Akuila Uate made an unforgettable debut into the NRL in the Newcastle Knights outfit that shaded his team’s 13-16 loss to the Cronulla Sharks and stamped his mark into the competition.
The 21-year old left a lasting impression on the 1000 plus crowd that gathered at Tokyo Stadium when he crossed over the try line to level the scores 12-all.
"He's an excitement machine, no doubt he's the next personality player of the NRL,'' Johns declared,” former Newcastle international Matthew Johns said.
He came in as replacement for injured Adam MacDougall
"Brian Smith held him back last year for good reason, but there's definitely been an expectation about him for a while now.''
His first touch was nothing more than a dummy-half scoot - he made three meters. So much for the hype the Melbourne Herald Sun reported.
But this kid is all class and apparently Uate was just taking his time before finally picking his moment, the Melbourne Herald added.
It was in the 34th minute, when from a brilliant cross field kick from Jarrod Mullen, Knights centre Junior Sau flew high, Uate waited in support, his arms flapping madly.
With the Steeden gripped in one hand and with a trouble-free run to the line, Uate suffered the biggest hit of his career before planting the ball down, when almost flattened by his celebrating teammates.
Uate played for Woy Woy on the NSW Central Coast and has been labelled as the next Lote Tuqiri.
He placed third in the Australian U-16s 100-metres final a few years ago and is now the fastest player at the Knights and on his way to being the fastest player in rugby league.
Officials have labelled him as having the height, natural athleticism and blazing speed as well as an amazing step.
“If he continues his outstanding progress he should be an established first grader by 2008, and may well be one of the stars of the World Cup playing for Fiji,” another Australian website said.
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