Parramatta coach Brad Arthur believes Maika Sivo can match the feats of Semi Radradra
When Semi Radradra left the NRL, Parramatta fans probably thought they would never see another wrecking ball like him but Eels coach Brad Arthur believes Maika Sivo is well on the way to matching his predecessor.
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When Semi Radradra left the NRL, Parramatta fans probably thought they would never see another wrecking ball like him.
Well, now Brad Arthur has paid rampaging rookie Maika Sivo the ultimate accolade, ranking him right up alongside a young Semi while declaring: “He is miles off being where he is going to be eventually”.
In a stunning first season, the giant winger who weighs a whopping 108kg — seven kilos heavier than Radradra — has already scored 16 NRL tries to be just one behind NRL leader Latrell Mitchell.
The powerhouse giant also regularly sends shockwaves around stadiums with thunderous hits like the one he put on an unsuspecting Canterbury’s Dallin Watene-Zelezniak last week.
“He is a monster,” Arthur added.
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“And he is taller and he is thicker than Semi.”
But as fast?
“Close,” Arthur continued.
“I reckon he is like Semi was early in the piece when Semi wasn’t real fit, and I don’t think Maika is real fit.
“Sometimes some of his runs are a little half-paced because he is tired. But it took ‘Bulla’ a couple of years to get NRL fit.”
But Arthur believes when it comes to trying to predict just how far Sivo’s talent can take him, the freakish 25-year-old has barely scratched the surface given this is only his fourth year playing the game.
“Right from the start I could tell we had a player,” Arthur said.
“From when we first got our hands on Semi to when we first got our hands on Maika, Maika was further along. And he knew the game better.
“He wasn’t as good physically but he had only done three or four weeks pre-season with us because he had the shoulder reconstruction.
“I would like to think we will get him better next year after a full pre-season.”
Originally scouted playing rugby union in Fiji, Sivo was brought out to Australia on a scholarship to play country rugby league for the Gundagai Tigers in group nine.
Arthur initially spotted Sivo playing in a trial match for Penrith at the start of last year and identified him as a potential replacement for Radradra.
And when Sivo was dropped from the Panthers’ top 30 squad, Parra swooped.
He was originally signed on a reported two-year $72,500 a season deal but understandably that is expected to be bumped up big time next year.
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Sivo still heads back to Gundagai when he gets the chance to visit Don and Kathy Tuckwell who made this rugby league dream possible.
The Eels take on Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night with last year’s wooden spooners already secure in the top eight but with the chance to finish top four.
And while plenty of teams are struggling with key injuries late in the regular season, the Eels are just about at full strength with Blake Ferguson back and missing only the suspended Nathan Brown.
PARRA LEGENDS SOLUTION FOR THE WRESTLE
Parramatta legend Mick Cronin is one of the most humble and mild-mannered blokes you will ever meet.
But like many fans, there is one modern rugby league tactic that makes him want to turn the TV off — and he just hopes someone at the NRL is smart enough to start listening to the fans.
The NRL want you to believe it is only whingeing media and Melbourne Storm haters who are fed up with the wrestle.
But Cronin is also so frustrated that he took it upon himself this week to call from his pub in Gerringong to make his feelings known about the constant go-slow tactics.
Initially he didn’t want to speak publicly because he said no one at the NRL would care what an old bloke like him would think.
“They can call me an old fossil, I don’t care,” Cronin said.
“But it is not rubbish (the constant criticism of the wrestle).
“The fact is it is annoying a lot of people and they have to get rid of the wrestle.
“But I really think they aren’t even trying to change it, that’s my point.
“They talk about it but no one ever seems to say, ‘we have got to look at this’.
“So the wrestling is only going to get worse.
“But it doesn’t make it a better game to watch.”
Cronin reckons the solution is simple.
If the first two defenders go in high no third player should be allowed to axe the legs and the ref should call held immediately to allow a faster play-the-ball.
Of course coaches wouldn’t like it but the fans sure would.
“They have got to force the coaches to change the way they coach,” he said.
You just wonder if anyone at the NRL will ever listen, or be brave enough to make the change.
Originally published as Parramatta coach Brad Arthur believes Maika Sivo can match the feats of Semi Radradra
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