Size will not be a deciding factor on Sunday, with Reuben Cotter confident Australia’s smaller pack has the fitness and mobility to trouble Tonga’s huge forwards in the middle.
Tonga smashed through New Zealand’s middle in their shock 25-24 win this weekend, with Addin Fonua-Blake and Jason Taumalolo combining for 388 meters to help their country qualify for the Pacific Cup final in Sydney.
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It is an area they will dominate again on Sunday, with Fonua-Blake (123kg), Taniela Paseka (120kg), Taumalolo (115kg), Haumole Olakau’atu (113kg) and Eliesa Katoa (110kg) just some of the attackers. eclipsing their Australian counterparts, with Tonga set to release a 1004kg package on Sunday.
Even Tongan center Moses Suli (109kg) weighs more than Australia’s heaviest player, while Lindsay Collins, Pat Carrigan and Isaah Yeo all weigh 106kg, but that mattered little in their first meeting as the Kangaroos were down 18 last month -0 won in Brisbane.
While the Tongans have the size and strength to trouble the Kangaroos, the hosts have the speed and fitness to unsettle their rivals, with Cotter – 95kg – the kind of player who can cause problems when he comes off the bench comes.
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The speed and fitness of the Australian pack should be able to tire Tonga’s attackers on Sunday. Photo: Joe Allison/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
“In recent weeks the games have gone into the 70th minute and I think it will be the same this weekend. I definitely think fitness will be a huge benefit for us. We are all quite fit and healthy,” he said.
“When you play in the middle you have to be physical and come out with that intention, otherwise you will be bullied. We’ll get there physically and keep it going from there.
“It doesn’t scare me (that they are bigger). I’ve played a few games in these big games against big groups, so I know what to expect. For leather you just have to go to hell.
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“They are difficult to combat. They’re big guys, and I’m not the biggest guy in the middle. You just have to throw everything at them.
“You have to give them credit because they played fantastic football. We expect nothing less this weekend. It will be a tough match and we will win through the middle, so there will be a lot of focus on our defence.”
Jason Taumalolo is coming off a monster game for Tonga. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images
Australia will look to tire their opponents with quick ball moves they made during Monday’s training in Wyong, where Cotter was asked about Taumalolo after his Cowboys teammate went ballistic in Auckland.
Cotter is proud of Taumalolo who took the big step of switching his allegiance from New Zealand to Tonga in 2017, prompting other stars to honor their Pacific heritage.
“He is difficult to handle. He’s a big boy and he has good feet too. We saw that in the first game when he played quite well, and over the weekend he played extremely well. It will be a tough job this weekend,” he said.
“He has a funny character and he is good for the group. I’ll try to hit him in the tackle and throw my elbows in.