League: Moa proves he's a real prizefighter

Sam Moa may look like boxer Alex Leapai but he can pack a punch. Photo / Getty Images

Sam Moa was teased by his Kiwis team-mates about his likeness to Australian heavyweight boxer Alex Leapai in the lead-up to Friday night's Anzac test.

The comparison was even more pertinent afterwards. Moa was rocked by a head knock in the first half of the 30-18 defeat to Australia and looked like he had gone a few rounds in the ring as he sported a large bandage around his head. Unlike Leapai, who was easily beaten by Wladimir Klitschko in his world heavyweight title fight last weekend, however, Moa landed a few blows.

The Roosters prop was outstanding in defeat, scoring a first-half try and running for 116m from 13 carries in 39 minutes of action. He made four tackle breaks and one linebreak and, along with Jesse Bromwich (141m), led a Kiwis forward pack which outmuscled their opponents.

They constantly bent back the Australian defensive line and Moa ran hard and straight.

There was certainly little talk about Jared Waerea-Hargreaves afterwards and the controversial omission might now find his route back into the Kiwis a little harder.

Moa feared he might not be allowed to continue when he suffered a heavy head knock in the 12th minute when trying to make a tackle in the leadup to Greg Bird's try that, if he had been in the ring, might have seen the referee call off the fight.

He was wobbly on his feet and dragged from the field to undergo a concussion test but was even more influential on his return. "The guys were calling me Alex Leapai during the week and I felt a bit like him as if being on the end of a big punch," Moa said. "I came off but I got assessed by the doctor and he reckons I passed the test with flying colours, not that I remember much about that. I went back on the field and just tried to contribute. "It probably kicked me into gear. I try to avoid head knocks. They're not too good in the long run."

The performance of the front-row rotation will give coach Stephen Kearney plenty to think about ahead of this year's Four Nations, because Martin Taupau was another standout performer on debut.

In the background is not only Waerea-Hargreaves, but also Ben Matulino, Sam Rapira, Frank-Paul Nuuausala and Sam Kasiano. It's one position where panic doesn't set in if there are a series of injuries.

Moa has been a revelation since returning to the NRL last year and, at 27, has age and experience on his side. He played only a few minutes of one NRL game for the Sharks in 2008 before four years with Hull FC in the UK Super League.

"I felt really old [in this Kiwis side] and said to myself at the start of the week I needed to be a bit of a leader.

"As a rugby league nation we can be excited about the way the young guys played. It was a big ask for a lot of them. There's still a long way to go for us to be on par with Australia but we can certainly take positives out of it."