Plucked from obscurity by one of Queensland’s most feared hitmen of the past two decades, Latrell Siegwalt has set his sights on becoming the understudy to Brisbane Broncos fullback Reece Walsh.
All he needed, according to the man who honed his potential, was the chance on the big stage to prove he belonged.
“He’s definitely got the x-factor in him,” Siegwalt’s cousin, and former Wagga Kangaroos coach, Nathan Rose told this masthead.
Latrell Siegwalt scores for the Brisbane Broncos in the Preseason Challenge clash with the Gold Coast Titans.Credit: NRL Photos
“He’s a long way from home. He could have had Sydney in the picture, but he’s gone the hard way about it, which, I think, is beneficial for him as a person.”
As the Queensland Cup passed its season’s halfway mark, Siegwalt found his mojo – proving Souths Logan’s shining light in a 33-20 defeat to Wynnum Manly on Sunday with 190 running metres, five tackle busts and a try-assist.
The 23-year-old was recruited to Redcliffe last year by former coach and Maroons enforcer Ben Te’o after the 2023 Koori Knockout, and they came together again at Brisbane where the latter is now an assistant.
Signed on a train and trial deal, he impressed as he vied to become the club’s replacement for Tristan Sailor as Walsh’s deputy, scoring a try and setting up another in two official Preseason Challenge fixtures.
“The Knockout is taxing on your body, if you make the final it’s six games in three days. I’ve seen him grow as a person, and I think that leads to the player that he’s become so far,” Rose said.
“He’s pretty laid back as a person, his demeanour is a little chilled out, and he doesn’t overthink things. He’s able to take it as it comes, which, I think, is the right approach for him.”
While he took time to find his feet at the Magpies, Siegwalt has shone glimpses of his potential in the past six weeks – scoring four tries and setting up six, while running for seven line-breaks and 21 tackle busts to go with 148 metres a game.
Jamal Fogarty, Trai Fuller, Gehamat Shibasaki and Cody Walker proved time spent in the Queensland Cup can pave the way towards success, with Josh Patston also making his Titans debut against Manly aged 26.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire suggested in the preseason Siegwalt, the reigning Queensland Cup rookie of the year, had “definitely come here to the club to make sure he’s ready to go when the time rises”.
While Selwyn Cobbo was given the No.1 jumper in Walsh’s injury absence (knee), he has since been axed as he comes off contract this year.
That that could prove Siegwalt’s opening if he can impress in the finer areas of his game, with his defence (70 per cent tackle efficiency) one facet to improve.
“What sticks out is he was very consistent in his game. If he had a bad game, it probably didn’t look as bad a game because he was shutting that gap down – the margin was very narrow,” Rose said.
“Latrell’s always had the natural talent and just the footy finesse, but I think it was more implementing a lot of the off field stuff … [and] the one-percenters in terms of kick-chasing and game awareness to build pressure.
“I had to be harder on him than other people, it was more pushing those one-percenters onto Trell. I knew his strength was getting him the ball in the right places he would do the rest essentially.”
