Coping with brain cancer

the ventricles. Then he can return home, where he will prepare for bouts of radiation and chemotherapy once he has recovered.

Kula has officially retired from football. Just weeks after his 21st birthday, he has acknowledged that his dream of playing in the NRL is over.

It is an ambition he was on track to fulfil just a month ago. This was a youngster going places, a former Junior Kiwis star who had already received Harold Matthews player of the year honours at club and state level. As late as last month, he was training alongside Cronulla’s NRL squad with a view to earning a top-30 contract. The recent departures of Paul Gallen, Matt Prior and Avagalu Seumanufagai had left the Sharks skinny up front.

‘‘Definitely, there was an opportunity,’’ Kula said. ‘‘There was hope with the way I was training that I would get resigned.

‘‘Last year, my first year of pre-season was really good. Andrew Fifita and Aaron Woods put me under their wing. Last year I was still young, still developing.

‘‘This year I was having a good pre-season with the big boys. I wasn’t lagging behind or anything. The first-graders were treating me like a first-grader. Last year I was a young kid a year up. This year I had high hopes for footy.’’

Kula’s rapid rise had justified the decision to leave his native New Zealand in 2014. The Sharks signed him after being impressed by a highlights package the family sent and Kula subsequently appeared in three lower-grade grand finals with the club, winning two of them. His father, Soloman, and mother, Fitalika, also moved to Australia to support their son’s footballing dream.

‘‘He’s still taking us on his journey,’’ Soloman said. ‘‘We had our cry yesterday, me and Mum. When you have children and they are in pain, all you want to do is lift them up and cuddle them.

‘‘In this situation, and the worst scenario, of course the pain is real. What we have to do as a family is be strong and support him through the next stage. We don’t want people feeling sorry for him. This is another journey on his pathway.’’

Even Kula’s closest family and friends weren’t told he was in hospital until the diagnosis was delivered. However, special mention was made of the support provided by the Sharks and the Men of League Foundation in recent weeks.

‘‘I will support the Sharks for the rest of my life because of what they have given Fine,’’ Soloman said. ‘‘We’re not worrying about the next day until we get there.’’

Given his predicament, Fine is surprisingly upbeat.

‘‘They are saying that because I’m fit and healthy, I’m a good chance,’’ he said. ‘‘The night [I was told about the brain cancer], I was thinking about the worstcase scenario. My cousin came in, she’s a priest, she was putting things into perspective.

‘‘She was saying ‘if you think about death, that’s what’s going to happen’. If you think about life and living every day, it’s much better.

‘‘Our family is different.

‘‘I’m positive, I’m trying to get past it and not worry about it, but at the back of my head it’s still there.’’