All the pain, hard work and patience paid off for Jordan Kahu when he finally made his NRL debut for Brisbane on Friday night in a game to remember.
“I just hate losing,” said the 22 year-old New Zealand-born Kahu after achieving a childhood dream which was almost ripped from him following successive knee reconstructions.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life pretty much.
“The last two years obviously set me back a bit but it’s all been worth it.”
Told on Wednesday by coach Anthony Griffin to be ready to replace star centre Justin Hodges (hamstring), Kahu overcame an early defensive lapse which led to Junior Sa’u scoring Melbourne’s first try, to signal his arrival as an NRL player.
“I loved it out there,” said Kahu who was only able to tell his mum, Margaret, dad, David, girlfriend Jess and his brother about his debut.
His parents, who are divorced were among the 41,000-strong crowd, his mother flying over from New Zealand on Friday morning.
Unfortunately, his brother missed the big family occasion.
“I rang him (brother) to tell him but he’s lost his passport,” he said.
“He would have watched it on TV.”
“My dad sent me a text before the game telling me how proud he was of me.”
Brisbane fullback Josh Hoffman, who will have scans on Saturday for an Achilles strain, said Kahu had shown a lot of composure and was an NRL player of the future.”