The Rooster aiming to fulfil Tongan dad's dream

George Clarke, AAP • October 2nd, 2026 10:23 am

Salesi Foketi will complete a dream for himself and his father if the Roosters win the grand final | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Salesi Foketi will play in his first grand final for the Sydney Roosters as he aims to finish the journey his father was unable to undertake.

"This is not only my dream," Foketi told AAP ahead of Sunday's meeting with Newcastle at Accor Stadium. "It's my dad's dream as well."

Foketi's father, Solomone, took the decision to leave his native Tonga for New Zealand in his early twenties with the ambition of making it as a rugby union fullback.

He settled in Auckland where he later transitioned to league, with relatives often relaying his father's war stories to a younger Foketi.

Salesi Foketi's path to the grand final began with backyard training sessions with his dad | Photo: Mark Evans/AAP

The Roosters forward believes his dad could have made it to the top of his own accord if not for one small issue.

"He almost had a crack with the Warriors system but he had a language barrier and that ended up falling through," Foketi explained.

"I was a bit young when he was in his prime. Mum and my grandparents tell me stories about how he played.

"He moved over to New Zealand as a rugby union player and ended up staying, and met my mum while he was working in Warehouse, which is like Big W. She was a customer.

"Tongan is his first language and his English is fine now ... his third language is probably swearing."

Salesi Foketi shares a moment with his father after his NRL debut in March, 2025 | Photo: PR Image

Foketi, 22, is one of four children and is Solomone's only son.

"So right from when I could walk I had a football in my hand, backyard training sessions on five metres of grass," Foketi said.

"Everything was tackle, everything was footwork. My three sisters would hold the tackle pads.

"Being the only boy I was a bit spoiled and having that connection with my dad was different."

The Tongans are the Pacific's great navigators and just as his father took a leap of faith in moving to New Zealand from the islands, Foketi performed a similar move by joining the Roosters as a teenager.

Foketi has a tribal tattoo on his left arm in a nod to his Tongan roots, which includes a bible verse he holds dearly.

"It's Isaiah 6:8 it says, 'Here I am, send me,' it has kind of encompassed my life, to trust God where he sends me," said Foketi, who is one of several Roosters players who partake in weekly bible study sessions.