KEN Sio and Victoria Kini are a family divided for the same purpose and help Salford with silverware.
While winger Sio hopes to boost a play-off challenge with a shocking win over leaders St Helens, his other half will be part of the Red Devils women’s team that takes the League Cup victory in its inaugural season.
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Rugby league is largely avoided when the power couple is at home, although Sio calls Victoria ‘the Wayne Bennett of the household’ as she points out things.
But while each knows how the other is doing, there will be no crowing if the men win and the ladies lose, or vice versa.
“We’re just trying to cheer each other up by saying, ‘There’s always a next time,'” revealed Sio, whose 21 attempts collectively brought him to the top of the leaderboard in this weekend’s games.
“But Victoria is the one giving advice. She thinks she’s playing all positions in rugby league, she’s trying to be the Wayne Bennett of the household!
“It’s a huge weekend for the club and also for this household, but we manage to keep our rugby and private lives separate. We love to have our family time away from sports.
“From the men’s point of view, being in the top six is what we’ve been working towards, but now that we’ve been aiming for it, the mindset isn’t changing.”
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Victoria is no stranger to rugby as she also plays rugby union for Eccles while working a part-time job as a janitor in an office building in Manchester.
But the impact a women’s team has made at Salford cannot be underestimated in its inaugural season.
The 30-year-old vice-captain, who will face Orrell St James at 3pm, said: “A top game and a cup final in a first season. I don’t know if that’s ever been done before.
“It’s crazy to think that we didn’t get together until we were formed in November. The biggest thing behind it though is the push from the club and this is my first serious season in rugby league.
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“I’ve learned a bit more about the game and appreciate what Ken is doing more. It opened my eyes about understanding the pressure and that it’s not just about talent. People stay at a high level by working hard.
“I’m taking the kids because they’re big enough to be on the sidelines and they’ll let me know how Ken is doing.”
Despite the two lives being largely separate, rugby league is sometimes brought up at home, largely by back rower Victoria.
She added: “We give each other the quiet appreciation for what each other does at home, but I try to coach him sometimes. Wayne Bennett, as he said.
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“In defense, if someone comes through him, maybe I’ll say, ‘Don’t do that, that’s not what you’re doing.’ If he tries a few too many times, I say, “It’s you, it sure is you.”
“There was on time he said, ‘You don’t know rugby league.'”
However, for the laid-back 31-year-old Sio, a double win would be perfect, as he added of Paul Rowley’s men: “Beating Saints would send a big message that we’re taking this seriously.”