When you think of Fijian flyers and the Melbourne Storm, you might be inclined to believe that it refers to the now departed Marika Koroibete. However, there is a new Fijian flyer in town and that is Suliasi Vunivalu.
Bursting onto the scene in Rd 7 of the 2016 season, he scored 23 tries in 23 games, a remarkable strike-rate. In those 23 tries, he scored four tries once, two hat-tricks and five doubles.
Moving to Melbourne after being spotted by the Storm recruitment staff playing in Auckland, he played in their U20’s team before moving to the Queensland Cup to play for the Storm’s feeder sides.
There was no hiding the excitement in re-signing Vunivalu by those involved with the Storm setup.
“We are thrilled to have Suli recommit to the Club for another season,” said the Storm’s Director of Football, Frank Ponissi.
“He had an outstanding 2016 for a player in his rookie NRL season – not only to finish as the competition’s leading try-scorer but to also play in our Grand Final side.
“Suli is a wonderful athlete and a smart player who is looking forward to the challenge of going into his second season with a focus on continuing to improve his game.”