Sydney Roosters in-form NRL centre Joseph Manu has credited being “bashed” by Latrell Mitchell with his September surge.
After looking ominous against South Sydney in the final round, the 23-year-old was once again at his destructive best against the Rabbitohs’ during the Roosters’ big qualifying final win which earned them a week off.
Facing off against Souths’ star three-quarter James Roberts, Manu dominated, scoring the opening try before setting up James Tedesco with a skilful flick pass.
Manu is quickly earning a reputation as a September specialist after last year finding career-best form and playing a leading hand in the Tri-Colours’ premiership victory.
And just as iron sharpens iron, Manu credited the Roosters’ edge-on-edge training sessions in which he trained opposite Mitchell with firing him up for the finals.
He said Mitchell – who last year described Manu as the best centre in the world – had increased the intensity in recent weeks and had him primed for the business end of the season.
“We practice a lot at training, me and Latrell, it’s been good training this week, he bashes me up a lot,” Manu said.
“It’s pretty good to have one of the best centres to train against. We get confidence and belief and we know what we’re capable of.
“It gets a lot harder each week, he likes to bring a lot of challenges, I got smashed this week from him.
“It’s definitely getting tougher. Only three more weeks to keep getting hit by Latrell.”
For the second week in row against the Rabbitohs, Manu created tries for his teammates with an incredible pass.
Both came in remarkably similar circumstances, first attracting two defenders before showcasing his power and skill by getting his arms free before flicking an offload to set up a four-pointer.
“I’ve been practising it since I was a kid, I used to watch Benji (Marshall) a lot,” Manu said.
“My mates, we’ve been doing it since we were little and obviously still practising it now.
“It’s a big part of my game, I have to keep working on it and keep getting better.”
