Line-up of tradies playing part
HULKING Burleigh winger Sami Sauiluma is one of the many working-class heroes looking to “spark” the Bears in tomorrow’s Queensland Cup grand final.
If you think being a fulltime footballer is tough, try working 50-plus hours a week as a labourer then getting hammered at training and on game day.
Sauiluma knows all about that. After several years in the NRL system, the 25-yearold has toiled for Burleigh in the Queensland Cup this season between beginning a four-year apprenticeship to become an electrician.
“Mondays are probably the hardest days to go into work after a Sunday game because you’re pretty sore,” he said, noting the bumps and bruises come out even more by Tuesday.
“I’m used to having, when you’re in the system you have two days to recover and you have your ice baths and your stretching and yoga sessions and things like that to fully recover before the next week. But being parttime (as a footballer), you don’t get time to rest.
“You have got to still get up at 4.30 in the morning and go to work the next day.
“To be honest, I’m still not really used to it … but that’s to be done I guess, everyone does it. There’s a lot of boys out there who have harder jobs than I do so I can’t really complain.”
Sauiluma’s Bears teammates can relate. He works alongside injured co-captain Jamie Dowling at R J Beau- fils & Son, while Hayden Schwass also works as a “sparky”. Elsewhere, halfback Jamal Fogarty works as a concreter. Kurtis Rowe is a floorer. Louis Fanene and Waka Wanahi are glaziers, Olly Regan is a cabinet maker, Luke Page is a chippie, Paterika Vaivai and Pat Politoni are landscapers.
All in all, Sauiluma said it adds up to a culture of mutual respect.
“Because the majority of our team are part-time (footballers), it probably puts a lot of respect among each other … we all know we work hard all day and then we put in when it comes to training and we put in again when it comes to games,” he said.
Sauiluma, who was named on the wing but may yet play in the centres, admitted to being nervous ahead of joining the workforce in March this year.
Ironically, he started the week after helping the Bears to a 36-26 win over Tweed Heads, for whom several of his colleagues play.
Sauiluma was gladly shocked to be cleared at the judiciary of a shoulder charge on Redcliffe’s Brandon Lee during Burleigh’s 40-24 win at Dolphin Oval two weeks ago.
That match had marked his return from a knee injury – and he says he’ll be better for the run.
“I didn’t have much running under my belt so it was good to get a game before the grand final to get a bit of match fitness,” said the former Canberra and Cronulla player.
He added he plans to be at Burleigh again in 2017 and knock another year off his apprenticeship.