Wakefield Trinity ace vows to earn new deal, admits 'I love this place'
Overseas forward Renouf Atoni has vowed to earn a new deal with Wakefield Trinity.
The New Zealand-born prop, who joined Trinity ahead of the 2023 season, is out of contract this autumn, but insists he feels “at home” in Wakefield and wants to stay. “I love this place,” he said ahead of Saturday’s game at Catalans Dragons.
“I have been here for three years and it has kind of turned into home. For now, I am not trying to think of the contract too much, it’s more about me trying to prove myself as a footy player.”
Atoni admitted the “uncertainty” over his future is tough, but stressed it won’t be a distraction on the field. “It is part of my job,” he added. “I signed up for it and at the end of the day, I get to play rugby league for a living and some would say I am living the dream. I am very grateful for this job , even though we don’t know where we are going to be next year. That is part of it.”
Assessing his form this season, Atoni said: “I feel like I have got used to the playing style here, but there’s always room for improvement. I am always reviewing the game straight after - I get home and have a debrief with my wife. She has been with me since we were young, so she has been around the game a lot and she is probably my toughest critic, beside myself. There’s some tough [feedback] that comes from her, I expect honesty and I listen to what she says.
“If I didn’t, I think my ego would be a bit too big. It’s not too big for my wife to tell me and for me to understand. Some days when I am beating myself up too much she will take it easy on me, but most days I expect her to be my hardest critic. That’s the way I want it.”
He added: “I’ve always got stuff to work on and some games I have been happier with than others. I just want to try to get some consistent footy. I have to be tough on myself, if I am not looking myself in the mirror and seeing what I need to work on, I think I’d be doing the wrong thing.”
There will be extra weight on Atoni’s shoulders over the next few weeks as prop Ky Rodwell recovers from a long-term knee injury suffered in last week’s 13-12 home win against Castleford Tigers. Atoni said that victory - after Trinity trailed 12-0 at half-time - has “given us a bit of a confidence boost”, but admitted Rodwell will be missed.
“Ky plays a massive role for us as a pack,” he said. “He is such a good player and he is going to play a key part for us moving forward, so to lose him is tough for us. But Powelly [coach Daryl Powell] always speaks about a next man up mentality so we have to have that and whoever steps in just has to do as good a job as he would.”