Parental advice not enough for Kikau with 'squidgy mop' here to stay

The blonde hair and wild hairdos within the NRL is here to stay, at least according to Viliame Kikau, with not even the parents of the Panthers giant holding enough sway to convince him to change his latest look.

As a flying Kikau leaped above a clumsy Storm attempt to score the match-winner on Friday night, NSW coach Brad Fittler described the Fijian international's hair as a "big, blonde squidgy mop" that was eager to soak up any opportunity that came his way.

Kikau said the mop nickname was likely to stick for the remainder of the season as he has no intentions to trade in the look despite his biggest fans, parents Apenisa and Lily, who live in Fiji, urging him to reconsider on a daily basis.

"I've just heard everyone calling me a mop, I don't really care, I'll take the flying mop," Kikau said.

"Since round two after the Dragons game I got the haircut and he plan is to grow it for all of this year.

"I'll keep fading it, I've been getting heaps of messages from people on social media too telling me to cut it off. I'm going to keep growing it to make them angrier.

"[My parents] are still angry now, every time they call me they don't say hello. I video call them every day back home and as soon as they click the camera button and see me they ask if I've cut my hair – that's the first question – and then they say 'Why is it still there?'

"I'm going to keep growing it until they have the chance to come Australia and then my dad will probably try and remove it himself."

Panthers coach Ivan Cleary is unlikely to stand in Kikau's way if the back-rower continues to produce match-winning plays after his try against the Storm broke a 14-14 deadlock in a period of the game the side had struggled with a week earlier.

Brushing off an ongoing neck and shoulder complaint in the first half, the 25-year-old returned from a short breather to send the Panthers ahead by a converted try late.

"When we played the Roosters [in round one], Siosiua Taukeiaho tackled me after I passed the ball and he got me really good," Kikau said.

"I had this stinger on my shoulder and neck, there's nothing wrong with it, I had scans, but I keep rehabbing and doing my exercises – that's probably going to be normal this year – have a little stinger and then get up and it's normal again."

Kikau admitted Penrith's new-look left edge remains a work in progress with Jarome Luai and Stephen Crichton continuing to learn their roles alongside the powerhouse Fijian.

"I probably need to raise my voice a bit more," Kikau said.

"Obviously when I had Jimmy Maloney there I was just sitting back and listening. But with Romey (Luai) and Critta (Crichton) there's a bit more responsibility for me to do some more talking.

"Critta is a freak of a player, sometimes I just give him early ball and let him do his thing."