Roosters lend a hand to the Warriors
The Sydney Roosters prop joining the Warriors on loan was such a big fan he once gave his famous cousins a hard time for losing to the Auckland club.
Poasa Faamausili, who scored on debut for the two-time NRL champions, will bolster the Warriors in a groundbreaking four-week loan and will be eligible to play against the Penrith Panthers in round four.
Roosters coach Trent Robinson confirmed Faamausili’s move yesterday. Faamausili remains in the Roosters’ 21-man squad for today’s anticipated clash against South Sydney but will join the Warriors on Monday.
‘‘He’s an NRL player ready to play and he’s not currently in our squad,’’ Robinson said.
‘‘We believe it’s a benefit for us. Obviously New Zealand as well, but for us, [it’s] to get a high quality player out there and playing.’’
Faamausili is a cousin of former Penrith Panthers and Kiwis brothers Tony and Frank Puletua.
‘‘I remember Tony and I played in Auckland once, and we got carved up – the Warriors were on fire that day. After the game we went to the house where all the families got together,’’ Frank Puletua told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
‘‘And there was Poasa, just a young kid, and he was giving it to us, telling us our team wasn’t very good.’’
Faamausili’s move would be the first since the NRL sanctioned month-long loans last week, in response to pressure to help the injury-ravaged Warriors field a competitive forward pack after injuries to middle forwards Leeson Ah Mau, Bunty Afoa, Jackson Frei and Jazz Tevaga.
Robinson said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic had allowed the league to experiment with the concept of month-long loan deals. ‘‘Having our best players across all teams being able to play, that’s a real benefit.’’
When asked about putting a cap on the length of a loan deal,
Robinson pointed to the success of the system in different codes overseas.
‘‘You see it in the English Premier League, that you see it either for a year loan or you do see the month loans as well.’’
The Warriors had previously been linked to former Kiwis prop Russell Packer, who is now with Wests Tigers, while an attempt to get 2021 signing Ben MurdochMasila
on loan from the Warrington Wolves was rebuffed by the Super League side.
Faamausili, 24, has played 14 first grade games for the Rooster since his debut in 2018. He played as an interchange forward in the Roosters’ round two loss to the Manly Sea Eagles in March.
■ Former Warrior Issac Luke going up against his old club was meant to be one of the highlights of this weekend’s NRL return for Kiwi fans.
So much so, injured Warriors lock Jazz Tevaga joked he would "pay anyone 100 bucks" if they could take Luke’s head off.
But all that banter was stopped in its tracks on Tuesday when the former Kiwis hooker couldn’t even make the Dragons 21-man squad to take on the Warriors.
His omission raised more than a few eyebrows but Dragons coach Paul McGregor has revealed it was an easy decision to leave Luke out because he had been ill.
Luke, who turns 33 today, was tested and cleared of Covid-19 last week.
‘‘He’s missed three of the last nine sessions,’’ McGregor told reporters yesterday.