South Sydney hooker Damien Cook has backed debutant Dion Teaupa to impress as the Rabbitohs continue to grapple with their injury crisis.
Teaupa, a 22-year-old half, will make his NRL debut on Saturday against the St-George Illawarra Dragons, replacing the injured Dean Hawkins who is out with a quad injury.
Maroubra Lions junior Teaupa has played two games for Tonga at the end of last year and has impressed in trial performances, including this year’s charity shield.
Cook said the youngster is more than ready for first grade.
“He’s a special kid,” Cook told SEN.
“He loves rugby league, he lives and breathes it, and he’s always asking questions.
“(He’s) great on his feet and strong in defence and he runs the ball well so hopefully we put him in the right positions… to let him do his thing.”
Cook also said that, despite being rushed into first grade amidst the turmoil at Souths, the combinations with Teaupa are already in place.
“I was lucky enough couple of weeks ago, I played alongside him in (NSW) cup and we’ve trained a lot alongside each other a lot so there’s a little bit of a combination there already,” Cook remarked.
“We’ve talked about a couple of plays that he likes to do and how he likes it down short sides.
“The nerves will all come but we all remember our one (debut) so we want to make it’s a special one for him but once he gets his first run and tackle he’ll be in amongst it like a normal game.”
Teaupa is one of four additions to the Rabbitohs line-up, with Latrell Mitchell returning to the side after his suspension, winger Gehamat Shibasaki making his club debut after joining the side this week, and prop Matt French who is also making his NRL debut off the bench.
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Image credit: [South Sydney Rabbitohs].