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0 Parramatta’s potential pursuit of wantaway Dragons star Zac Lomax might have been put to rest over the weekend after an eye-catching debut from Blaize Talagi.
The 19-year-old scored a try in his first NRL appearance, running over the top of Manly superstar Tom Trbojevic in an epic moment as the Eels scored a 28-24 victory.
Talagi finished with 10 runs for 89 metres and made four tackle breaks, while also overcoming a shaky start in defence to make 20 tackles with just three misses.
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While there is plenty of room for improvement for the former Australian Schoolboys standout, head coach Brad Arthur admitted there was no surprises within the Parramatta locker room after his impressive first-up effort on Sunday afternoon.
“It was good – we got what we knew we would get from him,” Arthur said.
“He enjoyed the collision, he liked the physicality, he kept going after the game. When he got a couple of things wrong, it didn’t bother him.
“We knew we’d get all that and he’s only gonna get better with experience.
“I know Blaize is only a kid, but he was able to not let it worry him … they are a pretty hard team to defend against and he did a pretty good job.”
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Talagi spent time playing at five-eighth coming through the grades, but given the presence of Dylan Brown in the blue and gold, he appears unlikely to play there any time soon and looks set to feature in the centres for the Eels.
The club was reportedly interested in acquiring the services of Lomax, who has expressed his desire to play in the centres and is disgruntled with his current role at St George Illawarra under new coach Shane Flanagan.
However, with the emergence of Talagi out wide for the Eels, as well as the likes of Will Penisini and Bailey Simonsson still on deck as quality centre options, Lomax could potentially be surplus to Arthur’s requirements.
Clint Gutherson also backed the youthful influx at Parramatta and believes the club are in a good spot for 2024 and beyond.
“We’ve got a lot of young kids there that are really pushing their case and working hard,” the captain told Wide World of Sports in pre-season.
“We’ve got Blaize Talagi who is coming through, he played a bit of 20s and stuff last year, and the growth I have seen from him has been unbelievable.”
Parramatta will be boosted by the return of Maika Sivo in round four, with the hulking Fijian winger missing the start of the year due to suspension.
