NRL 2021: Titans recruit Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s promise to new club
Titans gun Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is determined to buck a trend of big-money signings failing after leaving the ultra-successful Storm.
NRL
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Tino Fa’asuamaleaui laughs at the concept of second-year syndrome.
It hasn’t even crossed the mind of the Gold Coast Titans man mountain, who has joined the rising club this season following a breakout year with the Melbourne Storm.
Fa’asuamaleaui went into the 2020 NRL season with only five first grade games next to his name.
He finished the year as an NRL premiership hero and State of Origin series winner, starring in Queensland’s memorable victory over the Blues. If not for COVID, he would have made his Kangaroos debut.
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In the space of six months, Fa’asuamaleaui went from one of the game’s emerging prospects to a genuine NRL star in the making.
He only turned 21 last month.
All eyes will be on how Fa’asuamaleaui and fellow big-name recruit David Fifita (Broncos) perform for the Titans this year, with the club tipped to crack the finals for the first time since 2016.
Many young guns have faded in the season following a breakout campaign and there has been a trend of players failing after leaving the highly successful Storm system.
But Fa’asuamaleaui is adamant he won’t become another victim of second-year syndrome.
“I don’t look into that, I don’t take notices of things like second-year syndrome,” he told The Sunday Mail.
“Obviously no one wants that. Each year you want to get better and improve. That’s my attitude.
“It was a big year last year but I’ve got a lot of improvement left in me.
“It’s good pressure for me, I love that. It makes me want to work harder so I can prove people wrong. It doesn’t worry me much.”
Unlike Fifita, who inked a $3.5 million deal with the Titans late last season after the club proved it was on the rise, Fa’asuamaleaui pledged his allegiance to Gold Coast long before a ball was kicked under the Justin Holbrook regime.
He committed to the Titans in December 2019 after Immortal Mal Meninga made several trips to Fa’asuamaleaui’s home town of Widgee, near Gympie, to secure his signature.
The $700,000-a-season deal dwarfed what the Storm were willing to offer Fa’asuamaleaui, with Melbourne releasing a pointed statement to make their stance clear after he committed to the Titans.
But the $2.1 million contract could turn out to be an astute purchase by the Titans if Fa’asuamaleaui continues his meteoric rise in 2021. With only 27 NRL games under his belt, Fa’asuamaleaui is still in the infancy of his career and the sky’s the limit for the 197cm “Towering Tino”.
“That’s a hard one, bro,” Fa’asuamaleaui said when asked how much improvement he has in him.
“I’ve still got a lot to learn and I’m learning every day from all of these boys. There is a lot of improvement in my game.
“I’m slowly progressing but it’s a long season and I need to be consistent and work hard to get to the top one day.”
Few players can say they have won an NRL premiership before their 21st birthday. Many have not achieved it in 200-game careers.
Fa’asuamaleaui will run out for his Titans debut against the Warriors next Saturday with a determination to make Gold Coast a genuine NRL title contender.
“We’ve got a good bunch of boys here and a young crew that will be here for a while,” he said.
“We’re slowly building at the moment but it’s looking good so far. We’ve just got to start winning games.
“Hopefully we can build into a powerhouse like the Storm, Roosters and Rabbitohs. That is our goal and it is starting.
“There’s a lot of little steps before we start thinking about being a powerhouse. We’ve got to take it slow. There is a lot to be done before we can start thinking about finals.
“I want to show the boys that we can do it no matter what, as long as you work hard. Hopefully one day we can bring a premiership home for the town. That’s our goal.”
While still young, Fa’asuamaleaui carries himself with a maturity above his age. He is polite and approachable, a club dream in the important corporate market of professional sport.
Part of Fa’asuamaleaui’s character can be attributed to his family upbringing.
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Originally published as NRL 2021: Titans recruit Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s promise to new club
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