Sunia Turuva lost eight kilograms, spent a fortnight in bed and still grimaces when he talks about how serious his health situation had become during the off season.
But you can’t keep a good man down. The Wests Tigers recruit has scored five tries in his past two games and has been in full voice on and off the field as he makes himself at home at Leichhardt after moving from four-time defending premiers Penrith at the end of 2024.
At the Tigers, Turuva is responsible for wheeling around a giant speaker, which blasts out hits by artists such as Mariah Carey and Skepta, to keep the vibes up before training and on game days.
But there was one moment that kept Turuva quiet. And with good reason.
As he tried to complete a series of drills on the final day of a training camp outside Brisbane in January, the 22-year-old’s appendix was close to bursting.
Turuva this week opened up for the first time about how he kept the excruciating abdominal pain a secret, and admitted himself to Westmead Hospital just hours after returning to Sydney.
Big energy: Turuva keeps the vibes up around the Tigers’ training base at Concord.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The Tigers filmed an excellent documentary about the camp, called Thrive Or Survive, and episode one features a touching scene where coach Benji Marshall pulls Turuva aside to tell him what an influence he is having on the group.
Marshall spoke about how Turuva had arrived at the club as a two-time premiership winner, and told him Tigers players looked up to him.
“You’ve actually got more influence than you think – you’re one of our greatest talkers with the maddest energy,” Marshall whispers to Turuva.
“The next step for you is like, OK, I can influence what the people around me are doing. So have a little think about that. What do you reckon? Bro, you’re a f---ing gun. We’re lucky to have you.”
The Wests Tigers winger has opened up about his appendix scare at a pre-season boot camp. Credit: Edwina Pickles
Turuva woke up on the Saturday morning of the training camp experiencing shocking stomach pains. But with Marshall’s words still ringing in his ears, he knew he had to soldier on and lead by example.
He completed a morning swim, then joined his team for a series of running drills through a forest while carrying jerry cans and a stretcher.
For a few hours, Turuva tried his best to ignore the pain, only for the discomfort to return when the team arrived at Brisbane airport. He got through the hour-long flight, arrived home and told his partner, Nia, he needed to lie down in the hope the sharp pain would pass.
A few hours later he contacted Tigers physio Pete Moussa, who then reached out to the club doctor, Ben Jacobs – who realised the seriousness of the situation.
Sunia Turuva is all smiles this week.Credit: Edwina Pickles
“The doc asked me to push down on a certain part of my stomach, and it was sore as,” Turuva recalls.
“He told me it was my appendix and I needed to get to a hospital. My missus drove me to Westmead, we went straight into emergency. They kept me in that night and I had the surgery on Sunday morning.
“The surgeon came in on Sunday arvo and told me how they had made three keyholes [incisions], and when the appendix came out, it was just covered in pus.
“The doc told me my appendix was about to explode, and how I got lucky that it didn’t explode while I was in the middle of camp. That could have been a serious drama.
Sunia Turuva and the Tigers celebrate a try against the Eels.Credit: Getty Images
“I stayed home for two weeks and lost eight kilos. I couldn’t do anything. I thought I might be able to still do something physically, but it was almost a case of me trying to walk again.
“I was always slouched over because of the keyholes and pain. I was at 94kg, but dropped to 86kg. I’m back up to 92kg now. All I could do was watch TV. I ended up binging a few shows, including Manifest on Netflix.
“When I did get back to training, I was scared to start running again and get back into contact. I was pretty hesitant in that first week to do anything. I slowly got my fitness up, and tried to do my bit and help the boys.”
Turuva, or “Tito”, has no idea where his larger-than-life personality originated. His four brothers are whisper quiet.
The only other time he’s toned it down is when the Tigers have belted out the team song following wins over Parramatta and the Dolphins.
“That’s only because I’m still learning the words,” he says.
Turuva, the 2023 NRL rookie of the year, was being pursued by St George Illawarra, but agreed to a three-year, $1.3 million deal with the Tigers in April. His cousin, Tigers co-captain Api Koroisau, played his part,as did former Panthers teammate Jarome Luai, who inked a bumper five-year deal with the Tigers a few months earlier.
Luai would be the chief conductor on the field, but Turuva’s job is to motivate the troops, according to Koroisau.
“He’s a joy to be around,” Koroisau says. “He’s full of energy all day, every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s 6am or midnight, he comes in with a big smile on his face and is always blasting his music and getting everyone up.”
Turuva grew up a Tigers fan because his father, Peter, “always loved watching Benji”. One of his favourite teenage memories was posing for a photo with a young Nathan Cleary, who later became a teammate.
Had rugby league not worked out, Turuva gave thought to personal training, or even joining the army. One of his weird obsessions is ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response), which is explained as deriving a “low-grade euphoria” from a specific auditory trigger – in Turuva’s case, listening to the sounds people make when they eat.
The Tigers host the Warriors at Campbelltown on Sunday as they chase a third straight win for the first time since 2018. Expect to hear Turuva before you see him.
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