Tiana Penitani: Footy star opens up about how her dad’s murder when she was just 12 helped make her one of Australia’s best players

Footy star Tiana Penitani is one of the toughest women in Australian sport and now she has revealed how the tragic death of her founder gave her that strength.

The running Cronulla Sharks center has represented her state and country in rugby league, along with an emotional one-off appearance for Tonga at international level.

Before that, she was one of Australia’s youngest ever representatives at a Rugby World Cup at the age of 17.

Her career, experience and in-depth knowledge of the game earned her a place on the voting panel for both the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year and the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2019.

She is also a rising media star, co-hosting ABC TV’s That Pacific Sports Show with former Super Rugby star Sam Wykes.

On the face of it, things appear to have come easily for the 28-year-old, who has dominated two footy codes and is laying the platform for a big future once she retires.

An emotional Tiana Penitani has spoken about the impact her father’s death has had on her sporting career and life

Tiana is depicted as a baby being held by her father Solomon, who was tragically murdered when she was 12 years old

Penitani has found her own path in life, despite the terrible tragedy of her father’s murder when she was just 12 years old.

Footy runs in the family blood: her father Solomon plays rugby for Tonga and the family spends weekends watching him play local footy for Maroubra in Sydney’s east.

Solomon loved his family and completed a sleeve tattoo that ultimately accidentally caused his downfall.

The 36-year-old was shot dead at Churchill’s Sports Bar in Kingsford at 4am as he celebrated completing his tattoo.

It was a tragic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Penitani currently plays for Cronulla in the NRLW competition after being poached from rugby

The running center also represents New South Wales and Australia, while like her father she also played internationally for Tonga

Now, speaking of the Keegan and Company Mental Health and Sports Podcastshe revealed the lessons she learned from that tragic moment and how it shaped her life.

“Not many people can say one of their parents was murdered,” she said.

‘And when I look back now as a 28-year-old, it taught me the value of life.

“And I know everything I’ve been through…” she said before her tears took over.

“Everything I’ve experienced in my life, I think, I’ll always go back to the experience I had as a 12-year-old.

“Some days I’m good, some days I’m not so good.”

Penitani said while there were good and bad days, the pain of losing her father meant she has the strength to now face all of life’s challenges.

The footy star is also a rising personality in the media world and hosts her own ABC podcast

When the going gets tough, she knows she’s been through the darkest days a child could imagine and came out the other side.

“When I think back to all the hard times and the injuries, setbacks and bad days I’ve had, I think from that day on I will always think back to the worst time in my life, which was losing my dad under those circumstances,” she continued.

‘I’ve always been one to say I’ve seen worse. And for me it’s been even worse.

‘I came out of that and we came out of that difficult time.’

Followers of the podcast have praised Penitani for showing the strength to speak out about such an unspeakable tragedy.

“I am so amazed and shocked that she has come this far in her career and never uses her tragic experience as an excuse. She deserves all the success,” one person wrote.

Another added: ‘Behaved very well. Kudos to you Tiana, a great role model for young girls.”

“What a sad story, but Tiana as a mother (with a daughter also named Tiana!) I know your father would be incredibly proud of you, your siblings and your mother,” another replied.