Eels Blogs

 Adrian Proszenko

The football field is an outlet of expression for Suaia Matagi, but it's when he's performing to a more intimate audience that you truly appreciate his journey to the NRL.

Matagi's tale, for it to be done justice, is best delivered live on a stage by the man himself. The Parramatta prop has done just that in My story – from prison to the palace, a theatrical production that, as the name suggests, charts his remarkable turnaround from a jailed teen to rugby league international.

"You can't make an error, it's all live. You have to go all out. It was one of the best experiences, how everyone in the crowd was. It was a full-on stage show so it was a mix of film, dance and acting. There are five of us in the cast, each dealing with real-life issues that happened to us. One would touch on sexual abuse, how it affected her life. Another person was suicide. For me it was drugs and alcohol and gangs.

"It's letting people know, yeah, I was locked up in a prison, but there is a way out. There is hope, that was the key message.

"I got up there and if just one person can benefit or can find some hope from it, then it was worth it."

Matagi's formative years in west Auckland consisted of gangs, drugs and alcohol. It all came to a head one night when, at the age of 15, he launched a vicious revenge attack following the 'bottling' of his friend's mother. It is during one of the rawest scenes of his stage production that Matagi turns to the audience and deadpans: "I was ready to hurt or kill someone that night."

The person Matagi hurt most was himself. He may have been a juvenile when committing the crime, but the bulk of his sentence was served in New Zealand's hardest adult prisons. During his time behind bars – it would have been eight years had he not earned an earlier release – that Matagi realised his life must change.

"It was realising I'd reached a dead end," he said. "In the hard times, nobody is really there for you. The boys weren't there during the hard times when I was locked up. It was my family that was suffering, too.

"Missing my daughter's birthday, that really hurt me as a father. That was the turning point for me. I just surrendered, I guess, and asked God for help.

"I kind of said a prayer and my life changed then. I had dreams I thought would never come true. I was locked up. For me it was about taking responsibility for myself, I couldn't blame anyone else.

"I was really hungry and really determined to channel my energy into something positive."

That came in the form of rugby league, a game Matagi knew nothing about before his incarceration. It was only while playing the prison-yard pastime "crash" – in which inmates hurtled into each other – that he realised there was a better use for his physical gifts.

"That gave me the hunger to go and chase something," he said of his desire to play rugby league.

"I started to set goals to make my family proud. After that, whether I made it all the way or not, I gave myself every opportunity, I gave it my all, had no regrets."

History will show Matagi got there. Not only did he reach first grade with the Warriors, Roosters and Panthers before his recent move to the Eels, the 28-year-old also represented New Zealand and Samoa. The journey, however, was not an easy one. His first jobs were as a garbage man and as a courier, while he missed away games for the Auckland Vulcans until he proved himself worthy of a visa.

"I had all that facing me, but I surrounded myself with the right people, who supported my life and family," he said. "I was hungry, I had that passion."

Matagi's tale bears a striking resemblance to that of Parramatta teammate Manu Ma'u. The pair have made the most of their league lifelines, Ma'u earning the Ken Thornett Medal in 2016 as the club's player's player. Matagi also appears to be settling in with the blue and golds, producing a series of dominant performances at the Auckland Nines in his first appearances for the club.

Matagi is now sharing his experiences with Sydney's youth. He is an ambassador for #fistdown, a group educating teens about the consequences of violence and has also told his cautionary tale at NRL rookie camps. There are plans to perform his stage play to Sydney audiences.

"It's about making a change, letting the youth know that violence is not the answer," he said.

"There are consequences to violence and sometimes when you're growing up you don't think about who your actions affect.

"You don't have to go down the same path I did. You have to be careful and make better choices. Sometimes one little incident can ruin everything."