7 August 2026, Issue 1322
Thriving together Young Pāpāmoa Bulldogs Trevelyan Toesoliga 10, and Lachie Doole, 10, with the ball, have finished their local Coastlines competition – but they’re still training weekly at Gordon Spratt Reserve. This is because their Pāpāmoa Bulldogs Rugby League under-10s head coaches
Shannon Tutty and Jerome Fitisemanu have a vision to give kids more opportunities in rugby league. The coaches merged their club’s two under10s teams into a squad of 22 and have been taking them out of the Bay of Plenty to play against other teams further afield.
“It’s really about them enjoying the game and thriving in the game. That’s the biggest goal for us,” Tutty said. The squad will head to the 2026 Queenstown Kiwi Junior League Festival at the Global Games from October 16-18 in Queenstown – and this travel is being supported by another
local game in Pāpāmoa: Bingo! Weekly day-time Bingo run by Pāpāmoa Lions Club at The Flying Mullet Sports Bar is increasingly in popularity while raising funds to distribute to local groups, like the young Bulldogs, to help the whole community thrive. Read more on page 26. Photo / Kelly O’Hara