In the spotlight: Ragarive Wavik

Ragarive Wavik wants to see the Townsville Blackhawks name printed into the Hastings Deering Colts history books.

The under 21 fullback was part of the Townsville team last year that claimed a 46-32 grand final win over the Redcliffe Dolphins at Kayo Stadium, scoring two tries on the way to victory.

Fast forward nearly a full 12 months and Wavik – now the team captain – wants to see Townsville claim consecutive trophies in what is the final year of the Colts competition. The first back-to-back premiers and the last premiers.

“To me, it’s a big deal,” Wavik said of the potential to win this year’s grand final.

“Obviously it’s the last year for the comp so we’ll be marked in the history books. I’m also not sure if there’s another team that’s gone back-to-back so yeah, we’d really like to be etched into the history books.”

The first step for Wavik’s Blackhawks will be in overcoming the 2023 minor premiers, Tweed Seagulls, at UAA Park this Saturday in the preliminary final.

If successful, they will then turn their full attention to the Colts grand final at Kayo Stadium on Sunday, September 17.

Wavik – a development player with the North Queensland Cowboys - still has fond memories of last year’s premiership decider, where he played on the wing for Townsville.

“Reflecting on that grand final, it’s definitely one of my highlights,” Wavik said.

“I won a few school comps but that Colts final is up there. I was playing with a lot of boys I train with all year at the Cows. We put in a lot of hard work so to see it come off in the end was really good.

“Scoring two tries in that grand final was a real highlight for me and definitely made it more memorable.

“We definitely got challenged throughout the year but the feeling of all it paying off in the end was amazing. Everyone being happy and putting a smile on our coach’s (Steve Sheppard) face was worth it all in the end.”

Now under the tutelage of coach Roy Baira, the Blackhawks have come the longer route this season to make it to the grand final.

Last year, they finished second and earned the coveted week off in week two. This year they finished fourth, suffered a Finals Week 1 loss to Brisbane Tigers and had to overcome Sunshine Coast Falcons last week to keep their premiership hopes alive.

There has been plenty of turnover in the squad, with a number of younger and fresh faces in the line-up.

Wavik himself only just turned 20 in July.

The Blackhawks have also had a target on their back following last year's success and Wavik said he knew the rest of the competition would rise to the occasion against the reigning premiers.

“We made it clear to the boys that came into the squad at the start of the season there will always be a target on our back,” Wavik said.

“No team is going to take us lightly. We have to be on the ball every game. But the boys have come in and really earnt their place in the team. They’ve done well, it being their first season."

Wavik was born in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea and moved to Australia as a one-year-old, first based in Tasmania.

He moved up to Queensland as a young boy and started playing rugby league with the Slacks Creek Lions at the age of five – although a family member incorrectly signed him up to under 8s.

“I just got signed up through a family member and they didn’t double check my age and assumed I was eight,” he said.

“My brother’s two years older than me so they must have thought I was him.

“I was playing with a lot bigger kids and everyone was a bit confused but I was performing pretty well so they kept me in under 8s.”

Wavik and his family – made up of his mother and four siblings – then moved to Townsville when he was 10, with the talent signing up to Townsville Brothers.

Four years later, Wavik – who went to rugby league nursery Kirwan State High - did a tour to the Gold Coast to play in a carnival and it was here that the Cowboys spotted him.

“I was fortunate enough to have a few scouts there and ended up getting picked up by the Cows at a very young age, when I was 14,” he said.

“That’s when I started going to the academies and stuff and I kept persisting and they offered me a decent contract. This year I was one of the rookies, one of the development players.

“It was after I was noticed by the Cows when I realised, ‘wow this could be a potential career for me'.

“That’s when me and my mum started investing heavily in rugby league – getting massages weekly, looking after my body, seeing dietitians and eating properly.”

Wavik – who credits his high school coaches Todd Wilson and Aaron Halliday as some of his biggest influences and his mother, Mary White, as his biggest supporter – has plenty of big aspirations beyond his Colts career.

While this year’s premiership is his immediate goal, he wants to one day play in the NRL and further to that, represent Papua New Guinea on the international stage.

“My dad and most of my family live in Port Moresby,” he said.

“They still follow my rugby league journey. They’re diehard fans. As soon as I signed for Cows, my whole village was flooded with Cowboys jerseys.

“It’s really important I’m still connected to them because it’s where I’m from.

“I’d definitely love to represent my country one day. That’s a big one in my books. I know Kyle Laybutt has represented PNG and I’m lucky to know him in person so I want to follow his steps.

“I also want to crack the NRL and debut for the club and solidify my spot in the NRL.”