Retirement a short-lived idea with Ratu embracing new spark with Bulls

Ratu thought the timing was right to move on from playing, but a quick chat with new Southcity coach Cleve McGhie had him wanting more.

"I saw the boys doing pre-season and got a bit itchy," Ratu said

"I didn't really say no to the idea of playing so when Cleve asked me I said 'yep I'm keen'.

Weighing up the impact his own football commitments had on his family was one big consideration for the 34-year-old.

However he admitted his wife needed more convincing than he did about returning to the field.

"My kids are a bit older now and as my son was playing at sort of the same time as us and I was coaching his team I was missing a lot of the games.

"I was getting a bit sore as well after getting battered every weekend so my wife said 'I think it's time to hang them up'."

Ratu has been at the club since making the move from Kangaroos for the 2020 season.

However he feels McGhie's arrival at the club has really livened things up after a couple of tough seasons on the field under Kyle McCarthy.

"I think there's been a bit more of a spark around the club I guess," he said.

"The club has always been the same, there's just been a bit of fresh air with Cleve coming across.

"It's a bit more lively as he's quite a lively person, he doesn't really care what people think about him.

"It was good to have someone different coming in, I've got a lot of Doc (McCarthy) and I think it's been good for him as well just so he can play his game, especially after the last few years when we've been doing it a bit tough."

Ratu has been mostly used as an interchange forward this season.

However McGhie feels he plays a valuable role within the side bringing a lot of experience to their forward pack.

"He was one of the first blokes I caught up with and had a chat to when I was coming on board before I moved down last year and with the energy and vibes I got from him it was disappointing to here he wasn't going to be playing," McGhie said.

"I twisted arms and got a couple of others to twist the arm and we ended up getting him back before the season started and he's been a huge addition to our squad.

"He's got toughness you can't teach, there's just something in him and something about him that unfortunately you just can't teach it in people sometimes.

"He's been an asset to the squad, even just in terms of what he's offered to some of the younger boys. I know he's had different conversations with different players across the year and they've really appreciated that too as they've told me that.

"Dana has been pretty instrumental for us."

Ratu has been trying to help a number of the younger

"I try to, not many young fellas listen to us old fellas these days but for me as I'm a bit younger I have to get them to settle down a little bit as they a lot can get too excited and just run 100 miles an hour.

"Sometimes you have to calm down a little bit and think about what we're doing and go from there."

Southcity are looking to extend their winning run.

The Bulls have won five straight games leading into their clash with ladder leaders Young at Harris Park on Sunday.

The two teams had a draw to start the season and Ratu expects the clash will give them a real indication of their improvement so far.

"It will be a good game for us to see where we are at compared to the start of the year," he said.

"I think it will be good to test us.

"We just need to cut our mistakes and that's like any team really."