Alex Pohla was the breakout star of the 2022 Shute Shield competition and he did most of his damage last year playing with a broken knuckle.

The outside centre is no stranger to injury though. 

The 25-year old played just 10 matches in four years from the age of 20 and is now desperate to make up for lost time. 

After a number of seasons at Gordon, Pohla has linked with Scott Coleman’s Hunter Wildfires for the 2023 season and seems confident his best rugby is still ahead of him. 

“I live and work on the Central Coast so after a few years of driving down to Sydney three times a week, I couldn’t turn down the chance to train and play closer to home,” he told Rugby News. 

“I love Gordon and everyone there, but it was the right decision for me.”

Pohla’s rugby tale is nothing short of remarkable. 

After growing up playing rugby on the Central Coast, Pohla played SG Ball in his final years of school before moving to New Zealand to play with Bay of Plenty in the Kiwi U19 competition. 

He returned to Australia and played a handful of games in colts for Manly before starring for Samoa at the 2017 U20s World Cup. 

Pohla was the Samoan’s best that tournament and on the back of that was offered a professional contract in France as a 20-year old. 

“I spoke to my partner and she was all in, we were both ready to quit our jobs and sell our cars,” the now 25-year old said. 

“While we were in the middle of that, I was being stupid one night and tried to front flip a bush out the front of a McDonalds and ended up snapping my ankle and missing the next two seasons.”

Suddenly France was off the table and after close to two years of rehab, Pohla called former Manly coach Billy Melrose for an opportunity. 

Melrose was coaching at Gordon alongside Darren Coleman and invited the former colts prodigy to Chatswood. 

“I played most of 2020 in third grade actually, I just didn’t have any confidence in myself and wasn’t playing well,” Pohla said. 

“At one point, I think the club had six or seven injuries in the midfield and they called a colt up to play in second grade before they called me up. That was pretty tough to take.

“I was playing third grade but Billy (Melrose) was still calling me every week to check in. I couldn’t work it out but he kept saying that he knew I had more to give and that I needed to stick at it. 

“That’s probably the only thing that kept me playing and driving down from the Coast every week.”

Pohla watched from the sideline with a sternum injury as Gordon won the 2020 premiership but worked hard over the summer and started for the Stags in the Australian Club Championship match in early 2021. 

He was the best on the park that day and continued his good form in the early rounds of the competition. 

But injury struck again in round four and Pohla missed the remainder of the shortened 2021 season with torn ligaments in his ankle. 

“Through injury and Covid, I ended up only playing about 10 games in four years. 

“Suddenly I was turning 25 and hadn’t really achieved what I’d set out to achieve in footy and I started to think my window had closed.”

While he didn’t shed the injury curse, Pohla did play the best rugby of his career in 2022 albeit with a broken knuckle, which he played with from round six. 

He suffered a torn ligament in his elbow in the first round of the finals and managed to play 20 minutes off the bench in Gordon’s grand final loss to Sydney Uni. 

After that, he decided he needed to play closer to home. 

“I’d spoken to Bubba (Coleman) a few years back when Hunter came into the competition but at that point I still felt like I had a point to prove at Gordon. 

“This time around, I just couldn’t turn down the chance to play and train closer to home. I live on the Central Coast and I work in Morisset so it’s making things a lot easier to be honest.

“In saying that, I still love Gordon and all the people there. Particularly Billy (Melrose). I had a few offers from MLR clubs but Billy kept telling me to stick with the Shute Shield for another season.”

While he still has a desire to play professional rugby, Pohla said his immediate focus was on the Wildfires, who were one of several big improvers in the Shute Shield last season. 

“I’ve loved my time at the club so far. Everyone was really welcoming and I felt a part of the group right away. There’s a lot of talent here and so much potential. 

“Guys like Nafi Tuitavake who is 34 now and has played all over the world. I’m learning so much from a guy like him in terms of what it takes to play professional footy and train at the level that’s needed to take that next step. 

“I’ve also been really impressed with Conor Winchester at flyhalf. He had a great year last year and you can see why when you watch him train. 

“He’s able to direct the backline around, but he’s extremely patient with his teammates and that’s really helped me as I’ve tried to fit in and learn the structures and patterns. 

“At the moment, I don’t see why we can’t win the competition this year. 

“We’ve got the players, we’ve got the coaches and we’ve put in the training so I’m really excited for the year ahead.”

Beyond that, Pohla said the desire was still there to see where rugby can take him. 

“I’m turning 26 this year so I think if it’s going to happen, it has to happen this season. 

“I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself but I know the ability I have and I know how much of my career I’ve missed. 

“I don’t think I’ve scratched the surface of what I can do and I think if I can stay on the field and stay confident, I’m sure I’ve still got my best ahead of me.”