Many good judges regard beefed-up Tigers winger Marika Koroibete as the fastest man in the NRL. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
AKUILA Uate can see a lot of himself in the Wests Tigers' Fijian wing sensation Marika Koroibete.
"I got to talk to him at a Fijian dinner we had in Sydney last weekend," Uate said. "He is very quiet. Doesn't say much. He talked Fijian more than English.
"I just wished him luck for the game and he said the same thing to me.
"I think I'll be up against him on Monday night, but I haven't thought about it too much.
"I've just been thinking about my own game and what I have to do."
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The clash of the two explosive Fijian wingers will be one of the highlights of tomorrow night's showdown between the Newcastle Knights and the Tigers at Hunter Stadium.
Uate is a proven match-winner and is rated by many as the most damaging runner of the ball in the game.
Koroibete, 20, could turn out to be the heir apparent. He grabbed the headlines when he scored four tries in only his second NRL game last season.
With a full off-season under his belt, he will start 2013 six kilos heavier at 95kg after a summer spent in the gym.
He is also considered by many to be the quickest player in the game.
That all adds up to a mouth-watering match-up against Uate.
Newcastle coach Wayne Bennett has been at pains to warn his players not to get too wrapped up in all the action from the other NRL games in the opening round. He doesn't want them burnt out before tomorrow night.
Much has been made of the Knights' added muscle in the pack with the addition of noted tough guys and former premiership players Jeremy Smith and Beau Scott to the forward pack.
But while even Bennett has been gushing about the squad's trial form, it means nothing if his side don't bring their A-game against a Tigers side out to impress new coach Michael Potter.
Wests have had their own distractions in the build-up with the death of Toyota Cup star Mosese Fotuaika a week ago, which rocked the tight-knit club.
More than 100 players and officials attended his funeral in Brisbane on Thursday.
The major question mark over the Tigers centres around their forward pack and whether they can lay the type of platform superstar five-eighth Benji Marshall is going to need to work some of his old magic.
If they can crack the Knights up the middle tomorrow night, that question will be answered very quickly.
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