Nov 18th, 2019

Nov 18th, 2019

Former Storm winger Young Tonumaipea has cut short his Mormon mission and wants to return to the NRL next season.

The Samoan international shocked the Storm when he walked out on the club mid-season in 2018 to serve the Mormons in Germany.

But Tonumaipea, still only 27, has decided to return to the game early and will be back in Australia in April.

His manager Michael Cincotta has already had expressions of interest from around four NRL clubs - including the Storm.

"He has been running every day in Germany and keeping fit," Cincotta told Wide World of Sports.

"He has decided to cut back a bit of his full two-year term with the Mormon mission and is very keen to come back and re-establish himself in the NRL."

"The mission president allowed him to come home early to have a crack at the NRL but he will have finished his term of service."

Young Tonumaipea after his last game for Melbourne Storm, midway through last season. (Getty)

WESTS TIGERS COULD CLAIM UNION GIANT

A former Queensland Reds rugby union forward is set to make the jump across to league with the Wests Tigers.

Waita Setu, younger brother of former Dragon Lagi Setu, was born in New Zealand and moved to Australia to play in the Storm and Broncos junior systems.

The 27-year-old loose forward then switched to union, where he played several games for the Reds in Super Rugby before moving to England.

He played last season for Brisbane City in Australia's National Rugby Championship and is currently trialing for a contract with the Tigers.

Having lost Ryan Matterson and Ben Matulino and with Russell Packer on the outer, the Tigers have vacancies in the pack and Setu, a 110kg giant, could prove a handy addition.

Waita Setu is trialling with the Wests Tigers. (Getty)

FAINU SPEAKS OUT - FOR MANAGER

Rising Manly star Manase Fainu has plenty to worry about at the moment, with his freedom - let alone his football career - in limbo.

Fainu is fighting charges relating to an alleged stabbing and is now out on bail - but he reached out to Wide World of Sports this week.

Not to protest his own innocence, but to plead for the reinstatement of his manager Mario Tartak.

Tartak, who was instrumental in getting Fainu out of jail, has been suspended by the NRL over a bankruptcy claim and is not allowed to deal with players.

But Fainu is desperate to see Tartak get his accreditation back.

"Mario has helped me a lot, been through court and put his own problems aside and worked on me just to get out of jail. That's the type of person he is, putting others before himself," Fainu said.

"He has helped me get my life sorted after football, because money gets chucked at us footy players and normally us Polynesian boys just go spend and buy the latest cars and shoes, but he spoke to me with my parents and told me start saving and buy properties.

"He is more like a family member to me than a manager and I feel for him - he is going through hell."

Meanwhile, Fainu is putting on a brave face as he fights his own legal battles.

"I know a lot of the fans are asking about me," he said. "Tell them I'm coping well, surrounding myself with family and friends … I go to training at Manly to hang around the boys and get my mind off things and I am doing OK considering the circumstances."

Manly hooker Manase Fainu has spoken out in support of his manager, amid his own troubles. (Getty)

CLASS ACT FROM KNIGHTS DURING FIRES

The Newcastle Knights have gone above and beyond to help bushfire victims around the NSW mid-north coast.

Popular forward Mitch Barnett, whose family owns a farm in Wingham in the heart of the danger, has been the driving force behind the move.

Barnett and a host of Knights players went to local supermarkets in Newcastle and filled their cars to the brim with groceries and the like.

Fans also got behind the campaign, leaving non-perishables at the Knights offices.

Barnett then drove a a semi-trailer full of much-needed goods to the Wingham area over the weekend, distributing provisions to the luckless locals, many of whom had lost everything they had.

A good news story that deserves to be told in this time of players behaving badly.