NRL 2020: Roosters prop Poasa Faamausili to join Warriors on loan deal
The cousin of legendary Panthers duo Frank and Tony Puletua will swap teams for a month, with the injury-ravaged Warriors finally receiving reinforcements thanks to a revolutionary loan deal.
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Sydney Roosters prop Poasa Faamausili will join the Warriors next week under a revolutionary four-week loan deal to help the injury-ravaged Kiwis.
And the Auckland-born Faamausili can have impact on the Warriors well beyond the month he spends with them, according to his famous cousin.
Faamausili is related to legendary Penrith Panthers duo Frank and Tony Puletua, and news of his impending move to join the Warriors next week reminded Frank of the trash-talking youngster who has gone on to become a member of the NRL premiers.
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“I remember Tony and I played in Auckland once and we got carved up, the Warriors were on fire that day, after the game we went to the house where all the families got together,” Frank Puletua said.
“And there was Poasa, just a young kid, and he was giving it to us, telling us our team wasn’t very good.”
After 14 NRL appearances with the Roosters, the 24-year-old will be loaned to the Warriors for up to four weeks, before returning to play for the Chooks in round nine.
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Ironically, Faamausili’s first game for New Zealand could be against the Panthers in round four.
Faamausili will join the Warriors at their Central Coast camp on Monday, after the NRL gave special dispensation to the club to borrow a player after season-ending injuries to Bunty Afoa and Leeson Ah Mau, and Jazz Tevaga facing up to four weeks on the sidelines.
Faamausili had been targeted by the Cronulla Sharks, who have their own injury woes as well as the Bronson Xerri drugs scandal to deal with, however the Warriors have won the battle for the 108kg front rower.
Puletua believes the swap will benefit both sides of the Tasman.
“It’s a nice way to give back to a system that in many ways cultivated his journey,” Puletua said.
“The Poasa you see now is very much a product of the Roosters system, he has been moulded by them in the last few years.
“The pathways he came through in New Zealand, just as many others have, helped in his early development.
“I think if he can take what he has learned at the Roosters and impart some of that to the Warriors, they will greatly benefit.
“He’s come from a very strong, stable family, and he is very strong in values which is consistent throughout Pacific Islander families.
“Poasa has been able to represent that really well. We’re all immensely proud of him.
“He had his challenges early on, it was tough for him moving away from Auckland, leaving his family behind.
“But they made the move to ease the transition for him, and since then he’s been able to find his feet.”