Famously tough footy star Joe Tapine breaks down in tears as he recalls growing up with dad who was in feared Black Power gang

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Canberra Raiders hardman Joseph Tapine was overcome with emotion after recalling his challenging upbringing with a father who was in one of New Zealand's most notorious gangs.
Tapine, who recently celebrated his 200th game for Canberra, has shed light on his childhood growing up in New Zealand with a hard-working mother and a dad with whom he has a complicated relationship with.
'He was in Black Power, which was one of the main gangs back home,' Tapine said on Fox League's Face to Face.
'We grew up around them. My uncles, his mates were in it as well. But I remember the good things – like we would have barbecues, we would have games of touch footy down at the park, and he'd have all his mates and all their kids play.
'I didn't … yeah, there was drinking and drugs around that, which I don't remember much; I remember it's around, but it's not the main focus of my childhood when I was growing up.
'It was more, he'll get his mates and I'll play at the park until he was ready to go home.
'I think he maybe went to prison before me and my siblings were born. He drove us away from that life as well, he said he wanted better for us and not to follow him down that path.'
The emotional weight of those memories overcame Tapine, who whispered 'sorry' as he broke down in tears.
'We don't keep in touch. He's a good fella, but he's got some stuff to…' Tapine said.
'I wanted to get out of 'Wellies', I wanted to get out of New Zealand. I wanted to probably have a different life. And I had a thought, if I didn't crack league … I wanted to be a builder and they pay way better over here.'
The talented prop got his start for the Knights in 2014 and has established himself in Canberra as one of the most respected players in the NRL in recent years.
However, the Kiwi international has revealed he struggled with addiction in his early days.
'The harshest lesson was probably that I got addicted to pokies,' Tapine told Nine's Marlee and Me podcast in March.
'I was living in a share house and one of the boys said "let's go for dinner". We go in this pokie room and like everyone's first time, just luck - I put a freaking $20 in and won big.
'Three years later I was trying to have to shake that addiction. Pokies and a bit of drinking was big in the culture and that was pretty hard for me to shake.
'Those things get you. I think athletes as well and we want that adrenaline kick and that's what it gives you. It took a while to get off it.
'I didn't learn about finance or anything back home. I had to learn all of that on the go and Kirsten [wife] taught me a lot of that. After I met Kirsten, she gave me an ultimatum.
'I think the move here helped, it was around that time when I had that drama at Newcastle. The change in environment really helped me.'