He likened it to being blindfolded, chasing a dream career in a sport that may as well have been a foreign language.
It is what makes Mailata’s rapid rise – a self-described “Hollywood movie” – all the more remarkable.
Earlier this month he was sharing the field with Tom Brady, who at 44 years old, is still breaking records and still redefining the quarterback age curve.
Mailata is doing some redefining of his own, shedding the rugby league identity of his past and forging a new one.
