Manly’s Tola Koula had quite the journey – literally - to prove his fitness to play for the Sea Eagles on Thursday night and to keep himself in the frame for the NSW Origin team.
The 23 year-old, who has already played eight Tests for Tonga and is set to be a key member of Kristian Woolf's World Cup team, made his Origin debut in Game One on May 27 but suffered a head knock in a sideline collision with Queensland fullback Kalyn Ponga.
Ruled out of the game midway through the second half, Koula went through all the concussion protocols with Sea Eagles medical staff to show the NRL he could return to the field earlier than the stipulated 11 days off.
One of those protocols was an assessment by an independent neurologist.
Ponga sent off
“I had to drive to Newcastle on my day off to do a few tests,” Koula told NRL.com after Manly’s 28-12 defeat of South Sydney on Thursday night. “But apart from that it was pretty cruisy.
“I’m not sure why there was no-one in Sydney that could do it but there it is.”
So Manly arranged transport for Koula to make the five-hour round trip to Newcastle and back.
Despite the unexpected 335km journey inserted into his week Koula passed with flying colours.
“To be honest I was pretty confident the whole week that I was going to play,” he said.
“It was a bit of a weird week, although it didn’t mess too much with my prep so it was okay.”
It certainly didn’t as Koula rattled off 19 runs for 186 metres, 56 post-contact, along with an offload, a line-break assist, and a wonderful tap-on pass for wing Jason Saab’s second try.
Jason Saab stars for Manly
He also played in two positions, starting at left centre and then slotting in at fullback when Manly No.1 Clayton Faulalo as forced from the field with a hamstring strain.
“It’s not a good sight seeing Clayton have to go to the sideline but it’s something we all have to be ready for because you never know what can happen in a game,” Koula said.
“The unexpected did happen and we had to react. I thought we did that well with Joshy (Feledy) coming into the centre and me going back.
“We have scenarios in training in case these things do happen. It’s not a surprise or throws us off course when it does happen.
“Foz does a good job of making sure we understand that’s how you prepare the best.”
Koula played on the left wing for NSW for 57 minutes in Game One and would have done his Game Two chances on June 17 no harm in playing a solid 80 minutes for the Sea Eagles against the Rabbitohs.
“Obviously things haven’t been finalised for Game Two but all I can do is kick back now and wait,” he said.
“I’ve done the best I can for my team tonight – we’ll wait and see what happens.
“Wherever they want me to play I will. I know there could be changes.”
Admitting he is not a very outgoing personality, Koula said he wanted more of the bright lights of the Origin arena.
“A hundred per cent. It was a crazy experience for my first game – the week goes so fast but I had (Manly teammate) Haumole (Olakau’atu) there with me.
“I’m a bit reserved and a bit of a shy person so it definitely helped having him in camp with me. And I found all the boys in camp very welcoming.”
Although Koula is into his fifth NRL season and close to 100 games, plus his international football, he said he learned a lot from the Origin camp and the elite players in it.
“Just the standard of preparation – the way they prepare is the way they play, there are no short-cuts at all,” Koula said.
“When the tough moments come in games you fall back on that professionalism in prep.
“Even playing on the wing, Brian To’o and James Tedesco were really big for me in that prep. I’m not a known winger but Teddy and Bizza were great to me.
“They helped me so much giving me tips and cues. I’m grateful to them.”
