The hard-nosed Vikings front-rower will draw on his Tongan roots with National Rugby Championship finals hopes on the line in the last round of the regular season on Saturday.

The Vikings need to beat the Perth Spirit at Viking Park to be any hope of rising into the top four and keeping their title hopes alive.

The match doubles as Pacific Islander round for the competition, giving Tongan beast Taula extra motivation to prolong his career for at least one more week.

Taula will consider retiring from rugby at the end of the year but still holds hope of playing a Test for Tonga after being picked in Tonga A side earlier this year.

Taula used to smile and nod on the field when he first moved to Wagga Wagga because he couldn't understand what his teammates were saying.

His big hits and unrelenting physicality spoke volumes for him and he has slotted into the Tuggeranong side in Canberra's premier division.

Tonga has a rich history of producing bone-crunching rugby players, including Ita Vaea and Toutai Kefu.

Taula, 31, hasn't reached the same career heights, but he has widely been regarded as one of Canberra's toughest players and played with a broken arm in his Vikings debut two years ago.

"Over here they tell you to talk to the doctor when you get hurt. Back home they tell you to get up and run," Taula said.

"I still have that feeling of being back home so I just get up and run.

"To be honest, I'm thinking about quitting at the end of this year but we'll see what happens and maybe get a chance to play for Tonga in Europe.

"It feels good to make my family proud, I hope young boys in Tonga can learn something from it and do something in rugby if that's what they want.

"I used to go to work in Wagga and I'd just laugh because I had no idea what they were talking about. My missus wanted me to do a course, but I'm OK.

"I just hung around all the boys and that made me speak English. On the field they would just say: 'hit someone' and I knew what to do."

The Vikings' stuttering season faces its biggest test against a rejuvenated Spirit side that will boast plenty of Western Force Super Rugby players.

Canberra coach Wayne Southwell will likely recall Sam Carter and Jarrad Butler to bolster the Vikings side while Taula has an important role to play up front.

The Vikings were left embarrassed after suffering a 58-14 loss last weekend and the Spirit fired an ominous warning by thrashing defending champions Brisbane City 60-22 a day later.

"Our defence was the biggest issue [last weekend]," Southwell said.

"There's no second chances from here, we have to win with a bonus point. There will be some changes this week and I'm confident we can do the job if we get into the [top] four.

"It's about heart in the jersey this week. We need to be inspired by the little things."

NRC ROUND SEVEN

Saturday: Canberra Vikings v Perth Spirit at Viking Park, 3pm.