In every acrobatic finish star Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezinak has pulled off this season, it’s usually his glorious mullet, flowing in the air behind him, that is equally celebrated by the fans.
Watene-Zelezniak has soared to new heights amid the Warriors’ resurgent season and part of it boils down to a pre-game superstition.
The 28-year-old heads to the hairdresser before games to make sure he, and his hair, are at their free-flowing best and if 2023 is anything to go by, it’s working wonders.
But it wasn’t this silky smooth at the start of 2023 with the winger looking for a new barber after moving to Auckland this year.
But luckily Watene-Zelezniak found his guy – Viv Khanna.
“He walked in and goes, ‘oh mate, are you free?’ I was like, ‘bro, what's your job?’ and he goes, ‘I play footy’ and I went, ‘Dallin!’,” Khanna recalled to 1News.
The pair have been a combo ever since.
“He had some good reviews on Google before I got there and then I got to meet him and I’ve being going there nearly every week, me and my son,” Watene-Zelezniak said.
Watene-Zelezniak’s decision also inadvertently saw him supporting a local business in more ways than one.
“Unfortunately, there was an arson on the building and we moved over here,” Khanna said.
“Dallin’s just been supporting us weekly.”
It's only ever minor tweaks to the sides but a trip to the barber has become tradition as the NRL Finals intensity continues to build.
Watene-Zelezniak said it’s almost therapeutic.
“It only ever takes 10 minutes but I’m there chatting for 30 minutes,” the winger said.
“I just like to know he's going out in a good head space so it’s up the Wahs,” his barber added.
And, of course, keeping the winger in tip-top shape comes with perks.
“We had two tickets but we have three barbers so I told him, ‘damn, we only got two tickets’ and Dallin goes, ‘bro, I got one I had to pay for’ and he goes, ‘here you go my bro’,” Khanna said.
“I was like, ‘shot cuz’.”
Khanna's work has been noticed by Watene-Zelezniak’s teammates too with the winger sitting fourth in the competition for most tries.
“I think it's aerodynamic with the helmet and the bicycles,” Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad said.
“Some of those finishes you think, ‘how did he do that?’”
Along with the four-pointers, Khanna added Watene-Zelezniak can score in other areas too with his impressive hairdo.
“He's got some products coming out,” he said.
“I reckon something for the mullet moose or something and probably like a body wash shampoo, stuff like that.
“You need body wash cause not everyone has got full-flowing locks!”
And not everyone has a special barber who takes care of them.
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