Sione Mata’utia has revealed his mum not wishing to live in Sydney persuaded the Test winger and his two older brothers Chanel and Pat to stay put in Newcastle.
The trio, who are three of the hottest young players in the NRL, looked to be heading to Canterbury after signing letters of intent that had been lodged with the NRL last September.
The deal caught the Knights by surprise as they hadn’t had the opportunity to make a counter-offer, and it then quickly emerged the three siblings never wanted to leave their home town when they signed with the Bulldogs.
Clubs have until round 13 every season to try to persuade exiting players to stay and 18-year-old Sione Mata’utia admitted it was a relief to get the situation sorted.
“There was a time we considered going but, thankfully, the Knights came through,” he said.
“We had some influences at home through mum. She wanted to stay … she’ll be over the moon.
“My elder sister has her head screwed on – not like us.
“She helped out a lot and, eventually after discussions with the club, we sorted things out and are happy with the opportunity they’ve given us.
“Location’s another reason. There’s no other place like Newcastle.”
Sione became the youngest player to represent Australia during last year’s Four Nations and made his NRL debut with 22-year-old Chanel at the end of last season.
He’s hoping Pat, 21, will break into the Knights’ side this season.
“Debuting with Chanel was massive – it’s a day you dream of,” Sione said.
“Seeing him out there huffing and puffing and taking the tough runs. One day, we can hopefully all play together.”
Knights CEO Matt Gidley said the signings were a huge boost for the club, who are unbeaten in their opening two matches of 2015.
“It’s wonderful news,” Gidley said.
“We’ve said previously we’d do all that we can within our power to retain our best young talent.
“The boys are certainly that. They are wonderfully talented rugby league players and young men and that’s important to our club.
“We’ve a long history of brothers playing for this club but we’ve never had three together.”
Gidley admitted it had been a frustrating time for the club dealing with the Mata’utia’s former manager Chris Haddad and was happy to have the situation resolved so early in the season.
“There were some circumstances beyond all our control that slowed things down,” he said.
“The boys were very patient and we said, when the time was right to negotiate with him, we’d get things sorted with the boys.
“We knew they really wanted to stay here long term. And we’re grateful that we’ve arrived at this point today.”
BROTHERS WHO HAVE PLAYED NRL GAMES TOGETHER FOR NEWCASTLE:
* Adam MacDougall and Luke MacDougall
* Matthew Johns and Andrew Johns
* Matt Gidley and Kurt Gidley
* Wes Naiqama and Kevin Naiqama
* Chanel Mata’utia and Sione Mata’utia
