NRL: Family matters to loyal young St George Dragon Junior Amone

He’s part of a pack of young guns NRL clubs are eyeing with interest. But there’s six reasons there’s no chance this teen tyro will ever get big headed about his talent.

Young Dragons gun Junior Amone is a family man with a passion for rugby league.

Family, his mates, playing footy and doing the right thing by others are important to Junior Amone. So is being loyal.

It’s why, despite being one of the hottest young future talents of the game, he is staying put with the St George Illawarra Dragons.

And it’s thanks to his family - including his six sisters - that’s there little chance Amone will ever get a big head no matter how much interest there is in him from clubs.

Junior Amone running the ball during the NRL trial against the Cronulla Sharks.

“One hundred per cent my sisters would stop it. They would pull me down if I got too big headed,” he said of Lose 22, Angie 21, Eleni, 20, Teresa 16, Taliana, 10, and Veronica, 4.

“I get excited when I get a write up. But they say ‘keep on doing you, you haven’t made it yet’.

“They boss me around a lot but now I look out for them. When I was younger they looked out for me.”

Amone feels right at home at the Dragons, surrounded by mates he has known for most of his life, including Jayden Sullivan, Tyrell Sloan and twins Max and Mat Feagai.

Junior Amone was a star of the NRL Schoolboy Cup played in 2020.

Amone, Sullivan, Sloan and the brothers have played football together since their junior days and were part of a special group of players who won the SG Ball together back in 2019 for the Illawarra Steelers.

More recently all three turned heads in the Dragons trial against the Cronulla Sharks, with Sullivan scoring a try, Sloan also going over and Amone creating opportunity for a teammate

“Five of us who have all signed on from the that SG comp and it’s great having my mates with me doing all this together, bringing our relationship through. We have a special bond,’’ said the 18-year-old, who played his junior foot with the Berkley Eagles and Western Suburbs Red Devils before joining the Steelers.

Junior Amone.

“There was a bit of interest in me. I was happy with that, people noticing me, but the main reason I stayed here was my family.

“I am a family man. They mean so much to me. Having to move to a Sydney team, I would have had to move away and it would have been really tough.

“Family is everything. Everything I do is for my family. I love footy, I love doing it but every football decision is based on my family.

“And the Dragons looked after me as a junior. I am 100 per cent loyal. Growing up my dad said look after the people who look after you so I want to give back to the Dragons.’’

Along with his six sisters, Amone also has two younger brothers, Viliami, 15, and Api, 11, and a desire to be a role model for other youngsters in the area.

Young Dragons gun Junior Amone with Taliana, April, Lose, Elena and Veronica (front). Pic: Supplied.

“The area I come from there’s not a lot of kids coming through the ranks, Warrawong, there’s not a lot from around here that make it to the NRL,’’ said the five eighth.

“Sometimes people get caught up in the wrong lifestyle. There were times when I wanted to do things and that but mum and dad kept me in line. I had the right guidance.

“If me making it would show them they can do it, if you see someone else doing it, it motivates you. I’d like that.’’

“I want to set a good standard for my brothers too.’’

Amone and Sloan are in the Dragons 2021 development squad with centre Shaun Sauni-Esau and utility forward Hayden Lomax.

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Originally published as NRL: Family matters to loyal young St George Dragon Junior Amone