Parramatta’s Maika Sivo is the rampaging try scoring machine that hasn’t learned all the rules of the NRL

Maika Sivo admits he’s not quite sure of all the rules of rugby league but that hasn’t stopped him becoming the competition’s leading try scorer.

Maika Sivo has become a cult figure at the Parramatta Eels. Picture: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne

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Parramatta’s Maika Sivo is a rookie of the year contender who doesn’t know all the rules of the NRL.

The Fijian flyer revealed he is still learning even the basic principles of rugby league but any knowledge gap hasn’t stopped him from being the competition’s leading try scorer.

Sivo said his edge partner Michael Jennings and coach Brad Arthur had been helping him get his head around the rule book since he arrived at Parramatta from Penrith late last year.

Sivo required a shoulder reconstruction and was forced to miss most of the pre-season meaning Arthur only had three weeks to impart with as much knowledge as he could to prepare the winger for his NRL debut in round one.

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Maika Sivo has been a revelation for the Eels in 2019. Picture: AAP Image/Dave Hunt

But instead of a cramming session, Arthur decided to back Sivo’s brute strength in the hope he could tutor him as the season progressed.

“It’s good to have these boys around me who have my back, like Jenko [Jennings], telling me what to do," Sivo said.

In the pre-season he [Arthur] would always take me into his office and tell me the rules. I’ve learned so much from him.

A couple of the rules I still didn't know but he just said ‘run the ball and score tries’. From there he started to tell me more about the simple rules to do with the game."

And ‘run the ball and score tries’ is exactly what the Eels winger did.

Parramatta's Maika Sivo dives for the tryline against Manly on Friday night. Picture: Brett Costello

Sivo scored his first ever career hat trick against Manly at Bankwest Stadium on Friday night, taking his tally to 20 tries from 23 matches and to the top of the leaderboard.

Despite his acumen for scoring tries and a full regular season under his belt, Jennings told The Daily Telegraph Sivo still needs to be reminded of certain rules during a game.

“He doesn’t know all the rules yet, I’m still teaching him the rules at training and in games,” Jennings said with a laugh.

“Don’t tackle the attacking player in the air … that’s a big one he tends to forget. If you’re defending a kick you can tackle [the kicker] but he gets that mixed up sometimes and needs a reminder."

Maika Sivo has become a cult figure at the Parramatta Eels. Picture: AAP Image/Brendon Thorne

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Hailing from Momi, a small village in Fiji, and with a background in rugby union, Sivo has amassed a cult following among Parramatta fans.

The rampaging winger, who swats away opposition defenders like they are nothing more than a minor inconvenience between he and the tryline, was mobbed by young fans in the Eels dressing room after Friday night’s 32-16 win against the Sea Eagles.

But it’s the kind of attention the hasn’t always sat well with the softly spoken Sivo.

“I didn’t believe I was going to play NRL this year firstly. I had just done half of the pre-season but l was lucky to get a chance in the first round and it’s just kicked off from there. At the start [I didn’t like the attention]. It was all new to me, but I’m starting to get used to it,” Sivo said.

Originally published as Parramatta’s Maika Sivo is the rampaging try scoring machine that hasn’t learned all the rules of the NRL