KEY POINTS:
If Robert Louis Stevenson still graced this world, he could write a modern version of his famous novel, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
This tale would focus on a young and physically intimidating Warriors winger who is one of the most dangerous in the NRL but also one of the most error-prone.
At times, he makes the game look easy, swatting away opponents like inconsequential flies while at others, he looks a novice struggling with the basics. No better was this encapsulated than in 80 minutes against the Melbourne Storm on Monday night.
He scored two brilliant tries, including one despite the attention of three defenders and the rapidly-approaching sideline, set up a third for Jerome Ropati, ran for a team-high 161m and looked the Warriors' most dangerous player.
He also looked their most vulnerable, gifting the Storm two tries after fumbling kicks that came his way.
Vatuvei, of course, has some history with fickle hands and today's opponents, Parramatta, know this better than most.
They will surely remind him of his dreadful display last season when he presented the Eels three tries in their 30-6 victory. Eels halfback Tim Smith ruthlessly peppered him all game like most sides do these days and, by the end of the night, even Parramatta fans might have been willing Smith to show some mercy and kick to the opposite wing.
Many have questioned why Vatuvei is picked week after week for the Warriors, suggesting he is more a liability than an asset, and these were ramped up again last week.
He might sometimes wish rugby league were like American football, with attacking and defensive units, because on attack, Vatuvei is one of the game's best.
He and Eels winger Eric Grothe featured prominently when comparing wingers last year and they dominated statistics on such things as linebreaks, try assists, metres gained and offloads.
Curiously, they also racked up the most errors of any wingers - Grothe 32 and Vatuvei 31 - while Vatuvei also missed the most tackles.
He does have a tendency to drift infield on defence and be exposed by a long cutout ball.
Interestingly, Matt Bowen, Billy Slater, Kurt Gidley, Todd Carney and Krisnan Inu all made more errors than Vatuvei last season yet aren't subjected to the same sort of examination. The simple reason is that Vatuvei's are more visible and often carry bigger consequences.
The 22-year-old is patently aware of his shortcomings under the high ball and has worked hard to eradicate them, catching up to 100 balls in training each week. He has also listened to advice from team-mates and fans as well as watching countless hours of videos of his technique.
He knows he is targeted by opposition kickers but doesn't try to hide from his responsibilities.
"Every time the high ball goes up, I can't be afraid of catching the ball," Vatuvei says. "If I am, then I will drop every ball. I also have to forget about making a mistake because, if you let it get to you, you'll have a bad game.
"Against Parramatta last year, I went into my shell after a few errors, but on Monday night I kept on with my game even after the errors. I didn't want to disappoint the boys again."
And that is what drives the quietly-spoken Kiwis winger who in 2005 was named the International Newcomer of the Year. He wants to please his team-mates and his coach.
Apart from dropping Vatuvei for one match after the Eels debacle, Ivan Cleary has stuck by him. There are moments when Cleary might question his decision but to the coach, the bad times are outweighed by the good.
"You could just tell what everyone was thinking early in the game [against Melbourne] and he probably was, too," Cleary says. "But to his credit, he fought back and did some great things for us. He was symbolic of our evening. We showed a lot of promise but just let ourselves down.
"Historically, Manu might have those days but he probably bounced back better on Monday than I have ever seen before. He's also shown, historically, that if he's not had a great game he bounces back pretty quickly and quite well. He's very valuable here. He's one of those guys you'd rather have on your side than on the other team."
Former Kiwis fullback Richie Barnett sees this too and offered to work with Vatuvei on technical issues after his meltdown against the Eels.
Barnett saw a number of flaws in two sessions they had at Mt Smart Stadium. Vatuvei tended to plant his feet early and become prone in one position rather than shift around as the ball moved in flight. He also led with his chest.
"It's all about soft hands and cradling the ball when it comes into your chest," Barnett says. "There was a perfect indication of what Manu does last week when the ball whacked against his chest. He needs to turn his body to one side and then get his hands above his chest.
"I definitely think he can get it out of his system because these skills can be taught. Training needs to replicate what they do in a game scenario and especially with Manu. He needs to continually do it so it becomes second nature.
"His co-ordination is fine, he just needs to learn the specifics of catching. It's the one minus in his game and, if he gets that right, he could be a world beater."
Like many, Barnett wondered if Vatuvei would recover mentally from his performance against Parramatta.
He was dropped for the following game against the Bulldogs but came back for the next against the Storm. While there were a few jitters, Vatuvei finished the season strongly at both ends of the park before suffering a knee injury on the eve of the playoffs.
"Everyone in their right mind doubted whether he would come back from that," Barnett says. "But they selected him and look at how well he played. He showed himself to have a strong personality and that he backed himself and for him to come back from that was really commendable."
Vatuvei knows the Eels will target him this afternoon. Nothing is surer.
"All I have to do is catch it and, if I do, they won't be kicking it back to me," he says with an ominous grin.
That's not strictly true, because he has too much history. If he can snaffle the first, he is likely have a safe game. And if he can do that each week, there's less chance the Mr Hyde side of Manu Vatuvei will appear.
