YOUNG FATHER’S DRIVING URGE TO WIN DECIDER
HAMILTON Taia doesn’t have to look far to find inspiration ahead of this weekend’s Hastings Deering Colts grand final. Most days they’re either in his arms or latching on to his ankles.
The 20-year-old front rower has two children with partner Sharni, and they have been crucial to keeping him on course to make history for the Townsville club.
The Blackhawks are aiming for the club’s first slice of premiership glory at any Queensland Rugby League level since the club came into the competition in 2015.
For Taia it is another chance to be a role model for his son Reuben, 2, and daughter Olianah, 11 months.
“Without them I wouldn’t be here,” Taia said.
“It was a big struggle having kids at a young age, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. They kept me grounded. Without them, my partner and two kids, I wouldn’t be where I am. They changed my life. I went from being 130kg two years ago, to a runon forward for the under-21s. It made me realise what my life is and what I aspire to.
“You want to be that role model for them, any dad would say the same thing, especially with a son. You want to be the man who they look up to.”
It’s a fresh change for Taia, who has spent a lot of this season looking up at his rivals.
The frontrower is one of the senior leaders in the club’s forwards, a pack that has often been judged to be on the slighter side compared to their rivals. But it is not a tag the group avoids or ignores. Instead they relish it. It makes the side fight harder and faster for what they can.
“Our forward pack is a bunch of mates, we all grew up together and played football together locally or at school,” he said. “We are one of the smallest forward packs in the competition, but we give it. We look at other teams, where they just breed different. We take it upon ourselves as a huge challenge.
“We like to say we hunt as a pack. You can’t do it all by yourself, that is what your mates next to you are for. We have each other’s backs and help each other out.
“Heading into the semi-finals we did have a bit of complacency in our team. We got our behinds handed to us (by Redcliffe). It was a big wake-up call for us. “It was definitely a unit thing. In that loss that was where they hurt us, through the middle. Being too loose and all the little stuff we didn’t do right. After that game we switched on, got together as a unit, as an engine room and swore to be better.”