BY CURTIS WOODWARD

@woodward_curtis 

He has been one of rugby league’s great characters and helped New Zealand rugby league in their eternal fight for hearts and minds across the ditch in a country obsessed with a little thing called the All  Blacks.

Manu Vatuvei has given so much to our great game so it was only fitting the humble giant thanked the game in return as he prepares to fly out to England on Sunday to finish his career with Salford.

The hulking winger has represented his country countless times and given NRL opponents nightmares since making his first grade debut in 2004.

In a revealing moment ahead of the Warriors game against Penrith tonight at the freshly named ‘Manu Vatuvei Stadium’, the 226 game icon said rugby league saved him from jail and helped shape an enriching life.

“Definitely the game has done a lot for me as a person,” he said.

“Just mentally and in knowing how to look after myself and how to deal with things in life and how to treat people well.

“If I was going back to when I was a kid, and all of the things that I used to see, the game kind of saved me from becoming a different person.

“I think I would have been doing bad things and I know I wouldn’t be around too much.

😏 @ManuVatuvei loves a try

Here's a hat-trick for @NZRL_Kiwis​ at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup pic.twitter.com/LU02W4BwzC

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 10, 2017

@ManuVatuvei @NZWarriors Vatuvaaaaaay! Gonna miss you at Mt Smart, big guy. A Warriors immortal, no doubt about it. #ThankyouManu pic.twitter.com/vg6Ntviyzh

— Ⓜ️ark (@seeate) July 13, 2017

Manu Vatuvei is one of the best wingers of the NRL era and an all time New Zealand legend. Hope he kills it for Salford.

— Random Footy Facts (@footyfacts37) July 10, 2017

“I think I’d be inside (prison) or something. I’m not too sure but just the way I’d been going as a kid, the game kind of saved me from all of that stuff.”

And like most good rugby league stories – Vatuvei left the final word for his parents who sacrificed plenty to help the big fella reach the top.

“I’m just proud of myself that I got to where I am right now.

“From when I first started at the club in 2002 and just growing as a person and going from there.

“My first games for the Warriors and Kiwis will always be memorable because me and my family had worked hard for me to be able to do that.

“To see it pay off and the smiles on their faces made me feel really good about myself.

“And I’m just proud of what my parents and my family have done for me.”

Thanks Beast.

@woodward_curtis