NRL: Mateo looks the real deal

Size, ability, maturity - no wonder ex-Parramatta player Feleti Mateo was high on the Warriors' wish list, and since his arrival his desire to fit in and deliver their style of big forward play has been evident. Photo / Getty Images

The first thing that strikes you about Feleti Mateo is his size. At 1.94m and, officially at least, 108kg, he is a genuine monster.

Not the biggest monster in a game with no shortage of them, but perhaps the only player in that size bracket with such a complete skill set.

James Maloney, his main rival for the Warriors five-eighths jumper he quietly covets, is 18cm and 23kg smaller.

Mateo's true blue Aussie twang is the next thing that leaps out. For the captain of Tonga, he sounds awfully like the born and bred Aussie he is. Unlike some of his contemporaries (footy players, Aussies, Tongans - take your pick), Mateo is also pretty darn adept at expressing himself.

He delivers coherent, thoughtful sentences. He doesn't rival the likes of Steve Price in the verbosity department, but he's definitely a good talker.

Throw in his game-breaking on-field ability and it's a truly impressive package. Mateo comes across as a total pro. It doesn't take long to see why he was so high on the club's wish list.

From a distance, Mateo looked a curious, almost risky, buy. He's always blown a bit hot and cold and he wasn't coming off his best season at Parramatta; his fitness looked questionable, and there didn't seem to be a natural position for him at the club.

If anything, Mateo's signing appeared to have as much potential to destabilise a Warriors club that resurrected itself last season as it did to take it to the next level.

Up close and in person, however, Mateo looks like a hell of signing.

Crucially, he also believes he will be a great fit at his new club.

"The Warriors have always been known for an intimidating big pack that really gets forward and has a lot of skill and flair," Mateo says.

"I've always thought that would be a great style for me to play. I've always thought I'd fit in well with the Warriors, but I never thought it would become a reality.

"Now that I'm here and I see the culture they have at the club, the camaraderie and the brotherhood, it's just so easy to fit in."

Aceing a newspaper interview is one thing. The first true test of how well Mateo will fit in comes tomorrow when he faces his former Eels teammates at Eden Park.

Mateo has been named to start in the second row, and will link up on the left side with Jerome Ropati and Manu Vatuvei to form one of the most potent strike forces in the NRL.

Although he admits he would like to play five-eighth if circumstances allow, for now Mateo's focus is on reversing a trend that saw him play a declining number of minutes under Daniel Anderson at the Eels.

"I want to play good quality games and big minutes. [Coach] Ivan [Cleary] has told me 'if you get fit you can do what you want'. I'll be trying my best to stay out there as long as I can."

The Warriors finding some pretty decent form without him last season, Mateo is conscious he doesn't need to overplay his hand. He also knows that being one of the biggest signings in the club's history doesn't make him immune from the sectorial axe.

"I'm no different to anybody else. I've got to work hard and play good footy or I'll see the bench. No player is bigger than the team, that's how I live my life. I'll do anything for the team."

It's that sort of attitude that has impressed Clearly, both during the courting process and since Mateo's arrival for pre-season training in December.

"He's straight down the line," Cleary says. "He's a pretty mature guy as well, so he's fitted in well. He'll continue to grow in terms of his status in the team. Everyone knows what he can do but he's timing his run a bit as well. He's quite a classy guy."

Mateo has had a busy few weeks in the lead-up to the Parramatta match but the media demands he's faced here pale in comparison to those at an Eels club that was constantly hounded by a strident Sydney tabloid press. Escaping from that has been a major relief.

"You don't really realise how much they're on you until you leave," he says. "Guys like Jarryd Hayne, Nathan Hindmarsh and Nathan Cayless just get punished every day.

"I feel sorry for a lot of the boys there, especially guys like Haynsey. He's so young and he just gets pumped by the media all the time. It's the same stories because they've got nothing to write about.

"The Warriors fly under the radar a lot and that's a really good thing to have. There's no expectation on you. It will be a good thing to go in as underdogs and hopefully knock off some of those big teams."

Given the turnover of players following last year's horror campaign, it's debatable whether the Eels still qualify as a "big team".

But, with the match to be played in front of a bumper crowd at Eden Park, and expectation around the Warriors having built significantly following a strong 2010 campaign, Mateo's debut is far from run-of-the-mill.

"It's a big, big game," he says. "They've really built it up. I'm glad that it's Parra. There's just so much you can talk about. Hopefully when all the talking is done we can go out there and put the action on."

FELETI MATEO
Age: 26
Birthplace: Sydney
Height: 1.94m
Weight: 108kg
Former club: Parramatta Eels
NRL games: 88
Tries: 20