His famous father is a giant of the game, but Tristan Sailor has moved to the other side of the world to get out of his considerable shadow.
The new signing of St Helens is the son of Wendell Sailor, the prolific Australian end that was the best scorer and tournament player when his country won the World Cup in 2000.
After also claiming four NRL titles, he then enjoyed a successful change to Rugby Union, starting with the Wallabies in his defeat in the 2003 World Cup final for England, before numerous appearances in reality TV Down Under.
Playing for the former clubs of his father of St George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos, Sailor Jr could never shake the comparisons with his iconic old man. But by joining a Super League club, the 26 -year -old has done something that his father never did, and now he is determined to leave his own brand, 10,000 miles away from home.
“I am trying to forge my own path and do my thing,” Sailor tells Mail Sport. 'Having the last name, in any case, is a double -edged sword. You get a little more attention, but that can be positive or negative.
'Whatever the way I look at it, generate resilience because you always have to demonstrate that everyone is wrong. I use it as motivation.
The star of the Australian Rugby League, Tristan Sailor, is preparing for the beginning of the Super League season with St Helens after its transfer to Europe this summer this summer
The 26 -year -old (right) wants to get out of the shadow of his famous father, Wendell Sailor (left)
Playing for the former St George and Brisbane clubs of his father, Sailor Jnr (right) could never shake the comparisons with his iconic old (left)
'The greatest help that my father gave me was when he was growing and we went to the park and he would kick bombs and would pass it. Those foundations are what you build your game.
'But I reached a certain age and he took a step back and let me do it and tried to be more father than a coach. We talked a little about me moving here and thought it was a good idea, but he lets me do my thing.
This is not really the first time that Sailor has lived in England. While his father never appeared in the Super League, strangely passed the winter of 1998-99 playing Rugby Union here for Leeds Tykes.
“I had about three months,” says Sailor. 'When Mom came to visit recently, I was telling me about taking me through the shopping centers in Leeds. So there is a small connection there, which is quite special. '
There are also connections with your new club. Since he signed, he has reminded him of how his father lost to a St Helens team with the current chief coach Paul Wellens at the World Club Challenge with Brisbane in 2001. Sailor Jr also briefly played with the legend of the saints James Graham in St George.
“Long before this was in the cards, Jammer always talked about the club and how passionate they were fans and the city,” he says. 'Even then it was something I always wanted to do, come to the Super League for that aspect of the community and fans. Jammer definitely planted that seed.
A vulture of graduates and culture of English literature, Sailor admits that he always looked live in England as an adult and has rushed to make the most of his new base.
“Having the opportunity to explore the United Kingdom and Europe while chasing my football dream, it is quite special,” says Sailor, who has settled in Manchester. 'Before coming here, I and a couple of the Broncos boys went to Amsterdam and then we did Oktoberfest, having beer and Singgalongs Steins with all dresses in Lederosen. That was a good injection in European culture!
Sailor (second from the right) said that attending Oktoberfest and putting a couple of Lederhosen was a 'good injection into European culture'
While he has connections with the United Kingdom, after having lived in Leeds as a child, he has been exploring Europe on his own while offering to forge his own path
Wendell, an international intermediate code, played for both the Wallabies and the Kangaroos during their brilliant career
'I also went to Paris on my own. It was a city that really wanted to explore, bookstores and galleries. Now I have also done a bit of the United Kingdom: London, Edinburgh, The Lake District.
'Being so close to so much history and culture is a great thing for me. It gives me that satisfaction outside the field, which helps me enjoy even more about my football. ''
While Sailor has only signed a two -year contract with St Helens, he is already thinking beyond that and even has plans to become a British citizen.
“I can definitely see myself staying here for a long time,” he admits. 'That is the intention of coming. It is not a springboard. I can definitely see myself obtaining citizenship, what will be great. '
The international rules of the Rugby League allow a player to represent a country that has been his main home for five years. So, could we see the son of an Australian legend one day pulling an England shirt?
“I'm not very sure how it works with that,” says Sailor, shy. “It would be really great about rugby if that were a possibility, but I'm not sure if it is.”
For Sailor, Emigrating also provides the advantage of escaping the media look, something he experienced in October 2020, when he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman intoxicated in a Sydney apartment. He was finally authorized by the positions in March 2022, but he was not without a NRL club during the test.
“It was definitely difficult,” says Sailor. 'But at that time, I was leaving the dragons and my love for football had been attenuated. That period of the game helped me to have that gratitude and made me lose Footy. There were positive people who left what they have prepared for this next period, which is a really exciting moment for me.
Sailor is undoubtedly one of the most exciting signings of the new season of the Super League and has been proposed as a second favorable to win this year's Man of Steel award
He is shooting with Gloria with the saints, admitting that he wants to take the club back to his heights of yesteryear
Sailor is undoubtedly one of the most exciting signings of the new Super League season, which starts on Thursday when he defends the Wigan champions, Leigh. The confrontation is ready to debut in the competition against Salford on Saturday and has already been installed by betting corridors as the second favorite to be crowned by this year's steel man.
“The speed and ball game are things in which my game really is proud,” he says. 'I am a risk maker in the field. That is something that I am not afraid to do because I feel that at the big moments you have to tighten the trigger if you feel it.
'I am fast, unpredictable, and it will seem that I am very out of place, but there are always reasons behind things that I do in the field. It may seem silly at the times when it does not come off, but it will not avoid me.
St Helens won a record of four large successive finals from 2019 to 2022. But they only finished sixth at the table last season and lost their play-off eliminator against Warrington, while their bitter rivals Wigan completed a historical quadruple.
“Obviously, the covers are the final objective for all,” adds Sailor. 'What Wigan achieved last year, to win the four main trophies, was quite special.
'It's a great challenge to face a team like that. But I really want to help children return to that period of winning four major final finals.