Samoa centre Deine Mariner will be taking cues from his experience of the Brisbane Broncos’ premiership win to lift his side to victory in a must-win Pacific Championships clash on Sunday.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire made no secret of the way his players rode the wave of emotion from the crowds during their emotional finals run, something the 22-year-old is embracing heading into the tussle with Tonga.
What’s more is Mariner is returning to the scene of his match-leveling preliminary final try against the Panthers and he would love nothing more than to do the same on Sunday.
“I’m looking forward to Sunday and getting out there and it’s going to be even more special at Suncorp as well,” Mariner said.
“I think obviously when the crowd gets behind you, you want to use that as fuel and energy and let them take you to the finish line and they’re saying this weekend is going to be packed out, so we’re just going to get on the back of everyone else there and go for the win.”
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Last time they met: Tonga v Samoa
There will be no question of the passion of the Toa Samoa faithful when the players hit the hallowed turf after well over 5000 people cheered, waved their flags and broke into song at the team’s Brisbane fan day this week.
“This here is so special. We might be a small island, but we’ve got the most passionate people out here and I’m just letting it all soak in,” Mariner said.
The speedster will once again line up for Samoa at centre, where he played four NRL games in 2025, before moving to the wing for all of his 12 tries this season, including two in the grand final triumph.
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Deine Mariner Try
While it took some adjustment, Mariner said he took plenty of confidence out of his showing in the position he scored 22 tries in 28 games coming through the grades at Queensland Cup level.
“I’ve been playing wing most of the year, but any opportunity I get at centre, I try to put my best foot forward,” he said.
“There’s a lot of confidence to take out of last week’s performance and I’m very keen to get into this weekend.
“I think this week is just about focusing on ourselves and we know what our goal and our job is on Sunday, so it’s just about building through the week and we’ll be ready to go.”