Former NZRL National Premiership player, Morgan Harper, made his professional NRL debut in the centres for the Bulldogs on Saturday and played a key role in the Bulldog’s 30 – 14 upset win against the Broncos.
Originally from Ngaruawahia, the last two years have been nothing short of eventful for the young father of two. Morgan came to the forefront in the 2018 Intrust Super Premiership Grand Final, where he scored the winning try for the Bulldogs in the final ten minutes of the game. The 21-year-old has been contracted to the Bulldogs for five years after coming through the club’s high-performance youth program here in New Zealand. Morgan was originally named as one of the club’s development players, but following an exciting pre-season, was elevated to the teams Top 30 at the beginning of the 2019 season.
Before making the move over to Australia, Morgan came through NZRL’s pathways. At the young age of 16, Morgan had gone through a very unique circumstance, becoming a father to twins – which has come to drive his desire to make it in the NRL. Successfully balancing his personal and professional life, Morgan represented the New Zealand 16s, 18s and the Junior Kiwis.
Morgan always put his hand up to represent his district – Assisting Waikato when coming through the Regional and Championship pool, which earned him the right to play in the Promotion/Regulation match just a few weeks prior to turning 18, which he went on to win.
Other players from the NZRL National Premiership who have achieved great things include, Tevita Satae from the 2016 competition and Setu Tu from the 2018 competition.
Tevita made his NRL debut in 2017 for the Vodafone Warriors, where he made 15 appearances before heading to the UK to play for Hull FC in the English Super League. With 20-year-old Setu currently the leading try-scorer in the Canterbury Cup NSW Competition scoring 15 tries in 15 appearances for the Vodafone Warriors.