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Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei - Source: Photosport -
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From the lows of one night in 2007 to one of the most valued players in the NRL, the journey of Manu Vatuvei has been a genuine feel-good story.
Media still love to talk about it and should he make any mistake on the field the commentators won't hesitate in referring to it.
It all comes back to two years ago when Vatuvei had a horror game against the Parramatta Eels.
Six crucial mistakes with three leading directly to tries, 'The Beast' was single-handedly scorned and blamed for losing the Warriors the game.
But after being dropped for one game, Vatuvei was forced to take a hard look at himself and make changes that would turn his career upside down.
The 23-year-old told tvnz.co.nz the Eels game was a turning point in his career and filled him with the desire to never let it happen again.
"For sure, that was a learning curve for me," he reflected.
"At that time I was a bit too comfortable in the team and there were a few things I thought I could do without practice.
"It went the other way and I learnt you need to practice all the time. My career's been going up and down but I'm learning every year and every week."
2008 was a break-out year for Vatuvei, scoring 16 tries from just 17 games in devastating fashion.
Even a broken leg early in the season couldn't stop him as he rampaged back with such swagger that he was named international winger of the year.
"Just awesome. To get that award last year was a great honour. I never thought I'd get that award, there are a lot of good wingers out there."
With 78 NRL appearances under his belt, he could crack the 100-game mark this season if he remains healthy.
Vatuvei also played a huge part in the Kiwis' against-all-odds World Cup victory at the end of last year.
He regards the opportunity to be part of that historic side as "very special" and admits it's still hard to believe sometimes.
While 2008 will be hard to top, 2009 is shaping up as another stunning year for the monster winger.
During the pre-season he was given the prestigious offer to be part of the NRL television promotion, something he remains very humble about.
"I never thought I'd be one of the faces of the NRL.
"I thought Pricey or someone would be up there, I was pretty surprised when they asked me."
But it's not surprising to his fans.
Vatuvei has created a cult following both in New Zealand and abroad thanks to his freakish skills and terrific personality.
Wherever he goes there will be people cheering his name.
"I enjoy it, having a few fans," he says with a huge smile.
"I'm always happy to have people support me.
Vatuvei is a joy to watch, and hopefully he can conjure up some more magic against Manly at Brookvale Oval this Sunday.
The Beast is also looking forward to a chance to feed off Kiwi league legend Stacey Jones who is set to play from the interchange bench.
"Over at Brookvale they're always hard to beat. We had a few tough times against them last year but all the boys know what the game's gonna be and we'll go out and do our best.
"Little General's back, hopefully I do score some tries off him
but Fieny and Joel Moon have been doing a good job too."
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentLaurie Reid said on 2009-03-19 @ 14:35 NZDT: Report abusive post
He is an inspiration! I remember watching that Parramatta game - some players would NEVER come back from that. Because it wasn't just the one game, the Australian commentators and media went on and on and on about it for the rest of that season. A lot of people forget as well that Manu scored 2 tries in the Tri Nations final way back in 2005.
lance's_biggest_fan said on 2009-03-19 @ 14:21 NZDT: Report abusive post
I'm happy to admit I used to scream at the telly for Cleary to take Manu off when he was Manu "Blunder" Vatuvei. Full credit to him and his team for believing in him - can't imagine the Warriors without him now!