An inspiration to youth

By THOMAS HUKAHU
TWO years ago, he was playing in a feeder club of the Melbourne Storm and was virtually unknown in Australia and the region, except for those in Papua New Guinea and the Queensland Intrust Super Cup competition.
On Sunday October 25, Papua New Guinea’s own Justin Olam with his Melbourne Storm teammates will be running into ANZ Stadium in Sydney to play against Penrith Panther’s in the National Rugby League grand final match.
He will be watched and cheered on by the millions of fans in PNG, as well as those in Melbourne and other parts of Australia.
An inspiration
Olam is an inspiration to many PNG people, those who are playing rugby league or those in school.
In just his first full year of NRL action, the 26-year-old has been touted as one of the best centres in the best rugby league competition in the world.
How a relatively smaller guy can run solidly against centres and forwards taller and bigger than him is a wonder to watch.
For some of us, the best centres are in the likes of Greg Inlis and Mal Meninga, players who are tall and have larger frames.
But the man from Sinesine-Yonggomugl in Chimbu, who stands at 178 cm and weighs 92 kg, has done his homework well and will not let anything from stopping him from being among the best.
He has hinted that he has patterned his game after Manly Sea Eagle’s great Steve Matai who, when playing nine years ago, stood at 183 cm (6 ft) and weighed 94 kg.
Unique style
What Olam lacked in height and frame, he has added some of his own unique features to his playing style to remain in the fielding Storm team week after week, and in the process keeping five other in-form players either warming the bench or playing in their feeder club.
In watching him play, I have realised that Olam has carved out his own style of playing against his opponents.
His coach, Craig Bellamy has said that Olam is fearless. (And his teammates call him “the human brick”.)
In the post-match press conference after the Storm beat the Parramatta Eels on October 4, Bellamy said: “He’s (Olam’s) unique with his abilities. He’s got that stocky frame and he’s strong, nothing scares him.
“He would run into a brick wall or jump off a cliff if he had to.”
The try Olam scored for the Storm against Canberra Raiders in their semi-final match was accomplished by him flying over two players to clasp the floating ball in mid-air and thumping with it onto the ground, and that shows how eager he is score a try.
It is likely too that the graduate of applied physics at the PNG University of Technology (Unitech) is also applying concepts of physics in his rugby league style.
He has the tendency to run at the opponent’s defence straight on, knowing that his smaller frame can muzzle its way through the smallest of cracks if two defenders are not very close together.
After he is through those tight cracks, Olam turns on his burners and displays his pace, something that his PNG fans love to see.
His knowledge about someone’s centre of gravity allows him also to gain important yards when going low in the charge against taller players, whose centre of gravity would be higher.
There is also one other thing that I have seen in Olam in the way he defends.
I am of the view that he has learned from fellow Chimbu man Menzie Yere, the former Kumul centre, who plays for Sheffield United in England.
Yere, who is 10 years older than Olam and called “The Jukebox”, was known for his hard tackles, actually fast explosive tackles that he makes on unsuspecting ball handlers in the opposition team.
Olam is calculating, just like the best physics students do, when it comes to executing some of those explosive tackles.
It has been stated too that Olam had played volleyball and soccer when he was in high school back in his province. The mixture of such experiences can subtly influence one’s creative style in rugby league.
The late Kato Ottio was also such a person whose skills in volleyball and rules football made him outstanding in rugby league. Former Kangaroo Israel Folau too was such an athlete who excelled not only in rugby league but also in rugby union and Australian Rules football.
Finally, but not the least, I think the trail of success that Olam is cruising on stems from his discipline, patience and hunger to be the best.
He had to be patient to wait and play with the feeder club Sunshine Coast Falcons as well as warming the Storm reserve bench in the later part of 2019.
He made an impression early this year in two pre-season matches to be placed on the Storm’s starting roster and has remained there for the whole year now.
Olam is disciplined and has learned and worked well with his teammates.
And he is hungry for more.
(He should be an inspiration for aspiring athletes and achievers in other fields, where they learn that Papua New Guineans can be among the best of the best in the region and world.)
Talent is one thing, but without discipline and hunger for more of the best action in the world, Olam would not be where he is now.
That is an important lesson for everyone.
Johns rooting for Olam and Storm
Olam’s rise in the game has impressed experts in Australia too, not just Bellamy.
In Immortal Behaviour, in Nine’s World Wide of Sports on October 16, former Kangaroo and commentator Andrew Johns had a session with host Danika Mason on predicting the teams for the grand final, where Mason asked him a few questions.
Q. Who do you think has the best culture this season in the competition?
A. I think the Storm. Over the past 10-12 years, you look at how successful they have been… Bellamy has great standards as a coach and as a human and he passes that onto the players.
Have a look at the players they get who are on the scrapheap that clubs don’t want and they turn them into superstars.
(Think about) Justin Olam. He didn’t know who he was 18 months ago.
Josh Addo-Carr wasn’t wanted by several clubs … Just an incredible club …
They seem to be getting on very well. I think they’ll win the comp.
Q. Which teams would you like to see meet in the grand final this year?
A. I’d love to see the Storm go out and win it. We all think that Cameron Smith won’t be playing on. I’d love to see South Sydney (Rabbitohs). Great supporters, these South Sydney team.
And the Storm, I really enjoy the way they’re playing. They are unrecognisable. The way they are playing in the last couple of years when (Cooper) Cronk and (Billy (Slater) were there. They’ve totally change the way they attack and that’s on the back of different personnel and playing to their strengths. They’re an amazing club.
I am tipping the Storm.
All the best for Olam and Storm
As we know, Penrith Panthers beat South Sydney Rabbitohs 20-16 on October 17, so the grand final match will be between the Storm and the Panthers.
It is likely that a million prayers will also be offered for Olam and his teammates like Cameron Smith, Josh Addo-Carr, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Fijian Suliasi Vunivalu.
It would be a nice way to end a year to celebrate Olam’s first full year in NRL and also a Storm win should aptly farewell the evergreen Smith who will be retiring at the age of 37.
It will be a nice way too to end a difficult year with the COVID-19 crisis affecting millions of lives in the region and around the world.

• Thomas Hukahu is a freelance writer.