This media hype was part of the TV3 Docudrama looking back at Jonah Lomu's life and career and Salizzo was portrayed in this programme by top New Zealand actor Phil Brown.

At its peak, production of the show led to Salizzo part-owning a restaurant and bar complex on Auckland's Princes Wharf named Leftfield.

Salizzo brought Sportscafe back in 2008 for a return season, and again in 2011 for a series of live-streamed, online-only episodes in partnership with Telecom.

It was designed to enter the tightly contested 7pm timeslot and be a flagship programme for SKY Network Television's newly acquired free-to-air channel Prime.

He was involved in the production and (along with the cast of SportsCafe and satirist John Clarke) performance of Fred Dagg's 1998 song "We Don't Know How Lucky We Are", which topped the New Zealand chart in July 1998.