Football, family and a far-fetched dream: Why Ramien will be smiling on Sunday

When Jesse Ramien sees 16-year-olds running around at training, the Cronulla centre gets flashbacks to when he had to work as a landscaper in Western Sydney to provide for his newborn baby.

Now nine years old, his daughter LaSharn – and hopefully a new baby boy due to be born any day – will be cheering on from the stands this Father's Day as the Sharks face a crucial clash against the Raiders. 

Amongst the noise of passionate fans and the pressure of finals footy, the 26-year-old centre will take a moment on Sunday to celebrate his life as a father and a footballer, and how far he's come as both.

“I haven’t played on Father’s Day before so I’m very excited. I’ve got a little one on the way so hopefully he comes sometime this week and we can get him to the last home game of the year. It would be an unreal Father’s Day,” Ramien told pan66.com.

“I had my little girl at a young age, so I've been balancing footy and being a dad pretty much since I came to the NRL.

“Father's Day is always special but to have a game and have my little girl there and hopefully a newborn, it will be extra special.

“I’ve always called her my little girl. I guess she’ll be the big one soon, but for a long time she's been my main drive and the reason why I do what I do.”

Studying at Hunters Sports High School and playing for the Sea Eagles in the then under-16's Harold Matthews competition, Ramien, a budding footballer from Coonamble, was cruising through life as a teen.

But after finding out he was going to be a father at 16, he soon knew that if he wanted to keep playing rugby league, he had make a career out of it.

“It was pretty tough at the time. When I found out, I dropped out of school and thought footy was done and I started working,” Ramien reflected.

“I took up a landscaping apprenticeship down in Sydney to try and make some money for the little one.

“But I had a hard think about it and realised that as much as I love playing footy, maybe it could also be a way to provide for my family as well.

“I always played because I enjoyed it but once I found out I was going to be a father I knew if I wanted to keep playing, I'd have to turn it into a way to support my family."

After earning an opportunity to debut with the black, white and blue in 2017, Ramien has found a home on Cronulla's right edge and has grown into one of the competition’s high-class centres, scoring 46 tries in 126 NRL games.

And still to this day, when he sees the club's young Harold Matthew boys throwing the footy around Shark Park, he can’t help but pinch himself on where he is today.

“Halfway through 2016 I made the move to Cronulla and it was my first time moving away from my little one,” he said.

“But I thought it was a short-term sacrifice for a long-term gain if I want to be successful and make a career out of footy.

“It was probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make. But I look back on it today and I'm grateful that I've made it because it’s not only financially allowed me to look after my family but I know I've become a better person from being at this club.

"I look back on it now and I still have to pinch myself that I managed to get here. When I talk to some of the development boys around training, I do think back and wonder how I got through it.

“I had a lot of help and support from my family."