Tougher than Sattler: How Rabbitohs tragic Jai Opetaia earned the respect of one of South Sydney’s greatest

Jai Opetaia is South Sydney Rabbitohs diehard, and followed in the footsteps of legendary Bunnies captain John Sattler when he won a world title with a broken jaw. This is how Opetaia earned the Souths’ legend’s respect.

outh Sydney diehard Jai Opetaia’s world title win with a broken jaw has been likened to John Sattler’s performance in the 1970 Grand Final.

Growing up on the Central Coast, Jai Opetaia began supporting the Rabbitohs because a close mate of his made the Souths squad and gave him free training gear.

A decade and a half later, Opetaia – a Bunnies tragic – won a world title with a broken jaw and earned the respect of one of the greatest Rabbitohs of all.

John Sattler was 79 years old by the time Opetaia busted his jaw in two places on the way to a unanimous decision win over Mairis Briedis for the IBF cruiserweight world title in 2022.

What Opetaia went through that night was every bit as tough as Sattler’s Grand Final performance in 1970, when the Rabbitohs captain played most of the game with a busted jaw after Manly forward John Bucknall smacked him in the mouth.

Opetaia fought through a badly broken jaw to beat Mairis Briedis. Picture: Peter Wallis/Getty Images

In fact, according to the man himself, Opetaia’s performance was even better.

“I remember showing him the footage of Jai’s fight, and he said, ‘Oh, this kid’s tougher than me’,” John’s son, Scott, tells Code Sports.

“I asked him, ‘Why do you say that?’ and he said, ‘I had 12 other mates protecting me. I had Lurch (John O’Neill), Macca (Bob McCarthy) and Cootey (Ron Coote) looking out for me, and any time I was looking for a bit of help, they always picked me up. This guy’s on his own – no one’s helping him’.

“And it wasn’t just a broken jaw that they each had. A broken jaw, you can sort’ve put up with.

“They had smashed jaws. The old man, his was smashed in three places, and Jai’s wasn’t just broken – it was smashed too.

“You go through immense pain and suffering.”

John Sattler being carried from the field after captaining Souths to the 1970 premiership with a shattered jaw. Picture: Supplied

Sattler was a lifelong boxing fan. Picture: Renee McKay/Getty Images

Opetaia was forced to eat through a straw in the weeks after his world title win, while Sattler had night terrors and yanked at the wiring that held his healing jaw in place.

John, who passed away in 2023 after a long battle with dementia, was a lifelong boxing fan.

“He’d always talk about Vic Patrick and Dave Sands, but he was well aware of Jai,” Scott says. “His memory wasn’t that great, but I’d always remind him that Jai is a South Sydney fan.”

Already rated the country’s pound-for-pound best boxer, Opetaia can cement his legacy with a dominant win over undefeated Italian challenger Claudio Squeo on the Gold Coast on Sunday night.

Opetaia (R) trains with Hymel Hunt in 2018. Picture: Supplied

The fight will take place just hours after Opetaia’s Bunnies play the Raiders in Canberra.

“That’s awesome, he’s a legend of the sport, so to be able to get respect of guys like that,” Opetaia tells Code Sports of Sattler’s tribute.

“It’s awesome, man.

“Souths really backed me a lot during the start of my career too, so it’s been good.”

Opetaia even spent time at Souths training as a newly crowned world champion, and has turned plenty of Bunnies into supporters.

It’s a far cry from the hopeful young boxer wearing training kits he snagged from his mate.

“To be honest, I first started going for Souths, because when I was at high school, one of the boys – Willis Meehan – made Souths and I was like, ‘Oh, free gear’,” Opetaia laughs.

“Willis was one of my close boys growing up. We were best mates and he’s still family to me.

“When he first made it and got the call – and back in the day, we had nothing – so when the boys made it, they’d give all his mates shorts and shirts.

The X-ray of Opetaia's busted jaw after his world title win. Picture: Supplied

“So I was just wearing shorts and shirts and if anyone ever asked, I’d say I was a Souths supporter.”

Opetaia (90.54kg) and Squeo (86.7kg) both made weight on Saturday in what could be Opetaia’s last fight on Australian soil.

A win could see him catapulted into unification bouts against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez or Badou Jack, and there is even speculation he could appear on the Terence Crawford vs Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez card in September.

Opetaia’s fight caps off a momentous day for Australian boxing, with Queensland heavyweight Justis Huni taking on Fabio Wardley for the interim WBA world title in England.

Meanwhile, rising heavyweight star Teremoana Jr – who was supposed to fight on Opetaia’s undercard before his opponent pulled out – has landed an even bigger fight.

The 7-0 Paris Olympian will now fight on the Madison Square Garden undercard of George Kambosos’ IBF super-lightweight title fight against Richardson Hitchins in New York.

Originally published as Tougher than Sattler: How Rabbitohs tragic Jai Opetaia earned the respect of one of South Sydney’s greatest