“SORRY mate, but I’ve f***ed up.”

Those were the first words Fetuli Talanoa heard his brother Mark say when he answered his mobile phone one night in 2010.

“He was in a cab surrounded by cops,” Talanoa tells foxsports.com.au.

“I could hear them in the background saying, ‘Put your hands up and get out of the car’, and then the phone just cut out.

“He got locked up. He got nine years jail.”

It’s still a red raw memory for Talanoa, a constant reminder that his own life could’ve spiralled down a similar path if it not for a shock decision from his mother.

“My younger brother was the star, he was supposed to be the next big thing,” Talanoa explains.

“The Roosters had picked him up in their juniors.

“But he had a downfall. He just got caught up in the wrong crowd and did a few stupid things, drug possession and that, and he got nine years for it.

“He got an early release after seven years for good behaviour, but he got deported back to New Zealand and had one year on parole.

“I just catch up with him over the phone and on Facebook.

“I always tell him, ‘You should’ve listened to mum, she tried to help you but you did it yourself’.”

To better understand exactly what Talanoa’s mother did for him and his brother, we need to rewind to when they were kids growing up on the other side of the Tasman.

THE ONE-WAY TICKET

Talanoa had a tough life in the east Auckland suburb of Glen Innes.

The prospect of getting involved in crime was literally just streets away.

“It was an area where on one side was housing commission right next to one of the wealthiest places in Auckland,” Talanoa says.

“The crime rate was so high. Guys were just walking up the street stealing cars and robbing houses.”

In order to make a better life for her teenage sons, Talanoa’s mother, Amelia, arranged a trip for them to travel to Sydney.

Little did they know they wouldn’t be returning to New Zealand for some time.

Fetuli Talanoa was sent on a one-way ticket to Australia with his younger brother. Source: News Limited

“We thought we were going over there on a little holiday but my mother didn’t tell us we were there on a one-way ticket,” Talanoa says.

“Two weeks later I called my mum and asked, ‘When’s our flight back?’ and she said, ‘Sorry boys, you’re there on a one-way ticket’.

“At the time, I couldn’t understand why she’d done it.

“We were there about four years on our own with our aunty.

“When my mother joined us, she explained why she did it; she didn’t want to do it over the phone.”

Talanoa acknowledges how hard it must’ve been for his mother to make that drastic decision but he also knows it was the right call.

“If she didn’t put me on that one-way ticket, things could’ve turned out a lot different and I’m thankful for what she did,” he says.

“She said she wanted to get us out of there before you end up in jail - but that didn’t work out for Mark.”

THE RABBITOHS AND CHEATING DEATH

Talanoa attended Sydney high school Waverley College in years 10 and 11 and it was there where he met future South Sydney teammates Eddy Pettybourne and Eddie Paea.

It was 2004, and the duo convinced Talanoa to run around for Mascot Jets, even though he’d never played rugby league before.

Fetuli Talanoa (L) and Eddie Paea during a South Sydney Rabbitohs training session at Erskineville Oval in Sydney. Source: News Corp Australia

“I had two years at Mascot and then I got picked up for SG Ball and it went so quick from there,” he says.

“I played SG Ball, Flegg and Premier League and then made my first grade debut in 2006.

“It was all happening so quickly that I couldn’t take it all in because I was also learning the game as well.

“Looking back now, I didn’t really soak it all in or appreciate it enough.”

Fetuli Talanoa (L) and Eddy Pettybourne hit the ice baths during a South Sydney recovery session at Allsorts Fitness Centre, Alexandria in Sydney. Source: News Limited

Talanoa went on to feature in 95 NRL games for the Rabbitohs but his career quickly took a turn for the worse in 2011 when he suddenly started collapsing in his home.

“I was coughing up thick blood,” he says.

“We went to emergency and did a few tests and the docs diagnosed me with pneumonia.

“I was in intensive care for about three weeks. It really rocked me.”

After getting one litre of fluid drained from his lungs — “they stick a massive needle in your back” — Talanoa struggled to regain the fitness levels that had seen him take a meteoric rise through the juniors to NRL.

Fetuli Talanoa during his time at Souths. Source: News Limited

His motivation and passion for the game started to wane.

“I played against the Roosters and Melbourne (in 2012) but I just didn’t feel right,” he says.

“I’d fallen behind the eight ball too much, so I played a bit of NSW Cup with North Sydney but it just wasn’t working.

“I wasn’t pushing myself at training; I was just making up the numbers. I was wasting my time. I’d just had enough.

“I had a meeting with the coach (Michael Maguire) and we came to an agreement.

“My heart wasn’t in it and he told me I wasn’t in the plan anyway. He said I could stay or go and said I’d just play out the year.

“After that year, I went and got a normal job.”

THE ‘BIN MAN’

So from the bright lights of the NRL, Talanoa got a reality check when he found himself waking up at 4am six days a week as a garbage collector for Woollahra Council.

Surprisingly enough, he still believes it was the best thing that could’ve happened to him at that point in his life.

“I got to appreciate life a lot more being able to work like a normal person. I really felt like I was providing for my family,” he says.

Fetuli Talanoa working as a garbo in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Source: News Limited

Talanoa tried to make a brief code switch to Sydney University rugby but he simply didn’t enjoy it.

“The bins were a workout anyway,” he explains.

“I used to try and run my whole route and instead of using the buttons on the truck I’d just pick up the bins and tip them in. It kept me pretty fit.”

AN ENGLISH LIFELINE

It was nearly 12 months since Talanoa had walked away from the game when he received text messages from former Rabbitohs teammates Nigel Vagana and Roy Asotasi, asking if he’d consider pulling the boots on again.

“I said, ‘Sorry boys, I’ve walked away from league, I’m enjoying my time just working on the bins’,” he says.

“Nigel messaged me the next day and said, ‘It’s not in the NRL, it’s in the Super League for Hull’.

“I’d never heard of Hull before in my life but I thought it’d be a great chance to travel over there and see that part of the world.

“He passed on my details to (former NRL player) Motu Tony, who was the general manager at Hull at the time and he called me straight away.

“The first thing I said to him was, ‘Look mate, I haven’t played at that level in 18 months, I’ve been on the bins just working so I might not be up to scratch with you guys’.”

Fetuli Talanoa and Gareth Ellis of Hull FC celebrate after winning the Challenge Cup final against Warrington Wolves at Wembley Stadium in 2016. (Photo by Joel Ford/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Despite that, Hull were keen to take a gamble and sorted out Talanoa’s visa within weeks and he was flown over as soon as possible.

“I landed here on a Sunday after a 24-hour flight and played in their first trial on the Saturday,” Talanoa laughs.

“They threw me straight into the starting side.”

Talanoa has remained a mainstay in the Hull line-up and last season brought up his 100-game milestone.

He’s also won two Challenge Cup titles in 2016 and 2017.

“They hold that Cup up really high here and a lot of the Super League guys here would rather win that than the grand final,” he says.

“It’s something I’ll remember forever, and to go back-to-back, it was just a crazy experience.

“They actually call me the ‘Bin Man’ over here at Hull, even today.”

THE FUTURE

Now aged 29, Talanoa is getting towards the end of his first grade career and has one year remaining on his Hull FC contract.

But he still believes he’s got another couple of years left in him.

“I’d like to stay another year or two just to finish off here before I come back home,” he says.

“I do my own negotiations so I like to play a few games to show (the club) that I’m still keen and then talk to the club once I’ve got those under my belt.”

Those plans couldn’t have started any better when he scored an 18-minute hat-trick in his side’s 32-18 round one win over Huddersfield.

His attention now turns to Hull’s historic clash against Wigan on Saturday at WIN Stadium — the first Super League game to be played outside of Europe — as well as their double-header clash against St George Illawarra. Wigan play the Rabbitohs in the other game.

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“I would’ve liked to have played against the Bunnies,” he says.

“I have a lot of family in Sydney now and a lot have been asking me for tickets.

“Hull asked me how many I need and I said, ‘Oh, about 30’.

“My mum lives in Hurstville these days. She’s really excited to see me play again in Australia.

“I think it’ll be more emotional for her seeing me play again and for her to get ready to come and watch me play. That used to be her routine when I was at Souths and playing at ANZ which was our home ground.

“Now I’m back to give everyone a little reminder of where I’m at.

“Hopefully I score a few tries and make everyone go, ‘Oh yeah, that was the winger who played for Souths.”