'Keeping up with the young fellas': Faifai-Loa celebrates game 150

When Kalifa Faifai-Loa decided to come out of retirement and give the Hostplus Cup one more year, there was a fear within him that he might not be good enough to even get a start with the Townsville Blackhawks.

But the veteran back was always going to be good enough.

And this weekend he will reap the benefits of his decision to make a comeback when he celebrates his 150th Cup game in the Blackhawks’ Round 4 clash with the Mackay Cutters.

It’s been a long and winding journey for Faifai-Loa to this point.

He has played with four Cup clubs – Northern Pride, Mackay Cutters, Tweed Seagulls and his beloved Blackhawks.

He has played at the highest levels of the game, starring in the NRL with the North Queensland Cowboys, Gold Coast Titans and St George Illawarra Dragons, while also representing New Zealand and Samoa.

He hung up the boots at the end of 2022, dropping back to just enjoy himself in local football, before the return of James Tamou for one year with the Blackhawks inspired him to keep going.

And, he admits, that the 150-game milestone provided a bit of initiative as well.

“I was talking about it last week, saying that I was three games short in 2022,” Faifai-Loa said.

“If I knew that, I would have put the boots on again for three more rounds last year. Reaching the 150 is a good milestone... not many do that in Cup.

“Jimmy was one main reasons I came back, to be honest. We had a plan to play for Brothers A grade this year together until he got a call from 'Happy' (Blackhawks football operations manager Adrian Thomson). The old coffee trick got him.

“He messaged me saying, ‘sorry bro, I’m going to play one year with the Blackhawks.’

“This was during our finals for A grade last year. So for the last two weeks of last season I was walking past 'Happy' thinking he’d give me a shot too and then finally it took up to the last couple of training sessions in grand final week in A grade when he asked me if I wanted one more year.

“Jimmy and I have been mates for a long time and what a way to come back and play alongside one of my best friends. We get to play alongside each other in this milestone.

“I knew 150 was around the corner but I didn’t know when.

“I debuted in 2011 and here I am 13 years later and I’ve finally reached it. It took a while, but I’ve got it.”

Faifai-Loa sat out of Townsville’s Round 3 meeting with the Northern Pride in a bid to reach his 150 on home turf at Jack Manski Oval.

In a nice twist, this weekend’s milestone game will also come against the Mackay Cutters, the team that Faifai-Loa won the premiership with in 2013.

That premiership remains one of Faifai-Loa’s Cup highlights, as does playing his 100th Cup game with the Blackhawks – and being presented that jersey by Antonio Winterstein and Jake Marketo.

That 2013 grand final is one of his clearest Cup memories, as is his debut, which came with the Northern Pride against the Central Queensland Capras.

“It was in Rocky,” Faifai-Loa said of his debut game

“There was a couple of us that debuted – me, Blake Leary, a couple of Cowboys players. It was a wet game to start with.

“All I remember was I scored a try. I had played a game in NSW Cup before too but up here was real different. I thought it was more rough up here. I still reckon it’s tougher.

“For my highlights… one was obviously winning the comp with Mackay in 2013.

“I remember I was playing centre in attack and then when it came to defence, I go straight to the wing.

“We were basically playing with 12 men for 20 minutes. We had two sin bins and our fullback got sinbinned at one point and I had to play two roles – fullback and wing.

“The boys dug in deep that game. We had all the odds against us. We were all young and no one knew who us young up-and-comers were at the time. Next thing you know, Michael Morgan and Jason Taumalolo are winning the competition with the Cowboys two years later.

“Winning in 2013, it was the highlight.”

Coming through so many NRL systems, Faifai-Loa has a lot of people he believes helped him along the way, especially in his Cup career.

This includes former coaches Aaron Payne and Aaron Zimmerle, as well as current coach Terry Campese.

But one who had the biggest impact was former Blackhawks mentor Kristian Woolf, who helped Faifai-Loa return to north Queensland when he decided he was done with the NRL.

“Woolfy, he’s the one that got me up,” Faifai-Loa said.

“I asked in 2017. I thought I was done with NRL and retired at 27. I was ready to put my head down and play full time in Cup.

“He believed in me and I’ve been here for seven years now and playing 80-something games for them.

“He was old school but so professional. He led the way.”

For Faifai-Loa there’s a few ideal goals he’d like to achieve or even just see in his final year of Cup footy.

As is the goal for everyone, he wants to lift the trophy one more time and believes the Blackhawks have that potential in 2024.

At a minimum, he’d like to play finals footy.

And finally, he’d like to see the Hostplus Cup team win the NRL State Championship against the NSW Cup premiers – and he doesn’t care who does it, as long as everyone within Queensland gets behind them.

But either way, he just wants to enjoy the next few months and his return to the Blackhawks and playing alongside Tamou.

When asked the secret to his longevity, the 33-year-old isn’t sure what’s helped him keep going.

But he thinks it could be the unexpected.

“Some people say I don’t do weights,” Faifai-Loa laughed.

“They say I walk around and not do the weights. Shaun Nona said to me, ‘150 games and hasn’t even lifted a weight.’

“So, I’m guessing it’s that. Also, the good food the missus cooks all the time, that’s another good reason.

“It goes to show I am still going okay if I’m on the wing, keeping up with the young fellas.”