LEAGUE STAR AT 19

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1052, 16 August 1930, Page 10

LEAGUE STAR AT 19

“STEVE" WATENES CAREER IN FOOTBALL BIRTHDAY ON THE TASMAN P. S. (“Steve”) Watene, the “baby” of the touring New Zealand Rugby League team, is celebrating his 20th birthday on the Tasman this week-end with the team now well on the way to New Zealand and home once more. For his age. he has had rather a remarkable football career. There are not many men destined to win places in New Zealand teams of any sport before they have passed out of their teens, but such has been the lot of Watene. Watene was born at Kiri Kiri (Kopu), near Thames, on August IS, 1910. He was educated at the Kopu Public School and later at the Thames

High School. lie continued his secondary education at the Opotiki District High School and in 1926 he won'* a senior service scholarship. He captained the school Rugby team which won the Bay of Plenty secondary schools’ shield hat year.

In 1927 he attended the Maori Agricultural College at Hastings, and was soon a member of the Hastings representative team. lie was then granted a position with the Civil Service Department, Wellington, and was lat* r transferred to the Land and Survey Department. On further transfer to the Tokeraa-Waikaku-Maniapoto Native Lind Department, he came to Auckland. He first played centre threequarter for Manuka.il and was fullback in the Tokeraa Maori team which won the Prince of Wales Cup, on his 18th birthday. He won a place in the Auckland B representative team which played Thames and was one of the stars of the match.

In 1929 he again played for Manukau, where the year before he had won a medal for being the club’s most improved player. Jle then turned his attention to the League game an«l threw in his lot with the City team, for which he has played ever since. He has played in the threoquarter line chiefly, and it was his dashing, crashing work in the representative trials which gave him the chance of going to Australia with the New Zealand side. % Watene is a fine stamp of his race, and is a non-smoker and a total abstainer from intoxicants.