You would think a player who has scored 46 tries in 46 games would prefer the attacking side of the game however Suliasi Vunivalu gets just as much satisfaction from stopping tries than scoring them.
Fans and pundits may get caught up in what the Fijian Flyer is capable of with ball in hand but it is his work without the football that he really prides himself on.
That was proven last week during Storm’s Preliminary Final win over the Broncos.
After committing a handling error with the try line seemingly at his mercy, Vunivalu showed his mental strength to bounce back and produce a game-altering tackle on Corey Oates.
Oates appeared certain to score in the corner and give Brisbane a first half lead, only for Vunivalu to dive in mid-air and drag him into touch.
Storm then piled on another 28 unanswered points to book their place in the 2017 NRL Grand Final.
It was not a play that will likely feature in the 21-year-old’s send of season highlights reel but it proved to be just as important as any of the 23 tries he has scored this season.
“Craig is always based on defence and the boys really showed that last Friday night,” Vunivalu said.
“We came up with a good defensive effort on every set which just shows that we are heading in a good direction.
“We’ve got to just treat this like it is a normal week. We’ve just got to enjoy every minute of it, the boys are just really excited.”
Storm fans are no doubt excited too, looking forward to seeing what Vunivalu will produce on the NRL’s biggest stage.
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