It was a special and emotional moment for Fiji Bati captain Tui Kamikamica getting to play on home soil and in front of his family after 12 long years.
Kamikamica’s parents and grandparents were present at Churchill Park in Lautoka as the Storm beat the Knights 28-10 in their NRL trial match.
“All my grandparents from Taveuni as well as my parents were here so, I’m pretty happy.
“I went back to the village on Thursday to see every member of my family. I took Eliesa Katoa and Nelson so they got to see how I grew up in the islands, just the simple way of living so I’m pretty happy they got to experience that and just to top it off with the win today (yesterday),” Kamikamica stated.
“The kids man, it’s a good feeling because I can see myself like that way back when I was a kid. When a rugby player came I always wanted to get a photo and a signature so to see them shouting and supporting what I do for a living is such a good feeling.”
With a sea of purple supporting them, the Storm scored two quick tries to Eliesa Katoa and Xavier Coates leading 12-0 after 20 minutes.
Kalyn Ponga showed why he is loved by many as he danced around the Storm defenders before releasing for Enari Tuala who scored their first try.
It was tit-for-tat rugby towards halftime with Jonah Pezet diving over in the 31st minute to extend Melbourne’s lead but Bradman Best pulled one back for the Knights to trail 10-18.
The Storm had a similar start in the second spell with tries to Young Tonumaipea and Harry Grant. While some were satisfied with the win, coach Craig Bellamy screamed more than once from the coach’s box as his team wasted a lot of good chances near the tryline because of handling errors.
The Storm will face Panthers in round one of the NRL on March 8 while the Knights will take on the Raiders on March 7.
