Suliasi Vunivalu’s four first half tries against Manly not only pushed him clear as the NRL’s top try scorer but also propelled him into the record books.
The 20-year old has scored 21 tries in 2016 to date from just 16 games and has equaled Israel Folau’s Club record for tries in a season.
The Fijian flyer’s aerial feats have seen him quickly draw comparisons to Folau who burst onto the scene as a 17-year old in 2007, scoring 21 tries in his rookie season to take the competition by storm.
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"He's probably a little bit quicker than Israel at this age, but Izzy was a little bit bigger than him,' Bellamy said when asked to compare the pair post match on Saturday.
"They're both really good in the air; obviously at the time what Izzy was doing was a bit foreign to the game
“Izzy was a little bit younger than Suli but there are a lot of similarities.
“They’re really good, respectful kids off the field and I think that was a really important part for both of them with how good they’ve been early in their careers.”
Vunivalu’s four tries at Brookvale Oval also marked another Club record as he equaled the most tries by a Storm player in a single match. Matt Geyer, Aaron Moule, Jake Webster and Billy Slater have all achieved the feat while fellow Fijian winger Sisa Waqa is the most recent player in purple to do so after bagging a haul against the Knights in 2014.
With the records tumbling around him, the message is a simple one from the humble youngster himself.
“If it equals Izzy Folau's record, that's not my focus. My focus is to be part of the team and play hard for the boys and come away with a win," Vunivalu told NRL.com.
