Tino Fa’asuamaleaui is only 80 minutes away from a dream World Cup final showdown at one of the United Kingdom’s most prestigious stadiums – Old Trafford, Manchester.
But standing in the way of the 22-year-old’s wish is a red-hot Kiwis side, who is set to feature up to two of his Titans teammates in the Saturday morning (AEST) sudden-death battle in Leeds.
Easily overpowering Lebanon in the Kangaroos’ quarter final last week, it was a different story for the Kiwis with history almost repeating itself up against Fiji – the side who knocked them out at the same stage of the 2017 tournament.
However; a late comeback by the number-one ranked side has locked in a battle between the Gold Coast skipper and fellow forward Isaac Liu and new recruit Kieran Foran, which is something Fa’asuamaleaui is cherishing ahead of the clash.
“To come up against other Titans boys is going to be pretty cool,” he told titans.com.au.
“It’ll be a massive task ahead and I can’t wait.”
In his first tour wearing the green and gold, the feeling of representing his country hasn’t sunk in for the Titans captain, in what has been a perfect start to what is set to be an illustrious International career for the hard running forward.
“It's a dream come true. Looking back at photos after the game, you sort of have to pinch yourself because you can’t believe you’re an Aussie player,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
"I’m on that honour board now with all those legends of the game. It’s a cool feeling and I keep having to remind myself that I’m on camp here with Australia, so it’s really awesome.”
As well as his proud individual honours, Fa’asuamaleaui couldn’t have been anymore pleased to see at least one Titan involved in every men’s quarter final and knows how valuable that will prove to be ahead of the 2023 NRL campaign.
“It's really good for the boys and I’m proud of every Titan that has worn a jersey and represented their family and country,” he said.
“It’s awesome to see and we’ve learned a lot that we can bring back to clubland to help us have a better year in 2023.
“Not just the boys, but the girls too… they’ve all been playing good football.”
The Australia v New Zealand men’s semi-final kicks off at 5.45am Saturday (AEST) on Fox League and Kayo Sports.
