CHASTENED rookie Starford To'a has been making amends to his Newcastle Knights teammates - on and off the field - after his much-publicised "bubble breach" last week.
To'a and housemate Simi Sasagi found themselves at the centre of an unintentional drama when they attended the Newcastle RL match between Western Suburbs and Central Newcastle at Harker Oval nine days ago.
The two youngsters planned to watch the game from inside a car parked on the hill, only to learn no vehicles were permitted inside the ground.
Instead they went and stood on their own, behind the goalposts, before heading home.
Later that night, To'a received a phone call from Knights football manager Danny Buderus inquiring about his whereabouts during the day, and both he and Sasagi were ordered to isolate until the incident had been investigated by the NRL Integrity Unit.
They were cleared on Tuesday last week to resume training, avoiding the 14-day quarantine period and fines that have been imposed on others who have breached the NRL's strict biosecurity protocols.
But the pair did not escape completely unscathed.
They had to face Newcastle's leadership group, who handed down disciplinary measures as a deterrent against any such transgressions occurring in the future.
"There are a couple of things I have to do each morning," To'a told the Newcastle Herald.
"I have to come in before training and get out the tackle pads, set up the post pads, fill up the water bottles.
"Little jobs like that. I'm grateful to do it because I thought I might have to spend two weeks at home."
To'a said "my heart dropped" when Buderus called him and explained to the 20-year-old from Auckland that he might have committed a breach of the regulations. "I wasn't in a good space that night," he said, admitting that he made a "stupid decision" and should have known better, especially after the controversies involving Wayne Bennett, Paul Vaughan and Tevita Pangai Jnr.
Relieved that did not have to spend two weeks isolating, To'a set about repaying his teammates when they took on Manly at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
The flying left winger made 130 metres in attack, scored Newcastle's opening try and came within inches of notching a double, only to lose the ball as he dived for the line. He has now scored a try in each of his three NRL appearances and has struck up an instant combination on the left edge with centre Enari Tuala.
After debuting in the last round against Penrith last season, To'a waited patiently until round 13 this year for his next opportunity.
But with towering Edrick Lee sidelined indefinitely because of a broken arm, To'a now looks set for an extended stint that could possibly include the finals.
To'a admitted it was challenging biding his time, especially with no NSW Cup competition this year, but his attitude was: "I just had to be ready when my chance came, even if that wasn't until September."
Knights coach Adam O'Brien was pleased that To'a was able to "get through" last week's drama and perform strongly on game day.
"He doesn't look out of place, that's probably the good thing," O'Brien said.
"He's only a young man, and in terms of experience and games, it's only limited ... physically he doesn't look out of place, so I'm really pleased for him."
Meanwhile, the Knights will be sweating on the results of scans after prop Daniel Saifiti aggravated a knee injury in Sunday's 26-24 win against the Sea Eagles.
Saifiti was in his first game back from a medial-ligament strain that forced him to miss four games.
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