Ex-Canberra Raider Sia Soliola opens up on reasons behind move to Newcastle

It's why he's moving to Newcastle so he and his family can "make some memories" while they can, with a sick father-in-law the catalyst for moving closer to the rest of the family.

But his Queanbeyan Kangaroos opponents will have to wait a little longer before they can breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of his back.

Soliola's not going anywhere until the end of the school year - meaning he'll see out the season with the high-flying Kangaroos.

They take on the Gungahlin Bulls at Gungahlin on Saturday - off the back of their only loss of the season, an 18-17 thriller against the Tuggeranong Bushrangers at Greenway last weekend.

No sooner had the former Canberra Raider married wife Gemmah and they headed overseas to play for St Helens in the English Super League.

Then they moved to Canberra in his NRL return.

MORE CANBERRA SPORT

Soliola, who now works as a wellbeing officer with the Raiders, hasn't worked out what he'll do once he gets to Newcastle, with the focus solely on family.

"I've really come to enjoy and love Canberra, but it's time to put myself aside and go towards what the family wants," he said.

"For my kids to be with their cousins it's the perfect opportunity for them.

"My father-in-law's a little bit sick at the moment, he's got early onset stages of dementia so that's another big push for me, my wife and especially the kids to make some memories with him."

Soliola has loved his time with the Kangaroos in the Canberra Raiders Cup. And loved his time playing under former Raiders teammate Sam Williams - the Roos' captain/coach.

He said Williams had a gift for communicating with his players and hoped the halfback would find his way into the NRL coaching system.

"I hope so, I really hope so. I really hope he takes on a role there, whether it be here in Canberra or wherever, I really think that he could have a future as a coach," Soliola said.

"One of his great attributes is communication and I think he's got a really good gift to be able to communicate and translate his messages to the playing group in a way they understand - without being too technical or too detailed.

"For someone like me that's played with Sammy ... it was awesome to experience."

CANBERRA RAIDERS CUP ROUND 16

Saturday: Goulburn Bulldogs v Queanbeyan Blues at Goulburn, 2pm; Gungahlin Bulls v Queanbeyan Kangaroos at Gungahlin, 3pm; Belconnen United Sharks v Woden Valley Rams at Bruce, 3pm.

Sunday: West Belconnen Warriors v Yass Magpies at Kippax, 3pm.

KATRINA FANNING SHIELD ROUND 4

Saturday: Goulburn Bulldogs v Yass Magpies at Goulburn, 11.10am; Gungahlin Bulls v West Belconnen Warriors at Gungahlin, 11.50am.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.