Sideline Champs: 'I just wanted to get the game over'

Manu Vatuvei knows an upset crowd can affect young players. Photo / Getty Images

Star rugby league winger Manu Vatuvei knows as much as any New Zealand sportsman how crowds can dish up the abuse.

The Warriors' all-time top try- scorer says it has been tough going from the largely supportive age grades of the Otara Scorpions into the maelstrom of NRL stadiums.

"When I was young, I didn't really notice any of the negative stuff, but I sure noticed the difference between club footy and the top levels. Every game now, I notice it," he says.

"When I started out, my parents were really supportive and so were the other parents. Everyone was doing really well at encouraging us. When you'd see a player get down then everyone would try to pick them up.

"In the NRL, there's a lot more pressure that goes on when a team isn't going so well. You can see the frustration coming out in the people on the sidelines. Everyone starts to blow up a bit when that happens."

Vatuvei, 27, says his position near the sidelines on the wing gives him a box seat for all the antagonism fans can serve up - and they do.

"I get the crowd yelling at me and they know, with a younger player, if they can affect their performance that might also spread to affect the team's performance.

"Those people yelling maybe don't realise that they can also affect a player's career - that might be the last time they play. They make a mistake and then the crowd gets on their back, then they have a bad game. It can make it hard for them to come back."

But Vatuvei doesn't want Warriors fans to give it back to visiting teams, just as the father-of-two would hate to see poor behaviour at grassroots games.

It is almost six years since Vatuvei hit his lowest point with a game against Parramatta. The opposition peppered him with high balls after he fumbled the first catch and his confidence collapsed.

"Going back to Parramatta where I played so badly was pretty bad for the first few times," he says.

"But in a way I've got used to it. I listen to my teammates now much more than anyone else. Some players still give it to me but I just try to turn that around and prove them wrong, that's the best way I can deal with it.

"I used to think about the crowds before we went to away games, for sure. The away games are really tough. Then there were times it was so bad I just wanted to get the game over and done with. During the whole game they were giving it to me."

Vatuvei said the impacts of abuse from sidelines is felt at every level of sport.

"It gets even harder when you get older. It's really bad when you are an adult and should be able to play the game well and you make a mistake. You already feel bad but this sort of thing only makes it worse," he says.

"But for the young ones, it's really hard for them when they are playing their first games.

"Players react in different ways when you blow up at them but you've got to remember they were doing the best they could. If it wasn't the right thing then you've got to pick them up, not knock them down."

One aspect of NRL games Vatuvei would like to see imitated into the lower grades is the support for players who make mistakes.

In recent years, top sides have taken to rushing to a player who has made a mistake to pat them on the head and urge them on.

"For sure, that's something that's been picked up on. You've got to get in there and say the right things for them - otherwise, the errors can carry on in the next play."

And his advice for all the people on the sidelines?

"They've just got to take it easy. If you see people getting upset and carrying on, well, if you're a close friend you can ask them to take it easy. It's hard for anyone who doesn't know them to calm them down.

"But if people know them, it would be awesome to approach them and say, 'Hey, they are still learning, you've got to pick them up'. With the young ones, especially, you want them to love the game."