A special jersey presentation for Cronulla cult hero Ronaldo Mulitalo ahead of his 150th NRL match tomorrow.
The Sharks chief energy officer again inspiring his teammates like he has done so many times before.
“I’m an emotional bloke and I wear my heart on my sleeve,” Mulitalo expressed.
“I love all the boys and I love the club. What the game has done for me and my family it can never be repaid.”
Surprised by his twin brother Lorenzo popping in, after he’d told Ronaldo earlier in the week that he couldn’t make it.
Lorenzo presented his jersey and delivered a speech, “Ronnie will do anything he can to put other people in a better situation and I don’t think people understand the kind of character that he is outside of football.”
“They only see the intense character when he plays, but no one really understands the soft-hearted person that he is outside of football, where he cares so much about his family and the community.
“He does so much charity work and I just want people to know that that’s the kind of person he is.
“He bought our mum and dad a house. My mum is so happy she has somewhere she can call home and that’s all thanks to my brother and his hard work,” Lorenzo told Sharks media.
Which was a goal Ronaldo set himself many years ago before he’d even played one NRL game.
“I asked myself; how can I put my mum and my brothers all in a better place than yesterday and I think we’ve done a good job of that as a family,” the Sharks' winger humbly said.
“That’s the thing that I’m most proud about is that I was able to put my mum in a house and move a step ahead and give her that comfortability in her life.
“That’s been the greatest gift of all.”
If you ask some of the coaches and kids at his old school Ipswich State High, they’ll tell you Ronaldo and the Mulitalo’s have left them a pretty great gift too.
Lorenzo shared the story, “my family’s fortunate enough to give out an award at our old school, where we’re able to bless a kid who doesn’t have as many resources."
"My family fund them for the year. We pay for their school fees and Ronnie gets them football gear from Asics.”
So, it's not hard to understand why so many of Ronaldo's friends and family packed out one of the Suncorp Stadium stands when he returned from an ACL injury in round 11.
Mulitalo Magic
The Sharks have won 10/13 games since his comeback.
“My family missed watching him on the field,” Lorenzo said.
“Behind the scenes we had those phone calls when he was upset because he missed playing and he was struggling in rehab, but his drive is just what gets him over the line.”
Ronaldo’s fresh from getting over the line twice last weekend and becoming the Shark’s second greatest try scorer of all-time.
His milestone match another reminder he’s living little Ronnie’s dream.
“Every birthday, every time I had an opportunity I prayed for this moment to play NRL and I only wished to play one game and that was the biggest dream of mine,” Ronaldo recalled.
“I’m just going to go out and do my best for the team. I’m super proud of who I’ve been able to do it with. I’ve had plenty of great mentors along the way.
"I’ve been lucky enough to play for my country and now play 150 for my club so I’m really proud of that and hopefully I can hold my head up high.”
Round 26 Media: Ronaldo Mulitalo
