Benaiah Ioelu is the self-confessed “fanboy” who has to decide whether to pass left to Sam Walker or right to Daly Cherry-Evans after Roosters coach Trent Robinson put his faith in the young gun to start while new recruit Reece Robson is injured.
There’s an Instagram post from last year where Ioelu calls himself a fanboy who was allowed on the field, with the rising star including a video from the 2013 grand final where winger Daniel Tupou scores off a kick.
The clip then shows Ioelu putting in a similar kick for the veteran winger to score 12 years later, with the next slide accompanied by one simple word: crazy.
Having only just turned 22, the 12-gamer is still a relative rookie in the game but already has a lifetime of memories after getting to play alongside some of his idols in the NRL and in his three games for Samoa in the Pacific Championships.
“If you heard my phone calls with my mum, she’d have all the receipts,” he said with a smile that lasted the entire nine-minute interview.
“Even just wrestling against players, I still fanboy. I feel like that’s the joy I have in the game. When I step on the field, it’s hard to appreciate that I was watching them not that long ago.
“It’s until I reflect on my game at night and the players I played with that it makes you appreciate the discipline that you have in your life and the times that you wanted to give up or the days that you don’t want to go training.
“You start to appreciate the hard work because these small rewards that you have, you look back and think ‘damn, I just played with Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’. He’s my favourite player, so it’s crazy.
“When they text me and call me now, I don’t want to sound like too much of a fanboy (but it’s incredible).”
It’s why he’s not fazed when a veteran half barks for the ball out of dummy-half or if he’s forced to do extras at training because he knows how hard it was to be in this position.
“My journey with league, it didn’t happen just like that like a star boy out of school,” he said.
“All of a sudden I’m playing NRL like 18 years old. I had to work for it, so every single week I’m ripping it out at training with them. I feel like that’s where I’m more appreciating it.
“I’m doing short-side plays with DCE (Cherry-Evans). I’m watching him play for Queensland and all that and it’s crazy because out of the whole world, how does one person like me get to be blessed to be able to be yelled at to ‘give me clean service’.
“That’s something of a blessing because there are many boys grinding for a spot like this in my position and I never know how many games I’m going to play, so I want to appreciate every moment they tell me off.”
These experiences will only grow over the years, with Ioelu pinching himself after he got to play alongside the Roosters’ new halves pairing in a trial game last month.
“That’s pretty crazy. I’m playing with DCE, wow,” he beamed.
“I always get caught up in these moments where I’m just going out there and playing footy, but then once I reflect usually at night after the game and then I’m like, ‘Damn, yeah, I actually played with DCE’.
“But answering your question, it was just so simple. He approaches the game so simply and that’s what I feel like I’m learning from every single professional player, being in that Pacific Champs team, playing with Jarome Luai.
“The boys with experience, they just keep it so simple, but it’s the constant turning up every day and just doing the same work and being consistent. I feel like that’s what they all have in common and that’s what I’m learning.”
Ioelu will play ahead of Connor Watson with Robson sidelined for the opening rounds, with one powerful ally helping him handle all the pressure that comes with starting for a glamour club like the Roosters.
“The approach doesn’t change. I feel like just more of the mental side, obviously it’s a lot to play in the NRL and dealing with media, fans and talk, hype,” he said.
“I feel like what helps me the most is my relationship with God and having that outside mind and not focusing on the opinion of man but just focusing on the promises of God and trusting him.
“That’s what helps me to perform every single week.”
Originally published as ‘Blessed to be yelled at’: The Roosters ‘fanboy’ who has the toughest and best job in rugby league