Sam Kasiano's rare mix of size and speed make him a stats sensation

AT THE start of 2011 we were chasing a list of rookies to watch when our man from Canterbury leaked the game's biggest secret: "Sam Kasiano".

Paul Crawley

2 min read

June 21, 2012 - 12:00AM

DailyTelegraph

AT THE start of last year, we were chasing a list of rookies to watch in 2011 when our man from Canterbury leaked the game's biggest secret: "Sam Kasiano".

Big enough to hide the sun behind, he told us, with soft hands and fast feet.

"Better than Willie at the same age?" we asked. "Please," he said. "He plays Willie off the break."

That was before "Dogzilla" even debuted in NRL.

As a teenager, Kasiano couldn't make the grade at the Broncos when he was playing in the local comp for Brisbane Norths.

Today, the Queenslanders are trying to reclaim him for the Origin decider on July 4.

In just 16 months, big Sam has gone from unknown to the game's most feared front-rower. And as Kasiano continues to refine his enormous talent, some good judges are predicting that the 21-year-old has the potential to become "Australia's" best ball-playing prop since Arthur Beetson.

Regardless of which country or state he ends up representing, what can't be challenged are his credentials.

You can't help but be blown away by the stats supplied by Sportsdata. Start with line break assists. Big Sam has the most of any prop this year with six. Kade Snowden and Brent Kite are closest with three. Most front-rowers have none.

And with everyone talking about the Bulldogs back-to-the-future attacking style in 2012, no one typifies the change better than Kasiano.

Playing in a forward pack that passes the ball more than any other in the NRL, the 133kg Kasiano has the most offloads of all front-rowers with 26. To put that in perspective, young Tiger Aaron Woods is a distant second with 17.

With tackle breaks, Sam is No.2 with 30. Ironically, leading that stat is the other young "Aussie" prop in demand, James Tamou, with 41.

Kasiano is now averaging 43.4 minutes per game, which is about 10 more minutes than he was playing last year and while he's not making the massive metres some props average, again, that goes back to the style of football the Bulldogs are playing.

He has errors and penalties in his game which he needs to improve, but under Des Hasler's structure you just know that will happen.

It's amazing to think that for a giant of a man, good hands and speed are two of his greatest strengths.

Kasiano is one of the fastest forwards at Canterbury and since Hasler arrived they've been working hard on improving that natural speed with technique under the guidance of highly respected sprint coach Clayton Kearney.

Kearney came across with Hasler from Manly. He's a former beach sprint champion and you can see his influence on many at the Bulldogs this year.