New Tiger Mykelti Lafau on The Run Home with Andy & Gazey:
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THE LOCAL FOOTY 25-GOAL HAUL THAT PUT RICHMOND’S KIWI RECRUIT ON THE MAPBy Lachlan Geleit
SEN
20 February 2024Richmond SSP recruit Mykelti Lefau has had a unique journey to the AFL.
Hailing from Auckland, the 26-year-old only moved to Melbourne in 2012 and first learned the game of Aussie rules in high school.
His rugby background earned him a spot in the Melbourne Storm NRL development squad as a youngster, but Lefau says he only chose to pursue footy after his junior years to play with his friends.
“When I moved here, I was playing rugby union at the time in New Zealand,” Lefau told SEN The Run Home.
“All my brothers and my Dad played rugby league, so I just followed through with that (in Melbourne).
“It wasn't until you go to school and there's not many rugby balls that are getting thrown around, it's all footy. So that obviously catches your eye.
“I became mates with all the footy boys, and they sort of just invited me down to the local club and it pretty much started from there.
“I juggled both sports for a while and then it got to a point where I had to choose one and then I just stuck with footy.”
While he was a latecomer to footy, Lefau quickly started to dominate at the local level and even famously kicked 25 goals in a single game for St Kilda City in the Southern Football League’s Under 19 competition back in 2016.
Lefau was eventually recruited to VFL club Casey in 2017 and he explained how he kicked such a ridiculous haul which could have garnered him some attention from recruiters.
“I'm not even sure, how exactly I got the attention from (VFL clubs) playing with St Kilda City,” Lefau said.
“I was playing Under 19s (when I kicked the 25-goal haul). There is a bit of context to that though.
“It was the last game of the season, and I was a fair bit behind on the goalkicking because I missed a few games because I was doing the Melbourne Storm development stuff.
“I missed a few games, and I didn't start until Round 3, so all the boys were getting around me, the coach was getting around me saying we're going to feed you here.
“It just all worked out. I reckon the guy (who was leading) would have got a rude shock when he saw that.
“That’s the best game I’ve had.”
Standing at 194cm, Lefau presents as a tall forward at the top level and the recruit thinks he brings the agility and competitiveness to play both big and small inside 50.
“Just competitiveness and giving my all and every contest is what I sort of pride myself on,” Lefau said.
“I want to bring that sort of speed that not many big guys have.
“I’m very agile and I feel like I offer more as a big and a small, I can sort of do both and I pride myself on being an agile big guy really that just competes.”
Lefau’s journey since reaching the VFL ranks hasn’t been all smooth sailing as he suffered an ACL injury in his first season for Richmond in 2022.
After reaching the big leagues after some adversity, Lefau’s next focus is on getting better every day as he aims for an AFL debut.
“It means a lot,” Lefau said.
“Obviously, I'm just proud of myself after sticking with it after my injury.
“I could have taken the easy route and just given it up, but I had too much support around me and too much belief around me to just give up.
“Straight away after I did my injury, I just had a smile on my face, I took it for what it was and just grew from it.
“I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and will try to get better every day.
“My next focus is just trying to crack a debut and being consistent.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2024/02/19/the-local-footy-25-goal-haul-that-put-richmonds-kiwi-recruit-on-the-map/
