‘DON’T BREAK THE OLD MAN’
MAKING sure he didn’t damage his “old man” was the chief aim of Hull KR’s Phoenix LauluTogaga’e.
But he was the one who ended up being grounded as his dad enjoyed the last word in their match-up.
In a rarity for professional rugby league, the father and son full-backs played against each other on Sunday.
On dual-registration with Keighley Cougars, Phoenix, 20, faced Quentin, 38, as Sheffield Eagles romped to a 46-18 victory in the Betfred Championship.
The youngster said: “It was weird. In the build-up, my main worry was I didn’t really want to hurt my old man!
“But both of us came out injury-free so it all worked out.
“I still live at my mum and dad’s house but it was surprisingly normal on the morning of the game.
“We had a few jokes about being each other’s enemy and that was it. I was pretty nervous but I tried to hide it.
“The only tackle I made on him was when he made a break. I wanted to make sure he didn’t score. If I was to get one thing out of that game, it was just to stop him doing that.
“But he played the ball quickly and they scored the next play so I didn’t even look at him.”
Former Samoa international QLT is in his second stint at Sheffield where he is a club legend after joining in 2011, going on to score a huge 183 tries in 218 games.
Ex-Castleford and Toronto ace QLT, who hails from Auckland, said: “Getting the win was always the main thing. But to play against him was such a weird experience.
“As a father my job is always to protect him, but that all went out of the window.”