Blues debutant Haumole Olakau’atu’s father pledges to turn his back on the Maroons forever

When Haumole Olakau’atu spots his father Ofa in the Accor Stadium crowd on Wednesday night, he’ll see his father in a way he has never before, decked out in the blue of NSW.

When Haumole Olakau’atu looks into the Accor Stadium crowd to spot his father Ofa, the NSW Blues debutant will see his dad in a way he has never before.

Ofa will be decked out in the blue of NSW from head to toe for the first time ever.

From the moment Ofa stepped foot on Australian soil back in 1996 to represent Tonga in the Super League World Nines he has barracked for the enemy state.

On Wednesday night, he’ll turn his back on the Maroons for good.

“I loved watching Queensland players like Gorden Tallis, Darren Lockyer and I really liked Billy Slater,” Ofa told The Daily Telegraph.

“All our community knew I supported the Maroons, and would ask ‘Ofa, what if your son ends up playing for the Blues?’ “So now, I go for the Blues … I have to. No more, Maroons.”

Despite growing up in NSW, Olakau’atu followed his dad as a Maroon and two years ago outed himself as a Queensland supporter on social media in a post that declared: “Been a Maroons since day dot”.

“He went for the Maroons because of me, but in his heart he is a Blue,” Ofa said.

Ofa and his wife, Ana, will be two of the 30-strong group of family and friends that the Manly star has organised to be at Accor Stadium to cheer him on as he runs out onto the field.

“The players get four tickets each, and the rest, I think they take it out of their pay. But he has a lot of family and friends and he wants them to be there,” Ana said.

It’s fitting so many people will be there to witness Olakau’atu’s Origin debut because it took a village to get him and his family to tomorrow night, from members of their church community, lawyers and even immigration officials, some friendlier than others.

Olakau’atu and his parents spent the first 10 years of their life in Australia living illegally in Sydney and evading immigration officials.

A promising talent, Ofa arrived in Australia as a 25-year old on a visa to play in the Nines in Townsville in 1996 and, like a lot of his Tongan teammates, never left.

Ana arrived around 12 months later and quickly realised becoming a permanent resident would not come easy.

The first time immigration caught up with Ana, Olakau’atu was four years old.

As an immigration officer named ‘Scotty’ stood at her front door, Ana feared the absolute worst.

“I heard a knock on the door and opened it and there was a man showing me a badge,” Ana recalls.

Family members of Haumole Olakau’atu (L to R): Brother Uona, sister Kauiniata, Mother Ana, Father Ofa and cousin Jamilah. Picture: Thomas Lisson.

“He said, ‘Hi, I’m Scotty, I’m from the Department of Immigration, are you Ana?’.

“Hearing the word ‘immigration’, I cried straight away. I tried to control it, but I couldn’t help it.

“As he walked into the lounge room he noticed a few photos of Ofa from when he played football at the time for Guildford in the Sydney Metro Cup. “Straight away he pointed and asked, ‘who is that guy in the photos? Do you know him?’

Little did Ana know that Scotty would turn out to be more than just an immigration officer.

Not only was he a friendly face, Scotty and Ofa were once teammates at the Guildford Owls and Wentworthville Magpies.

“I told him, the man in the photos is my husband. He said ‘are you serious? Give me proof’. I’m still in tears but I called Ofa on the phone,“ Ana said.

“(Scotty) then said, ‘OK, let me talk to your husband’. He took the phone and said, ‘Ofa, do you recognise my voice? Do you remember Scotty from when we played together at Guildford? It’s me’.”

As Ana struggled to process her own emotions, her attention never left Olakau’atu.

“I remember Haumole, he was four, standing there and realising he understood what was going on,” Ana said.

“He looked confused. The house was surrounded by immigration officers and people dressed like police officers. It must have been so scary.”

Haumole Olakau'atu will make his Origin debut on Wednesday. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Ana wanted to feel a sense of relief after Scotty promised to help the family, but still alarm bells were ringing.

“He said, ‘someone has dobbed in your family, that’s why I’m here. But don’t worry, we’re not going to touch your family. I’m just doing my job’,” Ana said.

“He made Ofa promise that we’d all go down to the immigration office the next day. “He said, ‘I’ll give you a visa so you can stay here with your family. “But he made us promise to bring our passports.”

To Ana, that promise of bringing passports to the immigration office meant only one thing.

“The kids had Tongan passports at the time. I knew, if I handed them our passports, we’d be on the next flight out of Australia or sent straight to Villawood,“ Ana said.

“So I hid the kids’ passports.”

Ofa and Ana stayed true to their word to Scotty and went to the immigration office the following day, without the kids’ passports, but were only given two weeks to navigate the immigration process.

So for years after, Ana hid her children’s passports and moved from house to house each time an immigration officer caught up with the family.

Exhausted with life on the run, Ana decided to give up on the dream of becoming Australian citizens and move her five kids back to Tonga.

“I packed up everything we owned into boxes and sent it all back to Tonga. I just said, ‘Ofa, I can’t do this anymore’,” Ana recalls.

Haumole Olakau'atu in Blues camp. Picture: Brett Hemmings/Getty Images

“We bought the plane tickets and everything. But when Ofa was dropping us off at the airport, I had this feeling we should stay, it was worth it for our kids and their lives here.

“So Ofa turned around the car and I ripped up the plane tickets.”

That spur of the moment decision would be the beginning of Olakau’atu’s incredible journey to the Origin arena.

Not long after, Olakau’atu turned 10 and was granted his Australian citizenship and his parents would be granted permanent residency, after their local Mormon church petitioned the federal government to grant them permission to stay in the country.

“If we got on that plane, Haumole would have none of this. There would be no Blues or Manly,” Ana said.

Devoted Mormons, Ofa and Ana never miss a Sunday at church or the chance to pray at their temple in Carlingford.

Which is where Ana will be on Wednesday morning to pray for the NSW Blues.

“Before he plays I have to go to the temple, I have to go. On Wednesday, I’ll pray for him, for his safety and for his team’s safety and pray for their victory,“ Ana said.

Ofa, who is a man of few words, also never misses his game day phone call with Olakau’atu, and will be the first person to ring his son tomorrow morning.

Ofa wants to tell the Telegraph of the pride and joy he feels but is instantly overcome with emotion. “I call him to tell him to play hard, do your best and say your prayers,” Ofa struggles to say through tear.

Originally published as Blues debutant Haumole Olakau’atu’s father pledges to turn his back on the Maroons forever