Siosifa Talakai’s harsh lessons from South Sydney and his hard-to-please son

It’s bad enough Talakai will face South Sydney – the club that sacked him years ago – in an elimination final with Cronulla on Saturday night.

But does his six-year-old son Tevita have to support the Rabbitohs too?

“I leave him, he’s a footy fanatic like me. If he follows the Rabbitohs, he follows the Rabbitohs. But he’s only wearing Sharks gear on Saturday,” Talakai says.

“He plays for Mascot, my junior club. So he plays in Rabbitohs comp, I guess that’s why he follows them. He’s got a Rabbitohs shirt and he’s always wanting to wear it.”

Crushing for a dad who has played with the Sharks for three seasons now.

Talakai and the family watched Sunday’s Rabbitohs vs Roosters epic at home, just down the road from Allianz Stadium in Mascot.

It’s where Talakai grew up and where he‘s raising his family too.

Feeling like he had been ‘hit by a truck’ after Saturday’s epic qualifier against North Queensland, all Talakai could hope for is that the Roosters and Rabbitohs had an equally brutal battle – physically and mentally.

This year especially, he’s wisened up to the game that goes on between the ears.

Playing State of Origin for NSW this season and being around camp helped him figure it out, just by watching the professionalism of James Tedesco and Nathan Cleary and how they use emotion, rather than letting it drain them.

“Origin was massive for me,” he says.

“There’s a reason why Teddy and Cleary are at the top of the game. They do a lot of small things right and nail their preparation every day.

“Watching them do that everyday made me more hungry and made me want to be like them. I want to be at the top of my game too.

“[I’ve changed] little habits. I limit my time on the game and I do a lot more mobility and meditating.

“My preparation has changed. Just training too, I have a laugh here and there but before that I used to joke around a lot. I try not to joke around too much and get carried away. I try to nail it so I’m at my peak come game day.”

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A few years ago it would have been a different story, though.

Talakai has spoken at length about his axing from Souths in 2018, how he thought he was a superstar at the club but was eventually sacked by then-coach Michael Maguire for repeated contract breaches.

It was all over in an instant.

He then rebuilt his career through NSW Cup while running the streets of Balmain and Leichhardt at dawn as a garbo, a humbling experience that taught him to never think you’ve made it.

“I’d rather not look back and get complacent,” he says when asked to reflect on his successful season with the Sharks and an Origin debut.

“The last time I got complacent I got sacked, it was a big lesson for me. I’ll keep moving forward and keep striving for more.”

Despite the history, he says there is no extra feeling in Saturday’s game.

“Not really, I’d say a couple of years ago, yeah, it would have, but not now,” he says.

“I’m done with Souths and I’m a Shark now. I bleed black, white and blue. It’s another game. This one is a bit more important because it’s a finals game and it’s do or die, but apart from that, the other team being Souths, it doesn’t matter.”

He will draw on past experiences though. Talakai grew up with Souths forwards Hame Sele and fellow Mascot product Keaon Koloamatangi – the latter of whom will be up to him to handle on Saturday night.

The pair ran the Coogee stairs together on Saturday mornings over the off-season in training with their shared manager Tyran Smith, as well as a group of kids who came down for the run too.

Talakai laughs that he and Koloamatangi were “neck and neck at the back of the group” but when asked how to actually stop the 106kg back-rower, he gets serious.

“I guess you’ve just got to be aggressive with him,” he says.

“It’s a tricky one, because he’s very skilful as well. He’s got leg speed, very strong, and I think we’ve got to get him with numbers.

“The only way to contain a big fella is to get him with numbers and not give him time to wind up or execute his skill.

“He’s a quality player. To contain him is going to be hard but in a do or die, we’ll do whatever it takes.

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“We’ll go out and try to rip each other’s head off for 80 minutes and then we’ll be good mates again.”

One way or another there’ll be a lesson in Saturday night’s game for Talakai’s oldest son Tevita – roasting is a two-way street.

“If I win, I get to give it to him, if he wins he’s happy, so it’s a win/win for me,” Talakai laughs.