Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Demitric Sifakula Is On The Way
Demitric Sifakula hasn't won an NRL game yet but he's impacted every game he's played in for New Zealand Warriors and could be the bully that Mt Smart needs moving forward. After making his NRL debut mid-way through the 2023 season, Sifakula suffered an injury late in the NSW Cup season and the Otahuhu junior then missed a hefty chunk of development mahi over summer before returning in round 12 of NSW Cup this year.
In his second season of NSW Cup and NRL footy at 20-years-old, Sifakula played eight games with six wins and two losses in reserve grade before stepping up to play Dolphins in the NRL. Sifakula had a couple games coming off the bench and then started five games as a prop, while being listed as an edge forward in his last NSW Cup outing.
Coach Andrew Webster eased Sifakula into NRL footy last year after he played in two NRL trials, then a steady flow of NSW Cup games. This was repeated this season with Sifakula rolling through NSW Cup games and building momentum towards NRL footy against Dolphins. Here's how Sifakula's stats look for his two NRL games this season...
vs Dolphins: 12mins, 5 runs - 50m @ 10m/run, 2 tackle breaks, 4 tackles @ 100%
vs Sea Eagles: 22mins, 4 runs - 39m @ 9.7m/run, 1 tackle break, 15 tackles @ 100%
This is similar to his three games last season where he played 19, 23 and 12 minutes. Some of Sifakula's mahi last season came at edge forward and he has stayed in the middle for his two appearances this season where his physicality, footwork and aggression adds value to NZ Warriors. When watching Sifakula play in the NRL, it's clear that his presence is felt and while that hasn't helped NZ Warriors win any of his five NRL games, Sifakula is steadily building towards a bigger role next season.
There are a couple funky wrinkles to add to this yarn as Sifakula played in the backline during his 1st 15 phase at De La Salle College and was named at fullback in this Auckland Vulcans Under 16 team. Sifakula looks comfy as a middle forward in the NRL but his background gives him nifty footwork for a middle forward and he should be able to develop his passing skills to shift the footy at the NRL level.
Sifakula has also played every forward position except hooker over the past two years and while his best role seems to be through the middle, this is a trend across a few young NZ Warriors forwards. Leka Halasima has already had stints as a middle and edge forward at 18-years-old in his first few NRL games, even plugging a hole at centre in his debut. Eddie Ieremia is another youngster who has played middle and edge forward as well as centre in NSW Cup this season.
Ideally, Sifakula plays the rest of this season as a bench forward and continues to learn about NRL footy before a hearty summer training period. James Fisher-Harris' arrival will be a boost for the many young forwards on the fringe of NRL footy at Mt Smart and Sifakula specifically seems like someone who can thrive under the guidance of Fisher-Harris. There is an opportunity for Sifakula to command a top-17 spot with NZ Warriors next season and this could lead to a bench combo featuring some mix of Sifakula, Halasima, Jacob Laban and Zyon Maiu'u.
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