NRL 2022: Marata Niukore’s tattoos reveal reason he’s heading back to New Zealand in 2023

You only have to look at Marata Niukore’s chest to realise why the Parramatta forward is heading home to New Zealand next season, but the telling his coach he was leaving wasn’t easy.

You only have to look at Marata Niukore’s chest to realise why he is heading back to New Zealand. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Marata Niukore lifts up his shirt and begins to talk about the tattoos that define his life and help explain his decision to return to New Zealand at season’s end.

One screams ‘City of Sails’, the nickname for the city of Auckland. The city’s skyline, including the famed Sky Tower, stands out on the right side of his chest. There is an inscription with two street signs, one reading ‘Massey Road’ and the other ‘Mangere’.

They honour the street and suburb where Niukore grew up in Auckland before packing his bags and moving to Sydney six years ago to join Parramatta.

Stream every game of every round of the 2022 NRL Telstra Premiership Season Live & Ad-Break Free During Play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-days free now.

Niukore may have crossed the Tasman but he clearly never forgot his roots.

“They mean a lot to me and something I look back on when I am older,” Niukore said of the tattoos. “These were the main (places) where I am from. They hold a lot of memories.”

Marata Niukore’s tattoos hold a lot of memories for the Eels player, who will switch to the Warriors in 2023. Picture: Justin Lloyd

When the Warriors came knocking with a lucrative long-term deal over the off-season, the decision wasn’t hard for Niukore. He loves Parramatta and coach Brad Arthur, but this was a decision about family above all other.

Niukore’s parents and that of his partner Nikki are still in Auckland, leaving the pair to largely fended for themselves in Sydney in recent years through the birth of their children.

Their life became all the more complicated when Nikki — an ambassador for Crohns and Colitis Australia — was forced to endure a series of surgeries.

It has’t been easy, although Niukore feels a debt of gratitude to the Eels and Arthur for easing the load. Whenever he and Nikki needed help, Arthur and his family opened their doors and offered to look after the Niukore children — Kayden and Levi.

“He is a coach but also someone I look up to and has taken me under his wing since I have been here,” Niukore said.

“He often sends me a message about the kids making a mess and him sending me a bill to clean it up. He has been a father-figure, a mentor and a coach.

“That is the relationship we have and that was why it was hard for me to leave and to make that phone call to him.”

That phone call was short and not so sweet.

“It was a quick call to be honest — it was about 30 seconds,” Niukore said.

“I rang him a couple of days later to see how he was. He was fine — it was heat of the moment. He was mad at the start but he was forgiving and he held nothing against me. He knows it was a family decision at the end of the day.

“It was a phone call I didn’t want to make. We have always had honest conversations and that was one of the hardest we have had to have. That is all put aside now.”

Marata Niukore is hoping to reach 100 NRL games milestone with the Eels this season. Picture: NRL Photos

The flip side was the phone call to his own family.

“When I told my parents and my partner told her parents we were coming home they were over the moon,” Niukore said.

“They are not really people to show emotion, but I knew deep down they were keen to see the kids. Just having my parents a phone call away when we go back home, that is something I am looking forward to.

“One thing Covid has taught us is to be around family. We haven’t had that family connection for the past three years.

“They have missed out on a lot of my kids growing up — 2019 was the last time I saw them with (them). I usually go back twice a year. I haven’t been able to do that.”

Niukore is intent on going out with a bang at Parramatta. He has played 77 first grade games for the club and wants to crack the ton before the year is out.

He has had his disciplinary issues in the past but he and Arthur have addressed it over the off-season and Niukore is planning to adjust his target zone.

“This will be my sixth year (at Parramatta),” he said. “It has done a lot for me.

“I don’t live the lifestyle I have if it wasn’t for this club. I owe the club a lot. I can reach 100 games this year so if I can stay clean, it will be my way of giving back.

“Hopefully, touch wood, I don’t get suspended this year and I get to play 100 games for the club. To think I only have about 10 more months here — I am going to enjoy it while I am here.

“I still have a lot to give to this team. We are all striving towards the end goal and if I can end on that note, I will be really happy.”