Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: The Warrior Tom Ale
Sprinkled amongst an impressive NZ Warriors forward pack this season is the rise of a young Auckland toko Tom Ale. The Mt Albert junior epitomises newfound Warriors mana under coach Andrew Webster and while there is no shortage of glorious Warriors stats in their 5-2 start, the fact that Ale has not missed a single tackle this season is the funkiest of them all.
Ale has made 104 tackles this season with no missed tackles, not one. Things started slow as Ale played 25 minutes or less in the first five games with 12 or less tackles. It's one thing to not miss a tackle when Ale is getting limited minutes but as his minutes have increased in the last two games, Ale has continued this trend.
Last night Ale played 35mins and made 26 tackles without a miss as Warriors rolled through lots of defensive mahi, consistently snuffing out mediocre Cowboys attacking movements. This was extra important given that Ale replaced Tohu Harris in the 31st minute and while the whole team contributed to this defensive performance, Ale is the youngest forward who matches the mana of more senior forwards.
Ale had 7 runs - 66m @ 9.42m/run vs Cowboys and has consistently hovered around the 10m/run mark. In his most productive game of the season, Ale had 14 runs - 155m @ 11m/run vs Knights while making 31 tackles in 46mins. NZ Warriors have a young forward who is running the footy as well as any other emerging youngster in the NRL and he hasn't missed a tackle.
There are no guarantees that the best teenagers will become effective NRL players and that's all good as each youngster is on their own journey. Ale has fabulous pedigree in league and union, starting with Mount Roskill Grammar before a stint with Wesley College and then Rotorua Boys High School.
While at RBHS, Ale was one of many lads to play both codes and he featured in their league team for the 2017 National Secondary Schools Tournament. Ale made the Tournament Team alongside Hayze Perham (Bulldogs), Kayal Iro (Sharks), Tukimihia Simpkins (Tigers), Starford To'a (Tigers), Christian Tuipulotu (Sea Eagles) and Jordan Riki (Broncos).
That team was stacked with talent as William Fakatoumafi (North Sydney/Roosters), Sione Moala (Bulldogs Jersey Flegg), Caius Fa'atili (Wynnum) and Javier Pitovao (Sunshine Coast) are also on the fringe of NRL. So much talent and yet Ale was named Player of The Tournament from a RBHS team that finished fifth.
Then Ale settled into the Warriors system, playing two years of Jersey Flegg before the pandemic. Ale flowed with pandemic niggle to grab an NRL debut vs Raiders in 2020, where he forecasted his future mahi with 4 runs - 42m @ 10.5m/run and 9 tackles @ 90%. While dabbling in NRL footy, Ale played for Redcliffe-Warriors in 2021 and 2022, averaging over 100m per game in both seasons.
As noted in this Warriors Forward Pack preview, Ale was immense in his four games last season and his running oomph has slightly decreased from that period. Ale went from 2.5 tackle busts last year to 1.42 this year and 42.25 post contact metres per game last year to 20.42 this season. Ale averaged 89m/game last year, now he's grooving along at 74/game this season.
This is balanced by Ale's defence. Ale had 7.7 tackles per missed tackle last season and he is yet to miss a tackle this season, so this stat doesn't work yet. This is aligned with Warriors under coach Webster as the whole squad is tackling better, but not missing a tackle in seven games is kinda bonkers.
Ale is earning more minutes and opportunities, although there is plenty of depth in the Warriors forward pack. Ale filled the Harris hole vs Knights and he grabbed more minutes vs Cowboys as Dylan Walker left the middle forward rotation. Mitch Barnett will return at some point but other lads will get injured or suspended to ensure more opportunities.
A possible international debut could come Ale's way with Tonga, while he is also eligible for Aotearoa Kiwis. More importantly, Ale is the most notable Warriors junior who endured the pandemic phase and stayed solid through adversity to emerge as a efficient bench forward in a winning Warriors team.
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Peace and love.