FOR a second, it seemed as if a member of the Jackson 5 had been made an honorary member of Manly's grand final team. But a closer look revealed it was Steve Matai under all that hair.

Without his famous braids, Matai confused some guests at yesterday's grand final breakfast - looking more '70s entertainer than NRL enforcer with his rounded afro.

Each week, Matai has the partner of his friend, Conrad Ta'akimoeaka, work her magic on his mane. It takes two hours for Carla Morgan to turn Matai's afro into the sleekly-designed cornrows the fans are used to seeing when he's on the field.

Many who sport cornrows do so for short periods at a time because they are difficult to clean, and in some instances the hair is woven so tight it can be painful and also cause hair loss.

Made popular by African-American rappers and athletes, the hair trend has taken off among all ethnic groups and in particular Pacific islanders.

While the American Civil War finished in 1865, many African-American women were still uncomfortable being seen in public without unstraightened hair in the 1960s, until actress Cicely Tyson wore cornrows on the television show East Side/West Side in 1963. That sparked a wave of copy-cuts as part of the "Black Is Beautiful" movement, when the trend was to reject straightening hair in favour of more natural hairstyles.

Jamie Pandaram