Originally published via The Daily Telegraph - Moana Courtenay heartbreaking sacrifice to for NRLW dream with the Bulldogs.
Moana Courtenay is the picture of dedication.
With the pre-season starting next month, Courtenay made the difficult decision to leave her son with family in New Zealand to train with the Bulldogs in pursuit of her NRLW dream.
It’s an extraordinary sacrifice for the 26-year-old single mum who is throwing everything into her career with the Bulldogs to make a better life for her family.
Courtenay relocated to Australia earlier this year on her own to take part in the non-compulsory NRLW training sessions prior to pre-season’s official start in early May.
It’s meant leaving her six-year-old son, Mana’ia, with her parents, Kei and Jay, back in New Zealand, where they live in a town called Matakana, about an hour north of Auckland.
Courtenay Scores the Bulldogs' First NRLW Try!
Daily chats on Facetime help them stay in contact, but it doesn’t fix the ache.
“I miss him. I think it’s easier for him than it is for me,” Courtenay tells Code Sports from the stands at Belmore Oval ahead of another non-compulsory session.
“But I am conscious that he’s getting a bit older, so changing schools again, getting him new friends and then when this finishes up in September, going back home and changing him up again. It’s just a bit much.
“My brothers live at home, my sister is up every weekend with her partner, and my brother’s girlfriend are always around, so it’s a full house.
Since he was a baby, we’ve been at home, me and him, so he’s just sort of used to having a full house with lots of company. It’s the best place for him to be.
“He’s not home sick, he doesn’t miss me at all, really. He’s got so much going on.”
Non-compulsory sessions are yet that – optional. But Courtenay is determined to give herself the best shot possible at a big NRLW season when it kicks off in July.
Forking out for rent in south west Sydney, as well as a mortgage back home, her dedication comes at a huge financial cost.
But it has allowed her to do additional sprint sessions with renowned trainer Roger Fabri and dive into studying rugby league after her first season in the sport last year.
“He knows what he’s talking about. I wish I had longer with him. I’ll go until the season starts,” she says of the speed training with Fabri.
“I want to make it worthwhile coming over.
A Bounce From Heaven and Courtenay's Over Again!
“There’s no point being here and being away from my boy, there’s no point sitting around and waiting around for training when I could be making the most of it.”
The former rugby sevens player was thrown into the deep end learning the new code last year.
Her second game of rugby league was her NRLW debut where she scored two tries against the Knights.
And although she played all 10 games, there is still so much to learn.
“I’ve watched a lot of rugby league since the end of last year,” she says.
“In my one-on-one meeting with the coach when we finished up, my homework was to go away and watch a lot of rugby league.
So I’ve been watching a lot, picking up little things, rules that are different to union and figuring out. I’m loving it.
“This was the goal – you train so hard and this is what you want.
“I do love it.”
She has this year left on her contract with the Bulldogs and is throwing everything she has at the chance to re-sign.
The picture of dedication, Courtenay is also set to finish a bachelor’s degree in business, accounting and property in the coming months,
It’s all part of a master plan to create a nice life for her family, which is why she took an opportunity with the Bulldogs in the first place.
“It was the chance to play professional rugby, and everyone wants that,” she said.
“There wasn’t as many opportunities at home, it’s not as advanced as rugby league is so I decided to go for it.
“I hadn’t watched really any rugby league. I’d watch the odd game when it was on, but my brothers play union, I used to play and my sister and I used to play sevens together.
“So we were all very union based.
“In my position as centre, it’s quite different compared to rugby union. In the midfield and centres you’re switching around the field the whole time, but in league you stay on your edge.
“Around the rucks, a lot of wrestle, a lot of technical stuff that I didn’t quite get last year and was getting pinged for, so that’s another reason I came over early.
It’s been really worthwhile. It’s hard to train on your own, especially where I live.
“I train with the boys team, but you can only do so much and when it comes to contact you have to sit out. So it’s been worth it to come over and get that extra coaching.”
Mana’ia will come over with her mum Kei next week for a 10-day visit before going back for school.
“He knows I’m here and when I was leaving, he was kind of all good, ‘See you later’. But then as the time’s gone by it’s sort of like, ‘When are you coming back?’” she says.
“It’s important to have those times booked for him to come over.
“I just want to make it worthwhile coming over and make the most of it while I’m here.”
