'Just do what makes you happy': Kaufusi reaches 100 Cup games

Patrick Kaufusi’s mum taught him to always do what makes him happy.

So, as he approaches his 100th Cup game this Saturday in the Harvey Norman Women in League Round, Kaufusi can look back knowing that thanks to those early lessons from his mum, he has achieved what he’s achieved not because he was following in the footsteps of his brothers or because of any outside pressure, but because he simply wanted to.

The Townsville Blackhawks forward said it’s fitting and significant that he is notching up this milestone in this round.

“It’s so special because the women in my life have shaped me to be the person I am today, especially my mum (Pelenatita),” Kaufusi said.

“She’s such a strong person and it’s crazy it falls on this round, to play my 100th. It’s a way to show appreciation for them - my mum, my wife and my sisters.

“This round always means a lot to me to recognise everyone, it doesn’t matter who it is, how little or big their role is.

“My mum has always supported me. Back then as a kid, it was about if it made me happy, to do it.

“My brothers (Antonio and Felise) came before me and I can remember her saying, ‘if you don’t want to play rugby league, you don’t have to. Just do what makes you happy.’

“I think that’s why I enjoyed footy so much because I played it to have fun and be around the boys and the mateship. I enjoyed it more that way.

“Then obviously my wife Amy has been there for me through all the different clubs I’ve gone to, moving around and helping out there, and just helping me mature.”

Kaufusi has grown up surrounded by women. Not only did he have the backing of his mum, his dad Taniela, and the influence of his two older brothers, but he also had six sisters, who he said are his biggest supporters.

“Whatever team I was in, they were always cheering me on,” he said.

Kaufusi’s Cup career started with the Northern Pride at the back end of the 2014 season, after sitting out most of the year with a pectoral injury.

Contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys at the time, Kaufusi – who made his NRL debut in 2015 - played two regular Cup games and in the state championship final in 2014, where the Pride defeated the Penrith Panthers.

This team was coached by current South Sydney mentor Jason Demetriou and throughout the season saw a number of big names play, including eventual NRL premiership-winners and Queensland Maroons duo, Ethan Lowe and Kyle Feldt.

“It feels like yesterday I was part of a Pride team that was pretty dominant,” Kaufusi said.

“I’d say the success there, I almost took it for granted. I got chucked in a team where they were winning and had done so well for a couple of years. It was almost just like, ‘oh that’s how it is.’

“My brother had also been playing there – Felise - so while I would have liked to have played with him, it was special to play with a team that he’d come through.”

In 2018, Kaufusi signed with the Melbourne Storm, which also saw him leave the Northern Pride and play his Cup football through Melbourne affiliate, Brisbane Tigers.

He said the highlight of his Cup career was the people he’d been able to meet along the way, from coaches and mentors, to teammates and friends.

And it was at the Brisbane Tigers that he met one of the most influential people on his career, in former coach Scott Sipple.

“I was lucky enough to play for three teams and I think you learn more going to different teams… you see a different perspective from where you might have come from,” he said.

“The different experiences I got from each club is something I’ll take with me, as well as the friendships from where I’ve been.

“My time at the Tigers… I grew in confidence there and it was a lot to do with the support from the coach, Scott Sipple.

“He really encouraged me to play to my strengths and that I could be a player that could turn a game. He helped me recognise my own abilities and use that confidence going into games.

“That’s something that really helped me. At the Pride I was young and finding my way but that move down south really helped me out a lot.”

At the end of 2019, Kaufusi came out of NRL systems and signed a one-year deal with the Townsville Blackhawks.

But he ruptured his Achilles in the pre-season, ruling him out for a lengthy period. The 2020 season was then eventually cancelled anyway due to COVID-19.

And while the injury and the cancelled season were bitter pills to swallow, it was also the year Kaufusi’s mindset shifted around his rugby league.

While he always tried to follow his mum’s advice, he was mostly focused on getting back into the NRL.

That all changed thanks to the Blackhawks and the arrival of his first child, a little girl named Oakah.

“I’d just come out of NRL and I was in a place where I wanted to make my mark and make my way back into footy,” he said.

“But with the Blackhawks, a lot of the off-field stuff they did through COVID and the way they kept everyone connected, it changed my perspective on life.

“It is a real family-orientated sort of club, which really hit home for me. Coming from a big family, I got that feeling from the Blackhawks.

“It was hard with that whole COVID situation but they were getting around the boys, touching base with everyone, trying to get gym equipment to different people’s houses where three of us could train together to keep us doing something.

“It goes a long way to being connected and the club really helped out that way.

“I also had my little one and my whole perspective on life changed.

“All I was focused on was getting back into the NRL. I was going in everyday to do extra sessions but she came along and it was about putting her first and being there and helping out.

“Everything changed. I fell into what I do now, which is youth work.

“I like this balance where I can still go out and have fun with the boys and play on the weekend but also have a heap of time with my family and get that rewarding feeling working with kids when they need it. It all balanced itself out.”

Kaufusi has since welcomed a second child - son, Sonny Felise - and that original impression the Blackhawks had on Kaufusi is still evident today.

Kaufusi’s father tragically passed away last August and the 29-year-old saw the club rally around him time and time again.

This weekend, as he notches up his 100-game milestone with the club against the Mackay Cutters on home turf in Townsville, he’ll give his everything.

Not just because they’re fighting for a place in this year’s finals series and not just because he’s playing for the beloved women in his life, but because he wants to give back to the club and to the players around him.

“My old man passed away last year and the club was just... they really helped out around that time and still do now with regular check ins and anything they can do to help out,” Kaufusi said.

“I know I can call on Happy (football operations manager Adrian Thomson) or Payney (coach Aaron Payne) any time.

“This club has done a lot for me and this year I wanted to try to give back and make it more about everyone else rather than me. It’s changed my mindset in helping others coming through. What I learnt at (Brisbane Tigers), I now try to pass onto the people around me and build their confidence.

“Back when I played with the Pride and Tigers, everyone looked at the Blackhawks as this hard to team to play and to beat. I want to get this club into a position where people look at us like that again.

“We’ve had a pretty rough start this year and it’s taken us a while but it’s coming together at the right time of year.

“We’re in a good space where we can make a good run of it. We just have to keep building.”