Robert Toia has credited his Tongan upbringing as the backbone for his emergence from numerous career setbacks and can\u2019t wait to repay the faith when he wears the red jersey for the first time at Suncorp Stadium this weekend.<\/p>\n
It will be a full-circle moment for the State of Origin centre, from last week having the chance to explore his parents\u2019 roots in the Kingdom to Sunday being able to represent his heritage in front of them in Brisbane, the home of his rugby league upbringing.<\/p>\n
Toia was even able to relive his school days this week in a \u201cweird\u201d twist of fate, with Tonga preparing for their date with Samoa with a training session on Wednesday at his alma mater, St Joseph\u2019s Nudgee College on Brisbane\u2019s northside.<\/p>\n
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Robert Toia’s highlights from his Dally M Rookie of the Year season<\/p>\n
\u201cRepresenting Tonga is so special and I just can’t believe that I have the opportunity to do so. It’s something I’ve been wanting to be a part for a while,\u201d he said at Tonga\u2019s fan day at Logan Brothers Rugby League Club on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt represents both of my family, my mum and dad. So, you know, both their villages.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big thing I took from the Tongan culture is just the respect and just the humbleness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s so big in Tongan culture, just respecting your elders and obeying your parents. That\u2019s a massive thing I try to carry day-to-day.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s thanks to those ideals the 21-year-old is reaping the rewards with yet another representative berth in a year that \u201cstill feels like a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toia made his NRL debut for the Roosters in Round 1. He was selected to play for Queensland after just 10 games, playing a key role in the Maroons 2-1 series victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, he will cap a rapid rise with an international debut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, it’s everything,” Toia said. “Just the support from your parents and loved ones, you know, it can really make a difference. The constant support they gave, it obviously just shows the love we have for each other and just the respect both ways.”<\/p>\n
While 2025 has been a stunning success, it has not been all smooth sailing for Toia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The emerging talent suffered two ACL tears and a broken jaw in the space of three years prior to this season.<\/p>\n
Looking back, Toia recognised the time out game him a chance to improve his game before his debut finally arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You wouldn\u2019t know it from his 2025 campaign, in which he earned the reputation of one of the most formidable defensive centres in the NRL, but coming through the grades Toia admits it was his weakness.<\/p>\n
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Two for Toia<\/p>\n
Fittingly, it was watching a Roosters teammate, who has had a similarly injury-riddled path to the top grade, that inspired him to add another tool to his repertoire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s one thing I was glad that, you know, I started adding to my game. If you ask any coach my junior years, they wouldn’t even know I could defend,\u201d Toia said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBilly Smith was a big factor in that. I kind of looked up to him. I’ve never told him this, but I looked up to him so much, just not only due to the setbacks, but seeing what he does with the ball and off the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI valued how much he cared for the defensive side with things, his little attention to details, it\u2019s so beautiful to watch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve always wanted to add that to my game, but I\u2019m just so surprised and shocked that I’ve been able to add it so early.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Classic: Samoa v Tonga, 2015<\/p>\n
So how does he do it?<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst things first, it\u2019s your prep, it\u2019s getting your feet right and just getting up,\u201d Toia said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more space you take, you know, the less space they have. So getting that space up there, taking up that space helps so much and then just really just shortening your feet and then just read it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Someone who has witnessed all of Toia\u2019s pitfalls and his sensational emergence is Roosters and Tonga teammate Siua Wong, who couldn\u2019t be prouder to run out alongside him for Tonga on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s awesome, hey,” Wong said. “I feel like everything happens for a reason. If he didn’t go through those setbacks he wouldn\u2019t have been able to put himself in the position that he is in now, and I feel like mentally, physically, everything, and you know, he\u2019s so much stronger and better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gives us so much confidence, he\u2019s put in so much work this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wong said Toia was all the more set up for his debut on the back of the culture built by Tonga coach Kristian Woolf and the leadership group to embrace him like family.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same community feel that sums up the Tongan fanbase for the 22-year-old backrower, especially after last week\u2019s eye-opening tour of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Tonga\u2019s such a small nation, but just through footy alone we can do big things and big ups to the fans who are always turning up,\u201d Wong said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s the Tongan culture, always having that generosity and community and I feel like that’s what’s here today and what we\u2019ll represent on the field on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that really struck me is they live with so much less than what we have in Australia, but I feel like they’re five times, 10 times happier than people who live in Australia, and they\u2019ve helped us come back and be more content.\u201d<\/p>\n
That feeling pauses for 80 minutes on Sunday, not content with anything other than victory against their arch-rivals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robert Toia has credited his Tongan upbringing as the backbone for his emergence from numerous career setbacks and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-238410","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nrl","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-national-rugby-league","11":"tag-nationalrugbyleague","12":"tag-nrl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}