Suva Grammar School sixth former, Inoke Ratu did not know swimming across the Qauia River to get to the Western Bulldogs AFL trials was going to get him the two year scholarship to Australia.
Ratu is one of only two Fijian boys that were offered a two year scholarship with the Western Bulldogs under the AFL’s international scholarship scheme.
“My uncle from Australia had called us earlier even before Fiji found about the trials and told me to attend,” the 19 year-old Lasikau native from Bau Tailevu said.
“I wasn’t really interested. I said yes I’d try out but inside it was no.”
“When the day of the actual trial came, I was at home in Qauia and it was raining really heavily. My mum was at a funeral and she kept calling me telling me to go, the Qauia Bridge flooded was my excuse not to go.”
“But then one of my uncles forced me into the river and told me to swim across.”
The Suva Grammar Under-19 rep admitted he knew nothing of Aussie Rules but since he had swum the Qauia river to get this far, he wasn’t going to waste his chances.
“I just tried out; I was there anyway so I thought I might as well.”
“The game was strange, new really. All I ever knew of it was what I saw on television.”
“The passing was different and there’s not much physical contact like it was in rugby.”
“It was really different,” he added.
After the trials, Bulldogs officials called Ratu aside and asked him to do sprints for them so they could time him.
“Then they told me I had gotten the scholarship.”
“At first I wasn’t excited; I didn’t have butterflies in my stomach or had any goose bumps from when they told me, to be honest I felt nothing.”
“It was until they told me that AFL was the biggest sport in Australia and I was like, wow what have I gotten myself into?”
His family is excited about this opportunity – the second eldest of 10 siblings (one of only two boys) has already gotten advice from his younger brother.
“Well he thinks it’s a girl’s game,” Ratu said.
“But he’s told me to do my best and not make him look bad.”
Ratu also represented Suva Grammar in rugby league and his side lost to Nasinu Secondary School in the U19 final of the Vodafone Secondary School league competition.
He once had a dream to represent Fiji to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand but that has now changed.
“God has other plans for me now. For now I go on this journey and see where that takes me. Only God decides what is best for me, I merely just avail myself and do my best.”
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