Trael Joass puts health issues aside to seize his chance
Trael Joass takes the direct approach in the Tasman Makos' pre-season win over Otago.
Rookie selections are always memorable occasions for the players concerned.
For Trael Joass though, his official inclusion last Friday in the Tasman Makos' 2015 ITM Cup rugby squad took on even more significance.
It was part way through the 2014 club rugby season that the 22-year-old Wanderers midfield back experienced an "episode" - a legacy of a lingering heart condition that he'd been battling with for three years.
This time it was serious and lying in a hospital bed, the cardiologist told him that until it was operated on, he couldn't play rugby, train or even run. Now, for a fitness fanatic like Joass, that was devastating news. But after dropping to the ground in a club match against Marist, short of breath and with intense chest cramps, Joass knew what needed to be done.
The operation was successful and now, after displaying some excellent club form in captaining Wanderers to both the Tasman Trophy and Nelson Bays club championship titles, his patience and hard work have been rewarded. He certainly hasn't let his health issues interfere with his childhood dream of one day playing for the Tasman Makos.
"I'm pretty confident it's under control. It's more about taking my opportunities, it doesn't hold me back any more," Joass said.
"It does pop up in my mind when I'm doing fitness work or playing a game, but it's getting to the stage where I'm sort of forgetting about it now and it's not really an issue.
"You just end up coping with it...using it as a mechanism to keep you going day in and day out, otherwise it'll just go against you and it'll become a negative."
Arguably the player of the year on the Nelson Bays club scene with his powerful running and physicality, Joass inevitably caught the eye of Tasman's rugby selectors. He was duly included in their preseason programme, earning significant game time against both Otago and Wellington.
"I tried to play good club footy and the rest was out of my hands from then on really. It's a matter of [the selectors] liking what I did and if what I did wasn't good enough well so be it. But at the end of the day, it was.
"All the hard work's got me to this point but once again it's the same old thing, it's a new start, a new beginning and the hard work has to continue and hopefully it pays off for a possible next step. So do the small things right and the rest follows on."
But after his dominant form on the club scene, Joass admitted that the step up to provincial level, even in a pre-season context, came as a genuine shock.
"It was intense. I'd prepared myself for a fast game [against Otago] but, my god, it was more than I expected. The same with Wellington, it was just fast and physical - it's just another step up.
"But it's good, it's just a challenge in itself, keep lifting and keep going forward. It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid."
He said that the feedback from Tasman coaches Kieran Keane and Leon MacDonald had been to keep backing himself.
"I've got a few micro-skills that I've got to sort out quick-smart playing at this level."
Principally, that meant "taking control" and understanding his role and being more vocal.
He said he'd prefer to play centre at provincial level but was happier to wear the No 12 jersey in club games. The Tasman coaches have also been running him at wing.
"We'll just see how it goes, how it pans out for me and hopefully if I keep ticking along and working hard, we'll see where I end up.
"I'll just take it day by day. It's to my benefit being a young player coming in. [The experienced players] help me out a lot, they answer all my questions and are willing for me just to sit on their hip and ride with them for a little bit til I feel comfortable in what I do.
"I guess the biggest thing is how much you have to take in day in, day out - the micro stuff and you've really got to take it in because if you don't, you get found out on the field.
"You've just got to enjoy every day and try and take it all in and just give it your all and you'll get your opportunities."
His heart's certainly in it.
