Francis Molo (born 3 September 1994) is a professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
footballer who plays as a for the
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St. George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George, Sydney, St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League since NR ...
in the
NRL. He has played for both the
Cook Islands
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, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
and
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
at international level.
He previously played for the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...
and
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
in the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
.
Background
Molo was born in
Auckland, New Zealand
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
, 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
Anthony Milford (born 11 July 1994) is a Samoan international rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Dolphins in the NRL.
He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby Le ...
.
He played his junior football for the
Aspley Devils
The Aspley Broncos (formerly Aspley Demons and Aspley Devils) are a rugby league club in Brisbane, Australia. Aspley competes in the FOGS Cup and FOGS Colts Challenge competitions. In 2007 they competed in the Queensland Cup as a feeder club ...
and attended
Wavell State High School
Wavell State High School is a coeducational independent public secondary school based in Wavell Heights, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school has a total enrolment of more than 1500 students from years 7–12, with an official co ...
, before being signed by the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...
.
Playing career
Early career
In 2010, Molo played for the
Norths Devils
The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...
'
Cyril Connell Cup
The Cyril Connell Challenge is an under-16 competition administered by the Queensland Rugby League. First run in 2021, the competition replaced the QRL Junior State Championships, which ran from 2017 to 2020. The 2020 competition was ultimately ca ...
side and played for the
Queensland under-16s team. In 2011, he moved up to the Devils'
Mal Meninga Cup
The Mal Meninga Cup, known as the Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup due to sponsorship, is a junior rugby league football competition based in Queensland, played between teams made up of players aged under 18. The competition, administered by the Q ...
side and was selected to play for the
Queensland under-18s team.
From 2012 to 2014, Molo played for the Brisbane Broncos'
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
team. In 2012, he once again represented the
Queensland under-18s team. On 20 April 2013, he played for the
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
under-20s team against the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
under-20s team.
2014
In Round 11 of the
2014 NRL season
The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Lea ...
, Molo made his
NRL debut for the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...
against the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
. In May, he again played for the Queensland under-20s team against the New South Wales under-20s team.
2015
On 20 June, while playing for the Broncos' feeder club, the
Norths Devils
The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...
against the
Sunshine Coast Falcons
The Sunshine Coast Falcons are a rugby league football team based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast. They compete in the Queensland Cup and their home ground is Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Falcons are currently affiliat ...
in the
Intrust Super Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...
, Molo was involved in a tackle on opposition player James Ackerman, which resulted in the death of Ackerman on 22 June 2015. He received an eight-week suspension for the tackle by the QRL judiciary. On 17 September, Molo played for the
Cook Islands
)
, image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, capital = Avarua
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Avarua
, official_languages =
, lan ...
against
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
for the
World Cup qualifier.
2016
On 8 May, Molo started at prop in the Cook Islands 30–20 win over
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
. In July, while playing for the Devils, Molo received a three-game suspension for a shoulder charge against the
Sunshine Coast Falcons
The Sunshine Coast Falcons are a rugby league football team based on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sunshine Coast. They compete in the Queensland Cup and their home ground is Sunshine Coast Stadium. The Falcons are currently affiliat ...
. 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.
2017
On 20 July, Molo was released from his contract with the Brisbane club and joined the
Townsville Blackhawks
The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...
mid-season.
On 24 October, Molo signed a one-year deal with the
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
after training with their first grade squad while playing for the Blackhawks.
2018
In Round 11 of the
2018 NRL season
The 2018 NRL season was the 111th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 21st season run by the National Rugby League. The main competition, known as the 2018 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra, featured 16 team ...
, 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.
Molo played the majority of the 2018 season with the
Townsville Blackhawks
The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...
, 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. In Round 13, he scored his first NRL try in North Queensland's 20–22 loss to the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
. On 18 September, he won the Cowboys' 2019 Coach's Award at the club's presentation night.
On 2 October, Molo was nominated for Dally M Interchange Player of the Year at the
2019 Dally M Awards
The 2019 Dally M Awards were presented on Wednesday 2 October 2019. They are the official annual awards of the National Rugby League and are named after Dally Messenger.
Dally M Medal
Dally M Medal, Dally M Player of the Year: James Tedesco
...
.
2020
On 31 July, Molo re-signed with the North Queensland club until the end of the 2021 season. In Round 4, he started for the first time at in a 16–26 loss to the
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby leag ...
. In Round 13, he played his 50th NRL game in a 10–30 loss to the
Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...
.
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.
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
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...
. 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
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
.
Molo played a total of 21 games for the club in the
2022 NRL season
The 2022 NRL season is the 115th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 25th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 16th consecutive year. This became the second longest s ...
which saw them finish 10th on the table and miss the finals.
Achievements and accolades
Individual
*
North Queensland Cowboys Coach's Award: 2019
Statistics
NRL
: ''Statistics are correct to the end of the 2020 season''
International
References
External links
North Queensland Cowboys profileNRL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Molo, Francis
1994 births
Living people
Brisbane Broncos players
Cook Islands national rugby league team players
New Zealand emigrants to Australia
New Zealand people of Cook Island descent
New Zealand people of Samoan descent
New Zealand rugby league players
North Queensland Cowboys players
Norths Devils players
Rugby league players from Auckland
Rugby league props
Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players
Samoa national rugby league team players
St. George Illawarra Dragons players