Ben’s deal or no deal
THE TITANS’ SEASON MAY BE GONE BUT YOUNGSTERS LIKE PROP BEN NAKUBUWAI HAVE EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR, AS RHYS O’NEILL LEARNS
BEN Nakubuwai’s learning curves tend to be steep.
Whether it’s life in three states and across two countries, or jumping codes, the 21year-old knows how to roll with punches. He needs to.
With his contract at the Titans expiring within months, now is the time the Fijianborn prop needs to adapt.
Not aggressive enough, critics have said.
Not a good enough defender, others suggest.
Too small, yep, 109kg Nakubuwai has copped that too.
“Everyone thinks I’m a winger because I’m so skinny,” he says with a reserved smile. “I get that all the time because I do (hold weight well). As the years went on I got bigger but I got slower.”
Signed as a Melbourne 20s graduate in pre-season, Nakubuwai has spent 2017 at QCup feeder team Tweed.
Their looming wooden spoon has not helped the contract prospects of Nakubuwai, yet to crack the NRL despite the glut of Titans injuries. That doesn’t bode well. A plus, though, is how far Nakubuwai has come already.
JUMPING CODES
Despite his dad Pio lining up for Fiji at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, Nakubuwai hadn’t played the 13-man code until aged 15. Early coaches can attest to that.
“My first year (playing league) I struggled because I didn't really understand what was going on and it took me a while to adapt,” he laughs.
“I didn’t know you don’t have to chase every play because union is continuous.
“I followed the play there and followed it there.
“But then it sort of clicked and it just went from there.”
Storm soon came calling.
LIFE ON THE MOVE
Nakubuwai scratches his head but answers with certainty.
“I call Melbourne home,” he says. “I was born in Fiji but left early and spent time in Cronulla then we ended up in Leeton in NSW until I left for the Storm in Year 12. It’s been quite a journey so far.”
Propped up by a shoestring budget and an assortment of Titans allocation, Tweed Heads has been Nakubuwai’s footballing home in 2017.
He cites Gold Coast NRL duo Eddy Pettybourne and Leivaha Pulu, as well as coach Neil Henry, as mentors helping evolve his game.
“It's not been the best season but I’m just getting experience,” says the prop, who was 18th man against South Sydney earlier this season.
“I’m fit and ready to go and just been biding my time.
“I started late at pre-season and I was a bit behind the eight-ball at the start.
“My goal all year was to get a debut and it would be a dream come true.
“But there are little things in my game I need to pick up.
“The big thing for me is being a bit more aggressive.”
WORLD AWAITS
A new Titans contract would be nice.
A Fijian odyssey later this year, that would be the bonus.
“I’d love to play the World Cup,” says Nakubuwai, who has played three Tests for Fiji the past two seasons.
“That is what you train for and you want to get the most out of your career.
“Even if it’s just part of the squad for the experience.”
Yet there is an even grander pay-off.
“I do it (play for Fiji) for my family. In a way you are repaying what your mum and dad did for you,” he says.
“If not for them I wouldn’t be here and playing for the Titans; I’d be another kid in Fiji.
“Mum and Dad let us have our independence.”
The Fijian culture is so innate Nakubuwai recalls fondly the one-month family stay of Storm sensation Suliasi Vunivalu a few years ago.
“It was great having him with us for a while there,” he says. “Seeing where he started and where he has reached now, it’s a massive eye-opener about what can happen.”
THE FUTURE
So, back to that soughtafter 2018 deal.
The Titans concede Nakubuwai, on a minimum wage, has work to do.
“He has played a majority of his games in the QCup but he knows he just has to keep performing,” chief operating officer Tony Mestrov said.
“He’s a lovely guy and has come from a really great family. And he’s a hard worker.
“Hopefully he can finish off the season well.”
With designs on taking up paddle boarding amid his Coast orientation, Nakubuwai badly wants to deliver. “I’d love to stay,” he says. “The lifestyle compared to Melbourne is so different and I’m a pretty laid-back person.
“I love it here and would love to get another deal.”