Nielsen predicts big season for Fijian flyer Eto Nabuli
By MITCHELL JENNINGS
March 13, 2015, 9 p.m.
Veteran Dragons centre Dane Nielsen believes the best is yet to come from new left-flank partner Eto Nabuli after the Fijian flyer's strong debut on Monday night.
Nabuli made his presence felt in the opening minutes when he crunched his opposite Young Tonumaipea in a strong tackle and was on hand to ground a Benji Marshall grubber for his first NRL try early in the second half.
It was a long time coming for the 26-year-old former hotel porter who arrived in Australia in 2013 and spent two seasons languishing in the Panthers' NSW Cup side before coming to Wollongong with the intention of claiming the left-wing position vacated by Brett Morris.
An added touch was that his wife, Kasanite, and infant daughter Grace Kiara were watching from the stands after Nabuli's teammates funded their trip to witness his debut.
It was one of the few positives the Dragons could take out of a forgettable 12-4 loss to the Storm.
With 110 NRL games to his name, Nielsen is the ideal foil for Nabuli and the former Origin rep said he was looking forward to strengthening their partnership.
"It was pretty cool night for the big fella," Nielsen said.
"I read his story the other day and it's great to know that he's made a lot of sacrifices, he's gone without seeing his family, his wife and his little kid, and so far it's paid off.
"Obviously scoring tries is always a good thing and he did that on debut but I think he made a lot of metres for us to get us out of trouble.
"He's obviously only fresh into first grade and it was only his first game but I think he can get a lot better and he'll only improve from here on in."
The move to the Dragons has also seen Nielsen reunite with former Storm teammate Gareth Widdop after they formed a strong combination in their years together in Melbourne.
Nielsen said the loss to the Storm left his side plenty of work to do ahead of their round-two clash with the Tigers on Monday.
"Melbourne's a great defensive side; they have been for years but the game was definitely there to be won for us and we just didn't take our opportunities," Nielsen said.
" ... We had enough opportunities to score points but there were far too many times where as a team we didn't know our role well enough."
http://ift.tt/1AxVjMO
By MITCHELL JENNINGS
March 13, 2015, 9 p.m.
Veteran Dragons centre Dane Nielsen believes the best is yet to come from new left-flank partner Eto Nabuli after the Fijian flyer's strong debut on Monday night.
Nabuli made his presence felt in the opening minutes when he crunched his opposite Young Tonumaipea in a strong tackle and was on hand to ground a Benji Marshall grubber for his first NRL try early in the second half.
It was a long time coming for the 26-year-old former hotel porter who arrived in Australia in 2013 and spent two seasons languishing in the Panthers' NSW Cup side before coming to Wollongong with the intention of claiming the left-wing position vacated by Brett Morris.
An added touch was that his wife, Kasanite, and infant daughter Grace Kiara were watching from the stands after Nabuli's teammates funded their trip to witness his debut.
It was one of the few positives the Dragons could take out of a forgettable 12-4 loss to the Storm.
With 110 NRL games to his name, Nielsen is the ideal foil for Nabuli and the former Origin rep said he was looking forward to strengthening their partnership.
"It was pretty cool night for the big fella," Nielsen said.
"I read his story the other day and it's great to know that he's made a lot of sacrifices, he's gone without seeing his family, his wife and his little kid, and so far it's paid off.
"Obviously scoring tries is always a good thing and he did that on debut but I think he made a lot of metres for us to get us out of trouble.
"He's obviously only fresh into first grade and it was only his first game but I think he can get a lot better and he'll only improve from here on in."
The move to the Dragons has also seen Nielsen reunite with former Storm teammate Gareth Widdop after they formed a strong combination in their years together in Melbourne.
Nielsen said the loss to the Storm left his side plenty of work to do ahead of their round-two clash with the Tigers on Monday.
"Melbourne's a great defensive side; they have been for years but the game was definitely there to be won for us and we just didn't take our opportunities," Nielsen said.
" ... We had enough opportunities to score points but there were far too many times where as a team we didn't know our role well enough."
http://ift.tt/1AxVjMO
Nielsen predicts big season for Fijian flyer Eto Nabuli
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire