Seagulls Academy graduate and local junior Reece Hoffman will make his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers tonight.

The Bayside local played for both Wynnum Juniors and Redlands Juniors and attended Alexandra Hills State High School.

Hoffman has come up through the grades in the Seagulls Academy, playing Cyril Connell Cup, Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup and Hastings Deering Colts, before making his Intrust Super Cup debut in Round 22 of the 2019 season.

A powerfully built centre, Hoffman’s rise is a testament to his hard work and dedication after being overlooked for representative squads as a youth until he made the Queensland Under 18s last year.

Seagulls Academy Manager Glen Dreger is incredibly proud of Hoffman and like a lot of people on the Bayside, will be excitedly watching him play against the Rabbitohs tonight.

“Reece is a very dedicated young man who gave himself every chance to play in the NRL through his great work ethic and attitude.

The fact that he has pushed himself to earn a debut at only 19 years old shows how much effort he has put in and the trust that Michael Maguire has in him.

Everyone at the Seagulls will be watching tonight and cheering on one of our own.”

The backs are done and now we move on to the engine room. It is up front we start with the big boppers that get the team going and lay the platform.

With two spots up for grabs, fans will need to decide between rep stars and fan favourites, short stints and club stalwarts. Who do you want leading the Seagulls Team of the Decade pack?

Tim Natusch

Props dont always win awards, which is what makes Natusch’s 2013 Player of the Year gong for the Seagulls extra special.

Natusch started in the second row in the 2011 Grand Final and come off the bench for the 2012 double, showing his versatility across front and second row. Natusch was a club mainstay for a large part of the decade.

Ben Shea

Ben Shea came off the bench for the 2011 Grand Final and followed it up with a starting role a year later when the Gulls beat the Dolphins. Shea has since joined the Jets and now Dolphins in the Intrust Super Cup, but his Seagulls tattoos tell us he will always be a Gull.

Charlie Gubb

Gubb is another that can claim the honour of being a part of the back to back premierships of 2011 and 2012. Coming off the bench on both occasions, Gubb would provide impact in both matches and even scored a try to match his brother’s (Peter Gubb) in the 2012 decider.

Gubb would go on to represent the New Zealand Warriors, Canberra Raiders and Widnes Vikings after leaving the Seagulls.

Dane Carlaw

With 269 NRL & Super League games, 13 State of State of Origins for Queensland and 6 Test Matches for Australia, Carlaw has done it all.

When he joined the Seagulls that success would continue going back to back in 2011 and 2012 Grand Finals. Plus, who could forget his famous conversion for his final act on a football field before retirement.

Team of the Decade: Voting Criteria

A combination of votes combined across social media and website will be compiled. Selection should be based on a player’s contribution to the Seagulls during the time period (2010 – 2019) only and doesn’t take into account any future success elsewhere – for example, if they went on to play NRL.

Stay tuned each week as we debate and subsequently announce each position and winner chosen by the fans.

If you would like to support the Seagulls now and Forever find out how you can through the Forever Seagulls program here

It was tightly run race early in the week but Seagulls legend Matt Seamark has claimed the fans’ Team of the Decade Halfback position.

The fans have voted and Jacob Fauid is who they want at five-eighth in the Team of the Decade.

The livewire was a 2012 premiership winner with the Seagulls, scoring a nice try that day to help set up victory over Redcliffe.

Fauid registered 48% of the vote ahead of Patrick Templeman (31%) and Ben Cronin (21%) in a hotly contested race.

Stay tuned for voting on the Halfback position for the fans’ Team of the Decade.

Would you like to support the Seagulls now and forever – see your options for supporting your Club this year.