When Viliame Kikau arrived at Penrith six years ago, he was struggling with his command of English and grappling with an under­standing of the laws of rugby league.

Come Sunday night, he will hope to de­part for Canterbury with a second pre­miership ring.

The Penrith back-rower’s talents were obvious when the club’s then football manager Phil Gould snapped him up from North Queensland in 2016.

For a man standing at 195cm and weigh­ing 116kg, Kikau has always been blessed with soft hands and a wicked turn of pace.

But as the Fijian, who came from a rugby union background, explains, not every­thing came naturally.

“It was hard to speak English back then and I was hard to understand,” Kikau who is also the Fijian Bati co-captain at the upcoming World Cup said.

“Everything had to be learnt from scratch.

“In union you don’t have to run back, you can just hide and stand next to the ruck, it’s a bit different in rugby league.”

Those who coached Kikau say he was getting by on his natural talents and it’s only in the last few years he has fulfilled his potential.

“He was a little bit slack and he’d take shortcuts here and there,” said Kikau’s former New South Wales Cup coach Garth Brennan.

“The only thing Vili needed was for the penny to drop.

“There was a game I remember watch­ing last year when Melbourne visited Penrith where he saved a try at the death on the other side of the field to where he’d just made a tackle.

“The Vili of 2017 wouldn’t have done that and that sums up where he’s gone from a good first-grader to an elite player.”

Kikau has done just that. On Wednesday he was named in the Dally M team of the year and credits the education he has re­ceived at Penrith for his continued rise.

“After the game I’ll probably sit back and reflect on what this club has done for me,” he said.

“I learnt a lot here, I came here as a 20-year-old and didn’t know what was going on and what it took to play in the NRL.”

Story By: George Clarke (Daily Liberal)