Leka Halasima in action for Warriors. Photo / Photosport
Leka Halasima is destined for big things in the NRL - but he won’t let the hype go to his head.
In fact, his relaxed nature and humility will be the making of the 19-year-old, according to Warriors’ teammate Wayde Egan.
Across eight seasons in the NRL, Egan has seen many young talented players make their mark on the competition.
But no one quite like Halasima. Not only for his awesome abilities on the field but also his relaxed persona off it.
“He’s a great kid - willing to learn and very humble,” Egan told the Big League podcast.
“He’s pretty relaxed and easygoing and that’s what we love about him. He just turns up on game days and he’s just a freak like we [saw on Sunday].”
Egan feels Halasima - who has captured the imagination with some freakish deeds, the latest being the extraordinary try that conjured a remarkable victory over Newcastle last weekend - has the ideal mindset for a young player.
“He doesn’t take the game too seriously,” said Egan.
”It’s pretty cool to see. He just has fun with it and backs himself, backs his ability and all the boys back him as well, and that’s what shines [through]- just his natural athletic ability and his footy playing.
“He’s just a footy player. Webby allows everyone to be themselves and he’s just that, he’s himself, and everyone just gets on board with it.”
From being an unknown less than 12 months ago, Halasima has catapaulted to stardom, grabbing headlines across the rugby league world.
That can be a lot to handle - and former Warrior Reece Walsh is an example of someone who struggled with a quick rise - but Egan has no such fears for Halasima.
He assures that the second rower, who has been deliberately shielded from the media spotlight by the club, will keep his feet on the ground, despite all the talk.
“He’s a very humble kid,” said Egan.
“He works hard at training each and every week and he definitely doesn’t get ahead of himself.”
But there is no doubt that Halasima is assembling quite a highlights reel.
It started in his first game late last year - when he was oh-so-close to a stunning debut try against the Bulldogs and hasn’t really stopped, with a series of head turning moments in 2025, culminating in last Sunday’s seven seconds of magic.
Egan is no stranger to Halasima’s feats - seeing him day in, day out at training - but admits he was blown away by the finale in the Newcastle game.
“It was unbelievable,” said Egan.
“I was in shock actually, afterwards. I couldn’t even celebrate. I was in sort of disbelief that he just done that.
“There’s only a couple of players in the NRL that could probably score a try from there and I’m glad it ended up in his hands. He’s one of the most special players I’ve seen for a while.”
Egan had been key to that sequence, stealing almost 15m from a dummy half dart early in the set that helped to get the Warriors momentum.
He was also involved in one of the game’s flashpoints, when his try midway through the first half was scratched for a double movement, in a controversial call.
“When I first scored it, I thought it was a try,” said Egan.
”I thought I’d just rolled over with it. I was in the huddle with the boys and then, next thing it was a no try. It is what it is."
Egan admits the Warriors were fortunate last Sunday, with Halasima’s moment of explosive brilliance papering over a fractured performance, where the attack didn’t really click and the right edge defence was porous.
“We probably didn’t deserve to win it but anytime you get two points in this league, you’ll take it. We weren’t happy with the performance but the Knights were pretty good to be fair.”
But the Warriors have plenty of momentum, now consolidated in the top four with seven matches to play, four of which are in Auckland.
The bizarre nature of Sunday’s victory has led many fans to feel that something special may be brewing this season but Egan downplayed such talk.
“We just take it game by game,” said Egan, ahead of Saturday’s clash with the Gold Coast Titans (5pm).
”We’ve got to go week by week just keep notching up wins. We don’t want to look too far ahead.
“Obviously, we’ve got a great group of lads here and we’re playing some decent footy.
“But to get where we want to go to, we’ve still got to keep improving each week so we are not looking too far ahead.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.