Goulburn Bulldogs sign young Queensland forward Raiden Fonoti

The 22-year-old was flown in from Queensland on two days' notice, and immediately impressed coach Adam Kyle with his composure, physicality, and maturity.

The Post spoke to him shortly after his first match against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers in late June.

Goulburn Post: One minute, you're up in Queensland doing your own thing, and then you get the call to come down to Goulburn. What's going through your head?

Raiden Fonoti: I was just at home with one of my mates, Jordan Mago, who is close with Adam. He said 'What're you doing? Are you looking to still chase the dream?' I said yeah, and he said 'I have a gig down in Goulburn with my mate Adam.'" I asked for more info, and he gave me Adam's number. He called me, I literally only had that night to think about it. I probably didn't really think about it. The next morning I was on a plane.

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GP: Was it scary moving your whole life down here on short notice?

RF: I was really nervous, anxious, because you're going to a whole different place that you've never been to, especially by yourself.

GP: First match, the Tuggeranong Bushrangers, what was it like to start in a high-pressure hit-out?

RF: I was kind of thrown in the deep end. The position I played, I don't play it much, but I can. I got put into playing centres when usually I play in the middle. It was a bit like 'get in there and do a job'.

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GP: Tell me about your history with rugby league.

RF: I started when I was 10. My dad just decided to take me to a training, and then I fell in love with it. I came over [to Australia] on a scholarship when I was 18, from New Zealand. Got picked up in a rep competition, and then attended Mitchell State High for that year, played footy for them in 2015. I've played for Souths Logan Magpies, that's where I started playing high-level footy. I played a couple of Intrust Cup games with them, then went on to play a couple for Redcliffe after that.

GP: Do you ever miss home?

RF: I try to [go home when I can], but I get busy. We have a video chat on Facebook, so that helps heaps.

GP: What's the goal for you? Where do you want to end up in a few years?

RF: Hopefully I'll be playing in the NRL, just like everyone else [aims to]. This is a different pathway from the Queensland one. Coming to New South Wales, there's probably more opportunities because there's more NRL teams [than in Queensland].

GP: Did you ever think you'd get these opportunities?

RF: No, honestly I didn't think that I'd be right here today, just from playing footy.

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