Samoan World Cup hero Tim Lafai opened up about international duty and Red Devils fast-approaching 2023 season.
By Ben Nurse and Ed Bazeley
Tim Lafai arrived to Salford Red Devils Media Day at Media City UK on a cool January afternoon in a Red Devils branded puffer coat.
When asked what it is like living in Manchester after previously residing in sunny Sydney during a stint in the NRL, Tim joked: “It is very cold, I don’t mind the cold when the sun is out but when there is no sun, it is a bit of a mental game getting out to training.”
The Samoan wants to build on a successful debut Super League season with the Red Devils.
Following Salford’s heartbreaking playoff semi-final loss to eventual champions St Helens in September, the centre was thrown into World Cup duty with Samoa as a late injury replacement. After missing the first group game, he started all three knockout games including the semi-final win over England, in which he scored twice, and the World Cup final loss to Australia.
Speaking on what he learned from the World Cup and how he hopes to bring that to the Salford setup, Tim said: “I loved my experience at the World Cup and being part of the Samoa team. It was a tight-knit group and we have the same thing here at Salford.
What a whirlwind year for Tim Lafai 👏
Arriving at @SalfordDevils in late January after being out of the game for a year, to lining of for a Rugby League World Cup Final this afternoon 🏆 pic.twitter.com/uOZGuWwIa0
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) November 19, 2022
“I do my job and help the young lads come through, I think we are a better team for it.”
Tim’s brace of tries in Samoa’s narrow 27-26 golden point semi-final victory over England all but knocked the hosts out of the tournament. Despite getting one over Red Devils teammates and England players, Kallum Watkins, Marc Sneyd and Andy Ackers, Lafai remained humble and gracious in victory.
🙌 Introducing your RLWC2021 Teams of the Tournament.
Following a month of scintillating Rugby League action across the men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments it's time to unveil which players have been included.
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He said, “I am not one to rub it in and there was no bad blood, the World Cup is over and we are teammates again now and as I say it is a really tight-knit group.”
With pre-season in full-swing and a first friendly vs Swinton Lions on the horizon, Salford’s World Cup stars could be excused for being physically or mentally drained. However, Tim maintained that he was as excited and prepared for the start to the season as ever.
He said: “There has not been too much difference for me personally, giving myself a couple of weeks off after the World Cup definitely helped physically and mentally.
“That break definitely helped, to switch off, but now I feel ready.”
Salford’s opening Super League fixture sees them face newly promoted and re-branded Leigh Leopards on the 17th February. When asked if facing a newly promoted team raises unique challenges, Tim said that he saw it as just another game.
“Every team in the Super League deserves to be here and plays at an elite level; we know they will come out firing and there is a reason they got promoted from the Championship.
So… how we all feeling about the fixtures?
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“We are just focusing on ourselves for now, in pre-season, and when the time comes we know it will be a tough battle in Leigh.
“You take it week by week and game by game so the focus is on Leigh, and then we will take it from there.”
Salford have been active in recruiting this winter, re-signing former Red Devils Adam Sidlow, Andrew Dixon and Ollie Partington, as well as second-row Sam Stone. Speaking on how new singings can raise the mood in camp, Tim was full of praise for Head Coach Paul Rowley’s impressive pull in the transfer market.
He said: “Rowlsey (Rowley) is so good at that, bringing in different players with different styles who add to the team. They’ve all been great.
“Adam has shown leadership already and Ollie and Sam have been training tremendously.
We're delighted to announce Adam Sidlow has returned to the Club from Leigh Centurions on a two-year deal!
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— Salford Red Devils 👹 (@SalfordDevils) October 7, 2022
“It will be interesting to see the squad because the boys are always competitive in training and that brings out the best in you, it is not going to make the coaches job easy.”
After overachieving last season to make a late run to the playoff semi-finals, the challenge this campaign will be to defy the odds once more. Tim however, was under no illusion that success would be a given for a strong Red Devils squad.
He said: “Last season is done and gone, it is a whole new season. Teams will be stepping up when they play us so we have to go to another level, we can’t be satisfied with what we did last year, we have to use that as motivation to get better.
“It is going to be a tough season so we need to do the hard work in training to get us where we need to be.”
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