One of three players leaving the Penrith Panthers at the end of the season, Sunia Turuva aims to go out on top and defeat the Melbourne Storm in the 2024 NRL Grand Final.
Educated at Patrician Brothers' College in Blacktown, Turuva has been a member of the Panthers pathways system since he first began playing rugby league. That will all come to a close on Sunday as he runs out for the final time in a Penrith jumper.
In what will be his 52nd and final match for the club before joining the Wests Tigers, the 22-year-old touched on the emotion ahead of the game and how hard it was to say goodbye to teammates and close friends Brian To'o and Izack Tago.
In a previous interview with this publication, Tago revealed that they first metย when they faced each other in a school football match and Turuva kicked the ball out, following a chip-and-chase from the centre.
"To be honest, it hasn't (hit me yet). It's probably something for after the game when I'm just looking around and just trying to soak it all in and embrace it all," Turuva toldย Zero Tackle.
"When I first made the calls around trying to tell the boys that I was leaving, it was pretty hard to speak to Biz [Brian To'o] and Tago [Izack Tago] at the time.
"Telling them that I was gone (was so hard) just because they've played a massive part in my career so far.
"I've known Tago since I was like 10-12 years old, and then Biz, we used to carpool together. We've been through a fair bit ourselves with family. They're my closest boys at the moment."
