It's been a frustrating season for Jazz Tevaga.
The second-year Warriors forward has struggled to cement himself in the first–grade side after a rookie campaign in which he turned plenty of heads and ear-marked himself as a player of undeniable promise.
The Christchurch-product admits that his sophomore season has bought with it a steep learning curve, shining a spotlight on some issues in his personal life which were impacting his ability to perform at his peak.
"Yeah it's been really tough," Tevaga told Trackside Radio.
"I've dealt with a few off-field issues that have got sorted out…it's just a shame that I waited until the back end of the season."
The dangers of distractions aren't foreign to Tevaga, having confessed in the past to falling prey to the traditional vices of "parties and drugs, boozing and marijuana, with my mates, fighting" before being set back on the pathway to the NRL by mentors from his Papakura Sea Eagles club.
It was ultimately head coach Stephen Kearney who provided him an overdue wake-up call and empowered him to trim some unwanted fat from his life, and in doing so pave a way back to regular top-flight rugby league.
"I needed to get a few things in check and back on track, and [Kearney] put things into perspective….cut some friends out of my circle and get a few relationships right."
"I'm lucky he supported me through it and got my headspace right. I think, personally, I'm playing well now."
Now preparing for his fourth straight first-grade appearance, it's clear the second half of 2017 has been much more fruitful for the 21-year-old, and he puts that primarily down to one key learning from his coach-come-mentor.
"The main thing is preparation. It's everything before a game. If I'm not preparing right then I'm not giving myself the best chance to play well in the weekend.
"Sleeping, eating, off-field relationships, with family and things…. if the off-field is right and you're happy in life, that’s when I believe you're confident and can play good footy.
"It was just a big learning curve for me, and I'll be better for it next year."
There's also been a fair amount of change on the field for Tevaga, who has made a transition from hooker back to a much more familiar role as a ball-carrying second-row forward.
He's impressed plenty in the process, and with a near-logjam at the dummy half spot and another No. 9 in Manaia Cherrington waiting in the wings, the positional shift makes plenty of sense.
"I've always played lock all my life. These past years few years have given me an opportunity to hone my skills at hooker and it's something I'm still working on," he explains.
"But at the moment I think they’ve seen my potential as a running forward, and I love it there. I've just got to keep doing what I'm doing to put myself in good stead for next year."
After the Warriors' premier side close out another playoff-less season on Sunday against the Tigers in Campbelltown, Tevaga will move on to join the club's reserve grade team which has provided a thin lining of silver to a miserable year at Mt Smart.
The team only dropped five games this year on its way to a securing second on the ladder, and are now on the hunt for a spot on the big stage come grand final day.
"They're buzzing and fizzing and they're just keen to restore some faith back into the club and the jersey, and we're just really looking forward to the finals."
As they say, it's not how you start the season, it's how you finish.
Newshub.
