The doping saga which has engulfed rugby league is barely raising an eyebrow at Manly, who say it’s the spectre of Newcastle’s try-scoring superstar Akuila Uate that has them sweating bullets.
Uate blitzed the Wests Tigers on Monday with a clinical hat-trick of tries, erasing memories of his up-and-down 2012 and catching the eye of Manly’s biggest names.
The Fijian flyer, one of the NRL’s premier attacking threats, crossed for 18 tries last season but endured a disappointing State of Origin campaign with errors leading to him being dumped for the deciding fixture.
He was well and truly back to his best as he torched the Tigers on Monday, and made it clear on Tuesday that his head was comfortably in the right place for 2013.
“I think I’ve moved on from everything. Whatever happened last year is last year,” Uate said on Tuesday.
That attitude has alarm bells ringing on Sydney’s northern beaches, where Uate will face the Sea Eagles on Sunday.
Manly prop George Rose is trying everything he can to get back into coach Geoff Toovey’s top 17, but he might be pleased to avoid an encounter with Uate.
“Uate is a beast,” Rose said.
“He’s running through people like they’re nothing. He’s going to be a handful and so are the rest of the Knights.”
One man Uate will run into at Brookvale Oval is tough-tackling centre Steve Matai.
Matai went head-to-head with one of the game’s best last week, scoring a brace of tries against Justin Hodges in Manly’s gritty round one victory over Brisbane.
He said Uate and centre Dane Gagai, Uate’s partner on the left flank who scored two tries against the Tigers, present their own challenges.
“Uate’s a pretty strong runner of the ball and Dane’s got great footwork,” Matai said.
Uate said he put his good form, in part, down to re-signing with the Knights before the season started.
The 25-year-old, who had been linked to monster offers from Japanese rugby union sides, inked a four-year deal and said it had been weighing on his mind for the past three months.
“It takes away all the stress … Now I’m just worried about this season and four more years,” he said.