By Jonathan B Geddes

He started playing for Northern Suburbs third-grade Colts at 16 and has worked his way up to become a Super Rugby prop with the NSW Waratahs.

As Sifa Amone’s rugby career progressed, he has never forgotten his humble beginnings and where it all started.

That is why returning to the Shute Shield for Norths means so much to him.

The powerful tighthead prop produced another impressive performance in Saturday’s crucial 22-19 win over a dogged Hunter Wildfires at Rawson Oval, demonstrating he is a key figure in Norths’ chase for a finals berth.   

“I love it, I just love coming back to Shute – I love being back in the red and black, it is really good,” Amone told Rugby News after the game.

Asked what Norths means to him, Amone replied: “It is pretty much where my rugby journey began, so coming back here is just everything.”

HE’S GOT TALENT   

EVEN with the Colts, Amone showed he had something special, and in one season he was the top tryscorer.

The Force snapped him up for four seasons, and he has just completed his second year at NSW with another year left on his contract. The good news for Australian rugby is that he is only 24.

Amone believes he is now a better player after the recent season with the Tahs.

“Under the coaching staff there I feel my game has gone to another level,” he said.          

That view was echoed by Norths coach Zak Beer, who is full of praise for the way Amone’s game has developed this season.

“Sifa has played some of the best football I have seen from him in a Waratahs jersey and in these last four weeks for us,” Beer said.

“For guys like Sifa who come back to Norths, he knows not only the players and the values we stand for and the language, but he has a real care for the club.

“He has done a lot for Norths and Norths have done a lot to develop him, and he has really put in a lot the last few weeks.”

STAYIN’ ALIVE

AFTER weathering a tough start to the season, Beer said the team’s goal of a top six finish was well and truly alive.

“As a club we always set out to not only make the finals but play deep in the finals as we have done in the last couple of years,” he said. “That does not change at all.

“I have learnt in this competition you just have to focus on the next game in front of you.”

He said that on Saturday, it was a gritty, tenacious Hunter team that went in with a pretty obvious game plan, and Norths did well to get on top of them in the end.
In the team huddle on the ground after the game, Beer delivered a clear message to his players.

“A lot of us in this circle have been in this position in past years and what you need to do is get better every week – some parts are getting a lot better and other parts are taking a little longer with new guys in our system,” Beer said. “We have full confidence we can do it.”

Amone is also convinced Norths can still make the finals.

“We get (Waratahs lock) Angus Blyth back in a couple of weeks, and he just adds to the team,” he said. “Over the next couple of weeks, as we get more games under our belt, we’ll be hard to stop.”

TIME FOR A SONG

WHILE it was a far-from-perfect display against Hunter, the points could prove very valuable as the business end of the season approaches.

“We found a way to win, which is what Norths is all about,” Beer said.

“It’s been too long for us as a group singing the team song, we haven’t done it for a couple of weeks – and that doesn’t sit right with us as a group.

“We had to find a way to win today, which we did at the end.”

The victory means Norths are now in ninth spot on 20 points, but only five behind fifth-placed Randwick and sixth-placed Hunter.

This weekend they play the Blues at Eric Tweedale Stadium, who are two points above them in eighth spot.