Everything Rosie for Canberra Raiders rookie of the year Semi Valemei

The 21-year-old doesn't say much, and when he does Valemei speaks quietly, and with humility.

How humble are we talking? Well, consider this.

He managed to keep the birth of his first daughter, Rosie, a complete secret from the club for several days before teammates finally picked up on the news.

Valemei had Rosie etched on his wrist strapping throughout his two-try performance against the Warriors two rounds ago, but told media and club officials it was in reference to his favourite niece back in Fiji.

The real story? Rosie is his daughter, and was born the night before he so passionately tapped her name on his wrist strapping after running 90m to score a thrilling try against the Warriors.

"She's beautiful," Valemei says when asked about his little girl.

"I am just FaceTiming her every night after training, in the morning before training, I just talk to her.

"She's good, they're living in Suva. She was born before the Warriors game on Saturday night, the night before I played."

Valemei likely won't be able to visit Fiji until the end of the year to meet his daughter, given he remains in the NRL bubble, and the COVID-19 enforced border restrictions.

"I don't know, hopefully they're opening the border before Christmas or after Christmas and I can meet her," Valemei said.

Rosie's real name is Mereseini Rogouli, and is named after Valemei's mother who passed away at the start of 2019, soon after her son joined the Raiders.

The club helped fly Valemei back to Fiji to be with his family at the time, but he then returned determined to pursue his NRL dream and help support his father, four brothers and three sisters back home.

"To lose his mum's a big thing, they're a close family," Raiders assistant coach Brett White said.

"To do that and now stay here where it's so foreign to him, to go through everything that he's been through...it's something special. He's an inspirational kid when you know his story. He's so humble, he doesn't talk a lot but he's got so much to offer."

White presented Valemei's rookie of the year award on Tuesday, speaking in Fijian as he called the talented youngster to the stage.

He'd spent days practicing two phrases - one describing how happy the club was to choose him as rookie of the year, and one saying how proud his family would be back home knowing he had won the award.

"He did a lot of practice on that during the week, he smashed it," Valemei said on Wednesday, fronting television media for the first time in his career.

"He [White] does a very good job helping me during the week, doing videos. Every time I need something I just go to him."

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White and Valemei have developed a close relationship over the past two years, one that has helped the flying Fijian develop into one of the most exciting talents in the NRL. He's played seven matches this year and scored four tries, most recently covering the backline hole left by injured centre Curtis Scott.

But despite their close bond, even White was shocked by Valemei becoming a dad.

"We were just here at work one afternoon after that Warriors game and someone said do you know Semi had a baby? No one knows anything about this," White said.

"That's a common thing in the NRL [tapping wrist strapping], blokes are doing it every time they score a try. But then to go and realise what it was behind that.

"He's too humble to tell anyone the story. He doesn't tell anyone that he even had a baby due, or that he had a baby. He's a pretty special kid."