Leu Saipani had to get back to his roots.
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Early last year he pulled the pin on the Queanbeyan Blues' Canberra Raiders Cup defence and went back to Samoa for three months, teaching schoolchildren how to play rugby.
Fast forward a year and he is gearing up for a preliminary final with his new side, West Belconnen, against his former club shooting for a three-peat.
Football remained a massive driver for Saipani after he left the Blues early last year, and seeing how good he has it compared to the children in Samoa made him commit to giving rugby league his all.
The former Raiders under-20s player has earned countless representative jerseys in his football career. But 21-year-old Saipani would trade it all in just to see someone less fortunate smile.
"They're running around in barefeet, and don't have much," Saipani said of the Samoan children he visited.
"I took about two suitcases full of all of my old Brumbies and Raiders junior stuff. I took all that over there, handed it out to my family and the kids out there in my village.
"[At] the schools I was teaching at I'd take some jerseys.
"They loved it. The smiles on their faces were just priceless."
A rugby sevens tournament with the Ozboks was first on the agenda when Saipani arrived in Samoa last year, but soaking up the culture was most important.
When the final whistle was blown at the tournament Saipani seized the opportunity to take the Ozboks squad to his village of Siufaga Falelatai.
After being treated to a traditional Samoan meal from Saipani's family, the touring side handed out footballs and NSW Waratahs shirts to children in the village.
"It was something they'll never forget," Saipani said.
"Hopefully these young kids can hang onto these things and when they're older they can make it one day somewhere."
While many would be hard-pressed to find any similarities between Samoa and the West Belconnen Warriors, Saipani can spot one easily.
They both feel like home.
Now the Warriors winger says he is "jumping out of [his] skin" with excitement ahead of Sunday's do-or-die semi-final.
"Hopefully I just play to the best of my ability, and hope the boys around me can," he said. "We can all help each other and get away with the win."
The key to a grand-final berth is simple. "We just focus on us and do our job," Saipani said.
If you're looking for him at Raiders Belconnen on Sunday, he's the one with braided hair.
Saipani works as a barber; a little bit like how Canberra Raiders winger Jordan Rapana did before he returned to the big time.
For a short time Rapana went to Saipani for a haircut.
"He came in for a couple of weeks, but it gets a bit wild and he ends up doing his own thing," Saipani laughed.
CANBERRA RAIDERS CUP
Sunday: Preliminary Final – Queanbeyan Blues v West Belconnen Warriors at Seiffert Oval, 3:15pm.