Leka Halasima's provocative hairstyle has NZ Warriors tongues wagging
Teammates were lining up to congratulate Leka Halasima on his new haircut.
Photo:
NRL Photos/Photosport
Warriors v Dragons
Kickoff 7.30pm Saturday, 10 May
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Over the past month, NZ Warriors sensation Leka Halasima has certainly caught the eye with his barnstorming performances for a team currently occupying a top-three spot on the NRL ladder.
The teenage second-rower has become a key contributor to the side's gritty 6-2 start to their campaign,
earning promotion from the interchange bench to the starting line-up
, yet somehow that wasn't enough.
When the Warriors took the field against North Queensland Cowboys at 'Magic Round' last weekend, Halasima, 19, unveiled a peroxide blonde hairdo, complete with dark ponytail, that had tongues wagging among fans and teammates.
Leka Halasima at Warriors training.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
"Young people today, mate, seriously," coach Andrew Webster rolled his eyes. "They've got to be themselves and dinosaurs like me don't judge them.
"They've just got to turn up and enjoy themselves and be themselves - that's what we try to do here. As long as they're not trying to be something they're not, that's fine.
"We certainly knew where he was for 80 minutes on the weekend, because you could spot him quite easy. He's a great kid."
Captain Mitch Barnett chuckled at the transformation.
"Young kids - I shouldn't call him a kid - young men, they go through it," he said. "I guess he wanted Webby to be able to see him on the video.
"Back in the day, we got roasted, especially when I was coming through. If I had done it, I probably wouldn't be playing NRL now.
"Young men now see people they look up to with their hairstyles and think that would look cool, but when he looks back at it, he'll probably shake his head at it."
One who knows a thing or two about experimenting with his hairdo - not so much these days - is veteran forward Marata Niukore.
"It was a bit of a laugh around the joint and we got into him about being in the kick-chase, because obviously he can't hide now," he said.
"I've had a few haircuts in my time, and it's probably something you look back a couple of years down the track and cringe.
"Hopefully, we don't see those photos again."
Niukore should be so lucky...
Marata Niukore and his dye job for Junior Warriors 2014.
Photo:
Anthony Au-Yeung/Photosport
Halasima's dye job earned the enthusiastic approval of at least one teammate.
"I was actually watching his highlight reel from 2023, he was playing against the Tigers [SG Ball Cup] and he had his hair blonde then," winger Taine Tuaupiki said.
"I was literally going to tell him that morning I thought he looked good with it, then he pulled his beanie off and had it.
Taine Tuaupiki's mohawk look, 2023 NRL pre-season.
Photo:
Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
"It was pretty funny, because I was just about to say it to him - it looks good."
Tuaupiki, 25, has previously tested new hairstyles, if not hues, but rejected any possibility of him emulating his colleague.
"You can't be doing that and playing on the wing, or you've got to be playing as good as Leka's playing to get away with that."
With even more eyes now upon him, Barnett warned the young buck needed to stay humble, despite his early success, but was confident the Warriors environment provided just the right amount of encouragement and humility to keep him grounded.
"You can see the talent he's got and he's got a really good work ethic behind it," the skipper insisted. "We've got to be good at supporting him, and showing him the right way on and off the field, which I think we're doing a good job of.
"He's just got to keep buying in, keep learning and taking the lessons, but keeping a level head as well. He's got one of them for sure, although you might not see it with his try celebrations."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 12 June
Fijian Drua fans at Churchill Park, Lautoka. Photo: PHOTOSPORT The Fijian Drua have revealed a new player signing ahead of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. Canberra-based centre Iosefo Namoce has signed a two-year deal with the Nadi-based franchise. The Drua are expected to release 10 players at the end of this season, and recruit a couple of other players in the next few weeks for the 2026 season. The PNG Hunters head coach Paul Aiton has made changes to the team facing the Sunshine Coas Falcons, in a Hostplus Cup rugby league match in Port Moresby this weekend. The National newspaper reports fullback Sanny Wabo - was injured in the 16-50 loss to the Redcliffe Dolphins last weekend - is being replaced by debutant Douglas David. The PNG Hunters have dropped to eighth, from sixth spot, and a win against the seventh-placed Falcons can see them go back one slot up. Former Wallabies halfback Will Genia - who has Papua New Guinea heritage - returned home at the weekend to play club rugby for the team he started his career with. The National reported 36-year-old Genia helped his Valley Hunters team to a 26-19 win over the Crusaders in the Capital Rugby Union competition. Genia said he was happy to be back where it all started for him as a 16-year-old, and he is yet to make up his mind on whether to continue playing or take up coaching in Japan. Genia retired from international rugby after the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, having earned 110 international caps for the Wallabies. The Fiji under-21 women's netball squad will compete in a warm-up tournament in Suva next month, as part of their Netball World Youth Cup preparations. FBC News reported the tournament will run from 7-11 July at the Vodafone Arena in Suva. Head coach Simone Nalatu said they will field two Fiji under-21 teams, made up of players in their 27-member squad. Fiji will be joined by Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga at the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar. Two Papua New Guinea weightlifters, named to compete at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau at the end of this month, are excited about the opportuity to compete against the region's best. The Post Courier reported Kari Anna Mea and Rarua Tolana Mavara are part of the 12-member team that will compete at the Games. The duo acknowledged the support of top PNG lifters like Dika Toua, Morea Baru and Steven Kari, who assisted in their development as lifters. Mea will be making her debut while Marana had first represented PNG at the 2015 Pacific Games. New Zealand weightlifer David Liti says he wants to inpsire the next generation of athletes when he competes at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau later this month. Speaking on PMN's Pacific Mornings program, Liti said that despite his international success at events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, he is motivated by the opportunity to encourage young athletes closer to home. He said inspiring young children who might follow his rise in weightlifting could "spark a journey for them to be one of the greats in the future". Liti, who is of Tongan heritage, is part of Team New Zealand to the Games, which officially opens on 29 June in Koror, Palau. Vanuatu Judo will have seven members at the Pacific Mini Games. Vanuatu Daily Post reported the team includes 16-year-old debutant Kaina Derliue. Vanuatu claimed three medals at the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, and Monvoisin said they are hpeful they can repeat the same in Palau.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Run It championship relocates from Auckland to Dubai after fierce backlash
RUNIT Auckland. Trusts Stadium. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport The much-maligned 'run it straight' phenomenon is making a move to the Middle East. The Run It Championship League hosted two trial events in Auckland in May, with the final also planned for the city. However, following fierce backlash, and the death of a teenager playing an unofficial game, the organisation has relocated from the final Aotearoa to Dubai, with a date yet to be announced. It made the announcement on its Instagram page which has 180,000 followers. Last month, 19-year-old Ryan Satterthwaite died after suffering serious head injuries playing a casual version of the game in a backyard with friends. The game has been heavily criticised by both New Zealand Rugby and Rugby League as well as several neurologists due to its the risk of brain injuiry. At night two of trials in Auckland, a man appeared to have a seizure after being hit high and slumping to the ground. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Scott McLaughlin: 'Champions are made learning from their mistakes'
New Zealand Indycar driver Scott McLaughlin. Photo: MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / AFP New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin is still working himself back from the lowest point of his career and is motivated to taste victory again. McLaughlin had two crashes during last month's Indianapolis 500 and described the moment as the worst of his career. McLaughlin, who is now in his fifth year in Indycars, sits eighth in the 2025 standings, 150 points behind championship leader Alex Palou. The 32-year-old has raced once since his disappointing Indy outing and this weekend competes in the eighth round in St Louis, the venue where he finished second in 2024. "It was definitely one of, if not, the lowest point of my career," McLaughlin told media ahead of the latest round. "I still am a little bit perplexed about what happened, I've never done that before in my career." McLaughlin said they had a fast car at Indy and had been going well on ovals. "There is nothing to be upset about apart from the fact that I felt that I wasted a really good opportunity from a pace perspective. "It was tough but champions are made learning from their mistakes." McLaughlin has had four top 10 finishes in seven rounds in 2025, making the podium just once with a third place finish in Alabama. Team Penske is yet to win a race in 2025. New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin slides along pit wall before the start of the 2025 Indianapolis 500. Photo: David Allio/Icon Sportswire / PHOTOSPORT In the last three years he has finished fourth, third and third in the championship, so he's motivated to improve on his current eighth position. "I just want to be the best, I have been driving really well just luck and a couple of mistakes on my side that haven't worked out." He knows he has to make the most of the pace the car is producing. "We've had some positive momentum, it's just putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "I've been in this sport long enough in Indycars and Supercars that sometimes you can have a fast car and you just don't put it together." Mexican Alex Palou has again been the standout driver this year. The two-time defending champion has a 90 point lead in the championship. McLaughlin admits Palou has set the benchmark. "That guys is executing at a really high level and so you have to raise yourself and the team to that level." The series is back on an oval at St Louis this weekend and while many foreign drivers are use to road or street courses, McLaughlin now describes himself as "an oval guy." "Every time I go on an oval I feel really confident." Fellow New Zealander Scott Dixon is seventh in the standings and Marcus Armstrong tenth. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
