After spending the past few weeks in reserve-grade, Tuimoala Lolohea is back in first-grade for Wests Tigers this weekend with a simple goal in mind.
Give Ivan Cleary a headache.
The first-choice fullback to start the year, Lolohea was in good form before picking up a minor knee injury that forced him to fight his way back in to the squad through the Intrust Super Premiership competition.
With Corey Thompson moving to the wing this weekend to accomodate his return, the Tongan international said he was determined to make the most of his opportunity and make himself "undroppable".
"It's been an exciting week to be back in first-grade," Lolohea said with a smile.
"I remember Ivan telling me on the weekend that I would be back; we were sitting in his room and he asked me if I was excited and while I didn't show it in the room, deep down I was pretty excited.
"I'm looking forward to being back out there with the big boys this weekend and take the most of this.
"With the way that the club is going at the moment, I didn't expect myself to be back in so soon.
"But the opportunity has come and it's really important I take it with both hands. I'm going to make the most of this chance and make sure that I stay there in first-grade."
While admitting it was tough to break back in to the side, Lolohea said that the club's depth and the way in which Coach Cleary is using the entire squad is a beneficial thing for both the club and players themselves.
"I know Ivan has said throughout the year that he's going to use everyone in our squad," he said.
"That's just how it's going to be and that's just how much depth we've got at the moment.
"The wins haven't been there for the past couple of weeks but we're playing pretty well so if we can continue to do that throughout the year, everyone is going to give Ivan a headache with the teams."
See what Tuimoala Lolohea had to say about this week's game in full in the video above!
