'Bundjalang is my country': Lofi revelling in cultural exchange

Alofiana Khan-Pereira has been teaching Warriors team-mates about his Indigenous culture, while revealing how unknown relatives on the Māori side of his family have reached out to him since he moved to New Zealand.

Khan-Pereira, who has joined the Warriors after three seasons with the Titans, is one of a select group of players eligible to play for both the Indigenous and Māori teams in the February 15 All Stars match at FMG Stadium Waikato.

A proud Bundjalang man from the Gold Coast and Norther Rivers region of NSW, the speedster also has Pakistani heritage on his mother’s side, while his father is of Māori and Samoan lineage.

“I'd say I'm probably closest to my Indigenous side, more so, and just under that, my Samoan side, so it's great to get to learn what I'd never really known with my Māori side coming over here,” Khan-Pereira said.

“I got a few messages from… I don't know if they're randoms or if they're cousins or not yet, saying that we're family, so it'll be interesting to get to know those people as well.”

While he has welcomed the opportunity to learn more about his Māori heritage, Khan-Pereira has also been trying to teach his new team-mates about Indigenous culture – with limited success.

“I do cop it a bit with the slang and being the only Indigenous boy here it is kind of funny because all of the boys try to say some of the words, like Bundjalang … the boys have never heard those kind of words, so it is funny hearing it from them,” he said.

“Bundjalang is my country, it’s where I am from.”

Growing up, Khan-Pereira’s idol was Jharal Yow-Yeh, the former Broncos, Maroons, Kangaroos and Indigenous All Stars winger whose career was cut short at the age of 24 after suffering an ankle injury in 2012 that required 10 operations.

Like Yow-Yeh, Khan-Pereira possesses blistering pace and runs 40m in 4.2sec.

“He has always been my hero, I was fortunate enough to have him as an assistant coach with Queensland U16s and I was kind of fan-girling a bit,” Khan-Pereira said.

Locked in a three-way battle with internationals Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak for a place on the wing, Khan-Pereira is excited about the prospect of playing before home crowds in New Zealand.

"The fans here are next level. I can't go to Woollies without taking a photo, because there is only one team here which makes it more special," he said.

Asked how many people had yelled "Up the Wahs" to him since he joined the Warriors, Khan-Pereira said: "Honestly, I'd say 100. I'm not even joking. More than 100".

After falling out of favour at the Titans last season, Khan-Pereira is hoping to revive his career with the Warriors in similar fashion to former Gold Coast team-mates Erin Clarke and Tanah Boyd.

Clarke won the Dally M Lock of the Year award, while Boyd was player of the match in the NSW Cup grand final after steering the Warriors to their first senior premiership. 

“That only inspires me to be the next frontrunner to get that something like that," Khan-Pereira said. "I didn't have one of the best years, so I really wanted to turn that around.

“I think now that I've really pinpointed where I want to be and that's wanting to be a consistent first grader, and so having to do that, I really wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try somewhere new."