NRL player Ricky Thorby, and his partner Kirrily, welcomed their daughter Kaiarahi during the summer off-season. Originally from New Zealand, Ricky began his professional career in 2007, and signed with the North Queensland Cowboys for last season, which went disappointingly, due to injury. This season, he is proving to be a stand-out player for the team, and last weekend was awarded the “Anzac Teddy” for efforts of bravery and inspiration. Ricky credits the birth of his daughter for a new attitude, pointing out he has a child to provide for now, and cannot afford to fail.

Kaiarahi is a Maori name meaning “guide, leader”. It’s a vocabulary word which has special connotations of someone being a mentor and counsellor within the Maori community, such as teaching language and culture. The accent is on the second syllable – I think said like ky-AAH-raa-hee.