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The David Fifita trap: Why Jeremiah Nanai needs to use the last great Queensland prodigy as a cautionary tale

Roar Guru
28th March, 2023
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Roar Guru
28th March, 2023
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Few players have hit the NRL with a bigger impact than the Cowboy’s Jeremiah Nanai.

Born in New Zealand, raised in North Queensland and of Samoan heritage, Nanai was a schoolboy star before joining the Cowboys on a development contract in 2021.

He made his first-grade debut with the club as an 18-year-old later that year and hasn’t been out of the team since.

He’s proved to be an exceptional attacking player from day one, an instinctive hole runner with a knack for being in the right place at the right time, with the aerial skills of an outside back.

Nanai notched up 18 NRL tries before he turned 20 and it was no surprise when he was named both Dally M Rookie of the Year and Dally M Second Rower of the year in 2022.

As if riding the Cowboy wave all the way to the 2022 finals wasn’t enough for Nanai, he also played all three games for Queensland in their 2022 victorious origin campaign and then found himself on the plane to England in Australia’s World Cup squad.

He played two games for the Kangaroos, scoring a try in each, and surely life couldn’t get any better for young Jeremiah? But get better it did, and the young gun signed a reputed $3.6m contract extension before the 2023 season got underway, which will keep him at the Cowboys until the end of 2027.

The talented young forward has his football and financial future seemingly assured well before his 21st birthday celebrations.

Sound familiar?

The last young Queensland back rower to burst on to the rugby league scene like Nanai was David Fifita. Like Nanai, Fifita was a schoolboy star who made his first-grade debut as an 18-year-old and has been there ever since.

Fifita played all three origins for Queensland in 2019 in just his second year in first grade, and was also selected for both the Prime Minister’s XIII and Australia in the RLWC 9s that same year.

Injury saw him miss most of 2020 as the Broncos tumbled to their first wooden spoon, but while recovering, he signed a $3m three-year deal with the Titans commencing in 2021, making him the second highest-paid forward in the game after Cowboy’s wrecking ball Jason Taumalolo.

Happy days for David, the rugby league world was at his feet.

David Fifita of the Titans in action

David Fifita (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Fifita’s 2021 form for the Titans could best be described as patchy, despite scoring 17 tries from 22 starts, and he played two more Origins for the Maroons that year after being selected more on reputation and hope than on form.

When 2022 saw his form and game involvement dip significantly, he was omitted from the Maroons squad. Titans fans and their coach Justin Holbrook were wondering when he was going to start not only fulfilling his potential, but also earning his salary.

By the end of the season, he was well behind Beau Fermor as the best second rower in the club, let alone anywhere else.

No one can blame either Nanai or Fifita for accepting the huge dollars being thrown at them, but it’s questionable whether their salaries can ever be justified for any reason other than to secure their services in the face of competition from rival clubs.

Nanai’s contract was upgraded after just 27 first-grade games, including two off the bench, while the Titans went all-in on Fifita after he had played just 37 first-grade games, including 17 off the bench. Astounding stuff!

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It’s hard to imagine having so much unexpected wealth at such an early age, and the impact it has on one’s ego, drive and future motivation.

However, the big dollars come with even bigger expectations, and it must be very difficult to stay grounded and have a sense of perspective.

Fans expect that players who are fabulously paid will win their club games, week in and week out, and mediocrity is unacceptable.

In many ways, contracts like this are setting players up to fail, particularly young players. While it’s hard to think of many young players who’ve gone on to reach their potential after such a lucrative start, there’s a long list of those whose careers have fallen by the wayside.

Let’s hope that Jeremiah Nanai can avoid a post-contract slump, stay grounded, and receive the support he will need to successfully tread the ‘potential superstar’ path.

The Cowboys will have to manage him carefully, or risk both his future career and their substantial financial investment.

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