Manly Sea Eagles recruit Taniela Paseka the biggest thing to hit the NRL
Adrian Proszenko
Published: April 1, 2017 - 4:55PM
Taniela Paseka is the biggest thing to hit the NRL in years.
Paseka – all 200 centimetres of him – is the brother of a Silver Ferns netball star, has been compared to Jason Taumalolo and was named Wests Tigers' National Youth Competition player of the year in a side that included $1.3 million whiz kid Moses Suli.
In a major coup, Manly have just acquired Paseka after he was granted a release from his Tigers contract. The 19-year-old made his debut for the Sea Eagles in the NYC on Friday, just hours after his mid-season switch was rubber-stamped by NRL headquarters.
Rival recruiters were stunned the Tigers parted ways with Paseka, one declaring: "He reminds me of a young Jason Taumalolo – he's untackleable."
The two-metre, 119-kilogram prop is expected to push for a first-grade debut with the Sea Eagles in the coming months.
"It all happened pretty quickly, I'm looking forward to a fresh start and a new opportunity," Paseka said.
"I want to play first grade, that's my goal for this year. I want to debut and play consistent footy."
Paseka isn't the only talented athlete in the family. His sister, Malia Vaka was a regular for the New Zealand national netball side before taking maternity leave.
"She has inspired me and pushed me to do my best," he said. "She was a role model as well to me. She was really switched on and focused to turn professional."
Paseka is a towering presence. The under-20s Blues representative, who is also hoping to represent Tonga in the upcoming Pacific Test and World Cup, can recall just one occasion where he wasn't the biggest human on a football field.
"No, I haven't played against anyone bigger," he said. "I played with a boy who was bigger than me in SG Ball, he was a big boy.
"It helps being tall. The movement is something I need to work on because I've got a big body and you have all these little guys running around. It does help with the contact and the attack."
In a bid to improve his mobility and tackling technique, Paseka has been doing extra wrestling sessions at the same Smeaton Grange gym as Australian UFC star Robert Whittaker.
"I've done some stuff with Rob Whittaker and the coaches out there, it has been really helpful," he said.
Paseka is good friends with Suli, the pair often travelling to training together. Watching Suli make his NRL debut in round one has given Paseka confidence he will soon be able to do likewise.
"Growing up with Moses Suli, I believed he was going to make it," Paseka said.
"He's so talented; everything he's done is so amazing. When he debuted I wanted to debut as well. It opens up what is possible, you don't know when you can debut."
The All Saints Liverpool junior was juggling his footy with factory work last year, unsure whether he was capable of making the grade. His selection for the junior Blues gave him the confidence that he could.
"I didn't really believe in myself, I was just going through the motions," he said.
"I played the game really hard, they saw it and when I got picked I got shocked. I told my dad straight away and started to believe in myself. That was a big eye-opener for me, I didn't know what I was capable of before."
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...est-thing-to-hit-the-nrl-20170401-gvbkf4.html
