It’s all go for Lafai after ditching stop signs
A HARSH winter in Salford is no substitute for the sun-kissed beaches of Sydney; the Super League will never compare to the NRL.
But as Tim Lafai prepares for today’s play-off eliminator against Huddersfield Giants, the Samoan centre can reflect on a season which has already proved beyond his fondest imaginings.
After a decade playing Down Under, Lafai’s career was on the slide and he wound up working as a traffic control officer on construction sites around Sydney. But then last December — after a year out of rugby league — Paul Rowley’s Red Devils offered 31-year-old Lafai a lifeline.
He took it and helped take Salford into the play-offs after a brilliant campaign which saw him named in the Super League Dream Team. Lafai said: ‘Moving to Salford was a sliding doors moment. Twelve months ago, I was working in traffic control, holding up a “stop/ slow” sign, and also labouring. I was going through a dark time, working six days a week, getting up at four in the morning. ‘They were 12-hour days and some days I wouldn’t see my four kids.
Now I get downtime with them and it’s little things like dropping them off at school or spending time with them on their birthdays. ‘Playing for Salford has made me rediscover my passion for the game.’
Salford operate with the lowest playing budget in Super League but Rowley has worked wonders in his first year in charge after Richard Marshall was axed following last season’s secondbottom finish.
Rowley has taken unwanted and inexpensive players and transformed the Red Devils into a well-organised, highly-motivated force who punch above their weight.
Lafai, who has formed a potent partnership on Salford’s left-edge with winger Joe Burgess, added: ‘Rowls just gets the best out of each player. The mood in the camp is confident but now it’s time to work even harder. ‘Huddersfield are a top-four team for a reason, so we’ve got to go toe to toe and be better than them.’ That today’s opponents are managed by ex-Salford coach Ian Watson, who jumped ship to join Huddersfield in November 2020, adds spice to the showdown. Lafai added: ‘Of course there is going to be that extra tension, but we’ll let the fans drive that stuff.’