League: Kiwis ready to unleash 'the beast'

New Zealand will unleash the rugby league equivalent of Jonah Lomu when "The Beast" makes his international debut in the Tri-Nations series opener against Australia on Saturday night.

Manu Vatuvei, a 108kg wrecking ball, has been chosen on the Kiwis' left wing in the hope he'll live up to his nickname and terrorise the Australian flankers.

He has already shown glimpses of his potential in the NRL this year with nine tries from 12 games for the New Zealand Warriors, the best of them a long-range special against Newcastle in round six.

New Zealand coach Brian McClennan said the softly spoken 19-year-old, who earned his nickname after comparisons with Kiwi legend Kevin "The Beast" Iro, was a star in the making.

"I actually played alongside Kevin Iro in his first few games and (the nickname) is a fair call, this boy is so athletic," McClennan said today.

"He has so much agility for his size. Manu weighs in at 108kg and would probably be the quickest over 40 metres in the team.

"I've seen him over the years in the junior Kiwis and seen him progress on.

"They nudged him along slowly, but now his moment has come. His finest hour is here."

Australian prop and Warriors teammate Steve Price described Vatuvei as a "monster", comparing his size and athleticism with that of former Brisbane winger Wendell Sailor.

"He's a monster and probably the only thing that's held him back over the last couple of years has been injury," Price said.

"It's no surprise for me that they picked him. He's young, he's been playing well and he is not very small.

"Because of his speed, he has scored some great tries out wide and he is big, so he is quite damaging when he runs the ball.

"He's like Wendell Sailor. When (coach) Wayne (Bennett) used Wendell he'd get him in and make him do a few hit-ups, he's an extra forward.

"He's big enough to do that and when he's out wide he's got the speed to cause havoc out there as well."

With his huge frame, frizzy black hair and unmistakable gold front tooth, Vatuvei is an imposing sight with the ball in hand or lurking in the defensive line.

And while he has been compared with All Black legend Jonah Lomu because of his towering frame, the highly religious Tongan is a softly spoken gentle giant who is excited at the prospect of fulfilling his dream of wearing the Kiwi jersey.

"I'm nervous and excited, I just want to do a good job," he said.

"If I get the chance it would be good to run (over) a few of the Aussie guys, I'll just try to help the forwards and do my best."

Fellow debutant Matt King is likely to be given the task of marking up on Vatuvei, one of the few times the towering Australian won't have a size advantage over an opponent.

"(He) is a big strong fella and hopefully he scoots in the middle of the field instead of running at me -- I'll let the forwards look after him," King joked.

"I've seen a couple of games when he scored a few times, but no doubt being a Kiwi on the wing he's going to be a big strong fella that can run pretty fast.

"If it's not Francis Meli running at you, it's someone else out wide.

"I've just got to be strong out there and get stuck into it."

- AAP