The football field is an outlet of expression for Suaia Matagi, but it's when he's performing to a more intimate audience that you truly appreciate his journey to the NRL.

Matagi's tale, for it to be done justice, is best delivered live on a stage by the man himself. The Parramatta prop has done just that in My story – from prison to the palace, a theatrical production that, as the name suggests, charts his remarkable turnaround from a jailed teen to rugby league international.

"It was a big challenge for me, I've never done any acting or theatre," Matagi said of the shows staged in his native New Zealand.

"You can't make an error, it's all live. You have to go all out. It was one of the best experiences, how everyone in the crowd was. It was a full-on stage show so it was a mix of film, dance and acting. There are five of us in the cast, each dealing with real-life issues that happened to us. One would touch on sexual abuse, how it affected her life. Another person was suicide. For me it was drugs and alcohol and gangs.