Leka Halasima scored an unbelievable match winning try against the Newcastle Knights.
The 19-year-old is in his first full season of NRL.
Halasima re-signed with the Warriors until the end of the 2029 season earlier this year.
When you think of Warriors cult heroes, names like Hitro Okesene, Mark Tookey, and Manu Vatuvei instantly come to mind.
But in just his first full NRL season, Leka Halasima is already on track to surpass them all, not only to become a club icon, but quite possiblyone of the greatest Warriors we’ve ever seen.
It’s a huge claim to make about a teenager with just 22 NRL appearances. But the signs have been there from the moment he took the field for his debut in the 52nd minute against the Bulldogs just over a year ago.
When I was growing up, kids in the park would dream of being the next Benji Marshall. Then it was Shaun Johnson.
Now, it’s Halasima. I’ve seen it first-hand, kids on the footy field and even on the bus talking about how they want to be like Leka.
He’s already been compared to Warriors icon Ali Lauiti’iti, but he took his talents to the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League before fans got to see his true potential.
Prior to the Warriors’ round 20 clash in Newcastle, Halasima had already produced many astonishing moments, but his crowning moment came against the Knights.
The football gods were on the Warriors’ side when Tanah Boyd’s field goal was charged down and the ball bounced into Halasima’s hands.
In the space of seven seconds, he produced an audacious amount of skill with impeccable footwork to score a try that will be talked about for years to come, rivalling Michael Witt’s winner against the Storm in 2008, and Shaun Johnson’s twinkle toes against the Sharks in 2015.
No other player in the Warriors or the NRL for that matter could have scored that try, that’s how freakish it was on the incredible meter.
Every game, Halasima seems to produce one moment of magic; remember in his debut when he was just held up over the line in the golden point defeat to the Bulldogs? Or his run down the sideline where he looked like a winger to score late against the Tigers? Pure magic.
But there is more to Halasima than just explosive carriers; his defensive work can’t go unnoticed, also highlighted against the Knights where he made a brilliant tackle on Fletcher Hunt in a two-on-one situation and then diving on a loose ball when Newcastle were destined to score in the second half.
Another skill he has is the ability to not get turned on his back when tackled, often he’s held standing or on his stomach which allows quick play the balls.
From your back-rower, you want to see high IQ plays who run the right lines to break the advantage line, but some of Halasima’s work you simply can’t coach.
On top of that, like the other cult heroes of the past, Halasima has a very likeable personality.
His Instagram following has grown by nearly 9000 since his try against the Knights and when the camera is on him, he is still raw and honest.
He has his own trademark grin, which is of the same ilk as Damian McKenzie when he lines up a conversion.
At the end of the day, he’s still a kid and he’s himself, which is what draws people in and something you don’t often see in modern professional team sport.
His efforts have meant that Demitric Vaimauga’s rapid rise through the ranks has almost gone unnoticed.
Warriors’ fans need to strap themselves in as Halasima isn’t just the future – he’s the present and, as he’s locked in until 2029. What we are witnessing is a talent who could finally lead the club to Premiership glory.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
