One of the men entrusted to lead the Maori All Stars again also happens to be the only player involved in this weekend’s game who remains unvaccinated.
Canberra forward and Māori co-captain Joe Tapine told the Sydney Morning Herald he was one of the last NRL players to avoid being jabbed because of “reactions to past vaccinations”.
Taumalolo was prickly with journalists in Townsville on Tuesday when asked about his vaccination stance, saying, “Whatever I do with my body is my information”, but Tapine was relaxed and measured about his own experience.
The 27-year-old added he was mindful of people being “scared” to be around him because he was unvaccinated.
“It’s a personal preference, I’ve had reactions to past vaccinations, and I’m a bit cautious at the moment,” Tapine said.
“That’s my stance. I’m not anti-anything. If you know me, with anything in my life I’ll look into everything first and make sure I’m 100 per cent about it before I make a decision. I didn’t feel like it [previous vaccinations] helped me. I’m on the fence at the moment.
“You get direct messages [on social media], people get up you, but you have to try and ignore it. People need to know other people have personal lives and there is stuff they don’t know about. You take it all in your stride.”
Until Tapine receives a government exemption, he will not be able to play in Queensland or Victoria. The Raiders play Taumalolo’s Cowboys in Townsville in round two, then the Warriors in Redcliffe in round eight.
“I’ll see what goes on and look at all the regulations,” Tapine said. “At the end of the day, my wife [Kirsten] and I will sit down and make a decision about what I want to do.
“I’ve had Covid already. I think that has natural immunity. I’m not scared of getting it, but I know it affects people that might have bad health, so I have to be careful of that. Sometimes people get scared of people who are unvaccinated, so I have to be aware of that as well.”
Tapine said there had been no issues with his Māori teammates, and they were already adhering to strict protocols. The Māori All Stars are sharing the same hotel at Sydney Olympic Park as the Sri Lankan cricket team.
Tapine was honoured to lead the Māori last year, and will do the job again with Kodi Nikorima on Saturday night against the Indigenous All Stars.
His wife is a proud Gamilaroi woman, but wore a Māori All Stars jersey last year. Tapine said she would side with her husband again at CommBank Stadium.
Māori teammate Dylan Walker confirmed he had been vaccinated, but initially held off as he did his own research. Not long after he received the jab, a one-year extension with Manly was rubber-stamped.
“I still haven’t had Covid yet. I’m one of the few that hasn’t. I’ll keep the head down and train hard.”
