‘This is my year’: Gyemore puts tough times behind him ahead of Cup debut

Joven Gyemore is the kind of footy player that knows about taking the tough road to the top.

And that is what is going to make today’s Hostplus Cup debut all the more sweeter for the Cherbourg product.

Over the past few years, Gyemore has been tested time and time again.

There were moments where he was ready to throw in the towel. But his persistence and his love of rugby league has kept him going, leading to this occasion.

Gyemore – who is the nephew of Dolphin #552 Liam Georgetown – will don the Redcliffe Dolphins Cup jersey in Sunday’s Round 16 clash with the Souths Logan Magpies at Davies Park and he says when he runs out in the red and white for the first time at this level, it’s going to be a moment he will cherish for the rest of his career.

“It’s going to mean a lot,” the 21-year-old said.

“It’s going to be emotional and it’s going to hit me. But I have to get through the game and after the game, then I’ll release it – all the tough times I’ve been through.

“This is the position I wanted to be in two years ago and this has been my goal for the last two years – to make Q Cup. It means a lot. I reckon people will see the best in me this weekend.”

Gyemore’s “tough times” cannot be understated.

Having played the game since the age of five – signed up to the Cherbourg Hornets by his proud mum, Alexandra – rugby league started to become serious for him as he hit his teenage years.

The first sign of bigger things to come was when he made the South Burnett representative team. This led to both the disappointment of missing Wide Bay selection but then the excitement of being scouted for a scholarship at Ipswich State High School.

Widely regarded as one of the standouts of the schoolboy Langer Cup competition in 2022 – turning heads with his impressive speed – Gyemore earned a contract with the St. George Illawarra Dragons and he left home to pursue his dreams.

But from here, the testing times came.

“I played SG Ball in 2023 and I got offered another two years with them for the NSW Cup,” Gyemore said.

“But being down there by myself was too hard. I got home sick and ended up coming back home.

“I did a pre-season with the Clydesdales ahead of 2024 but I got dropped from them so I moved to Brisbane. I joined the Carina Tigers from there and I did a good pre-season with them.

“Round 1 comes along and I fractured my arm in the first game of the year. That put me out for eight weeks. I got a bit off track and put a couple of kilos on. I was a bit big when I came back around Round 12 and then I re-fractured the same arm.

“I said to myself that I wasn’t going to play for the rest of the year. I just rested for the rest of the year. I did end up playing in the Murri Carnival and I snapped my arm completely on the same side.

“That kind of put me off track and made me think I wanted to stop playing footy. I was weighing nearly 100kg at that time when I snapped it.”

Despite the continual setbacks with injury and motivation, Gyemore realised he couldn’t stay away from the game for long.

“It wasn’t me… I wanted to get back into footy,” he said.

His next step was to start the 2025 pre-season with the Brighton Roosters and he earned himself a few games in the Open Division 1 team.

The form he showed quickly earned him a call up to reserve grade and then, after only a couple of games, former Redcliffe Dolphins BRL coach Dunamis Lui gave him a call and offered him an A-grade contract.

After contributing to the Dolphins’ run to the 2025 premiership, Gyemore headed back to Brighton this year to begin pre-season.

But then Cup coach Dave Elliott and new BRL coach Rob Tanielu came knocking.

“Rob and Dave gave me the opportunity to train with A-grade and Cup for the rest of pre-season,” he said.

“I went from Brighton Roosters to A-grade and Cup. It happened so quick for me. Ever since the pre-season, I’ve got myself fit again, it’s the best shape I’ve been in. I give credit to Rob, Dave and the staff.”

There have been a few setbacks since, including repeat hamstring injuries that have sidelined him for most of the year so far.

But for Gyemore, there is a new level of resilience and determination that keeps him going.

“(Those injuries) made me put a bit of doubt in myself that maybe this year wasn’t for me,” he said.

“But I came back stronger, stayed on top of my physio and I played on the weekend against Carina Tigers and I played the best game of the year and I told myself that, ‘this is my year. The year’s not over.’

“I just reflected on myself two years ago and the position I was in. I look back on my old self and I don’t want to be in that position again.

“I learned myself that I’m a footy player and I’ve been through a lot. All these injuries have helped me as well. You’re going to go through these ups and downs. The main thing with me is it’s footy, things happen, move forward and better things will come.”

Those “better things” included the news of his Cup debut, which Elliott delivered on Tuesday morning fresh off the back of Gyemore’s first training session with the NRL Dolphins squad.

Things are certainly looking up for the dynamic fullback and he said he wouldn’t be here today without his supporters, in particular the woman who signed him up for footy in the first place – his mum.

She will be at the game on Sunday, travelling all the way from Cherbourg to watch her son make that next step in his career.

“My mum’s been my No.1 supporter,” he said.

“She’s pushed me the most. She’s kept me in line, making all the tough phone calls when I falling off a little bit… She’s been there, making sure I was at training.

“She’s the been reason why. My mum’s been No.1.

“I’m a Cherbourg boy.”