Addin Fonua-Blake was en route to Byron Bay, speaking on the phone and sounding at peace with the world as his children screamed in the background.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The 25-year-old star had just finished Warriors training at Scully Park on Friday morning. He is in the first of a three-year Warriors deal, having been released from the final two years of his contract at Manly - worth a reported $850,000, or thereabouts, annually.
Read more:
No stranger to controversy, it was reported that the front-row international for Tonga and New Zealand wanted to escape bad influences in Sydney (he was born in Meadowbank).
Speaking to the Leader, he seemed to confirm that: "I had to take steps to become a better man and a better father and husband [and player]. I thought that to get out of Sydney would be probably one of the best things for me."
Having made the break, he is in "a better space" and "feels good". But given the infancy of his new life, he wants to "take it one day at a time".
Being a father of four at such a young age was not planned, he said, although he is "grateful" for what he has. "I just love having a big family, he said, revealing that he grew up as one of four children surrounded by extended family.
Over 97 matches at the Sea Eagles between 2016-20, Fonua-Blake emerged as one the game's best front-rowers - albeit an inconsistent one.
He said he was "very hard" on himself. But added: "I'm still learning, I'm pretty young. I've still got a lot of learning and a lot of growth to do as a person, firstly, and also as a player.
"All I can do now is do the right things and do the right steps to try and get myself in the right position."
Being a husband and having children helped with that process, he said. He and is wife, Ana, are raising Aubrey, 6, Malachi, 5, Addin, 2, and Alilia, 1.
"Being a dad sort of helps me along the way: just responsibility wise. I feel like I'm responsible not just for myself but for four other humans, and also for my wife.
"I reckon if I didn't have these kids, probably my life would have been a bit more different. But I'm just happy for the position I'm in at the moment."
The Warriors' recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan has said the 189cm and 118kg prop "could be one of the most important [signings in] the club's history".
Fonua-Blake, he said, had the "big motor, power, skill set and body shape" needed to take the Warriors' pack "to a new level".
