond-haired front=rowers, who made their mark at Canterbury like Aiden Tolman, James Graham, even Ben Hannant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Jacob Kiraz Try<\/p>\n
\u201cI always get told I look like them \u2026 it\u2019s funny,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a massive culture shock (being part of Bulldogs community) but everybody has welcomed me in. I\u2019ve been to some yummy restaurants \u2013 it\u2019s cool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now he\u2019s helped the Bulldogs snap a five-game losing streak.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like we\u2019ve been confident every week going into the game. We just had to keep pushing and we were going to get it.”<\/p>\n
He\u2019s emerging as a star in is own right, revealing he had 120 messages after the Storm win after his 10 hit-ups for 101 metres, an off-load and five tackle-busts in 34 minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Preston leaves the field with an arm injury<\/p>\n
But Underhill has had a tough journey in life, let along trying to make first grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard but you\u2019ve just got to keep your smile, keep going and keep positive,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got here just trying to play SG Ball, couldn\u2019t make the Flegg team that year, played Ron Massey but kept learning and learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJackso kept pushing me \u2013 getting into training with him at 5am \u2013 you just keep on trying and never give up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the back of just 64 minutes in the NRL, Bulldogs forward Jack Underhill felt confident enough to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-441173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}