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Manu Ma’u ready to complete journey from jail cell to Test football (Warning: Positive story by the Tele about Parra)

Posted by The French Fullback #1 on April 20, 2016 at 9:12pm
SOME players talk about being a good role model.Parramatta enforcer Manu Ma’u lives by it.As tough as he is on the field, Ma’u had tears welling in his eyes as he recounted his misspent youth — and the pain he brought on his family, and in particular his mother, when he was sent to jail as a teenager.Growing up in Auckland, Ma’u was a member of a feared Polynesian gang when he was locked up for almost two years after a vicious brawl at a party.But from that period in his life has emerged a man Eels coach Brad Arthur today rates as the club’s most respected player among his peers.And a man who has now emerged as a possible bolter for the New Zealand side for the upcoming Anzac Test against Australia.While Ma’u knows he is up against some tough opposition to make that Kiwi backrow with the likes of Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris, Simon Mannering and Jason Taumalolo also in contention, just to be considered a contender is a world away from where his life was a decade ago.“To be where I am now and to come from where I have been, jail, I am really proud of myself,” Ma’u said in his softly spoken voice.“And my family is proud. I was 16 (when he was sent to jail). I went off the rails. I hung around the wrong crowd.“Well, I shouldn’t say actually I hung around the wrong crowd. I was the wrong crowd.But for me to turn around my life and what I have accomplished now, it is good.”A proud father of two little children aged three and four, Ma’u says being a role model for them is now the priority in his life.“Having two kids look up to me ... my eldest one knows I play for Parramatta now,” he said.“So when he sees me on TV he says; ‘Daddy, I saw you on TV’.“And when he smiles it makes me happy. And my mum is proud. She rings me every week.“She is always happy. She always tells me to play hard and play fair. She had two sons in prison. It was tough on my mum and my family. I love my mum and I love my family.”After making the Kiwis train-on squad last year despite missing out on the tour to England, Ma’u admits it would be a dream come true to play in Test in Newcastle on May 6.“It is a dream,” he said. “But I can just do what I can do on the field. If it happens, it happens.“If not, I will continue to play for Parramatta and play as hard as I can for my teammates and my family.“When I came out (of jail) I didn’t want to stay in one position and keeping going in and out.“So having a family and wanting to do better, has made me the man I am.”http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/eels/manu-mau-ready-to-complete-journey-from-jail-cell-to-test-football/news-story/3327bcce9f309d38c142c74ce2e78312
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  • Travis April 20, 2016 at 9:14pm

    And next minute breaking news roosters set to offer Mau a deal for next year.

    • Nath Taylor > Travis April 20, 2016 at 9:25pm
      I can't see us letting him go
    • Braeden Kelly > Travis April 20, 2016 at 9:32pm
      He and Kenny Edwards are both contracted next year.
  • Paul Flynn April 20, 2016 at 9:20pm
    With tyran smith as manu's manager we could be in trouble if he's spiteful the way we treated Hoppa.

    Hope the Brad Arthur connection doesn't let him leave the club
  • macybrown April 20, 2016 at 9:29pm
    Great story.
  • macybrown April 20, 2016 at 9:32pm
    I honestly don't see him wanting to and if we are in the ballpark when the time comes around, I'm sure he'll be a definite to take unders to stay....just like in old Manly & Broncos land ;))
  • Braeden Kelly April 20, 2016 at 9:35pm
    Seriously though can the roosters fuck off and produce their own players!!! They want every good player that comes off contract, wether it's Hayne, SBW, Coote
  • wiggy 71 April 20, 2016 at 10:34pm
    Most sensible story from the telecrap.
  • eels_brad April 20, 2016 at 11:33pm
    He's contracted for next year with the eels so doesn't matter what his shithole manager thinks of our club, we won't release him. If he wants to leave after 2017 then he can f**k off. We don't need players that don't want to play for us.
    • sixtiesboy > eels_brad April 20, 2016 at 11:39pm
      Don't let the media lead you to think that a bloke like Manu wants out. It's just not true.
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