May 2019, I’m standing in the lobby of my hotel in Melbourne after a performance of @murielsweddingthemusical waiting for the lift, when I see a fella who is clearly from Papua New Guinea waiting with me. I strike up a conversation in Pidgin, which to be fair, freaks him out a little! “Who’s this weird white guy speaking Pidgin?!” was basically the look on his face! Anyway, I try & impress him w my PNG credentials by telling him I’ve got a tattoo of a Kumul (the Bird of Paradise on the National Coat of Arms). He quickly retorts with, “I am a Kumul.” Meaning, for those who don’t know Rugby League, that he plays for the PNG National Team! Hahaha! We end up hanging out w a bunch of his wantoks, then kicking on at the Casino til the wee hours 🥴 That year was his first full season playing for The Melbourne Storm in the NRL. The next year he wins the premiership & this year he wins the award for Best Centre in the comp! This for a bloke who only started playing competitively while completing his Bachelors Degree in Applied Physics at PNG University of Technology! What an incredible journey for such a genuine, humble, hard working young man. Congratulations @jay_blockz_dkb you are a credit to your family, your community and your country! This is just the beginning, blood! 🇵🇬🇵🇬🇵🇬#papuanewguinea #png #kumuls #melbournestorm #justinolam #nrl #namedroptuesday @storm @nrl https://www.instagram.com/p/CUWw3YdhhIz/?utm_medium=tumblr
