Billy Slater has urged Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy to find a spot in his round one side for boom rookie Sua Fa'alogo.
The 20-year-old turned heads by scoring two tries in a stunning NRL debut against the Broncos in the final round of last season.
He then made his international debut for Samoa in the Pacific Championships, and last week signed a whopping five-year extension to stay at the Storm.
READ MORE: Munster sets fitness deadline after shower incident
READ MORE: Leniu's shock hotel threat revealed before altercation
READ MORE: Coach backs Marnus despite grim form admission
Despite only making the one first grade appearance to date, Fa'alogo has drawn comparisons to Cameron Munster, while Slater himself said he reminded him of Reece Walsh.
Speaking on Wide World of Sports' The Billy Slater Podcast, the Maroons and Storm legend said Bellamy was in a position of "luxury" around selecting his utility, with Bronson Garlick and Tyran Wishart both strong contenders to fill the role.
But he said it should be Fa'alogo who gets the nod.
"I'd be trying to find a spot for him somewhere because he's a wonderful player," he said.
"He's just re-signed with the club for another five years, so he's there for a long period of time.
"I know he's been working hard in the off season, so I think it's time for Sua to enter the NRL again."
https://omny.fm/shows/the-billy-slater-podcast/walsh-charge-vegas-verdict-round-1-pt-2-preview/embed
Last week, fellow league greats Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler also urged Bellamy to consider using Fa'alogo as a utility.
"They always do that – they bring these young blokes in that play in all random positions," Fittler explained on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth.
"(Ryan) Papenhuyzen came through, Cooper Cronk came through – whether you're a halfback or fullback, he [Bellamy] puts you in the middle for a while."
Slater praised Fa'alogo's work ethic, revealing he travels more than an hour to and from training.
Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and 9Now.
"He's a great young man … I'm very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with classy players like Sua, Ryan Papenhuyzen, and obviously the Queenslanders and help them build their career," he said.
"He was born in Samoa and his family moved over to Victoria when he was only young .. and his family has since moved back to Samoa.
"He lives here with one of his siblings, and he travels over an hour to get into training. That's the work ethic – that's the want that he has to fulfil the dream.
"He's going to build his game over the next handful of years, and he's going to be a wonderful player.
"I don't know what position he's going to end up in, but to be honest he's one of those players that it doesn't really matter.
"You just get him out on the field and he can play in the middle, he can play on the wing, he can play fullback – wouldn't surprise me if he played a bit of dummy-half.
"He's one of those players that you just get him involved in the game and good things will happen."
After the Las Vegas double-header kicked the season off on Sunday, teams for the remainder of round one will be released at 4pm on Tuesday.
The Storm will take on the Panthers in Melbourne in the 8pm (AEDT) game on Friday night.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.