Wests Tigers rookie Latu Fainu is aiming to cement a spot as the club's starting halfback and is in contention to take over from Aidan Sezer in the number seven jersey.
Benji Marshall will face a difficult task this week ahead of the match against the Newcastle Knights as veteran halfback Aidan Sezer faces a long stint on the sidelines due to suspension.
On Sunday, the Match Review Committee (MRC) handed down a long suspension to Sezer hitting him with a Grade 3 Dangerous Contact Charge on Josh Curran.
The MRC confirmed that the veteran will be suspended if he takes an early guilty plea but that could be upgraded to five weeks if he contends the charge and is found guilty at the judiciary - he has since taken an early guilty plea and will be absent for the next four matches.
The suspension means Marshall will have two options to replace Sezer in the halves. He could either call up Jayden Sullivan from the NSW Cup or promote teenage sensation Latu Fainu from the interchange bench into the starting team.
Since being axed from first grade, Sullivan has struggled to find his footing in the NSW Cup, which has only seen him accumulate one try, one try assist, two line-break assists and two forced drop-outs.
Zero Tackleย understands that Fainu is the frontrunner for the vacant halfback spot, which will allow him to team up with former high school teammate Lachlan Galvin in the halves - the close friends are also former Under-13s teammates.
"I really want to get that starting position, but whatever Benji needs, I'm willing to play any position, even if it's to stay at 14," Fainu toldย Zero Tackleย last week.
"I just want to do my job for this team. I don't mind where I play, I do want to play at half but at the same time whatever Benji needs me to play.
"I'm willing to play any position for this team. If Benji needs me to go play wing, I'll go play wing.
"At the same time, I'm just going to be working hard for this team."
Fainu has been in the NRL system since a young age, where he reached great heights in the junior representative ranks. This would see him once groomed as the potential successor of Daly Cherry-Evans at the Manly Sea Eagles, a player he has moulded his game on.
Inking a seven-figure deal with the Sea Eagles at the age of 16, the Tongan international would then make the move to the Wests Tigers last season alongside brother Samuela Fainu to join older brother Sione Fainu at the club.
Still only 18, the teenager has already become a U19s NSW Blues representative and accumulated multiple awards in the junior ranks, such as the Harold Matthews Cup Player of the Series in 2021.
"It's been great (playing in the NRL). I'm still new to this, still new to playing in front of big crowds, but I'm loving every single moment," he added.
Speaking on the difference between the junior ranks and the NSW Cup compared to the NRL, Fainu said, "Intensity wise, bigger boys to handle and especially game's quicker game-speed wise."
If selected in the halves, Wests Tigers fans can expect a highly intelligent ball-player in attack and can create something out of nothing.
He also doesn't shy away in defence as he likes the physicality of the match and has shown this in previous weeks taking down opponents much larger than him
