Isa ready for grand time with old mates
WILLIE ISA knows all about the threat of Grand Final opponents Lachlan Coote and Zeb Taia – because he grew up playing in the same junior teams as them in the ultra- competitive Penrith leagues.
The western Sydney city is renowned for its conveyor belt of
rugby league stars, hosting 24 clubs in a population of just 13,000.
Isa and Coote followed the older Taia in stepping up to Australia’s NRL before heading for Super League. Wigan back- rower Isa, who faces the St Helens pair in tomorrow’s Grand Final in Hull, said: “Lachlan Coote is my man. I always played a year above my age group, and he played in the same teams and was a year younger again.
“He always played two years above and was always the starting full- back.
“He was a stringy little kid but he was fast – he scored some tries for us. He has the heart of a lion. I remember Zeb when I was growing up because he was two or three years older and I looked up to him.
“Penrith is the biggest junior system in the world. It’s just a way of living there, every kid always has a rugby league ball.”
That upbringing also nurtured a desire in Isa to help local communities, something he has actively pursued during his time in England. He volunteered for the NHS at the start of the pandemic, has visited children’s homes through his work with the Warriors’ foundation, and caught up with Wigan fan Norman Prior, 66, ahead of tomorrow’s clash.
“If I can put a smile on someone’s face then I’m all for it, especially in these times,” he said.
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