League: Time for Manu to prove himself

After being described as having swallowed a sheep, Manu Sika has been working hard at losing weight. Photo / Getty Images

He's the man with the most to play for in tonight's Kiwis test against the Kumuls in Rotorua.

Picked against Samoa in the warm-up and then relegated to 18th man to make way for Frank-Paul Nuuausala for last weekend's victory over England, Sika Manu is right on the selection bubble for the coming matches against Australia.

Just as it did last year for Bronson Harrison, a big game today could catapult Manu into the reckoning for the Eden Park double-header and a likely Four Nations final in Brisbane the following week.

"I'll be out there looking for a big game," the bustling Wellington second rower-cum-prop confirmed.

"I was disappointed I didn't get to play in front of my family in my home town [against England], but Steve Kearney picks the best team and obviously I wasn't up to standard last week.

"I'll have to step up my game."

Kearney might not have been swayed by Manu's claims last week but he is clearly an admirer. The Kiwis coach observed Manu's development at Melbourne Storm first- hand. He knew enough about the Randwick and Upper Hutt product to pick him for this year's Anzac test despite Manu having played just one warm-up match for the best part of a year after suffering a horrific leg break in 2009.

Manu performed extremely well. But his apparent lack of conditioning for such a big game shocked some observers.

"Bloody hell, Manu looks like he swallowed a sheep," was one Aussie journalist's reaction when he appeared for the pre-match warm-up.

He laughs when the topic is raised, but admits he is still battling to return to his optimum playing weight after struggling with knee pain since his return.

"I came back a couple of kilos heavier than I used to be and I'm still working to try to take it off," he said. "Hopefully I'll strip it off by the end of the year. I couldn't run for six to eight months. I only started running a couple of weeks before the Anzac test. My knee has been bugging me all year, but it is getting better. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be back to full fitness."

Following his Kiwis return Manu managed 14 appearances for the scandal-hit Storm to take his NRL tally to 51 over four seasons.

"It wasn't an enjoyable year but, credit to the boys, we woke every day and went to training and trained for nothing and played for nothing. It was a really tough year but we stuck it out, we stayed together as a team."

If he stays fit that number of appearances is set to grow rapidly. Targeted by a host of clubs - including the Warriors - following the Storm's salary cap drama, the 23-year-old was never likely to be granted a release by the Storm.

Not one of the team's highest earners, his value to the Storm on the field was greater than any salary cap relief the club could gain by letting him go.

Having followed his older brother, Phillippe, to Melbourne straight out of the junior Kiwis, the Storm is the only professional club Manu has known. Contracted for two more years, he is likely to play a key role in a pack that has shed the likes of Brett White, Ryan Tandy and Aiden Tolman.

Whether he sees more game time in the Four Nations could depend on injuries. If a key forward goes down, Manu and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will be at the head of the replacements queue.

Both have plenty to play for against the Kumuls tonight.

•Papua New Guinea have made three changes to their starting 13.

The changes are all in the pack, with prop James Nightingale, second rower Johnson Kuike and hooker Charlie Wabo coming in after sitting out the 42-0 defeat to Australia.

Sika Manu

Born: January 22, 1987
180cm, 107kg
Position: Second row/prop
Club: Melbourne Storm
Tests: 7 (2008-2010)
NRL games: 51 (2007-2010)