Melbourne Storm Captain Harry Grant Rejects Comparisons Between Sua Fa'alogo and Reece Walsh
Melbourne Storm skipper Harry Grant has firmly dismissed comparisons between emerging fullback sensation Sua Fa'alogo and Brisbane Broncos superstar Reece Walsh ahead of their highly anticipated NRL grand-final rematch. The buzz surrounding Fa'alogo intensified after his remarkable hat-trick performance against St George Illawarra in the previous round, which helped maintain the Storm's unbeaten start to the season.
In contrast, Walsh and the Broncos have encountered a shaky beginning to their title defence, suffering two consecutive defeats. Grant emphasised that Fa'alogo should be allowed to focus on his own developing game without the burden of being measured against Walsh, the incumbent Kangaroos No.1 who was nearly unstoppable in Brisbane's grand-final victory last year.
Grant's Perspective on Player Development
Harry Grant expressed his views on the matter, stating, "Comparisons are hard, expectations are hard—it's Sua's second full 80-minute performance with Storm, and comparing him to Reece Walsh and asking him to do those things—I always find those things challenging." He added, "I think it's just let Sua be Sua and not have any expectations because he's only played two full games of NRL. Let's see if he can continue to train well, to prepare well, and that'll give him the best chance to play well."
Melbourne teammate Tyran Wishart highlighted that Fa'alogo's breakout game was a result of extensive pre-season efforts. "He's put a lot of work into his game. He's had a massive pre-season and, especially defensively," Wishart remarked about the 22-year-old. "I'm sure he has always been comfortable in what he can do attacking-wise, but what he has done defensively in the last 12 weeks has been massive. People might not see what he's doing for us defensively because of those crazy, highlight tries, but he's working really hard in defence and he's been doing that the whole pre-season, so it is good to see it come to light."
Looking Ahead to the Grand-Final Rematch
Grant described Friday's clash at AAMI Park between the two competition heavyweights as a "clean slate," with the Storm not dwelling on last year's title decider. He anticipated the Broncos would rebound from their current form struggles. "I definitely moved on, yeah, I think last year's in the past," the Test hooker said. "We've got a clean slate and it's a new opportunity, new year, and a new squad, and that's probably the mindset of the playing group. We all know the capability of the Broncos, and there's always high expectations of where they perform and where they sit, and sometimes those challenges bring the best out of players, and that's probably where they're at. It's just the start of the season, like it's two games—it's a long journey ahead, so we'll be expecting them to be fired up and playing a good round of footy."
