“They (Athens Raiders) welcomed me with open arms. That’s what I love about it. I was just gob smacked that I was playing rugby league in Greece.”
Shortly after Nectarios Tsakalos arrived in Greece to run a seafood restaurant with his wife in the Athens suburb of Melissia he began to struggle with his mental health.
Despite his Greek heritage, Tsakalos was finding the difference in surroundings and way of life so significant he seriously considered packing up and returning to Australia.
“My wife Angela was born in Albania but had lived in Greece since she was two,” Tsakalos said.
“She was having the same struggles in Australia, being away from family and friends, so we decided to come to Athens and open the restaurant. She is a trained chef.
“My wife was very supportive of me and what I was going through as she went through it as well.
“It was not having any friends here so I didn’t have any common ground with anyone I could talk to.
“Growing up in Australia is a lot different than growing up in Greece. It was tough until I found the Athens Raiders.”
A chance meeting with a fellow Greek Australian was the catalyst to change his life and reignite rugby league connections.
“I needed to see a chiropractor for my back and after an internet search I found (rugby league referee) George Giannopoulos close by. It’s a funny story because his nephew married my cousin in Australia. It’s a small world!”
Tsakalos had played rugby league in Newcastle for the Glendale Gorillas up until the age of 19 followed by a couple of seasons of rugby union before work commitments made it impossible to continue. Giannopoulos suggested Nectarios should consider coming out of retirement and referred him to Athens Raiders head coach Christos Mouzakitis.
“They (Athens Raiders) welcomed me with open arms. That’s what I love about it. I was just gob smacked that I was playing rugby league in Greece. It was like I had known the players for years. I guess we have bonded over the last two years and they are like my family now.
“To put it bluntly, it kept me here (in Greece). I was in a pretty dark space to be honest. It made me want to stay and play with these guys. It felt like if I left them I would let them down. It wasn’t the only reason, there were other factors, but it was a big one.”
Having grown up learning and playing rugby league in Australia, Tsakalos has an advantage over his Greek team mates who as a rule don’t get involved until they are adults. It has meant he often plays a mentor role, but it’s a task he is more than happy to perform.
“I love it. It’s probably putting a bit of extra pressure on me as well playing wise,” Tsakalos, normally a prop who plays in the halves for the Raiders, said.
“They always come to me and ask what they can do better. They want to improve. As a club from the first game that I played we are getting better moving forward. I feel like we are not the easybeats any more. We have Chris onboard as coach and our training has got better. I don’t say that it is just because I turned up but if I can say I helped achieve that (improvement) then I am a happy man.”
Tsakalos has another string to his bow being a qualified referee. Anyone who has been involved with a developing rugby league nation will understand that finding trained match officials is like discovering gold for administrators.
“I used to referee in Newcastle and loved it. It’s something I want to pursue especially after I stop playing footy. When I told (Greek Rugby League Federation President) George Stilianos I am a ref and happy to help out wherever I can he said ‘can you please referee next weekend’.”
The highlight of his rugby league career came out of the blue recently when the 33 year old was chosen to play his debut match for Greece against Serbia in Athens with the added bonus of being made captain. A reward for his leadership and efforts on the field.
“I cried for about an hour when Michalis (Greek team coach) called me, it sort of didn’t sink in straight away and then I’m driving to work and I was crying in the car.
“It was just a surreal moment. Just thinking back to the day when I started playing under 11s and my dad used to wake me up in the morning to go to the footy and it’s cold and raining. Yeah it brought everything back.”
Unfortunately for Tsakalos the euphoria of being selected was tempered by a freak accident in the gym and having to withdraw last minute from the international match.
“I went to the gym and obviously I was excited. I just wanted to go and lift the whole gym, I was that excited. I was about to finish the sessions and was up my last set before going for a shower and I went to pick up a 20kg weight from the rack which was too full and the weight fell straight on my toe.
“I didn’t realise I’d done that much damage so I finished the set. Then I took off my sock and there’s blood everywhere. I was still playing up until the last minute. There was no way I was going to miss the match but in the end I had to put the team first. I couldn’t risk it. So I made the call and again I’m crying.
“It killed me watching the game from the bench but I guess that’s sport and how the cookie crumbles.
“My goal was originally to play against Serbia but now it is to play matches in October/November (Greece is negotiating international matches at the time of writing) and who knows maybe a world cup is a possibility. It’s not totally out of reach.”
With Tsakalos being forced to sit out the match against Serbia his rugby league family presented him with a touching tribute displaying a banner with the words ‘Captain Nectarios of our hearts Athens City Raiders.’
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 486 (July 2023)
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