Sam Kasiano is the biggest first-grade forward in the 104-year history of the code

Video & Gallery: TIPPING the scales at 133kg and standing 1.96m, Sam Kasiano is the biggest first-grade forward in the 104-year history of the code.

TIPPING the scales at 133kg and standing 1.96m, Canterbury prop Sam Kasiano is officially the biggest first-grade forward in the 104-year history of the code.

Cast an eye over the past five generations of front-row enforcers and names such as Arthur Beetson, Glenn Lazarus, Steve Roach, Shane Webcke, John O'Neill and Kevin Ryan standout as colossal props - both in stature and reputation.

But stand them beside Kasiano and each would be over-shadowed by the Bulldogs front-rower out to terrorise the Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium today.

Of the current generation, the two players who get closest to him in terms of weight are David Taylor (123kg) and Tony Williams (122kg).

"He's a unique specimen. We haven't come across a player as big as Sam before and he certainly carries himself well for a player of his size," rugby league historian David Middleton said.

"It will be interesting to see if he can continue over a long period of time.

"You have to wonder, physiologically, will he last playing at that weight over 10 seasons.

"But certainly on the evidence we've seen in his first two years in the NRL, he's a remarkable athlete for a player his size."

Four years ago, Kasiano was a high-school drop-out couch-surfing between relatives' homes in Brisbane.

Today, his transformation from a raw, out-of-shape teenager who had rarely set foot inside a gym to an NRL wrecking ball is one of the feel-good stories of grand final week.

Polynesian bulldozer

The nephew of former Super 15 rugby player Junior Pelesasa, Kasiano quit Brisbane's Wavell State High School at the age of 17 and graduated to the couches of two aunts - one on the north side of the city and the other on the south.

Working odd jobs part-time, the Bulldogs prop played park football for Aspley before progressing to the Norths Devils, where the Polynesian bulldozer caught the eye of then Bulldogs recruitment guru Peter Mulholland.

"When we first saw him as a kid playing in Brisbane after coming back from a serious leg injury he'd blown right out," Mulholland said.

"His diet was terrible, all fast food and typical stuff for kids of that age.

"By the time we'd signed him and he got off the plane in Sydney to join the Bulldogs, he was 127kg.

"The rest was all down to (renowned Bulldogs conditioner) Gary Carden. He has done a magnificent job."

But whereas last season Canterbury conditioners were instructed to keep Kasiano's playing weight under 121kg, this year the front-rower with the ball skills of a five-eighth has been granted a licence to eat.

"Sam told the club he'd rather be bigger because he reckons he doesn't feel the hits as much at that weight," a Bulldogs insider said.

"And it's not like it's affected his form. It's improved out of sight.

"Obviously, he's a pretty big eater. Whenever I've spent time with him, he is always eating."