Aitken ready to prove his worth
Euan Aitken is ready to remind everyone why the Warriors brought him to the club after declaring himself a certain starter for tomorrow’s NRL Magic Round clash against Parramatta.
One of the Warriors’ key offseason signings, the former Dragons centre played in the opening-round victory against the Titans before spending the next eight weeks on the sideline due to an ankle injury.
He was initially named on an extended bench by coach Nathan Brown, but Aitken revealed yesterday he has been moved into the runon side to face the Eels at the expense of rookie winger Edward Kosi.
‘‘I’ll be playing in the centres this weekend and really keen to get back out there,’’ Aitken said.
‘‘The body is feeling pretty good now, I think I’ve come back at the right time.’’
It’s unclear who will replace Kosi on the wing, though Adam Pompey or Rocco Berry appear most likely.
There’s always the outside chance of Brown moving skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who has indicated that he’s open to switching positions to accommodate young gun Reece Walsh at fullback. But that would be a brave call given Tuivasa-Sheck’s form in the No 1 jersey.
With 122 NRL appearances behind him, Aitken’s return is a significant boost for the Warriors after experiencing a heavy injury toll in the outside backs.
Peta Hiku and the recentlydeparted Paul Turner both suffered season-ending shoulder injuries. David Fusitu’a is still recovering from a hamstring complaint, while Pompey and Marcelo Montoya have also spent time in the casualty ward, leaving Brown to blood Kosi and fellow rookie Berry in recent weeks.
Aitken’s dynamic ball-running provides another strike weapon on attack. But, perhaps more importantly, Brown will be hoping his experience on the defensive end will help shore up one of the edges, where the Warriors’ have been exposed at times.
‘‘Our attack has come together nicely over the last couple of weeks, it’s always good to see that,’’ the 25-year-old said.
‘‘It’s just a couple of lapses, we haven’t played for 80 minutes so we’ve got to get consistency around that. The start of our second halves is really an area we need to focus on.
‘‘I’m just looking to play to my strengths, add some punch to the backline and just defend well. That’s what I want to bring to the team.’’
Having arrived at his new club eager to make an instant impression, Aitken found it difficult not being able to contribute on the field after tearing three ankle ligaments in the season-opener.
To his credit, he fought through the pain barrier to play out the 80 minutes, making 133 metres from 13 runs and 16 tackles without a miss. But any chance of a swift recovery was dashed when he required surgery, which left him in a cast and on crutches for a couple of weeks.
‘‘It’s always tough being in rehab, I think anyone will tell you that. You sort of feel a bit disconnected from the group because you’re always training by yourself.’’
‘‘It didn’t help coming to a new club, but it’s my time to get back onto the field now and I’m really hoping to make an impression.’’
Despite the second-placed Eels losing Kiwi five-eighth Dylan Brown and rugged centre Marata Niukore to suspension, the Warriors face a serious test of their top-eight their credentials at Suncorp Stadium.
Parramatta have established themselves as genuine title contenders
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Edward Kosi, Adam Pompey, Rocco Berry, Ken Maumalo, Kodi Nikorima, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Jamayne Taunoa- Brown, Wayde Egan, Kane Evans, Josh Curran, Ben MurdochMasila, Tohu Harris. Interchange (from): Jazz Tevaga, Leeson Ah Mau, Bunty Afoa, Reece Walsh, Bayley Sironen, Jack Murchie, Eliesa Katoa, Euan Aitken.
Eels: Clint Gutherson, Maika Sivo, Tom Opacic, Waqa Blake, Blake Ferguson, Jakob Arthur, Mitchell Moses, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Reed Mahoney, Junior Paulo, Isaiah Papali’i, Ryan Matterson, Nathan Brown. Interchange (from): Oregon Kaufusi, Shaun Lane, Ray Stone, Bryce Cartwright, Joey Lussick, Keegan Hipgrave, Haze Dunster, Jordan Rankin.
Referee: Ashley Klein.
with just one loss from nine games, but Aitken said they cannot afford to be intimidated by the Eels’ impressive record.
‘‘They’re running red-hot at the moment so we’ve just got to bring it to them,’’ Aitken said.
‘‘We’ve got to take the fight to them, we can’t give them too much respect and I think we’ll go a long way if we start well.’’
always been there about coming home,’’ Kahui says. ‘‘But it just hasn’t really been for us.’’
However, then came the more left-field option of the Force, who, after being axed from Super Rugby in 2017, were all of a sudden back in last year’s hastily-arranged Super Rugby AU competition.
‘‘I think they felt like because they had been playing Rapid Rugby and lots of exhibition games and things, they just needed some more experience in the team,’’ Kahui says. ‘‘I was on a camping trip and when I got the call from [coach] Tim Sampson asking if I wanted to play. I slept on it that night and thought, ‘Yeah, I’d love to’.’’
After signing a two-month contract, Kahui got back into it, and despite the Force’s winless season, it wasn’t enough to put him off going back for more. He was meant to be going back to Japan, though hadn’t signed anything, and there was too much to like about what his new side were trying to do in their rebuild.
COACHING FUTURE
So Kahui put pen to paper for longer, and while his extension was announced as a one-year deal, he revealed to Stuff he has also actually committed to the club for 2022 as well. However that may not be in a playing capacity, rather, coaching. ‘‘When we got asked to come, it was a big move to move the family for six months,’’ he says. ‘‘We turned up here in October, and to sign a one-year deal, it just wasn’t worth it.
‘‘The whole reason I came home was to be with my family. For them to stay on the Gold Coast, it just didn’t make any sense. So we said we’d come if it’s a two-year contract, we can talk about what the second year looks like when it comes around.
‘‘It may not be coaching this side, but maybe academy, maybe rugby development, or whatever it is. Everyone sees the grey hairs now and talks of retirement.
‘‘If I still feel I’ve got it in my legs I will try and play. But I think there’s a few people that will be making that decision.’’
A FORCE LIKE THE CHIEFS
For now, Kahui is just lapping up the good times with a Force team he loves just as much as the Chiefs one he was part of, and which has developed a culture he can compare with the Chiefs when Dave Rennie arrived.
This year has been a big improvement, with the Western Australians going 4-4 in Super Rugby AU, including a final-round win over eventual champions the Reds, which earned a spot in the qualifying final against the Brumbies. ‘‘It’s just been nice to be a part of seeing something grow,’’ says Kahui, who has played eight of his side’s nine matches (six starts), has bounced between both wings and both midfield spots, and will start in No 14 against the Chiefs.
‘‘Last year we lost eight in a row, they made a lot of changes, a lot of new players came in. But there’s been a big shift in what sort of team we want to be.
‘‘And I think it’s been really nice to be a part of those sort of foundation conversations about what this team is meant to be, and set those sort of goals and those standards, and then watching guys deliver every day out on the training field. So it just reminds me of those early Chiefs days.’’
FAMILIAR FACES AND THE FUTURE
Speaking of, Kahui was set to be playing barbecue host to some of those familiar faces on Thursday night, joking he had ‘‘got the raw chicken ready to go for the boys’’.
With Sam Cane and Brodie Retallick absent, though, there is just one player who has made the trek to Perth who partnered Kahui at the Chiefs – Liam Messam.
‘‘I know more of the coaching staff than the players nowadays – Roger Randle and David Hill,’’ Kahui quips of two others he has shared a field with. Obviously Mess and I played a lot together. [He’s] someone that I’ve got huge respect for. He’s someone that personifies who a Chief is.
‘‘But in my last season there, Damian [McKenzie] and Anton [Lienert-Brown] were the ones that were coming through, they were coming along to trainings, getting some experience. You could see back then that those two were going to be superstars. So it’ll be nice to face off against those two again.’’ Kahui, the romantic, would also relish nothing more than turning out for Waikato again in the NPC (36 matches between 2004-2011 including the title win in 2006).‘‘I would love to play for the Mooloos, just one more year, or be involved there somewhere.’’