Harold Matts 2021: Wests ‘Mr Fix-It’ Solomone Saukuru leading Magpies finals charge
The versatility of Solomone Saukuru has been a vital ingredient to Western Suburbs’ push for a finals spot in the Harold Matthews Cup.
NRL
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Western Suburbs’ own “Mr Fix-It” Solomone Saukuru has wreaked havoc in the centres, second row and middle so far this season.
On Saturday, coaches believe the Harold Matthews star will be key in the Magpies’ mission to defeat the Sydney Roosters and secure a spot in finals.
Saukuru has scored seven tries in NSWRL’s under 17s competition and coaches have been impressed with the youngster’s exceptional skill and footy brain.
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“He’s become a ‘Mr Fix-it’ for the team, he can plug a couple of holes, he’s playing in the middle recently,” Wests Tigers Player Development and Pathways Manager Tyrone Collins said.
“He’s got the skill of different positions ... we’ll decide on positions later down the track, for now it’s about enjoying footy. Later on, his body shape and all that will probably determine where he plays.”
Fullback Tajh Colquhoun has also been a standout for the Magpies.
“He reminds me a bit of Josh Dugan when he came onto the scene, that rubbery sort of build, very difficult to tackle, but there’s not a lot on him, he’s lean and tall … he’s grown in confidence over the last couple of weeks. ” Collins said.
There’s been plenty of hype around Manly and Penrith’s Harold Matthews sides, but Western Suburbs snuck into the top four last week and they are really starting to click.
“The two games (the Magpies) lost were against the teams coming first and second (Manly and Parramatta), they were tight games,” Collins said.
“You can see they enjoy playing footy with each other and now they’re winning games.”
The SG Ball match of the round is the clash between Canterbury and South Sydney. The match will be a curtain-raiser for the NRL Bulldogs and Storm clash at Stadium Australia.
Both sides are stacked with talent and are likely to feature in finals.
The Rabbitohs suffered their first loss of 2021 last week against a plucky Balmain side and will be determined to bounce back.
They will look to cause damage through their deadly edge combinations with winger Evan Manning and centre Josiah Karapani — the pair have scored a combined 14 tries.
The Dogs will be equally motivated to win after drawing with Newcastle last weekend. They will be without star centre Paul Alamoti for the clash, but the Dogs’ spine of Khaled Rajab, Joseph O’Neill, Danny Ghantous and Cameron Lawrence are more than capable of getting it done.
NSWRL junior representative teams will complete their Round 7 clashes this week, after the round was postponed last month due to wet weather.
Finals will kick off next weekend and grand finals are scheduled for weekend of May 1-2.
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