Parramatta rookie Blaize Talagi's eye-catching debut puts an end to Zac Lomax speculation
44 minutes ago
Parramatta's potential pursuit of wantaway Dragons star Zac Lomax might have been put to rest over the weekend after an eye-catching debut from Blaize Talagi.
The 19-year-old scored a try in his first NRL appearance, running over the top of Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic in an epic moment as the Eels scored a 28-24 victory.
Talagi finished with 10 runs for 89 metres and made four tackle breaks, while also overcoming a shaky start in defence to make 20 tackles with just three misses.
While there is plenty of room for improvement for the former Australian Schoolboys standout, head coach Brad Arthur admitted there was no surprises within the Parramatta locker room after his impressive first-up effort on Sunday afternoon.
Blaize Talagi celebrates a try on debut for the Parramatta Eels. (Getty)
"It was good - we got what we knew we would get from him," Arthur said.
"He enjoyed the collision, he liked the physicality, he kept going after the game. When he got a couple of things wrong, it didn't bother him.
"We knew we'd get all that and he's only gonna get better with experience.
"I know Blaize is only a kid, but he was able to not let it worry him … they are a pretty hard team to defend against and he did a pretty good job."
Talagi spent time playing at five-eighth coming through the grades, but given the presence of Dylan Brown in the blue and gold, he appears unlikely to play there any time soon and looks set to feature in the centres for the Eels.
However, with the emergence of Talagi out wide for the Eels, as well as the likes of Will Penisini and Bailey Simonsson still on deck as quality centre options, Lomax could potentially be surplus to Arthur's requirements.
Clint Gutherson also backed the youthful influx at Parramatta and believes the club are in a good spot for 2024 and beyond.
"We've got a lot of young kids there that are really pushing their case and working hard," the captain told Wide World of Sports in pre-season.
"We've got Blaize Talagi who is coming through, he played a bit of 20s and stuff last year, and the growth I have seen from him has been unbelievable."
Parramatta will be boosted by the return of Maika Sivo in round four, with the hulking Fijian winger missing the start of the year due to suspension.
Replies
Talagi can still feature even if Lomax is at the club. This is just speculation writing after Blaize's debut.
After the weekend I feel like if we need any position desperately it's a winger, not centre. Besides Talagi has a good left to right passing game so i'd much rather he be picked as the 14.
Definitely. Find a fast winger somewhere ! Do what clubs like the Roosters do - find the fastest runners and then teach them the game ! We put speed into our team, with our forwards and we could win it.
I mean technically we have Sivo and Simonsson who can play on the wing. But I would like to see Martin get a shot first.
Martyn isn't even in cup. So his a long way down the pecking order!
And why is that ? The club has to understand that the Cup side sole purpose is to develop players for the NRL side. Who gives a damn if they win or lose, just develop your players!
How is keeping Lumelume and Cini in the cup sides at the expense of Martyn and others, assisting future development?
I totally agree with you. Unfortunately for us the powers that be don't.
Martin isn't good enough?
That's a big call Coryn. If he isnt good enough then why are we bothering ? I've seen him play a couple of times and I was very impressed especially with his speed and his willingness to get involved. You are obviously closer to the action at the Eels so you may know more about it.
No Martyn isn't good enough. The easiest position to transition between the rugby codes is winger.
If he was any good he would have played a few in NSW cup by the end of last year
All this talk about Lomax, the bloke is on fullback money. Is he the player we seriously want to replace Guth with? I really hope not
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next