The tough journey which has led Setu Tu to an NRL Vegas debut

It will be an emotional ride when Setu Tu runs out onto Allegiant Stadium this weekend, with the Samoan-born winger having a challenging path through his childhood before reaching the top grade.

Tu was banned from playing rugby and other contact sports when he repeatedly suffered from anxiety-related attacks, which led him to blacking out during a game of rugby and waking up on the floor of his home at eight years old.

It was only four years later that his mother tragically passed away, a role model who played a substantial role in how far he has gotten in his career. 

He was raised by her in a small Samoan village called Saleimoa, located on the north-western coastline of the island.

When speaking with Code Sports, Tu recounted his life-threatening event at eight, saying he was then banned from playing rugby in his village as he grew up.

He also put his love for sports down as an escape from the emotional toll his mother's passing had on him. 

“I'd freak out,” Tu told the publication.

“I would just start shaking. I remember this one time I was playing footy and I woke up in the middle of the house and they said I almost died. I started shaking after taking a carry. From there my mum told every school that I went to that I wasn't allowed to play footy.

“In the village, there is a massive rugby field in the middle. When I was young whenever I would try to play my older brother would come and take me off the field.

“I started playing a little bit of soccer and netball. Ever since my mum passed away that's where my love for sports started. Sport was my way out.”

Tu also revealed the traumatic experiences put on him as he was adjusting to life without her, having nightmares about her passing, and being unable to properly sleep for months.

“I was a mummy's boy. I always followed her around. Wherever she went, I went."

"We were in this small village. When my mum passed away, all the elders came together. I spent time at four families and their houses.

"Everyone put their hand up to be around us. I didn't have a proper place to stay. I'd stay at one for six months and then move to the next family.

“When she was gone, it was tough. I couldn't sleep without her. I was 12, and that's how bad it was.

"It took about eight months to get used to sleeping on my own because I was having nightmares after my mum passed away.”

Tu will line up for his NRL debut at age 26, and after missing out on cracking the top grade in stints at the Warriors, the Storm, and the Dolphins. 

One of the largest sacrifices came when Tu missed the birth of his daughter due to being in the COVID bubble with the Warriors in Queensland.

After feeling like his time was running out and bouncing from club-to-club, it was a chat with Storm coach Craig Bellamy that instilled confidence back into him last year. 

“I had a good pre-season. That's where I started to believe that I could get another push that I could make it. Craig told me 100 per cent I could play in the NRL. That chat was massive because I was at the point in my career where I thought should I keep going?"

It will be a historic moment for the Samoan winger, after many setbacks, sacrifices, and applying his trade in the background, he will take part in the biggest stage in the Red V's season opener in Sin City. 

Dragons coach Shane Flanagan has the confidence in Tu that he's the right man to start on one of his wing positions, and reflected on the emotional moment he told him he would be making his debut.

“When he called me into his office, I thought he was going to spray me for the pass I threw in the trial (which led to a try),” Tu said.

“But he ended up saying I was going and would be playing in Vegas. I told myself I wasn't going to cry but then the all the tears came out when I thought about all the sacrifices.”

The Las Vegas NRL double header kicks off on Sunday, March 1 (AEST).