by SKENE IN THE GAME
The man chosen to lead the Silktails revolution on the field is Gabriel Rawamila, or ‘Gabby’, a forward of chieftain lineage out of Naitasiri who came to the club with almost no rugby league background.
Driscoll compares him to Petero Civoniceva – in size, in status and in temperament.
“He’s a natural leader,” Driscoll says.
“He comes from a chiefly family, he doesn’t speak much, but he leads by example. As a club and a board, we have so much trust in him.”
The legend of Gabby that endures is a stoic broken-arm story. Last season he played on with a fractured arm and told nobody, picking up a club award for his resilience.
“He doesn’t make a song and dance about anything he does,” Driscoll says.
“He just gets on with things, like our Chairman. Cares for the players, cares for his family, takes pride in everything. A really good human.”
The captaincy weighs on Gabby, especially on days like this one.
“During games, especially in heavy losses, I feel a lot of pressure,” Gabby admits in the foyer of the team hotel after the loss against Souths.
But his message to a deflated dressing room is to be steady.
“I tell them to keep their heads up. There are still about eight games left this season. We’ll look at our weaknesses, work hard again next week and improve on our mistakes.”
Like most of the squad, his hero is Fijian giant Viliame Kikau, and the Bulldogs badge on his back means something concrete.
“I’m very happy to partner with the Bulldogs,” he says,
“because it’s an opportunity for the young boys to make it into the club. The only thing left now is on us. We need to be consistent.”
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If you wanted a symbol of what this Silktails program represents, their hooker is the perfect choice.
Seru Kalounivalu is small for the position, from a village where his family grows cassava and watermelon.
He found the game almost by chance through secondary-school rugby league after a childhood in rugby union.
“I didn’t know much about rugby league before that,” he says simply.
“It’s a very good game. It’s strong. It’s helped me through.”
The travel with the team has stretched his horizons. “It’s a big difference, from roaming in the village to running around overseas playing rugby league. My eyes opened. In the village we didn’t see a lot of things.”
His NRL hero is the Fijian-heritage Wests Tigers hooker Api Koroisau. He has never met him but is inspired every time he watches him play on the television.
Behind the shy answers is the story Driscoll tells when you ask him for the essence of the Silktails.
Kalounivalu came through the newly established Ra High School system and was the club’s rising star two years ago.
He lost the grandparents who had raised him while the team was away. He met a young woman who was herself an orphan; she fell pregnant, and he very nearly didn’t come back this year, determined to be the father he had never had.
“We had to sit him down and say, look, there’s a real opportunity here,” Driscoll says.
Seru came back to the Silktails. He works in Lautoka now, balancing a job and a baby, and remains one of the team’s best players in most games.
“He’s the kid in our Westpac ad who didn’t know how to use a bank account at eighteen,” Driscoll says.
“He comes from a remote village, he’s extremely quiet – and there’s nothing of him, but he goes out and plays like he’s a hundred kilos. He’ll be your favourite player by the time he walks off the field.”
The Kaiviti Silktails Westpac Ad featuring hooker Seru Kalounivalu.
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[Part 3 ends]
