New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\nMark Nawaqanitawase and Ronaldo Mulitalo will go head to head again after an epic battle a few months ago. Picture: Matt King\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
They will return to the scene of the crime at Allianz Stadium this weekend where the usually mild-mannered Nawaqanitawase threw a ball at Mulitalo the last time they played. <\/p>\n
Mulitalo dropped a forearm in a tackle that night, chirped for 80 minutes and got beaten in the air a few times, but he graciously accepted defeat when he spoke in the sheds. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe got the two points at the end of the day, so I\u2019m going to eat my humble pie today. He gave me a good lesson today, but that\u2019s the respect that we have,\u201d he said on June 21.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are two wingers going at it. I can\u2019t remember the last game that everyone watched two wingers have a crack at it, so I had to put some respect on the wingers and show that we can get into the rumble as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what I do it for. I\u2019m not scared of anything. I put my nuts on the line, I put my everything on the line to get out there and give you guys a show. He got it tonight, but I move on and we carry on with the season.<\/p>\n
Nawaqanitawase got the better of his Sharks rival earlier in the year. Picture: Matt King\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think anyone wants to watch Roosters and Sharkies go at it after that (when Nawaqanitawase leaves).\u201d<\/p>\n
Mulitalo will get the chance to go up against Nawaqanitawase one last time before the Roosters star returns to rugby at the end of the season, with the pair also meeting in an elimination final last year.<\/p>\n
The Sharks got the win that night, and you can expect another fiery battle with everything on the line this weekend. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt probably sucked for me after the game because obviously no one likes to be the loser, but everyone (else) loved it,\u201d Mulitalo said after Saturday\u2019s win over the Cowboys, referencing the earlier match against the Roosters this season. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery game\u2019s important for me, I take it really personal and it\u2019s probably one of the many that I\u2019ve had throughout my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mulitalo was able to get Nawaqanitawase to react a couple of months ago, and he loves that side of the game if his opponent is happy to engage in the banter and theatre of it all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it brings the best out of me. I get excited if I know I\u2019ve got someone that loves it,\u201d he said, acknowledging he has to toe the line after he was sent to the sin bin for a high shot on Nawaqanitawase last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it can go two ways; it\u2019s gone bad for me and it\u2019s gone good for me. That\u2019s just the fun way I play my footy, but finals, like I said, is a different beast. I\u2019ve got to control some of that. I\u2019ve got to keep it within the team and probably not let my ego get in the way of those battles. That\u2019s an important thing. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis time of the year is about being selfless and not worrying about my own agendas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I cross the white line, all sanity goes out, but it\u2019s something I\u2019m focusing on, working hard on. You never want to let your teammates down, so I think there\u2019s no time for my bulls**t. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s whatever the team needs and I\u2019ll happily contribute wherever I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mulitalo relishes the chance for confrontations. Picture: Jason McCawley\/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Mulitalo never watched the great battles between wingers Wendell Sailor and Adam MacDougall back in the day, with the New Zealand international having to deal with Cowboys hooker Reed Mahoney, who randomly went after him on Saturday. <\/p>\n
Sharks fans love him and rivals get fired up by his antics, but how does coach Craig Fitzgibbon feel? <\/p>\n
\u201cHe understands my mentality around things. He just kind of coaches me or is telling me in subtle ways,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a man, I\u2019m a man, I understand you can tell me the truth. If you say your ego\u2019s in the way, your ego\u2019s in the way. But it\u2019s a battle he enjoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Year\u2019s Eve is still a few months away, but there will be fireworks galore on Saturday night…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":891360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-891359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891359","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=891359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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