Mummy’s boy happy to swim with Sharks
SIX years ago, Ronaldo Mulitalo didn’t even know the rules of rugby league.
The boy who grew up in Otara, south Auckland, with his elder brother Giovanni, twin brother Lorenzo and baby sister Valencia, played A-grade junior soccer from the age of five until he was 12.
Inevitably, his hero was Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I remember my first Christmas present was a soccer ball with Cristiano’s replica signature on it,” Mulitalo said.
“I took it everywhere.” Mulitalo had dreams of becoming a round-ball striker until just before his 13th birthday when he watched his younger cousin play rugby league for the Ellerslie Eagles.
“I said to Mum, ‘I want to give it a go’,” Mulitalo said.
“I had to borrow a pair of footy boots from my next-door neighbour — they had holes in them and half-missing sprigs.
“I didn’t even know the rules. I was playing second-row and tackling with my head and because I had played rugby union during primary school, I was always rolling away when I got tackled, like I was in a ruck.”
Impossible to comprehend, but believing in the rapid progression her son took in just one season, Mulitalo’s mother gathered the entire family together in their small lounge room in 2014.
“Mum (Vaega) sat us all down and said ‘there’s no scholarships or any offers (from NRL clubs) in Australia, but we’re willing to pack up all this, leave home and take a chance,” Mulitalo said.
“And that’s what we did.” The family of proud Kiwis moved to Brisbane in October 2013, with Mulitalo and his brothers enrolled into Ipswich State High.
Mulitalo played halfback for his school and on weekends for the Springfield Panthers he played anywhere from the halves, second-row, centre, wing and fullback.
On the advice of the Sharks talent scout in Queensland, Gary Bishop — the son of club legend Tommy Bishop — Mulitalo was invited to a Sharks development camp in December 2014.
Leading the development camp was former pathways and development coach and now current Sharks coach John Morris.
“One of the first sessions we do with the boys is to take them out to the Wanda sandhills,” Morris recalled.
“I still remember Ronaldo dragging other boys up the hills, while they were being physically sick.”
In a trial match against a Samoan under-18s side, Mulitalo — just 15 — scored three tries.
Suffice to say, the Sharks wanted Mulitalo in the Shire immediately, but his mum made certain that her boy finished Year 12.
He remained in Brisbane, playing with the Ipswich Jets’ first grade side while still at school.
He was chosen at fullback in the 2016 Queensland schoolboys side, a precursor to his Maroons under-20 Origin selection this year, before he made the move to the Shire full time prior to the 2017 pre-season.
“I struggled to adapt to that,” Mulitalo said.
“I didn’t know anyone here. I had no friends. I felt alone.
“I was the biggest mummy’s boy, I’d be in tears on the phone. I still get emotional thinking about those dark times.”
Two back-to-back shoulder reconstructions in 2017 and 2018 allowed Mulitalo the time to transform his body and pile on 16kg.
Additionally, he is also the fastest in the club, recently clocking a quicker sprint time than Sharks flyer Bronson Xerri.
“When I first came down to Cronulla I was 80kg. I look back at the photos and I was a stick. I’m now 96kg,” he said.
What the injuries also enabled Mulitalo to realise was the faith Cronulla had in him, evident by his five NRL appearances and two tries this year under Morris.
Which is why he sent both Wayne Bennett and Michael Maguire a text message to politely decline their interest prior to his recent re-signing with the Sharks until 2021.
“I phoned Mum when I needed to make a decision and she asked me where I was happy,” Mulitalo said.