PLAYING in Australia's National Rugby League final should be the pinnacle for players of the sport, especially if one is running alongside star players like Billy Slater — and in the Melbourne Storm outfit.
This is why a lot of attention has been placed on Waitovu, Ovalau native Sisa Waqa.
The new Fijian rugby league sensation plays with a heavy heart this weekend but determined to win for some special people in his homeland.
As Waqa's teammates focus on their toughest game in this year's NRL season, the Fijian flyer has to deal with news of his two brothers being locked up in jail in Fiji.
In an interview with the Courier Mail, the younger brother of recaptured escapee Isoa Waqa provides an inspirational insight into his life here in Fiji and the unwavering bond and love he has for his criminal brother.
For now, Waqa can only focus on the job at hand.
However, if he walked away a winner, his premiership ring would be won for his brothers.
His brothers Gaby and Isoa are inmates while his father, Etuate Waqa, is a former national rugby league rep and former national 7s coach and now the Tongan rugby 7s director.
"Every time I wear this Storm jumper, I always think about my family and my brothers," Waqa said. "To think they are in jail, that motivates me when I play and I want to do them proud."
The former national secondary school rugby rep etched his name in the history of the game becoming the latest Fijian star to play in this high profile final.
He follows in the footsteps of his fellow countrymen Noa Nadruku (Canberra Raiders), Petero Civoniceva (Broncos) and Lote Tuqiri (Broncos) to name a few.
The former Ratu Kadavulevu School student said he never thought he would be good enough to play in an NRL grand final.
He also shared he never thought his two brothers would be locked up in a Fijian jail, paying the price for offences he never imagined they would commit.
"Actually, it's a sad story," said the 26-year old former Roosters winger who joined Melbourne last season.
"Both of my brothers are in jail in Fiji. My older brother is 29 now and he has been in and out of jail since he was 15.
"We grew up in a rough area, it's like housing commission, so a lot of the boys I grew up with are in jail too.
"There were a couple of different crimes but you could say mainly assaults and armed robbery, not with guns, but knives and stuff like that.
"My younger sister is in uni (university), which is good. She's the one who has broken through in the family.
"My other sister stays home and looks after my older brother's son," Waqa said.
He said life was not that easy for his family during his early childhood days but he was fortunate enough to make a living out of rugby league.
"I was raised in a big family, mum and dad brought up my cousins too. We grew up in a house of 20," Waqa says.
"We went through a lot of tough times, some ups and downs, life has been a struggle so I'm lucky to have a NRL contract.
"My old man was the only one who worked at home so he'd bring home money for 20 of us, all living in a three-bedroom house. We used to leave the beds to the girls, the boys would sleep on the floor in the living room."
He said it was not easy seeing his brothers jailed.
"I get pretty upset. My older brother was actually a very good footballer, he played for the junior Fiji Bati side in the 1990s.
"I looked up to him... and then all of a sudden, I see him going in and out of jail.
"When I go back to Fiji, I will go and visit them in jail. A lot of it is to do with poverty. My brothers and friends commit crimes because they need money to buy food."
According to the Courier Mail, Waqa finds it harder to reconcile because during his time in Fiji, he was on the right side of the law. He still vividly recalls the gut-wrenching feeling of donning a Fijian police uniform for the first time, the law-upholding outfit representing everything his brothers were not.
"It was hard at first wearing the police uniform," Waqa said.
"I came from a family that was anti-police so it felt weird wearing that uniform.
"To see my brothers and uncles go to jail and I decided to join the police. In the first few weeks, it was hard to face my family."
Waqa's team will face the mighty Bulldogs on Saturday.