The Warriors' new weapon: Inside the rise of Peta 'Fliku'

Peta Hiku's flick passes have been a welcome sight to Warriors fans. Photo / Getty Images

Peta Hiku has a deep bag of tricks, and a recent shift has allowed him to dive into it.

Since a move to the right side of the field a little more than a month ago, Hiku has flourished in the Warriors attack - assisting on eight line breaks and seven tries. But it hasn't just been his level of production that has caught the eye, but the way he's been doing it.

Over the back half of this season, Hiku has developed a signature skill - taking the tackle and getting a flick pass away to his winger.

"The last few weeks I've been switched over to the right side and I supposed that's just the preferred side for me to attack where I have a right-hand carry," Hiku tells the Herald.

"On the left side of the field it's hard to hold it, fend and flick with the left hand. It just comes a bit more naturally on the right side.

"I don't think about it too much, I think it's just lucky the wingers are always there and expecting the ball to come."

It's a skill that comes from his days playing touch. In a similar fashion for Kiwis duo Benji Marshall and Shaun Johnson, Hiku developed handling skills and a soft touch in the non-contact code.

"When I was playing touch, you have all those plays in the back of your mind because it's just a touch game you're not too worried about the contact," he explains.

"Just having that fun growing up where you think you can pull it off, then you have a few times you do and think 'I might actually take this into a game' then you can use it in your game. I think having fun with it when you're younger can show in where you're at with your control and skill with the footy."

Peta Hiku gets a flick pass away during the Warriors' round 17 match against the Parramatta Eels. Photo / Photosport

While Hiku gets the credit for the spectacular play when it comes off, he explains there are a lot of piece that need to fall into place for him to be in the opportunity to do so.

Playing outside of five-eighth Kodi Nikorima is a factor. Nikorima is a dynamic ball runner when he decides to take the line on, and Hiku explains that forced the defence to make a decision which ultimately has a domino effect.

"(Kodi) takes a lot of pressure, because when he gets the ball they don't want him to run," Hiku says. "When he gets ball in hand, they think 'well we can't let him run' so they tighten up on him and he throws the ball out my way. It works out well.

"If I can get the winger to come in, sort of half beat the opponent centre so if the winger bite in a little bit and gives just enough space, I think that's my main thing. As soon as the winger turns in then there's an opportunity for our winger to get over the line.

"It's hard to premeditate those sorts of plays. It just comes with the footy we play."

Peta Hiku's flick passes have been a welcome sight to Warriors fans. Photo / Getty Images

Nikorima is actively encouraged to run the football by his teammates and coaches as he causes plenty of problems for the opposition defence when he does put the foot down.

However, while it's one of his best tools, Nikorima does need reminding to run the ball as he has games where he only looks to pass the ball.

"He knows he's a good runner, he just sometimes needs to be reminded to run before passing," Hiku admits.

"It's a strong part of his game. It's probably the best part of his game, running the ball. When he runs the ball our team looks pretty dangerous. Not only as players we tell him to run the ball, but I think the coaching staff tell him to run the ball a bit.

"One week if he doesn't, the next week he's probably got a bet on with one of the coaches...if he can run a bit more, not just one-out runs but being smart with it – he probably gets coffee the next week or coffee every day the next week, he's probably got something where they make him run...I'd probably crumble under pressure if I had something like that."

Both Nikorima and Hiku have been vital parts of the Warriors attack this season, leading the team with 11 and eight try assists respectively.

With just two rounds to go, Hiku has the chance to match - if not exceed - his NRL season-high assist count of 10, which he had last year.

The Warriors fell out of playoffs contention last weekend with a loss to the Cronulla Sharks and can now see the finish line, which means a return home to family for many of the players.

But while it's something to look forward to, Hiku says the team won't get ahead of themselves as they still have plenty to play for - with young prop Tom Ale named in the 17 for Sunday's match against the Canberra Raiders and looking set to make his NRL debut.

"We've all come together saying we've obviously had a good half to the back end of this year and we've got two games left. It's not going to hurt us to go out there and do our best," Hiku says.

"We've got Tom Ale who's been named in the 17 and we don't want to go out there and embarrass him on his debut. In the last couple of games he's got an opportunity there to play two games. It will be a shame if we go out there and let the game run away from us just because we're out of the eight.

"Your first NRL game is a good feeling, but it's even better when you have a win under your belt. We don't want to take those things away from other people, so we're here to finish of the job.

"We've got the motivation there."