Samuela Ratavola during a break in the training session yesterday.

As the Junior Bati prepare for their showdown with Tonga Under-18, one rising star is back home with a mission.

Bulldogs Academy player Samuela Ratavola has returned to help inspire Fiji’s next rugby league talents.

Ratavola was scouted straight from Navua’s Vashist Muni College in 2023 and is now using his short break to share the hard lessons learned from training under Australian standards.

The 18-year-old faced a tough blow, losing his father just a week into camp, but stayed on and finished what he started.

“There’s a huge difference between training here and overseas. It’s very tough out there, I mean it is tough here too, but overseas standards are always on another level compared to what we have here. I want to use my time wisely, being here to advise my brothers well.”

Now signed with the Bulldogs through the Kikau Academy, Ratavola is paying it forward, talking to players from all across Fiji, urging them to push themselves beyond limits.

“I am so happy to be here with my brothers, meeting the boys from Namosi, Naitasiri, Ra and boys from around the country. My main goal is to tell these boys to work hard and to keep encouraging them to work hard and never look down on themselves, and keep striving for greatness.”

Coach Wise Kativerata has a lot to say about the young man’s dedication to the sport and is happy to have him back for this short while.

“We brought him back, he has got a good story..In 2023, just one week in camp his father passed away and it really cut him deep but it made him become a better person. All the boys went to the funeral he came back and we asked him to take a week off but he didn’t, that day and that week changed his life that’s when he signed with the Bulldogs for the Kikau academy.”

The Junior Bati take on Tonga this Saturday, playing not just for national pride but for a shot at their future.

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