Olam set for match No.50

By PARKER TAMBUA
MELBOURNE centre Justin Olam says he is grateful to the Storm for making his National Rugby League (NRL) dream come true as he prepares to face hosts Brisbane tonight (7.50pm kick-off).
The Papua New Guinea international will make his 50th NRL appearance against his countrymen in Broncos wingers David Mead and Xavier Coates.
“I was happy to just play one (NRL) game to inspire our youngsters back in PNG who are chasing the same dream,” Olam said ahead of the Indigenous Round clash at Suncorp Stadium.
“But I have been blessed 50 times to live my childhood dream.
“I always had the dream of playing in the NRL and coming over to Australia was special to me.
“But it’s hard to make it into the NRL.
“To be part of an NRL club is one thing, but to crack it into first grade is another thing altogether.”
The 27-year-old former SP Hunters winger said Storm feeder club Sunshine Coast Falcons helped him refine his skills and get into the NRL.
“Coming straight from PNG, I had a lot to work on but the Falcons gave me the opportunity to be part of the team and improve my ball-playing and defensive skills,” he said.
“So I really enjoyed my time with the Falcons.”
Olam said the 15th-placed Broncos would not back down from the challenge after coach Kevin Walter’s men sprung an upset win over the Roosters at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
“It’s always going to be fight when it comes to matches between the Broncos and the Storm,” he said.
“It has always been like this every time we play them. We don’t underestimate them, we have a lot of respect for them.
“But having said that, we believe in ourselves as well.
“We’re going to go out there and do our job.
“They’re coming off the back of a good win last week and they’ve got new players, so I’m sure they’ll come out swinging.
“We’re not going to back down, we’re going to do the same, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Storm general manager Frank Ponissi told The National yesterday that the club was proud to play a big role in Olam’s development.
He said Olam’s patience and resilience paid off last year when he won his first premiership. The Chimbu native is only the second home-grown player to win a title with the club behind Kumuls legend Marcus Bai.
“Olam has been a real success story at the Melbourne Storm,” Ponissi said.
“After being recruited from the Hunters in late 2016, Justin worked extremely hard at his game both at training with the Storm and plying his trade with our feeder club Sunshine Coast for over two full seasons before he cemented his position in our NRL team in mid-2019.
“He is a wonderful example to young players.
“We are very proud of him and we look forward to many more milestones from him at our club.”