From the moment you meet Carlin Millar, you are automatically drawn to his passion for rugby league.
One of the Pine Central Holy Spirit Hornets unsung forwards, Millar is the son of a Thai mother and the son of a New Zealand father and is extremely proud of both heritages that run through his bloodlines.
The powerful back rower has been a shining light for his various clubs over the past few seasons, which has been an interesting story to follow.
Millar also captains the Thailand national side, who recently competed alongside other emerging nations such as Chile and El Salvador in the recent Cabramatta 9s and Rugby League Revolution tournaments in Sydney.
I am honoured to play for the Hornets, but I am also proud to represent my mother’s birthplace.
It might come as a shock to some people that Thailand actually play rugby league, however they have been doing so on the international stage for the past five years.
The Thailand squad have also been fortunate enough to have former Parramatta and Newcastle NRL coach Brian Smith as head coach – with Millar saying he was “buzzing and star struck” when he first met the illustrious coach.
“I was in total awe of Brian. Here was an NRL coach I had looked up to when I was younger and now he was my coach for Thailand. It was surreal!”
Interestingly enough, Millar started his rugby league odyssey in Victoria. It was there he made the Victorian state side coached by ex-Melbourne Storm players Matt Rua and Ben Roarty.
This is where the intrepid Millar met former Western Reds player Andrew Korn, who enticed him to move across to Western Australia to continue his career.
But as fate would have it, Millar was on the move again with his wife and two children; this time washing up at Pine Rivers and now firmly with the Hornets.
“I now have my own business here in Brisbane that I have owned and operated for the past six years and my family drive me to do what I do,” Millar said.
“Without my wife and children I would be lost, because they mean everything to me.”
Millar speaks from the heart when he talks about playing rugby league for both club and country.
“I love playing for the Hornets, it’s a great club," he said.
“The boys are a great bunch of lads and we get a good crowd in here on game days.
“I am honoured to play for the Hornets, but I am also proud to represent my mother’s birthplace.”
The next assignment for Millar and his Thai team-mates is in October, with an international game planned against the Malta Knights national side in the Chiang Mai Provence in northern Thailand.
