On this week’s episode of Behind the Roar we chat to Wests Tigers Player #281, Justin Olam, ahead of the team’s Round 18 match against Melbourne Storm.
Behind The Roar is available on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.
Adored in his homeland Papua New Guinea, Olam has also developed a big following here in Australia following six seasons with the Storm and half a season here at Wests Tigers.
Olam didn’t start playing rugby league until he went to university, and tells us how he had to learn on the run when he first joined Melbourne Storm, admitting he knew very little about the game.
It was a steep learning curve for Olam, who has developed into one of the most powerful centres in the game, admired for his sheer ferocity, and feared for his shuddering hits.
We talk about the evolution of footy in PNG, the chat with Benji that lured him to Wests Tigers, and the ‘little things’ in a game which have such big consequences.
We also chat about his upbringing, his education, his struggles with Aussie slang, his love of nature, and a whole lot more.
