62 tries in 53 games: The attacking phenom leading World Cup’s NRL hopefuls

He is the uncapped attacking livewire who boasts one of rugby league’s most enviable try-scoring records. As Dudley Dotoi gets ready for the World Cup, a legend of the sport says the event will prove he belongs in the NRL.

“This is a really good platform and arena for [Dotoi] to shine and try and show the NRL that’s where he belongs,” one-time Kangaroo Terry Campese told this masthead.

“He’s pretty much got everything you want as an outside back and as a footy player. He’s got strength, speed and this agility about him that’s really hard to come by.”

Campese has brought the Papua New Guinea flyer under his wing since taking the coaching reins at the Townsville Blackhawks, helping the 23-year-old towards consecutive Winger of the Year accolades in the Queensland Cup.

Despite the statistics the boy from Bowen has produced – including 62 tries from just 53 games – his NRL exposure has been limited to a West Tigers stint fresh out of high school, and a train and trial opportunity last summer with the North Queensland Cowboys.

After his schoolboy talents were shown at Kirwan State High School, where he shared in state championship glory with Jeremiah Nanai, Dotoi took time to understand what it took to succeed.

A brief demotion followed one occasion when he couldn’t meet a commitment and failed to tell his teammates. But a frank conversation about being there for them triggered change, and in 2026 he was credited with 11 try assists from the flank.

“Being punctual is probably the easiest word to wrap it all up. His priorities at the time – putting training first – he probably didn’t do that as a young kid,” Campese said.

“Communication is the big one … communicating with the people who can help you through it. I remember one day he turned up late to training, it was only five minutes, and it was captain’s run, and I had to sit him out.

“When you’re out in the trenches, and it’s the 79th minute, people want to know they can rely on you and you’ve got their back.

“He’s got so much talent and so much more to offer. I want to see him play in the NRL.”

With Kumuls winger Alex Johnston ruled out of the World Cup through injury, the door has opened for Dotoi to make his mark at the World Cup, with the PNG campaign beginning against Lebanon on October 17.

Equipped with “unbelievable strength” and a “spider sense” to reel in bombs, the development of his grunt work coming out of the back field and defensive intent have caught Campese’s eye, with the coach revealing Dotoi would set targets for yardage carries to hit each week.

Campese first assessed Dotoi’s mindset as “I’ll score three, and they’ll score one”. Now, that had shifted to “he can score five tries and the other guys score none” – a feat he achieved against Souths Logan this year.