Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s motivation for Tonga switch and how he will improve in 2024 NRL season

A desire to make his 80-year-old grandmother proud – and honouring that side of the family – is driving Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s desire to change international allegiances to Tonga.

The Warriors winger has played for the Kiwis since 2016 and captained New Zealand for two years during Michael Maguire’s tenure. After his record-breaking NRL season, there was talk ahead of the 2023 Pacific Championship that Watene-Zelezniak was considering the representative switch, before he was ruled out of the series with injury.

Speaking for the first time about the situation, Watene-Zelezniak confirmed it was a definite ambition to play for Tonga.

“I started thinking about it because of my grandmother,” Watene-Zelezniak told the Herald. “She is getting a bit older, she had her 80th birthday. And I’m coming to a part of my career where opportunities might not come later. I don’t want to go to Tonga and just tick off a box. I want to go there and give some service to them as well.”

The potential move will surprise some people, given his service as national skipper along with the proud bloodlines, with his great-grandfather Tipene “Steve” Watene the first Māori to lead the Kiwis, back in the 1930s.

“I am Māori, I am Kiwi on my mother’s side but I’ve also got a father as well, who has sat in the background and wanted what is best for us,” explained Watene-Zelezniak. “Also my grandmother Fatafehi, she doesn’t say much, she isn’t that vocal about where she wants us to play, she just wants us to be happy. But I think there will be a time that comes where I need to represent her and give her something even more to be proud of.”

However, the 28-year-old played a straight bat when asked if he would be seen again in the black and white V.

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scores against the Parramatta Eels in 2023. Photo / Photosport

“I don’t know... I haven’t made a set decision yet - there’s is a lot of other things that need to fall into place,” said Watene-Zelezniak. “I’ve just been purely focused on getting better for the Warriors. If you are playing well with your club those decisions will look after itself.”

Getting better will be a challenge, coming off a remarkable 2023 campaign, where he scored a club record 24 tries and was named in the Dally M team of the year. He admits it was the best season of his career “by far” - but wants it to be the template rather than the peak.

“It’s about consistency,” said Watene-Zelezniak. “You can get complacent if you rest on what I did last year, and solely just make it a memory. Or if I want to, I can keep doing that and being consistent and that is how everyone remembers the way I played.”

Watene-Zelezniak is in a good space. He enjoyed a relaxing off-season break, with time in Australia and some travel around New Zealand.

He has also noticed the ongoing buzz around the Warriors, with mountains of merchandise being shifted, big media coverage and both trials (the second is on Saturday at 6pm, against the Dolphins at Mt Smart) played in front of sold-out stadiums.

“It’s crazy really,” admits Watene-Zelezniak. “It shows how much support we got over the last year and it’s ongoing, wasn’t just for that period of time. It’s nice because you do work hard to represent yourselves, the club and your fans and to see them loving it means we are doing something right. We want to keep getting better and give them more things to be proud of.”

The level of hype was illustrated by Watene-Zelezniak and his wife Purdy being profiled in Woman’s Day, rare for a Warrior. “I never thought I would be in a women’s magazine,” laughed Watene-Zelezniak. “My wife loved it and her mum, my mum ... something different.”

His profile has soared – compared to when he first arrived at the Warriors in mid-2021 – which means extra attention when he is out and about.

“Being out in public and people asking for photos is normal,” said Watene-Zelezniak. “The hardest is when the kids are screaming and [I’m] trying to be a father and calm them down.”

He has become one of the most accomplished finishers in the sport, with his acrobatic ability to find the line and dives that defy gravity, but he doesn’t want to typecast as a one-trick pony.

“The tries were nice [last year] but I actually worked quite hard on other things in my game,” said Watene-Zelezniak.

“There were a lot of things I worked on in my game that people wouldn’t see but the boys would see. If I keep doing those then the tries will look after themselves. It’s a nice feeling scoring tries but saving tries is a way better feeling. All I’ve got in mind is doing my job each week and if I do it goes a long way to us winning as a team.”

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.