ENARI FENDS FOR HIMSELF
NRL initiations don’t come much more brutal than a Greg Inglis fend.
But Cowboys youngster Enari Tuala gave fans a promising taste of what to expect after standing up to being constantly targeted by the Rabbitohs superstar in last week’s 20- 19 loss.
Tuala, 19, grew up idolising Inglis and was preparing to go head to head with the South Sydney skipper in the centres.
A hamstring injury to Alex Johnston forced Inglis to switch to fullback, but it didn’t stop him from giving Tuala a thorough examination when he came off the bench into right centre late in the first half.
The Junior Kangaroo passed with flying colours, missing just one of 10 tackles and making a line break in his second NRL match after debuting in round 24 last year.
“I think it was my first attempt to tackle him. I got a bit of a fend in the face,” Tuala said of his Inglis duel.
“He’s always been one of my role models. I’ve always looked up to him.
“I knew if he was the centre ( I was marking) I’d have to do a big job on him. He moved to fullback, but I still had to tackle him a few times.”
With the Cowboys struggling for pace out wide this year, Tuala demanded selection with a hat- trick for Northern Pride against Redcliffe the week before the Souths clash.
While his goal is to start an NRL match for the first time, he is content to come off the bench when starting centre Ben Hampton moves to hooker to give Jake Granville a rest.
“It makes me more nervous coming off the bench ( but) I felt heaps better compared to my debut last year,” he said.
“That’s been my goal, to start, but I’m happy to at least play off the bench and get an opportunity.”
It speaks volumes of Tuala’s potential that Cowboys coach Paul Green felt the teenager was ready to handle the challenge of taking on Inglis.
“It was a credit to the kid because he had a couple of errors there and to see it didn’t let it worry him ( was pleasing),” Green said.
“He got himself back in the game and it’s a really good sign of a good temperament from him.”