When Willie met Nathan: St Doms connection set to be revisited

An invitation to speak at one’s alma mater is not an honour bestowed upon all of us.

So when Willie Isa was asked to return to St Dominic’s Penrith and address students a decade ago, he was rightly - as they say in his country of residence - chuffed.

“The great teacher of ours, Mr Barry Walsh, said ‘come and meet this kid … he’s the one’,” the Wigan utility told NRL.com as he prepared to take on his home town in the World Club Challenge at DW Stadium this weekend.

But more of that later.

In another universe, Isa would never have left the foot of the mountains.

“I’ve always wished, always,” the 35-year-old, who played one first-grade game for the Panthers in 2008 before making his name in Melbourne and moving to England in 2011, says, “but at that time I just believe they didn’t invest as much in giving us the opportunity - but look at the fruits of their work now.

“It’s brilliant to see and I’m happy for the city because it’s a proud city of proper rugby league.

“I always knew that group where Jarome [Luai] and Nathan Cleary came through … especially Fish [James Fisher-Harris] … when people have said ‘are you shocked to see the success at the club?’ I’m like ‘no it’s about time, to be honest’.

“They’ve always had the talent. It’s the biggest junior system in the world and I’m just happy they invested in the juniors and less - I don’t want to sound wrong - outsiders, you know?

“I’m happy that we’ve got guys like Wade Graham, Lachlan Coote who’ve had great careers at other clubs. Michael Jennings as well.

“Tim Grant, Luke Lewis … they’ve all had great careers … this list goes on.

“But I wish they all played at Penrith for a long, long time.”

Isa expects his parents, Litia and Ulufafo, who live a few hundred metres from St Doms, to be cheering for Penrith this weekend. He’s not completely convinced that he won’t be going for the Panthers, too.

“I play for Wigan but the heart’s always Penrith because it’s where I’m from.

“Them guys, they represent where they come from: a very working class city if you want to call it [that], town, suburb. They deserve all they get. 

“They’re a top, top club - but so are we.”

Cherry-and-white greats like Martin Offiah and Shaun Wane have already spoken to the group about the importance of the WCC. “Matty Peet has done a great job of making sure they are around,” Isa said, adding with a grin: “They’re always eating breakfast, they always look for free lunch as well.”

And so to the Year 11 kid Willie Isa met that day in 2014. 

“I actually walked past him the other day, down the street,” says Nathan Cleary at Penrith’s Manchester CBD hotel.

“It was cool to see him. I would have been in maybe Year 11. He came down to speak. That was pretty cool. It’s a full circle moment being able to come up against him.

“It’s things that I enjoy throughout my career, people I looked up to."

Isa no doubt wishes Cleary had stopped him in downtown Manchester for a chat. Perhaps the reunion will happen at full-time this weekend.

“I met him [back then] and he’s the same bloke,” says the man who says he’ll settle back in Penrith when he retires.

“I’ve heard good things about him. Tommy Leuluai was the one who told me about Nathan Cleary because he was the ballboy at the Warriors when Ivan Cleary was coaching.

“He goes, ‘Oh, he’s always asking me questions’. 

“I like the way he is. He comes across well. He’s from a good family as well. They’re not too ‘out there’, they’re proper nice people from the outside and from what I hear as well. 

“I’m seeing him again (in recent years) and … ‘it’s that guy again’.”

Nathan Cleary. That guy. The one.