LOTA Fiaalii may be destined for stardom - the problem is, one day he may face choosing between two very different paths to fame.
But what separates the Toyota Cup Panther from the rest of his teammates, and all other top-level rugby league players, is that the 18-year-old is also the first league player to be accepted into the Australian Institute of Music’s singing program.
Fiaalii auditioned for the program earlier this year, while trying out for the Toyota Cup side at the same time.
As he embarks on his four-year program at the institute in a few weeks, he has already shown he won’t have trouble balancing the two busy lifestyles.
“In the changing sheds before training, I bring my guitar quite a bit and jam with some of the other boys,” he said. “I’ve found music has given me a balance away from my footy, so I’m not thinking about it all the time.”
The burly prop admitted to failing the theory part of his entrance exam for the singing program, but was told his voice was so amazing that they would accept him on the practical part of the audition alone.
Softly spoken, but with a powerful singing voice, Fiaalii said he planned to put all his effort into his two talents.
“If footy doesn’t work out I’ve got a very good back-up,” he said.
“It means a lot and I just want to show that there’s no limit to what you can do if you put your heart into something, I put my heart into both these things equally.”