David Fifita must work hard to make the most of his formidable talent, says Matty Johns
Here’s a tip for anyone wanting to reach the elite – relying on your gifts alone won’t get you there. And for all of David Fifita’s abilities, the Brisbane forward must learn the science of rugby league to become the best, writes MATTY JOHNS.
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It feels a little odd not writing a column based on the coronavirus threat.
But I don’t suppose you all look to my part of the paper for expertise on a pandemic and what’s going to happen next.
I remind myself of my high school days when I was choosing my elective subjects. Always ignorant enough to shoot for the stars, I first chose chemistry.
I lasted 20 minutes into the first lesson before I began thinking I had mistakenly stumbled into a foreign language class.
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I took a step down to biology. Again, clear as mud. So after a week I ventured, with my tail between my legs, into general science, where I found my level.
Well, sort of. I still finished in the bottom third of the class, but at least I could turn on a Bunsen burner.
So forgive me, no coronavirus. Instead, young Broncos tyro David Fifita.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player have such an impact based purely on natural athletic gifts.
I first saw Fifita a few years ago playing for Queensland in the Australian Schoolboys carnival.
He was impossible to miss. His physique was not far off how it looks today and with his almost his first touch he carried the football with such physical dominance he could have run it back to Queensland if not for the tryline.
He scored the same sort of try last week.
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Fifita creates everything himself. Therefore he is only scratching the surface of what he is capable of doing in rugby league.
If Fifita is willing to extend himself beyond his athletic gifts and really learn the science of rugby league — running a gap, running a late line or how to operate in combination with a playmaker — he will turn into one of the game’s great backrowers.
In sport, natural ability has a ceiling. A rugby league backrower will come up against a defender or a defensive system that will work you out, and you are going to need a Plan B.
That Plan B is a point of difference from just being thrown the ball early and wished the best of luck.
It’s using a playmaker to disguise a running line or creating a gap to run into.
The Broncos’ halves stocks aren’t filled with playmakers whose strengths are finessing the football.
Brodie Croft and Tom Dearden are still young and will get better in this area year by year, but there are still little plays they can put on which will give Fifita all he needs, the inside shoulder of an edge defender.
In terms of the dangers of an individual relying on natural talent alone, I’m reminded of a brilliant interview with American boxing trainer Teddy Atlas.
Atlas learnt the boxing craft from Hall of Fame trainer Cus D’Amato. Atlas also assisted D’Amato in training a teenage protege called Mike Tyson.
D’Amato was a boxing genius, a professor in the sweet science. Atlas spoke during the interview about Tyson’s career and how Cus taught the young phenomenon.
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At 15, Tyson was a physical freak. His strength, speed and power were nothing they had ever seen.
However, D’Amato insisted Tyson learn the full craft, the science of boxing.
He taught the subtlety of slipping a punch, how to feign, how to counter and how to cut off a ring.
He taught him everything, including an appreciation of boxing history.
Cus taught Tyson that relying upon his physical gifts alone was lazy and dangerous. He taught him how to win a fight against an opponent who wasn’t intimidated by speed and power, and who was willing and able to stand toe-to-toe.
D’Amato’s training and knowledge turned Tyson into the most explosive and exciting boxer in history. He appeared unbeatable.
However, Atlas spoke of Tyson’s decline after D’Amato died.
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Tyson did go on to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time, but Atlas said fight by fight he started to rely on his natural punching power alone to win fights.
It was only a matter of time before Tyson met the man who would force him to search for the Plan B he no longer had.
Tyson met two of them, Buster Douglas and the great warrior Evander Holyfield.
Tyson’s speed and power made him intimidating but it was his willingness to learn and use science which had once made him invincible.
Rugby league is no different. Natural physical gifts are exactly that, gifts, and should be treated as a bonus.
If you rely on them alone, they become a curse.
Originally published as David Fifita must work hard to make the most of his formidable talent, says Matty Johns