New Zealand age group international Marley Leuluai may be forging his professional career with English club Burnley but he says he still regards home as Whangaruru in Northland.
The coastal community (pop. 200) is on the east coast, about an hour north of Whangarei.
“I was there last Christmas, and we used to go there every year for Christmas when I was younger. I love it up there. I call that home over England,” Leuluai (Ngāti Wai) told Te Ao Māori News.
Leuluai (Samoa/Māori), who signed a three-year contract with English Premier League club Burnley on his 17th birthday, moved to England when he was three weeks old, as his father Kylie Leuluai pursued his professional rugby league career with clubs such as Leeds Rhinos.
Main photo: Marley Leuluia signs his Burnley contract, with the support of his family. Photo credit: Burnley FC.
Kylie Leuluai grew up in Whangaruru, deep-sea diving and riding horses in the 1980s, and told Te Ao Māori News he loves taking his three children home to Northland.
Watch Marley Leuluai’s interview with Te Ao Māori News
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