The 2022 season has seen a handful of fresh faces make their NRL debuts for the Canberra Raiders, and the next player tipped to get the honour has drawn comparisons to star forward, Josh Papalii.
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Standing 1.84m tall, Ata Mariota is primed to cannonball his muscular 114kg frame into first-grade opposition defences as a deceptively fast and agile prop perfectly suited for the up-tempo modern game.
The Samoan-born 21-year-old grew up playing rugby union in New Zealand before he was recruited by the Raiders as a teenager by the late Peter Mulholland, along with his younger brother Niu.
This week the Raiders locked in Mariota on a two-year contract ensuring he stays in the capital and continues to develop into an NRL-calibre player.
Some believe he might already be due for the jump though.
"He's not too far off. I wouldn't be surprised if he's next in line to make an NRL debut," former Raider and current club wellbeing and education officer, Sia Soliola, said.
Soliola saw first-hand how damaging Mariota could be in their already formidable forward pack when they trained together before the Raiders legend hung up the boots last season.
And Mariota's top form in NSW Cup this past year has flung the soon-to-be dad into the first-grade conversation.
"He was very strong in the gym and was always someone that showed they had a lot of potential," Soliola said.
"He's been compared a lot to Papa [Josh Papalii], with his size, build and strength being quite similar to big Paps.
"But he's come leaps and bounds in terms of his development, especially this year."
Mariota has had a cracking couple of weeks in the reserves charging over the try-line showing his value in both attack and defence. He's scored a total of four tries in 13 NSW Cup appearances this year, with 38 tackle breaks, 95 percent tackle efficiency, and he averages 114 running metres a game.
"He's someone I'm really excited about and looking forward to see make a debut, because he's definitely made an impact in the NSW Cup squad," Soliola said.
"We're going from strength to strength with our forwards and it's a testament to Pete Mulholland and what he achieved. A lot of the kids coming through he recruited and it's only going to get bigger and better.
"It's nice to go through the journey with those kids and see them get to the big day where they make their debut. Ata is yet to do that but if he stays fit and focused, he's been a real shining light."
Having the man he's been compared to take the prop under his wing is sure to help Mariota on his mission to play in the NRL, too.
"Paps has always been a good mentor for him," Soliola said.
"A lot of the guys lean on Papa and Taps [Joe Tapine] as they take on that leadership role in the team, and assistant coach Brett White does a really good job with those boys, too.
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"Canberra fans should expect a player with a lot of character, who is very modest kid but very colourful. But now I'm really starting to see the focus in him, especially now his younger brother Niu is training with them.
"He's another big forward that the club are looking at developing who just turned 18, and you can't miss him at training. The genes are pretty strong in the Mariota family.
"That's where we will see Ata elevate his game in terms of professionalism because he's a role model to his little brother and he'll be a father soon, too."
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