'Always good to stand beside him': Seve reaches 100 games in Cup

Powerhouse centre Marion Seve will play his 100th Hostplus Cup game this Saturday when the Brisbane Tigers take on the Tweed Seagulls at Piggabeen Sports Complex.

The 28-year-old has achieved many great milestones in the game – he has played nearly 50 NRL games with the Melbourne Storm, represented Samoa on the international stage, and last year did his part throughout the Cup season to help the Tigers get to grand final day.

While he was on Storm duties for the actual Cup premiership decider, he was part of the 17 that played in the NRL State Championship against NSW Cup champions, South Sydney Rabbitohs.

But despite what he has achieved and still has on his radar when it comes to the NRL, Brisbane Tigers coach Matt Church said Seve was someone who always came back to Melbourne’s affiliate club with the right mindset.

“We all understand at this level of this competition that the guys who are with NRL clubs generally want to get back to playing NRL,” Church said.

“That’s part of my role as a coach. But I’ve been in and around the Melbourne system for a long time and they have a really good attitude about it and Marion is the epitome of someone like that.

“He always brings a lot of power and energy. He’s a really good character to have around the group and has been at the club since 2018. It’s always a pleasure to have Marion around the group.”

Seve - who was born in Ipswich and played his junior rugby league with Ipswich Brothers - started his Cup career with Ipswich Jets and Souths Logan Magpies in 2016, alternating between the clubs as part of the Brisbane Broncos feeder system.

He then signed with Melbourne midway through 2018, kicking off both his NRL and Brisbane Tigers careers.

This season he has turned out for the Tigers in four games so far, including last week’s draw with the Central Queensland Capras.

Church was given directions on how to utilise Seve in Sunday’s showdown at Totally Workwear Stadium. But when forward Bennett Leslie suffered a concussion just minutes into the game, Seve let his true character show.

“He was capped at 40 minutes on the weekend but we were a few troops down and he asked to go back on,” Church said.

“As much as I wanted to and I love that nature of, ‘put me back out there', we had to honour the relationship with the Melbourne Storm.”

And it’s for these reasons the Tigers love having Seve come back to them.

Whether it’s his energy or attitude, or his willingness to play for those alongside him, Church said he brought plenty to the line-up and would do so again this Saturday against Tweed.

“He will now have played 100 Cup games so he brings a lot of experience,” Church said.

“When you know someone like Marion is in your team and you’re defending alongside him, it gives you a lot of confidence.

“He’s a good talker… and he has the biggest biceps in the comp, I think.

“But in all seriousness, someone that is that powerful is always good to stand beside.”