Not even teammates are safe from Eels winger Maika Sivo’s fend
A Maika Sivo fend is one of the great sights in the game today — unless you’re on the receiving end. Just ask teammate and Parramatta captain Clint Gutherson.
No one is safe when it comes to Maika Sivo’s powerful right hand fend, not even his Parramatta teammates.
The Fijian flyer sent New Zealand’s Gerard Beale and Blake Ayshford into next week in consecutive hits as he steamrolled down field to set up Brad Takairangi for a try in the Eels’ 24-22 win over the Warriors last weekend.
Earlier this year, Eels skipper Clint Gutherson was at the receiving end of one Sivo’s bruising fends during training.
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The winger was nursing an injured shoulder and wearing a no-contact bib, but someone forgot to tell him that included no fending.
“There was one time, I was still an orange shirt, that means no contact because I just came back from a reconstruction on my left shoulder,” Sivo said.
“Gutho was flying off the line and I just went ‘bang, palmed him off right in the face’ and he was blowing up.
“So next time he told me to take it easy a bit.”
Sivo’s devastating run on Saturday evoked memories of the ‘don’t argue’ merchants of the 1980s, when greats like Canberra’s Mal Meninga and Parramatta’s Eric Grothe Sr would often put on a fending masterclass.
But Sivo, who only began playing rugby league in 2015, admitted he was unaware of Grothe’s fend.
“I’ve heard of Eric Grothe but that’s the first time I have heard that, I didn’t know that he did it too,” he said of the Guru’s notorious attacking weapon.
While Sivo’s efforts will be replayed on highlight reels for years to come, he told The Daily Telegraph he won’t be watching them.
“My family and my friends were sending me videos of it, I didn’t watch it because I don’t like watching it again,” Sivo, 25, said.
“That’s just me, I don’t like watching videos of me in general. I can watch it once but every time they send it I can’t keep on watching it.”
But Sivo does take time to watch highlights from recently retired South Sydney star Greg Inglis who, like Grothe, often made easy work of opposition defenders.
“I’ve watched a couple of G.I’s [Inglis] videos, he’s pretty good at it isn’t he? A couple of my friends were telling me about him and how he is really good at that too,” Sivo said.
Sivo told The Daily Telegraph he is fully aware of the strength he possesses but only employs the tactic at the most opportune time.
“The opportunity was there so I just took it on Saturday. I have been trying the last couple of weeks in games, but that one [against the Warriors] was spot on. It’s just a natural thing for me to bump a player, I can fend with both hands but the right side is the good one,” he said.
The Eels take on St George Illawarra on Sunday and the last time the two sides met back in round eight was actually the first time Sivo successfully used the fend at NRL level.
“Last time it happened when we played against the Dragons, I got Matt Dufty. Hopefully I can do it this weekend again and get another try assist,” he said.
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