3 minute read
Ronaldo Mulitalo has developed a reputation for his larger-than-life personality but Parramatta debutant and twin Lorenzo reckons he got the funny genes.
It took less than half an hour for Lorenzo Mulitalo to follow brother Ronaldo into the world but it has taken the younger of the twins a hard slog over five years to find his way to the NRL.
Six weeks ago Lorenzo was working for a mate's scaffolding company, running around on the wing for the Wentworthville Magpies in the third-tier Ron Massey Cup and ready to throw in the towel on his dream of cracking the NRL.
But an injury crisis at Parramatta brought the 24-year-old, who is just 20 minutes younger than Ronaldo, into the Eels' NSW Cup side a month ago.
And then earlier this week he was told by Trent Barrett he would be making his NRL debut against Gold Coast on Saturday.
"Halfway through this year, I was starting to get homesick, I was depressed, calling mum and saying I was thinking of coming home (to Queensland)," Lorenzo told AAP.
"Things weren't going my way, I'd been pushing for something for five years but it felt like I was going nowhere.
"It was all playing in my head. My family told me to put my head down and give it a few more weeks but I was adamant I wanted to go back home.
"I got stuck into it and then got the call up to (NSW) Cup, I was happy playing Cup and coming in once a week to fill numbers up for NRL (opposed sessions).
"I was taking time off work just to be in the picture and hopefully that sacrifice has paid off.
"Most of the week I'd be out of pocket, but why not? It's a risk I wanted to take for this opportunity."
Ronaldo and Lorenzo arrived at Cronulla as fresh-faced teenagers in 2017, with Ronaldo quickly becoming one of the most prolific wingers in the NRL and winning Test caps for New Zealand.
But things weren't as straightforward for Lorenzo, who after leaving the Sharks has gone on a tour of Sydney's lower-grade clubs; North Sydney, Blacktown, Hills, Mounties and Sydney Uni.
"I get asked a lot if there was jealousy with Ronny, but there wasn't," Lorenzo said.
"I felt he was doing it for me, but it made me more hungry to prove myself."
Lorenzo is expecting a big crew of family, including Ronaldo and their mum Vaega to make the trip to the Gold Coast.
But the younger Mulitalo says fans expecting him to be a carbon copy of Ronaldo will be left disappointed.
"He's the more loud and aggressive one … I'm chilled, I'm the funny one," Lorenzo said.