Sauaso Sue raced off to his son’s birth after the Tigers beat Warriors at Campbelltown

AT THE same time the Tigers were thanking their faithful during a lap of honour at Campbelltown, Sauaso Sue raced off to a more pressing engagement.

Tigers NRL player with newborn baby

AROUND the same time his teammates were thanking the Wests Tigers faithful during a lap of honour at Campbelltown on Sunday, Sauaso Sue was racing off to a much more pressing engagement.

Sue didn’t even bother to shower after the Tigers’ 50-16 win over the Warriors because his partner Liza Goulding was about to give birth to their first son.

Sue was so worried about the birth, he contacted Tigers coach Jason Taylor first thing Sunday to let him know about his dilemma.

Taylor left the decision to play against the New Zealand Warriors up to him.

Sue opted to play, but made sure Tigers’ footy manager Tony Carson carried a phone on the sideline, and would let him know the minute there was any update with Liza.

Despite the distraction, Sue started in the front row, punched out 52 minutes and made 23 tackles during the 50-16 thumping of the Warriors.

Wests Tigers forward Sauaso Sue with his newborn son Ezekiel. Picture Gregg Porteous

“’TC’ (Carson) usually has his phone on silent, but he had it on ‘loud’, and I kept looking over to him during play as if to say ‘any messages?’,’’ Sue told The Daily Telegraph.

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“The contractions had started at 3am that morning, but I called the doctor and he said he wouldn’t be out for hours.

“I then called ‘JT’ and he gave me the option to play. He was supportive and didn’t put any pressure on me, which was good.

“During the game it was always on my mind.

“I quickly dropped Liza a message at half time, just to check how she was feeling.

“At fulltime I raced off the field, took my playing gear off, didn’t shower and jumped straight in the car.’’

Sue raced from Campbelltown to Guildford where Liza’s contractions were now no longer than three minutes apart. They made the short journey across to Westmead Hospital.

At 5.48am on Monday, baby Ezekiel safely arrived.

“He weighed nearly four kilos. ‘Big hands and feet. I think we’ve got a footballer on our hands’. That’s what the midwife said,’’ Liza said.

“He was also 52cm tall, so he was a big boy.

“I think (Sue) was worried he was going to miss the birth. He messaged me at half time. I’ve told him Ezekiel waited for his dad because as soon as the game was finished, the contractions got a lot stronger.’’

There was a lot of love in the air for teammate Robbie Farah on Sunday, with the 6711 fans chanting his name and expressing their displeasure at the club’s plans to force him out at the end of the season, despite having two years to run on his deal.

Asked if he was tempted to name his boy ‘Robbie’, Sue laughed and said: “Robbie is a great name, and he’s a great bloke. Maybe that will be the name for the next one.’’

Sue would love to cap what’s been a wonderful week with another win against the Dragons on Saturday.

Originally published as Sauaso Sue raced off to his son’s birth after the Tigers beat Warriors at Campbelltown