NRL: Sharks wing Sosaia Feki taking inspiration from mother during finals

Sosaia Feki. Photo / Photosport

When Kiwi-born Cronulla Sharks wing Sosaia Feki runs on to Allianz Stadium for tonight's NRL preliminary final against North Queensland he will take inspiration from his sick mother who is currently hospitalised in Auckland.

Throughout the Sharks march towards the finals, Feki has been dealing with the stress and worry over his mother Caroline's health as she battles cancer and recovers from recent surgery.

A groin injury suffered against the Dragons last month provided the chance for him to pop home and pay her a visit and the 25-year-old admits he has struggled being apart from his loved ones during such a difficult time.

"My mum has got cancer and just had surgery on her spine," said Feki.

"My family has always got my back so it's hard when one of them is sick and you're away from them.

"I was injured and asked the club if I could go home and they were good with it.

"It's hard. I always think about her and always give her a call and check that she's alright."

Despite his off-field worries, the softly spoken Feki has been the quiet achiever on the end of the Sharks brilliant backline this season.

While many of the plaudits go the way of gun fullback Ben Barba, fellow wing Valentine Holmes, and young centre Jack Bird, Feki has been impressive in crossing for 13 tries in 22 games.

The former Junior Kiwi credits the help of Sharks assistant coach and former Dragons head coach Steve Price for improving the Sharks lethal attacking play and enhancing his left-edge combination with centre Ricky Leutele and back-rower Wade Graham.

"We've got Pricey, our new assistant coach with us, so he's helped the back five out a lot," he said.

"He's helped us a lot with our linking game and communication and that's improved things a lot.

"Me, Ricky and Wade have been playing together for three years now and we've been getting our combinations going.

"And then there's Val and Jack on the other side and they're young blokes coming through and they're killing it at the moment and they're hard to stop."

Feki admits a Kiwis call-up at the end of the season would "be a dream come true" but is keeping a lid on his emotions ahead of one of the biggest games in Cronulla's 49-year history.

"That would be a tick on one of my goals if I end up putting the black jersey on.
"It's been pretty exciting. We haven't done much training so they're trying to keep us fresh for the game.

"I'm just a calm person. I'm not too sure about the other blokes but I'm not too stressed out about it. It's just exciting and I'm just pumped."