WARRINGTON Wolves’ new signing Tom Mikaele felt he was ready for a new challenge.
He says that is why he has upped sticks midway through the Australian NRL 2022 season with Wests Tigers and headed to the opposite side of the world to build on his career to date.
The former Australian Schoolboys international of Samoan descent was named NRL Rookie of the Year in 2019 and gone on to play 66 first-grade games prior to joining The Wire this week.
Mikaele and his young family are certainly making a big commitment.
Since moving to Australia from New Zealand as a four-year-old he had never been more than four hours away from his before, his partner Jasmine and two-year-old son will follow him over here and the couple will have their second child in England at the back end of the year.
“It wasn’t a last resort sort of thing coming to England, I could have chosen to stay in the NRL,” said Mikaele.
“But I’m at a young age, I’ve got a whole lot of footy ahead of me and I’m by far nowhere near my best.
“I thought it would be a good challenge for me, I can get some good game time here and just learn.
“English footy is something different to the NRL and it’s good to get some experience over here.”
He admits his knowledge of teams in Super League was not great before putting pen to paper but explained why he was attracted to Wolves.
“To be honest, I didn’t know much about any of the sides here,” he said.
“I heard fantastic things about the club and it’s one of the top four teams of the Super League era and there’s a lot of history here.
“I just knew it was a good club. I think, coming from Wests Tigers, I sort of needed to be in a place where the club is staying in a good place.”
He has been a part of a struggling Wests Tigers outfit since making his NRL debut in 2019 and understands the challenges that can bring.
“My time at Wests Tigers hasn’t been great on the ladder, so in terms of success I’ve been at a club where we’ve been down at the bottom since I’ve been there, and have been down there the last 10 years and haven’t reached the play-offs,” he said.
“So coming in, it’s nothing new to me about where we are on the table but seeing the calibre of players we’ve got and looking at the table we’re not that far off.
“A couple of games lost were really close against good teams so I’m pretty sure a couple of wins will change that, and hopefully we do and get on a snowball effect to reach the finals series or get into the top six or seven.”
Having only arrived on Saturday, he is focused on settling into his new club in what is a new country for him and earning his place in Daryl Powell’s team.
“Yesterday was my first day at training and I met everyone,” he said in Tuesday’s press conference..
“Everyone was very welcoming. I had a chat with most of the boys. I’m still no good with names, but everyone was welcoming, coaching staff was great, and I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone.”
He does have a support network outside the club, with a number of his former Wests Tigers teammates playing in Super League or the Championship.
“I’m close to most of them,” he said.
“Elijah Taylor helped me a lot as a young fella coming in at Wests Tigers and showed me the ropes. And I’m pretty sure he’s doing a good job as captain at Salford. They’re not winning right now, but he’ll be good for them.
“I know Mahe Fonua (Castleford Tigers), and I’m pretty close with him, and Joey Leilua at Featherstone. I’m pretty much friendly with him.
“I’ve got a lot of mates in Super League teams and the Championship teams as well.
“The thing for me coming over to the UK it’s good to know people and have that kind of relationship because it would be a lot harder if I didn’t know anyone really.”
It is early days settling into life in Warrington but he likes what he has seen so far.
“I’m still trying to get over the jet-lag to be honest, that’s the one that’s done me the most,” he said.
“I’ve only been here for two-and-a-half days and I’m a pretty laid back and relaxed kind of dude.
“I don’t feel like it’s a big adjustment for me, other than family not being around. I come from Australia, I come from a hot area in Queensland, but being in the overcast or cold is fine with me. I’d rather the cold to be honest.
“The adjustments are pretty good so far and I’m enjoying it. It’s only been two days, I haven’t done much, but I think I like it here already.
“I’ve got my partner and my son coming over and we’re expecting one at the end of the year so it should be happy days here.
“We’ll have that child here in England and then just go from there. There’s a lot of plusses playing in Super League, like travelling and stuff off the field so I think that’s what brought me over also.”
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