Francis Molo

Francis Molo (born 3 September 1994) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played for both the Cook Islands and Samoa at international level.

Francis Molo
Personal information
Full nameFrancis Molo
Born (1994-09-03) 3 September 1994
Auckland, New Zealand
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight112 kg (17 st 9 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–15 Brisbane Broncos 6 0 0 0 0
2018–21 North Qld Cowboys 70 6 0 0 24
2022– St. George Illawarra 39 3 0 0 12
Total 115 9 0 0 36
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–16 Cook Islands 2 0 0 0 0
2021 Queensland 2 0 0 0 0
2022 Samoa 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]
As of 2 September 2023

He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.

Background

Molo was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved to Australia, Brisbane when he was 10 months old. He is of Samoan and Cook Island descent. He is the older brother of Michael Molo and cousins with Anthony Milford.

He played his junior football for the Aspley Devils and attended Wavell State High School, before being signed by the Brisbane Broncos.[2]

Playing career

Early career

In 2010, Molo played for the Norths Devils' Cyril Connell Cup side and played for the Queensland under-16s team. In 2011, he moved up to the Devils' Mal Meninga Cup side and was selected to play for the Queensland under-18s team.

From 2012 to 2014, Molo played for the Brisbane Broncos' NYC team.[3][4]

In 2012, he once again represented the Queensland under-18s team. On 20 April 2013, he played for the Queensland under-20s team against the New South Wales under-20s team.[5]

2014

In Round 11 of the 2014 NRL season, Molo made his NRL debut for the Brisbane Broncos against the Wests Tigers.[6][7] In May, he again played for the Queensland under-20s team against the New South Wales under-20s team.[8]

2015

On 20 June, while playing for the Broncos' feeder club, the Norths Devils against the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Intrust Super Cup, Molo was involved in a tackle on opposition player James Ackerman, which resulted in the death of Ackerman on 22 June 2015.[9] He received an eight-week suspension for the tackle by the QRL judiciary. On 17 September, Molo played for the Cook Islands against Tonga for the World Cup qualifier.[10][11][12]

2016

On 8 May, Molo started at prop in the Cook Islands 30–20 win over Lebanon.[13] In July, while playing for the Devils, Molo received a three-game suspension for a shoulder charge against the Sunshine Coast Falcons. A brawl broke out following the tackle, with Sunshine Coast players reportedly calling Molo a "killer". Two Sunshine Coast players were also suspended, for attacking Molo. It came after being suspended three weeks earlier for a similar incident.[14]

2017

On 20 July, Molo was released from his contract with the Brisbane club and joined the Townsville Blackhawks mid-season.[15]

On 24 October, Molo signed a one-year deal with the North Queensland Cowboys after training with their first grade squad while playing for the Blackhawks.[16]

2018

In Round 11 of the 2018 NRL season, Molo made his debut for North Queensland in their 20–19 loss to South Sydney. It was his first NRL game in almost three years. On 28 June, he re-signed with the North Queensland club for two more seasons.[17]

Molo played the majority of the 2018 season with the Townsville Blackhawks, registering seven NRL games in his first season with North Queensland.

2019

Molo enjoyed a breakout season in 2019, coming off the bench in all 24 of the Cowboys' games.[18] In Round 13, he scored his first NRL try in North Queensland's 20–22 loss to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.[19] On 18 September, he won the Cowboys' 2019 Coach's Award at the club's presentation night.[20]

On 2 October, Molo was nominated for Dally M Interchange Player of the Year at the 2019 Dally M Awards.[21]

2020

On 31 July, Molo re-signed with the North Queensland club until the end of the 2021 season.[22] In Round 4, he started for the first time at prop in a 16–26 loss to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.[23] In Round 13, he played his 50th NRL game in a 10–30 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.

For the second consecutive season, he played every game for North Queensland , starting 11 of them and scoring three tries.

2021

On 16 March, Molo signed with the St. George Illawarra Dragons on a three-year deal commencing from the 2022 NRL season.[24]

2022

During the Anzac Day Cup which happens every year on Anzac Day. With the rivalry of the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters. Molo scored his first try for the Red V in the 11th Minute with the Saints winning 14-12 for the First time since 2018. [25]

Molo played a total of 21 games for the club in the 2022 NRL season which saw them finish 10th on the table and miss the finals.[26]

2023

On 23 February, Molo pleaded guilty to a domestic violence charge. He did not appear in Port Kembla court on the 22 February where he pleaded guilty to one count of stalk/intimidate with intent to cause fear of physical harm. St. George Illawarra released a statement claiming the plea related to an incident at Molo's home on December 17 2022.[27] Molo would play a total of 18 games for St. George Illawarra in the 2023 NRL season as they finished 16th on the table.[28]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

Statistics

NRL
Statistics are correct from 19th of August 2023[1]
Season Team Matches T Kills F/G Pts
2014 Brisbane Broncos 10—00
2015 50100
2018 North Queensland Cowboys 70—00
2019 242—08
2020 203—012
2021 191—04
2022 St. George Illawarra Dragons 211—04
2023* 15 2 8
Career totals 112 9 — 0 36

International
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2015 Cook Islands Cook Islands 100—00
2016 Cook Islands Cook Islands 100—00
2021 Queensland 2
2022 Samoa 1
Career totals 5 0 0 — 0 0

[29]

References
  1. "Francis Molo - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  2. "Wavell State High School Honour Board (2005-2011)". Wavell State High School. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  3. "M". NYC Database. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  4. "Francis Molo - Player". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  5. "Holden U/20's State of Origin: Queensland U/20's v NSW U/20's". NRL - South East Division QLD. Fox Sports Pulse. 17 April 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  6. "Wests Tigers 14 lost to Brisbane Broncos 16". Rugby League Project. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. "Late Mail: Broncos v Tigers". Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  8. "Queensland name Under-20s Origin team". National Rugby League. 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  9. "James Ackerman's Parents Reach Out to Son's Tackler". Courier-Mail. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  10. "Cook Islands finalise squad for World Cup Qualifier". Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation. 10 October 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
  11. "Cook Islands train-on squad named". National Rugby League. 25 September 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  12. "Live stream: Tonga v Cook Islands". National Rugby League. 17 October 2015. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. "Full Match Report". Rugby League European Federation. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  14. "Bronco called 'a killer' in rematch brawl". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  15. O'Neil, Rohan (12 July 2017). "Blackhawks provide ex-Bronco Molo with new direction". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  16. "Cowboys sign Francis Molo". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  17. Tuxworth, Jon (19 June 2018). "Molo re-signs with Cowboys for two years". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  18. "Powerhouse pair injecting life in the Cowboys". Townsville Bulletin. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  19. "Dirty dozen: 12-man Cowboys run out of interchanges in loss to Manly". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 June 2019. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  20. "Molo presented with Coach's Award". North Queensland Cowboys. 18 September 2019. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  21. "Three Cowboys shortlisted for Dally M awards". North Queensland Cowboys. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  22. "Cowboys re-sign forward trio". North Queensland Cowboys. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  23. "NRL team list: Round 4 v Sharks". North Queensland Cowboys. 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  24. "Molo Dragons bound in 2022". St. George Illawarra Dragons. 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  25. "Dragons v Roosters - Round 7, 2022". nrl.com. 25 April 2022.
  26. "NRL 2022: St George Illawarra Dragons season review". www.sportingnews.com.
  27. "NRL considers standing down Francis Molo after Dragons prop pleads guilty to domestic violence charge". www.abc.net.au.
  28. "Hunt call that could define Flanagan era; glaring hole that must be filled: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  29. "Brisbane's highly rated teen prop Francis Molo set for NRL debut against Wests Tigers". Daily Telegraph. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
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