Pic: (L-R) Ace, Nicola Ani (Sponsorship & Promotions Manager, Paradise Foods Ltd), Ben Drew (Pacific AFL Development Manager)
“Ace” A Success through the emNAU Niukick Program.
Hewago Oea, or as widely known, “Ace” is of mix parentage of Central and Gulf Province in Papua New Guinea. He will be turning 19 this year and has been in Australia for almost 3 years. Ace is one of the success stories of the emNAU Niukick Program which is run by Ben Drew and AFL PNG.
Ace quickly came under the radar during his first appearance in the Under 16 Queensland State Championship in 2017. He was a young kid playing for the South Pacific team in Australia for the first time. However, due to logistical support it was difficult for any team to take him on. Tim Searl, Coaching, Talent and Engagement Coordinator for AFL Queensland & Gold Coast Suns Talent Program, decided to take it upon himself to invite Ace to live with him in Australia and do the trials -Tim has not regretted it since.
“Ace, as a player is very tough, it is one of his main attributes, his speed is massive, he’s fearless at the footy and he competes for the whole game” said Searl.
Ace’s journey in Australia began like most young Pacific Islanders, it was really difficult at first but overtime he grew into things and he improved so much on the field.
After a strong performance representing South Pacific in the Under 16 Queensland State Championship in 2017, he went on to play for Queensland in the National Championships before being selected as the first PNG player to be part of the National Australian Bank (NAB) AFL Academy.
In 2018, he was awarded a 2 year international scholarship to attend the SUNS Academy program in Brisbane Australia. He played with the Gold Coast Suns for two (2) years, 2018-2019 and has just began training in the AFL division recently.
The scholarship Ace has earned is credit to AFL PNG talent pathway with the generous support from sponsors such as the Paradise Foods Limited.
Aces encouragement to the young Papua New Guineans out there is to enjoy playing footy and have fun while at it.
