Bishop Neal: The Christchurch teen chasing his Warriors NRL dream
Bishop Neal is one of rugby league’s most exciting prospects. His athleticism, skills and demeanour led to him being chosen for the Warriors Under-17 side who were back-to-back winners in one of the NRL’s most important pathway competitions. Jordan Smith reports on what the journey looked like from the beginning.
I knew up-and-coming rugby league player Bishop Neal stood at 194cm and weighed 113 kg.
But arriving at the Neal family home, it was staggering to see how much he dominated the space inside the doorframes.
It made it even harder to believe he had only turned 17 in May.
After an hour-long interview with the young man and his family however, it became clear natural ability and size were only one part of the picture. His accomplishments have been earned through hard work and a lifelong love of the game.
“I’ve always loved footy. I used to always sleep with a rugby ball in my hand – that was my teddy,” Bishop Neal says.
His mum Betsy Neal said little Bishop would keep a journal detailing his future plans.
“He would write in his little journals that ‘I want to be a rugby player’ and about what he would do on the field,” she says.
“He’d be just standing there when I’m coming home from work in the nappy just going ‘ball’,” he says.
That love for the game only grew with age. Betsy Neal would record his junior club games so he could watch and analyse them – a habit that’s akin to much older players.
“He would watch it all week over and over again. He’d come up to us saying ‘if I stepped off my right foot, I could’ve done that’. He does that every single game he plays,” Betsy Neal says.
“I just thought it was normal,” she says.
Like any kid, Neal’s involvement in league came from the pure enjoyment it provided.
The first time he came to people’s attention was after playing in a weekend-long Under-15s Kotahitanga league tournament at 14, where he was mostly there to support a friend who was feeling nervous about taking part.
Straight afterwards, Trevor and Betsy Neal began to field calls left and right. Bishop’s St Thomas of Canterbury principal Steve Hart called to say: “’I don’t know what happened this weekend at the tournament but everyone’s calling me about Bishop’.”
Approaches were coming thick and fast from NRL clubs and their agents.
Attention like this can be difficult for youngsters, particularly in the age of social media.
But this hasn’t been a problem for Neal and his siblings, who face a blanket rule of no cellphones and no social media until they turn 18.
Betsy Neal says social media is “an awesome tool” but didn’t want to see it dilute the effort her son or any of their children gave in their passions, with Trevor Neal adding it allowed them to develop “a stronger sense of identity” by avoiding the noise social media creates.
While he remains off social media, an exception has been made for Neal when it comes to a phone, due to spending time training in Auckland.
“It was just hard not having a phone. They [the Warriors] had to message the house parent I was staying with to tell me stuff and then I had to tell him to tell them,” Neal says.
Back in Christchurch, St Thomas’ league coach and deputy principal Andrew Auimatagi first met Neal at 14. He describes the second-rower as supremely gifted physically, but also emotionally mature beyond his years in a way he’s never seen before.
“Even in those tense moments, you won’t see Bishop rattled. He’s quite consistent with his emotions; I don’t think we’ve ever seen him flip out so I think that’s a real superpower of his.”
Being the player everybody wants in their side has created a seemingly exhausting schedule at times, spanning both rugby league and union.
“It didn’t feel like it was heaps to me. [Like] Mum and Dad, said I love being active, so I like being at training,” Neal says.
Betsy Neal even says training would be used as a disciplining tool and if he didn’t clean his room, he wouldn’t be able to go.
“Within two minutes, the room was clean, so he’s always been good like that.”
The raw talent combined with a staggering work ethic meant it was merely a matter of when, not if, the Warriors reached out.
As well as it being Neal’s life-long dream to wear the Warriors jersey, club CEO and general manager Cameron George’s promise of a spot in the U17 Harold Matthews side sealed the deal, amidst Australian clubs flying the Neal’s out for weeklong visits.
“Other clubs didn’t have an Under-17 team so would’ve gone over [to Australia], played school footy or something else. So, I thought ‘that’d be mean playing Under-17s in the Warriors kit and all that’”, Neal says.
Even before signing with the club, he was invited by George to train with the S.G. Ball (U19) side for two weeks in the summer of 2022-2023, at only 14.
The following summer expanded on that experience and had him stationed in Auckland for three months, training with the first-grade side.
That continued the over last summer and was coupled with the entire U17 Harold Matthews campaign, ending in May this year.
Training alongside idols he used to watch on repeat is a feeling Neal describes as “buzzy as”, and while it’s now slightly easier, spending time with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck still catches him out.
“He was the main dude I would watch before my games. [Now] walking with him to the field, I’ll be talking to him and then I would just be like, ‘damn, it’s Roger’.” Through those summers, Warriors head of junior pathways Tony Iro got to understand Neal on and off the field, noting the step up to professional footy is “brutal”.
“From a physical perspective, he’s got everything that an NRL player needs but that’s probably only half of what is required to continue playing at that level,” Iro says.
“Bishop’s a talented footballer but you need more than that to progress. You need to be able to work hard. You need to show some toughness.”
Even at 15, Iro described Neal as a natural leader that boys are “prepared to follow” and believes he certainly has the tools and the drive to reach his goals.
That drive for Neal comes back to the sacrifices his parents have made and continue to make in supporting him.
“My parents are the best,” he says.
“It sounds so cliché but taking me to all my trainings and everything ... probably don’t thank them enough.”
As well emphasising strong family and friends connections, Neal says he’s a devout Christian and has a passion for music, having produced six songs with his schoolmates, including Warriors teammate Lennox Tuiloma.
Having those off-field interests was emphasised by legendary coach Wayne Bennett.
He said it was important for the youngster “to still be a kid”, as the professional environment happens fast, Betsy Neal says, recounting a conversation she had with Bennett.
It’s clear Neal is hardwired for one thing however – making his footy dreams come true.
“It’s just the way I am and the way I think – I’m gonna make my Plan A work.”
“If the footy pops off, that’s awesome, but whether he does or not, he’s going to be a solid-as dude,” Trevor Neal adds.
Looking forward, the moving boxes piled up in the Neal house show a family that’s committed to supporting their youngest in his professional journey and ready to make the move from Christchurch to their new home in Auckland.
“It’s just cool seeing a kid doing what they love,” Betsy Neal says.
“As a parent, that’s my baby still running around, except now he’s not doing it in the hallways and in the backyard. He’s doing [it] on the field, in the Warriors’ colours.”
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