Siosiua Taukeiaho may be playing in his last finals series for the Sydney Roosters, but the hulking front rower won't be content with anything less than a third Premiership ring.
The popular Tongan international will bid adieu to Bondi as he continues his career in the European Super League with Catalans at the end of the season - and the 168-game veteran is intent on leaving it all out on the field for his beloved Tricolours.
Taukeiaho: "The Focus Is On Ourselves"
Pitted against arch-rivals South Sydney in a do-or-die battle this Sunday afternoon, Easts hold the advantage after claiming a solid 26-16 victory last Friday night in the grand opening of Allianz Stadium.
With another sell-out expected, Taukeiaho says that his side must replicate what they did in order to claim another victory to continue their finals charge as well as his tenure at the Club.
“Pretty much, we’ve got to play the same kind of footy we played last week,” Taukeiaho admitted.
“It was good to get in our first game over at the new stadium and see our fans turn up and play some good footy and get the win.
“This game is the one that matters the most. We’re just focussing on ourselves and our game style.
“But there would be nothing more rewarding than leaving with another ring and leaving on a high as well.
“I’m pretty excited for this week and this finals series and I’m ready to empty the tank these next couple of weeks.”
Despite finishing the regular season in sixth place, the Roosters boast finals experience most opposition teams could only dream of.
All but one of the starting seventeen have tasted finals football, and a further ten have a Premiership win under their belt, with nine doing so in Red, White and Blue.
Taukeiaho - a 2018 and 2019 Premiership winner himself, spoke of the confidence in lining up in a side stacked with experience, but was also sure to highlight the exciting new faces that feature throughout, particularly in the forward pack.
“There’s a few of us that have played in that ’18 and ’19 Grand Finals and there’s some real experience there,” he said.
There would be nothing more rewarding than leaving with another ring and leaving on a high as well. I’m pretty excited for this week and this finals series and I’m ready to empty the tank these next couple of weeks.
Siosiua Taukeiaho On finishing his Roosters career with a Premiership
“I think Jared (Waerea-Hargreaves) also played in the 2013 side so having those experienced players and playing alongside them, it gives you that bit of confidence as well.
“But we’ve also got some younger boys in our squad as well playing some mad footy as well. All the fans can see what Lodge is capable of doing. He’s been huge for us, especially for us front rowers.
“Even losing Lindsay, he’s a loss for us but we’ll have him back soon. With Gus (Angus Crichton), Jared, the two Butcher brothers, Connor (Watson), it’s mad.
“We’ve got a pretty good forward pack there and it’s mad playing with them.”
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On the back of an eight-match winning streak, the Roosters have been the form team of the competition over the last two months, and Taukeiaho put their newfound confidence to one thing - time away from football.
“I think the last couple of months we’ve been trying to work on our defence, and it’s been working the last couple of weeks,” he said.
“Our defence and our attack have seemed to gel together which is good for us and I feel like we’re now building for the finals which is the perfect timing as well.
“I feel like with the vibe around here at the Club, all the boys, we also catch up after training, we’ll have dinner together.
“I think the most important thing is catching up away from training and spending as much time as we can before coming into the finals and when the season finishes.”
