Rugby league: Big things on way from newcomer Iafeta Paleaaesina

By PETER JESSUP

Life as a newborn Warrior has been full of excitement and surprises for big Iafeta Paleaaesina.

He was a late call-up for his NRL debut against the Northern Eagles, then dropped back to his Hibiscus Coast side in the Bartercard Cup next day.

But when injury and suspension depleted the Warriors squad for the Wests game last weekend, coach Daniel Anderson, looking for size, went back to the big guy from Otahuhu.

And why wouldn't he? The 110kg, 20-year-old has delivered what has been asked, listened and learned, improved after each outing, and shown the right attitude.

The beefy scaffolder has been given three weeks' break by his Penrose employer to try his hand at the big-time.

This weekend brings a crunch decision - he is keen to go on if the Warriors want him to.

His fitness is improving rapidly. In only his second beep test - 40m sprints with line-touches at each end - he showed a 25 per cent improvement.

"I enjoyed it more last week because I was a bit fitter," he said.

Coach Daniel Anderson and assistant Tony Kemp have also analysed Paleaaesina's on-field actions on video with him as they seek ongoing improvement in his play. Jerry SeuSeu offers plenty of advice.

"The main thing the coach has been telling me to do on defence is to get up and back the 10m, fill the holes again in the line. And he wants quick play-the-balls.

"He's been telling me, generally, to just enjoy myself, play my game."

Paleaaesina joined the fray late against the Eagles, and delivered two huge, 10m hits that lifted the tiring Warriors to another try, opening the way for the win.

Anderson again decided he needed size to combat the Wests Tigers on a wet Ericsson field last weekend and picked Paleaaesina ahead of Nat Wood.

He was due to come from the bench, but Anderson called him up, telling him Jason Death had been injured in the warm-up and needed stitches.

"He told me to look him in the eyes, then asked me if I was confident enough to start," Paleaaesina said.

He did so and, though the ball did not quite run his way, did nothing to disgrace himself.

Other than speed, the main thing he has noticed about the Warriors is the on-field talk.

"Heaps of talk, way more than I'm used to, and that's another thing the coach wants me to do more."

Paleaaesina has been named on the bench again for tomorrow afternoon's game against the Dragons at Wollongong, with the same ask - hard yards on explosive bursts, calling plenty of defence in so the Warriors' halves and second-rowers can get the speedsters away wider.

The prop's Bartercard co-coach, Brian McClennan, is a big Paleaaesina fan.

"He will get a lot better once he gets a hang of the speed of the NRL."

He said it was a big call for a young player to step practically from schoolboy football to the NRL.

Can he do it?

"Definitely. He's going to be one of the great ones. I've never coached a prop with that much speed, strength and agility," McClennan said.

The Warriors have just lifted another of McClennan's players, 20-year-old fullback Daniel Floyd.

The Whangaparaoa local played for Victoria State last season while living in Australia and he stood out in the curtain-raiser against Manurewa last week when he returned the ball from behind his own goal-line to score.