{"id":371706,"date":"2024-02-29T20:23:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-29T21:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=371706"},"modified":"2024-02-29T23:05:41","modified_gmt":"2024-02-29T23:05:41","slug":"storm-lock-in-walsh-like-rookie-on-monster-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=371706","title":{"rendered":"Storm lock in 'Walsh-like' rookie on monster deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffelbourne<\/a> has locked in one of the most promising young players in the NRL<\/a>, with boom rookie Sua Fa'alogo<\/a> signing a bumper five-year contract extension.<\/p>\n

The 20-year-old made his first grade debut for the Storm at the back-end of last season and impressed with a scintillating performance against the Broncos.<\/p>\n

Fa'alago would soon become a Samoan international, featuring in the Pacific Championships and placing himself firmly on the radar of rival clubs.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW LIVE:<\/strong> Australia vs New Zealand, day two\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeffREAD MORE:<\/strong> Where Ricciardo sits in multi-million dollar F1 silly season<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Marnus 'skating on thin ice' as dire form laid bare<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

But in a show of loyalty, the young fullback has opted to commit long-term with the Storm and expressed his gratitude towards the club.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"It is really unbelievable for me to be playing next to guys like [Cameron] Munster, Paps [Ryan Papenhuyzen], Harry [Grant] and Hughesy [Jahrome Hughes]," Fa'alogo said.<\/p>\n

"I am a proud Melbourne boy and proud Samoan.<\/p>\n

"My family is here and I loved playing footy with Northern Thunder growing up. To have the chance to be part of the Storm is a dream come true.<\/p>\n

"I can't thank Craig (Bellamy) and the club enough for what they have done for me over the last couple of seasons and hope I can repay them on the field when my time comes."<\/p>\n

Watch the 2024 NRL premiership live and free on Nine and<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Fa'alogo is in the mix for a spot in the Storm line-up in the opening round of the season, but isn't expected to earn a starting spot given the presence of Ryan Papenhuyzen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, on Wide World Of Sports' Freddy and The Eighth<\/em>,<\/a> rugby league greats Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler both urged Craig Bellamy to include him in a utility-style role in 2024, likening Fa'alago to other Storm superstars.<\/p>\n

\"BRISBANE,<\/p>\n

"They always do that – they bring these young blokes in that play in all random positions," Fittler explained.<\/p>\n

"Papenhuyzen came through, Cooper Cronk came through – whether you're a halfback or fullback, he [Bellamy] puts you in the middle for a while."<\/p>\n

The rising star has also earned high praise from club legend and arguably the greatest fullback of all time in Billy Slater, who compared him to an incumbent Maroons star.<\/p>\n

"You can talk about getting under the high ball, and try-saving tackles where he gets his body in a good technical position, but that raw ability and natural gift he's been given, that's the exciting part," he told The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n

"He's a little bit like Reece Walsh … easy to watch in terms of their raw ability."<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

M\ufeffelbourne has locked in one of the most promising young players in the NRL, with boom rookie Sua Fa'alogo signing a bumper five-year contract extension. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":371708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=371706"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":371710,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371706\/revisions\/371710"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/371708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=371706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=371706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=371706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}