Francis Molo

Francis Molo (born 3 September 1994) is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL.

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
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014–15 Brisbane Broncos 6 0 0 0 0
2018– North Qld Cowboys 51 5 0 0 20
Total 57 5 0 0 20
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2015–16 Cook Islands 2 0 0 0 0
As of 25 September 2020
Source: [1]

He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League.

Background

Molo was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved to Australia at the age of one.

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 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 Broncos 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 the Cowboys in their 19–20 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs. It was his first NRL game in almost three years. On 28 June, he re-signed with the Cowboys 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 the Cowboys.

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 the Cowboys' 20–22 loss to the Manly 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 Cowboys 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 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 the Cowboys, starting 11 of them and scoring three tries.

Achievements and accolades

Individual

Statistics

NRL
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season[1]
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2014 Brisbane 100—00
2015 Brisbane 500—00
2018 North Queensland 700—00
2019 North Queensland 2420—08
2020 North Queensland 2030—012
Career totals 57 5 0 — 0 20

International
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2015 Cook Islands 100—00
2016 Cook Islands 100—00
Career totals 2 0 0 — 0 0

Personal life

Molo is the cousin of his former Brisbane Broncos teammate, Anthony Milford.[24]

References
  1. "Francis Molo - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  2. "Wavell State High School Honour Board (2005-2011)". wavellshs.eq.edu.au. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  3. "M". Nycdatabase.org. 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 Game Development - South East Queensland". FosSportspulse.com. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  6. "NRL 2014 - Round 11". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. "Late Mail: Broncos v Tigers". Broncos.com.au. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  8. "Queensland name Under-20s Origin team". NRL.com. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  9. "James Ackerman's Parents Reach Out to Son's Tackler". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  10. Cook Islands finalise squad for World Cup Qualifier, asiapacificrl.com, 10 October 2015
  11. "Cook Islands train-on squad named". NRL.com. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  12. "Live stream: Tonga v Cook Islands". NRL.com. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 22 November 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/broncos/bronco-called-a-killer-in-brawl/news-story/d79510b7bcfbbce026d25339ae01c112
  15. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/blackhawks-provide-exbronco-molo-with-new-direction/news-story/fcbc307c87347fab445b7c2ecd2d052f
  16. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/francis-molo-signs-one-year-deal-with-cowboys/news-story/7422ba654cde79e818a9a77663d533bd
  17. https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/molo-resigns-with-cowboys-for-two-years/news-story/f74465b3cdf36cb1a3633b3bcc7335fd
  18. https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/sport/nrl/cowboys/powerhouse-duo-francis-molo-and-pete-hola-the-perfect-injection-for-the-cowboys/news-story/51c6b06ab35797379a46c4dfcd50e2af
  19. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/dirty-dozen-12-man-cowboys-run-out-of-interchanges-in-loss-to-manly-20190608-p51vvt.html
  20. https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2019/09/18/molo-presented-with-coachs-award/
  21. https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2019/10/01/three-cowboys-shortlisted-for-dally-m-awards/
  22. "Cowboys re-sign forward trio". NQ Cowboys. 31 July 2020.
  23. "NRL team list: Round 4 v Sharks". NQ Cowboys. 2 June 2020.
  24. "Brisbane's highly rated teen prop Francis Molo set for NRL debut against Wests Tigers". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
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