{"id":293667,"date":"2023-05-06T10:30:06","date_gmt":"2023-05-06T10:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=293667"},"modified":"2023-05-06T10:58:50","modified_gmt":"2023-05-06T10:58:50","slug":"dolphins-cult-hero-speechless-after-dream-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=293667","title":{"rendered":"Dolphins cult hero 'speechless' after dream debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Valynce Te Whare's rugby league journey might only be just over a year old, but the barnstorming centre has already made an impact after his two tries on debut for the Dolphins<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Te Whare – who has received comparisons to Immortal Mal Meninga<\/a> – only switched to the sport from rugby union last year and was QRL Hostplus Cup centre of the year.<\/p>\n

Having previously been a groundkeeper at Dolphin Oval, the debutant is fast becoming a cult hero for fans and made an impression during the side's dominant 36- 16 win over Cronulla in coach Wayne Bennett's 900th match<\/a>.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW LIVE:<\/strong> NRL Magic Round Saturday blog\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> New Zealand Magic Round 'a consideration'<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Stuart explains controversial guest's appearance<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Understandably, Te Whare was delighted post-game. \ufeff<\/p>\n

"It's just a good feeling to be out on the paddock," he told Fox League.<\/p>\n

"It's been a hard journey, I only came over here last year start of January. Switching codes, I had nothing at home so I just came over … took the opportunity with the team with two hands, grinded for a year and kept grinding and here I am."<\/p>\n

\"NRL<\/p>\n

When reflecting on his family's \ufeffjourney in helping him make the move to Australia, Te Whare was lost for words.<\/p>\n

"\ufeff(It's) just been an awesome journey … I'm speechless at the moment," he said.<\/p>\n

Te Whare officially announced himself in the 22nd minute, running over three Sharks players to grab his first try as the Dolphins led 18-0.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/NRLonNine\/status\/1654778203477798913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Queensland great Corey Parker was in awe of the 22-year-old's raw strength.<\/p>\n

"What a moment for the young man, on debut, the bright lights on Suncorp Stadium … \ufeffthat is a special try," he said on Fox League.<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

"\ufeffComing into this game, he would've had all sorts of memories about what he wanted to do."<\/p>\n

\"Dolphins<\/p>\n

\ufeffCronulla wouldn't have its first points until the 36th minute when Ronaldo Mulitalo scored, making the score 30-4. William Kennedy then had his side's second on half-time to give them a sniff at 30-10.<\/p>\n

The debutant ensured the Sharks were no chance when he scored his double in the 51st minute after some vintage Anthony Milford brilliance set up the play.<\/p>\n

Teig Wilton scored a consolation try in the \ufeff66th minute, but it was mere consolation with the score finishing 36-16.<\/p>\n

A special moment ended proceedings when \ufeffTe Whare performed a haka with friends and family as well as teammates Kodi Nikorima and Kenny Bromwich.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Valynce Te Whare's rugby league journey might only be just over a year old, but the barnstorming centre has already made an impact after his […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":293673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293667"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=293667"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293678,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293667\/revisions\/293678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/293673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=293667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=293667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=293667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}