\u2018He\u2019s the boss\u2019: What Klein was really told by Bunker as he made massive Ponga call<\/a><\/p>\nNiwhai Puru of the Sharks.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Known for his attacking ability and calmness when the ball enters his hands, Puru is currently signed only to the end of this season. His career initially started at the Penrith Panthers.<\/p>\n
During this period, he won the Under-21s Jersey Flegg Cup with them in 2021 alongside teammate Liam Ison, Mavrik Geyer, Eels dummy-half Ryley Smith, Ativalu Lisati, older brother Hohepa Puru and halves partner Isaiya Katoa.<\/p>\n
However, he decided to make the switch to the Sharks in 2023 after opportunities in the Penrith halves were limited due to them having world-class playmakers Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary on their books at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cEnded the season well at Penrith and I think the Sharks saw the goal for me and a pathway for me to progress to first-grade,\u201d Puru said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a bit young so they wanted to help my development and I think it\u2019s my own journey and they\u2019ve definitely helped my development to becoming a first-grade player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Niwhai Puru
\nin action for Newtown in a NSW Cup decider. Picture: Warren Gannon PhotographySource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n
The move quickly proved beneficial for Puru, who flourished in the Sharks\u2019 system but was still behind Daniel Atkinson as the back-up half for Braydon Trindall and Nicho Hynes.<\/p>\n
However, Atkinson\u2019s departure to the St George Illawarra Dragons in the off-season has opened the door for the playmaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I heard he was leaving it kind of gave me aspirations to obviously step up to the next role and I think the boys have helped me in that progress,\u201d Puru said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve [Trindall and Hynes] definitely taken me on board a lot more with the departure of Atko.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve given me confidence to back my footy and if anything were to happen, I can slot straight in and be myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Niwhai Puru has waited a long time for his NRL shot. Picture: NRL ImagerySource: The Daily Telegraph<\/p>\n
Registering 88 total NSW Cup appearances throughout his career since 2021, Puru will not only make his debut on Friday but also has the opportunity to run out alongside his brother Hohepa Puru.<\/p>\n
A utility forward who can play on the edge or in the middle of the field, Hohepa has been named on the six-man bench for this week\u2019s match.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred per cent that is the goal. It was exciting when he came back (from the Raiders) and you have that dream in the back of your head,\u201d Puru added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve definitely thought about it a few times. We\u2019ve spoken about it a few times, so it\u2019s definitely the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sharks halfback Niwhai Puru has finally been gifted the opportunity to play his maiden NRL match on Friday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,689,9421,4565,4437,222174,330667,19076,341501,27156,228680,4582,222177,341500,4601,28075,761,762,673,4475,341499,158,677,4598,341178,234747,4574,341498,85,4563,670,145892],"class_list":["post-701286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-benji-marshall","tag-cronulla-sharks","tag-daniel-atkinson","tag-ethan-lee-chalk","tag-first-grade-debut","tag-hail-mary","tag-halfback-star","tag-halves-partner","tag-hohepa-puru","tag-jarome-luai","tag-lee-chalk","tag-liam-ison","tag-manly-sea-eagles","tag-mavrik-geyer","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-new-south-wales","tag-newtown-jets","tag-night-terror","tag-nrl","tag-oceania","tag-penrith-panthers","tag-plot-twist-impossible","tag-rookie-halfback","tag-ryley-smith","tag-sharks-halfback","tag-sports","tag-st-george-illawarra-dragons","tag-sydney","tag-warren-gannon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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