Storm rookie Ativalu Lisati would walk one hour each way to school in West Auckland rather than pay for a bus and saved his lunch money for a year so he could pursue his rugby league dream.
Lisati, whose parents had never seen the inside of a hotel room until his NRL debut in Townsville, is just one win away from a fairytale grand final appearance after being selected in the secondrow in Friday night’s preliminary final against the Sharks.
Yet the 24-year-old’s journey to the NRL is one of determination, hard work and sacrifice – values in keeping with his strong religious beliefs and which also align with the ethos at the Storm under Craig Bellamy.
“I don’t come from the richest of families and my parents wanted me to go to university straight after school,” Lisati said.
Ativalu Lusati with family members, including his parents, after making his NRL debut in Townsville.
©Scott Davis/NRL Photos
“They wanted me to become a chartered accountant or an architect, but all of my hopes of playing footy would have been finished then.”
Instead, the Glenmore Bears junior used savings he had made from pocketing his lunch money each day, and walking to school instead of paying for a bus, to travel to Ipswich, where his brother Faatupu lived.
Within 12 months he was rubbing shoulders at the Panthers with the likes of Stephen Crichton after being scouted while playing in Queensland’s Allan Langer Cup, named after another former Ipswich State High School student.
“My brother went to school in Ipswich a couple of years before me and he stayed there,” Lisati said. “He told me to come over if I wanted the opportunity to go to Ipswich State High School and play a bit of schoolboy footy and give it a crack.
“I had been saving up all of my lunch money to get a pair of shoes and then when my brother gave me the opportunity, luckily, I hadn’t bought the shoes at the time, and I had just enough money for a one-way ticket to Brisbane.
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“My family didn’t have a car and school was about a 20-minute drive away, or a one hour walk, so I used to walk to school every day and save that bus money, hoping that I would get this pair of shoes I wanted, but I ended up using it to fly to Brisbane, and now I am here today.”
Having started in the backs before shifting to the second-row, Lisati possesses pace and recorded a speed of 36.83kph in a schoolboys game chasing Broncos superstar Reece Walsh, who was playing for Keebra Park SHS.
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After four seasons at Penrith, he joined the Storm last year following a recommendation from former Western Suburbs and St George coach Roy Masters, who was alerted to Lisati’s talents by KFC franchise owner Greg Fisher.
Fisher has a mutual connection with the pair and Lisati quickly made an impact on Bellamy, who has selected him regularly this season since Round 9.
He will start his 14th NRL match for the club in the secondrow ahead of fellow Samoan Shawn Blore in the sold-out grand final qualifier against Cronulla at AAMI Park.
“Sometimes Craig likes to give me a spray but I would rather someone who doesn’t beat about the bush,” Lisati said.
“If I have something I need to work on I would rather someone who is straight up and lets me know. He likes to tell us off and tell us what we need to work on. He is an honest coach and I am blessed to be at this club and have him as my coach.”
Bellamy handed Lisati his NRL debut in Round 26 of last season and it was a proud moment for him and his family as the club flew his parents over to watch the match against the Cowboys at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.
“It was pretty surreal for me and my parents,” he said. “They hadn’t been in a hotel room before and I just remember their reaction when I explained to them that this is what it is like for a professional footy player travelling with the team week-in and week-out.
We are not the richest of families and we didn’t have much, but I am pretty fortunate and blessed to be carrying our family name each and every week.
“Because it is just me and my brother, and I was the last one to leave home, they wanted me to go to uni and just stay around and help then out, but my parents are pretty happy and proud of where I am today.
“I get to play on the big stage of NRL and all I think about is giving back to my parents.”