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Viliame Kikau almost cringes when you mention that photo of him wearing the Canterbury polo shirt.
“It would have been stupid [to pose] had I known that photo was going to come out,” Kikau tells The Sun-Herald. “Nothing was planned. It was strictly confidential and meant to be private.
You can’t get away with anything these days. It was pretty disappointing. I was really disappointed about it actually. It was only meant to be put out once everything was made official and to let everyone know I had signed.”
The grainy photo of Kikau standing between Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett and good friend and Canterbury football manager Phil Gould appeared online on a Friday. The timing was awful, given Kikau was due to join his Penrith teammates the next morning to celebrate the club’s premiership with fans at the foot of the mountains.
Teammates ridiculed Kikau about the signing news as they sat on an open-top bus and waved to fans lining the streets. The Penrith players were already aware the giant back-rower was headed to Belmore after he posted a lengthy message to the team’s WhatsApp group.
A small section of Penrith fans booed when Kikau’s name was read out as he entered BlueBet Stadium. He was made aware of it only when he was across the road at the leagues club and about to toast the epic grand final win over South Sydney again.
Reports later emerged a Canterbury staffer was responsible for releasing the photo and resigned before he was sacked.
Superstar co-captain Nathan Cleary was never going to tease Kikau about the unhappy snap and knew straight away how much he was hurting during the celebrations.
“It’s one of those things, and it’s not surprising in the rugby league world for things to get leaked,” Cleary said. “I felt for him because I know it had hurt him with that photo being leaked and with him having to come out the next day to all our fans.
“We already knew he was leaving. We’ll miss him a lot, not just as a footy player but as a mate. I love playing alongside him. He’s an absolute beast and an all-round good bloke.”
Kikau knew months in advance Penrith would not be able to afford his price tag beyond 2022. Four clubs quickly circled the Fijian, including former team North Queensland, while St George Illawarra also wanted a seat at the negotiation table.
However, Kikau’s relationships with Barrett and Gould, and their old ties to Penrith, put Canterbury in the box seat. Kikau eventually signed a four-year deal worth $3.2 million. Gould turned on the charm while showing him the sights of Belmore.
“The Bulldogs are a club heading in the right direction,” Kikau said. “Baz [Barrett] worked here [Penrith], as did Gus. Gus was the one who got me here to Penrith. Gus is a good man. He showed me around and told me about the plans for the club moving forward. I was really interested in everything he was saying.
“Penrith gave me this opportunity to play at the highest level. The least I can do now is try to win them another premiership. We’ve won one, but it means nothing going into this year.
“This club will always hold a special place in my heart. When I spoke with my agent, I made sure I would finish the year here at Penrith. Hopefully, we finish on another high.”
Kikau often features on the highlights reel trampling over opposition defenders. But it was his defence that pleased him and his teammates most during Penrith’s title run. He came up with some key plays in the grand final, and the tackle to deny Melbourne’s Justin Olam after full-time in round three was one of the more memorable moments of the season.
The words of co-captain Isaah Yeo during the finals series hit home with Kikau. He has made a point of adopting the same mantra as the Panthers chase back-to-back titles.
Isaah said at the time, ‘We don’t deserve anything, we have to earn everything we get’, and I really liked that,” Kikau said. “We’re starting a new year and I’ll keep [repeating] that to myself.”
Kikau had an eventful off-season, which included heading home to Fiji for the first time in more than two years, then having to delay his return after he contracted COVID-19, then welcoming his first child, Apenisa, into the world.
The COVID positive did not come through for a few days because, Kikau said, everyone was on “Fiji time”.
The 26-year-old’s father, also Apenisa, had struggled with respiratory issues all year, and coach Ivan Cleary was happy for Kikau to make the trip home instead of resuming pre-season training.
His parents were stunned when Kikau appeared in their living room. Word quickly filtered around the island. Kikau even ended up in the Fiji Times in a photo with members of the Cautata Rugby Club in Cautata Village, who cooked him dinner as a show of appreciation for providing the club its uniforms last year.
That was one photo Kikau was happy to become public.
“It would have been stupid [to pose] had I known that photo was going to come out,” Kikau tells The Sun-Herald. “Nothing was planned. It was strictly confidential and meant to be private.
You can’t get away with anything these days. It was pretty disappointing. I was really disappointed about it actually. It was only meant to be put out once everything was made official and to let everyone know I had signed.”
The grainy photo of Kikau standing between Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett and good friend and Canterbury football manager Phil Gould appeared online on a Friday. The timing was awful, given Kikau was due to join his Penrith teammates the next morning to celebrate the club’s premiership with fans at the foot of the mountains.
Teammates ridiculed Kikau about the signing news as they sat on an open-top bus and waved to fans lining the streets. The Penrith players were already aware the giant back-rower was headed to Belmore after he posted a lengthy message to the team’s WhatsApp group.
A small section of Penrith fans booed when Kikau’s name was read out as he entered BlueBet Stadium. He was made aware of it only when he was across the road at the leagues club and about to toast the epic grand final win over South Sydney again.
Reports later emerged a Canterbury staffer was responsible for releasing the photo and resigned before he was sacked.
Superstar co-captain Nathan Cleary was never going to tease Kikau about the unhappy snap and knew straight away how much he was hurting during the celebrations.
“It’s one of those things, and it’s not surprising in the rugby league world for things to get leaked,” Cleary said. “I felt for him because I know it had hurt him with that photo being leaked and with him having to come out the next day to all our fans.
“We already knew he was leaving. We’ll miss him a lot, not just as a footy player but as a mate. I love playing alongside him. He’s an absolute beast and an all-round good bloke.”
Kikau knew months in advance Penrith would not be able to afford his price tag beyond 2022. Four clubs quickly circled the Fijian, including former team North Queensland, while St George Illawarra also wanted a seat at the negotiation table.
However, Kikau’s relationships with Barrett and Gould, and their old ties to Penrith, put Canterbury in the box seat. Kikau eventually signed a four-year deal worth $3.2 million. Gould turned on the charm while showing him the sights of Belmore.
“The Bulldogs are a club heading in the right direction,” Kikau said. “Baz [Barrett] worked here [Penrith], as did Gus. Gus was the one who got me here to Penrith. Gus is a good man. He showed me around and told me about the plans for the club moving forward. I was really interested in everything he was saying.
“Penrith gave me this opportunity to play at the highest level. The least I can do now is try to win them another premiership. We’ve won one, but it means nothing going into this year.
“This club will always hold a special place in my heart. When I spoke with my agent, I made sure I would finish the year here at Penrith. Hopefully, we finish on another high.”
Kikau often features on the highlights reel trampling over opposition defenders. But it was his defence that pleased him and his teammates most during Penrith’s title run. He came up with some key plays in the grand final, and the tackle to deny Melbourne’s Justin Olam after full-time in round three was one of the more memorable moments of the season.
The words of co-captain Isaah Yeo during the finals series hit home with Kikau. He has made a point of adopting the same mantra as the Panthers chase back-to-back titles.
Isaah said at the time, ‘We don’t deserve anything, we have to earn everything we get’, and I really liked that,” Kikau said. “We’re starting a new year and I’ll keep [repeating] that to myself.”
Kikau had an eventful off-season, which included heading home to Fiji for the first time in more than two years, then having to delay his return after he contracted COVID-19, then welcoming his first child, Apenisa, into the world.
The COVID positive did not come through for a few days because, Kikau said, everyone was on “Fiji time”.
The 26-year-old’s father, also Apenisa, had struggled with respiratory issues all year, and coach Ivan Cleary was happy for Kikau to make the trip home instead of resuming pre-season training.
His parents were stunned when Kikau appeared in their living room. Word quickly filtered around the island. Kikau even ended up in the Fiji Times in a photo with members of the Cautata Rugby Club in Cautata Village, who cooked him dinner as a show of appreciation for providing the club its uniforms last year.
That was one photo Kikau was happy to become public.
oh well i trust this board to not fuck us like previous did.
