He was born in Glebe, lives at Adamstown Heights and plays for the Central Newcastle Butcher Boys.
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But this weekend 28-year-old former NRL player Vitale Maika Roqica, better known as Junior, will once again represent Fiji on the international rugby league stage.
Parents of the two-time World Cup player both hail from the Pacific island while his sister and many other relatives still reside there.
Those family connections ensure that feeling of running out for the Bati never gets old.
"Honestly, it's the best feeling in the world," Roqica told the Newcastle Herald.
"It's hard to put into words. When we start singing our hymn you get such a rush of emotion.
"I think about my family. My mum and dad, my sister in Fiji and all of my aunties and uncles and cousins.
"I think about our small, little nation itself and how each and every day the people have a smile on their face.
"I think about the journey I've been on myself."
Fiji's clash with Lebanon at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday comes almost a decade after Roqica's debut for the national side.
Since that day in Sydney in 2010, aged just 19, the forward has played "close to 10 times" for Fiji highlighted by World Cup appearances in 2013 and 2017.
Fiji made the tournament semi-finals on both occasions but were knocked out by Australia.
"They were the most awesome experiences of my career," Roqica said.
Roqica said rugby league was a "growing sport" in Fiji and this weekend's annual fixtures, also featuring Papua New Guinea and Samoa, should remain on the calendar.
"You always had Tests with Australia and New Zealand as well as State of Origin, but nothing like this," he said.
"It's something we all look forward to and helps grow the game, especially in the Pacific."
Roqica will be playing not far from where he grew up and at the same ground he used for the Wests Tigers before notching up six NRL games for the Cronulla Sharks in 2014.
However, this time around he will have a new supporter in the stands - one-year-old daughter Raven next to wife Candis.
"We're still pinching ourselves that we have a mini us running around," he said.
Roqica was part of the London Broncos squad in 2017 before returning to Australia for the World Cup that same year.
Roqica signed with Central for 2019 and Butcher Boys coach Phil Williams has been "impressed both on and off the field".
