Manu Ma’u finally gets chance to press claims for new Eels contract
Manu Ma’u scores Parramatta against Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium last Sunday. Picture: AAP
Parramatta second-rower Manu Ma’u waited eight months to make his return from injury. Little wonder he was so frustrated when on his return, he was forced to leave the field for a head injury assessment in the final minutes of his comeback game against Newcastle last Sunday.
Ma’u admits he wasn’t happy with the Eels trainer responsible for his premature departure from the field. No kidding. Ma’u is a fearsome character and his stare is one of the most frightening in the game. Pity the poor trainer on the end of it last weekend.
“I wasn’t happy,” Ma’u said.
“I was a bit dazed but I wasn’t knocked out. I was like what for, get lost, I am sweet. I apologised to him after.
“I said sorry.”
Ma’u’s frustration is understandable when you consider what he has been through over the past year. He missed a large chunk of last season with a cheekbone injury and then hurt his knee in the pre-season, delaying his comeback until last weekend.
Adding to his angst was the fact he is one of the Parramatta players coming off contract at the end of the season.
Ma’u started his first grade career late at the age of 25. Five years on, his next contract will set up him and his young family — he has two sons Melino and Levi, and a daughter Ariana with his wife Aliso — for the rest of their life.
“I just started playing,” Ma’u said.
“I have to get some good footy under my belt and my manager will sort that out. I want to stay but it is up to the club and how I perform if they really want me to stay.
“I just have to play good footy. I feel wanted here. I am just worried about injuries. In the back of my mind, I think that is what they are thinking.
“If they want me to stay, I will stay. If they want to see me go, I will look for other options. I will do what I have to do.”
His story resonates in the current environment. Ma’u spent time in jail after a brawl between rival gangs in 2007 but since his release in 2009 he has turned around his life and uses his story to mentor youth.
His soft-spoken personality belies a fierceness on the field, where he has become a pivotal member of the Eels pack.
He will be crucial tomorrow as the Eels host St George Illawarra and their coterie of vaunted forwards at Bankwest Stadium.
Ma’u has watched events of recent months with a sense of concern for both the game and the young men who have tarnished it in the public eye.
He hopes they heed the lessons he has learned.
“It is not smart,” he said.
“For myself, I have probably done worse than them but I have learnt off it.
“I don’t know what is going on but I just hope the boys who did get into trouble can bounce back and get on the straight and narrow, just pull their heads in and cut their shit out.
“I have three kids and they are like little sponges, they pick up everything. Whatever I do, I just try to show them the right way.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sp...t/news-story/aea1aefa28ae29bf898bd844b158181e
