The rest of this story is an absolute great read! Apart from the paragraph where it talks about Barrett looking to poach him at the Dogs.
Some sort of story!
ONLY last month did Taniela Paseka, one of the biggest players in rugby league, make the biggest decision of his sporting career by turning his back on the NFL.
At a meeting in New York, the 197cm, 122kg Manly Sea Eagles prop had been convinced by NFL scouts late last year to join the Indianapolis Colts though their International Pathway program.
He kept the offer quiet this season, but then COVID hit, and Paseka and partner Kobi Ruzzene discovered they were about to welcome their first child.
At 22, it’s not the only remarkable twist of Paseka’s life.
“I believe everything happens for a reason, that’s how I look at life, it wasn’t meant to happen,” Paseka said.
He was first approached by NFL scouts while playing under-20s for Wests Tigers.
“At first I thought, I don’t know anything about this sport, but then Jordan Mailata (former Souths prop, now with Philadelphia Eagles) went over because he wanted to play NFL,” Paseka said.
“So a couple of years ago I was introduced to the guys who run the program Jordan Mailata and Valentine Holmes went through, they flew from London to meet me, there were only six spots to pick people from different countries and he wanted me to go.
“It was a big decision because I’d have to leave my contract early with Manly, I didn’t have any back-up, nothing in my bank account, but I still had that thought in the back of my head that I wanted to play in the NFL, because I think I can be really good at it.
“It’s not on my mind now, I’ve got another year at Manly and I’m really happy here, it’s a great club.”
“So they set up a meeting, me and my partner went to New York last October, we met with the Colts management and they talked me through the NFL, what happens inside, I was really intrigued and I was thinking, ‘I really want to do this’.
“But it was only last month that I decided not to do it now because of what’s going on with COVID, I made the decision to say no to the NFL because the situation over there is too hard, and I’ve got a baby on the way.
“It’s not on my mind now, I’ve got another year at Manly and I’m really happy here, it’s a great club.”
Ruzzene will give birth to the couple’s first child, a boy, in October.
“Ever since we met two years ago, she has been my rock,” Paseka said.
“She motivates me to do better in everything I do, she pushes me to stay focused, she’s the best.”
Paseka’s journey from Auckland’s rough suburb of Otahuhu to Manly’s front row is a tale of family solidarity amid heartbreaking circumstances.
Paseka’s father Leone, and mother Ana, would have seven children; Junior, Tamiano, Annie, Kite, Malia (who represented New Zealand in netball), Taniela and Ana.
“My mum’s brother lives in America, he couldn’t have kids so my parents decided to give him one, they gave him Junior,” Paseka said.
Then when he was five, the family received shock news.
“My mum had breast cancer,” he said.
“We decided to move from Auckland to Sydney so she could get better treatment, also we had some family here.
“But soon after we got here she passed away, I was five years old.
“So my dad was here, a single dad looking after six kids in Sydney, and one was in America.
“My dad had to find work after my mum passed away, and the six of us kids were split in half, three of us went with our aunty in Campbelltown, and the other three moved in with another aunty in Lakemba.
“It was like that for a year, until my dad got enough money to rent a house in Smithfield that we could all move into together.
“He worked at a factory, did the long hours so he could bring the family back together, he is my inspiration.”
The family’s toil was noticed by Paseka’s Year 3 primary school teacher, Carmel Bennett.
“She saw the struggles my dad had with the six of us so she was a big help to my family, as time went on she became closer to us all,” Paseka said.
“She became like a caregiver for me, she looked after me, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without her. She sacrificed a lot for me.
“She’d get me books or pens if I needed it. She was a footy selector as well, so it got to the point where I would see her every day.
“She had her family, husband and two kids, so she would come over to talk or help me and then go home.
“She was like a loving, caring mother that only wanted to see me succeed, and she didn’t stop until I did. She helped me become the person I am now.
“She was strict, she kept me on my toes, I had to be home at a certain time and there were people I couldn’t hang around with because of what they were involved in.
That was when I stopped hanging around with people who weren’t going in the same direction I wanted to, they didn’t have the same goals and ambitions I did.”
Paseka’s junior rugby league coach, Levih Warby, mentored the young giant from the Canley Heights Dragons under-eights all the way through to under-20s level.
But throughout Paseka’s determined grind towards becoming a professional footballer, a piece of the family was missing.
Junior, who’d been adopted by their uncle, had no idea he had a father and six siblings in Australia.
“We knew about him, but he didn’t know what had happened, he was too young when it happened,” Paseka said.
“We didn’t know how to contact him. We finally got in touch with him on Facebook, he looked at our photos and my dad spoke to him about what happened.
“He came down four years ago, 2016, and we all met each other for the first time since he left.
“It was emotional, when he came he hugged my dad and they were in tears, because he couldn’t believe he was seeing his son and Junior was seeing dad for the first time.
“He was a baby when he left. He doesn’t remember anything before he left.”
The family reunion filled a gap in the hearts of all.
“That year I was playing for the Tigers, I wasn’t really thinking about playing footy as a career,’ Paseka said.
Then I had one game against Penrith, and all the way growing up when they picked the rep teams, there would always be a Penrith player picked over me.
“That put that fire in me, I wanted to show these guys I was better than them.
“In this one game, I played really well, and after that I started getting recognition, the NRL put up a video on their web page of that game and people started sharing and it went big.
“Ever since that moment, I’ve had confidence, to not be afraid to use my size.
“That game got me an under-20s NSW State of Origin jersey, that game changed my life. That was the moment I decided I could make football my job.”
He won the Tigers’ NYC player of the year, and in 2017, Paseka joined Manly from the Tigers, and helped them to the NYC premiership alongside Tevita Funa, Manase Fainu, Cade Cust and Haumole Olakau‘atu.
It was Trent Barrett who gave Paseka his NRL debut, and it’s rumoured the new Bulldogs coach may want to bring him to Belmore in future.
With Sea Eagles prop Addin Fonua-Blake sidelined for a month due to a knee injury, Paseka gets his chance to start in the Manly pack, first up against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve got a long way to go, but I plan to make my mark,” Paseka said.
“I want to leave something in my career, that hard mentality.
“It’s a life-changing opportunity for me, from where I’ve come. I want to play footy, be a good dad, set my life up for the future, not just for now.
“I look at my dad, how hard he worked to provide for us kids, so I need to make the most of this opportunity I’ve been given so I can also inspire.”
Some sort of story!
ONLY last month did Taniela Paseka, one of the biggest players in rugby league, make the biggest decision of his sporting career by turning his back on the NFL.
At a meeting in New York, the 197cm, 122kg Manly Sea Eagles prop had been convinced by NFL scouts late last year to join the Indianapolis Colts though their International Pathway program.
He kept the offer quiet this season, but then COVID hit, and Paseka and partner Kobi Ruzzene discovered they were about to welcome their first child.
At 22, it’s not the only remarkable twist of Paseka’s life.
“I believe everything happens for a reason, that’s how I look at life, it wasn’t meant to happen,” Paseka said.
He was first approached by NFL scouts while playing under-20s for Wests Tigers.
“At first I thought, I don’t know anything about this sport, but then Jordan Mailata (former Souths prop, now with Philadelphia Eagles) went over because he wanted to play NFL,” Paseka said.
“So a couple of years ago I was introduced to the guys who run the program Jordan Mailata and Valentine Holmes went through, they flew from London to meet me, there were only six spots to pick people from different countries and he wanted me to go.
“It was a big decision because I’d have to leave my contract early with Manly, I didn’t have any back-up, nothing in my bank account, but I still had that thought in the back of my head that I wanted to play in the NFL, because I think I can be really good at it.
“It’s not on my mind now, I’ve got another year at Manly and I’m really happy here, it’s a great club.”
“So they set up a meeting, me and my partner went to New York last October, we met with the Colts management and they talked me through the NFL, what happens inside, I was really intrigued and I was thinking, ‘I really want to do this’.
“But it was only last month that I decided not to do it now because of what’s going on with COVID, I made the decision to say no to the NFL because the situation over there is too hard, and I’ve got a baby on the way.
“It’s not on my mind now, I’ve got another year at Manly and I’m really happy here, it’s a great club.”
Ruzzene will give birth to the couple’s first child, a boy, in October.
“Ever since we met two years ago, she has been my rock,” Paseka said.
“She motivates me to do better in everything I do, she pushes me to stay focused, she’s the best.”
Paseka’s journey from Auckland’s rough suburb of Otahuhu to Manly’s front row is a tale of family solidarity amid heartbreaking circumstances.
Paseka’s father Leone, and mother Ana, would have seven children; Junior, Tamiano, Annie, Kite, Malia (who represented New Zealand in netball), Taniela and Ana.
“My mum’s brother lives in America, he couldn’t have kids so my parents decided to give him one, they gave him Junior,” Paseka said.
Then when he was five, the family received shock news.
“My mum had breast cancer,” he said.
“We decided to move from Auckland to Sydney so she could get better treatment, also we had some family here.
“But soon after we got here she passed away, I was five years old.
“So my dad was here, a single dad looking after six kids in Sydney, and one was in America.
“My dad had to find work after my mum passed away, and the six of us kids were split in half, three of us went with our aunty in Campbelltown, and the other three moved in with another aunty in Lakemba.
“It was like that for a year, until my dad got enough money to rent a house in Smithfield that we could all move into together.
“He worked at a factory, did the long hours so he could bring the family back together, he is my inspiration.”
The family’s toil was noticed by Paseka’s Year 3 primary school teacher, Carmel Bennett.
“She saw the struggles my dad had with the six of us so she was a big help to my family, as time went on she became closer to us all,” Paseka said.
“She became like a caregiver for me, she looked after me, and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without her. She sacrificed a lot for me.
“She’d get me books or pens if I needed it. She was a footy selector as well, so it got to the point where I would see her every day.
“She had her family, husband and two kids, so she would come over to talk or help me and then go home.
“She was like a loving, caring mother that only wanted to see me succeed, and she didn’t stop until I did. She helped me become the person I am now.
“She was strict, she kept me on my toes, I had to be home at a certain time and there were people I couldn’t hang around with because of what they were involved in.
That was when I stopped hanging around with people who weren’t going in the same direction I wanted to, they didn’t have the same goals and ambitions I did.”
Paseka’s junior rugby league coach, Levih Warby, mentored the young giant from the Canley Heights Dragons under-eights all the way through to under-20s level.
But throughout Paseka’s determined grind towards becoming a professional footballer, a piece of the family was missing.
Junior, who’d been adopted by their uncle, had no idea he had a father and six siblings in Australia.
“We knew about him, but he didn’t know what had happened, he was too young when it happened,” Paseka said.
“We didn’t know how to contact him. We finally got in touch with him on Facebook, he looked at our photos and my dad spoke to him about what happened.
“He came down four years ago, 2016, and we all met each other for the first time since he left.
“It was emotional, when he came he hugged my dad and they were in tears, because he couldn’t believe he was seeing his son and Junior was seeing dad for the first time.
“He was a baby when he left. He doesn’t remember anything before he left.”
The family reunion filled a gap in the hearts of all.
“That year I was playing for the Tigers, I wasn’t really thinking about playing footy as a career,’ Paseka said.
Then I had one game against Penrith, and all the way growing up when they picked the rep teams, there would always be a Penrith player picked over me.
“That put that fire in me, I wanted to show these guys I was better than them.
“In this one game, I played really well, and after that I started getting recognition, the NRL put up a video on their web page of that game and people started sharing and it went big.
“Ever since that moment, I’ve had confidence, to not be afraid to use my size.
“That game got me an under-20s NSW State of Origin jersey, that game changed my life. That was the moment I decided I could make football my job.”
He won the Tigers’ NYC player of the year, and in 2017, Paseka joined Manly from the Tigers, and helped them to the NYC premiership alongside Tevita Funa, Manase Fainu, Cade Cust and Haumole Olakau‘atu.
It was Trent Barrett who gave Paseka his NRL debut, and it’s rumoured the new Bulldogs coach may want to bring him to Belmore in future.
With Sea Eagles prop Addin Fonua-Blake sidelined for a month due to a knee injury, Paseka gets his chance to start in the Manly pack, first up against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve got a long way to go, but I plan to make my mark,” Paseka said.
“I want to leave something in my career, that hard mentality.
“It’s a life-changing opportunity for me, from where I’ve come. I want to play footy, be a good dad, set my life up for the future, not just for now.
“I look at my dad, how hard he worked to provide for us kids, so I need to make the most of this opportunity I’ve been given so I can also inspire.”
