Just 21 sleeps to go now until March 7th and the beginning of NRL 2013, persisting on with the countdown we come to number 21 in my list of the 30 best players in the NRL. Spoiler warning, this guy is the only Warriors player on my list. I think this may be one of the more debatable selections I've made so far, but I think he's more than deserving...

#21 Feleti Mateo

The Warriors began the 2012 with a lot of expectations, after their young team made it to the Grand Final in 2011, most assumed there would be greater things to come from the boys in New Zealand. Instead, the Warriors unravelled into a 14th place finish, a coach shown the exit, and a lot of question marks. It seemed Mateo was playing musical chairs at times with his selection, one week he'd be named at lock then end up coming off the bench, then he'd be named on the bench and start in the second row, trying to turn him into a Michael Luck like tackle machine, trying to use him as an impact player after 20 minutes, everyone was left guessing. Despite this, on a team that often seemed very disinterested, Mateo was one of the few who consistently seemed to be putting the effort in. With a coach that seemed to have no idea how to maximize his talents, not getting the minutes he wanted, no consistency in his role, no consistency from his teammates, Mateo tried in earnest to do what he could to right the ship but it proved a lost cause.

Fast forward a few minutes unless you like reminiscing about how bad videos looked in 2008

At 194cm and 108kg, 27 year old Mateo is a pretty big unit, yet if you watched his footwork you'd think you were watching a fullback. He's incredibly agile for a guy his size, and incredibly talented. So much so that he's actually played several games in his NRL career at five-eighth, for a stretch back in 2008-2009 at the Eels it was his primary position. Bundling the skill to play in the halves at a first grade level into a guy the size of Mateo spells trouble for opposition defences. Then add in the fact that Mateo is the unquestioned king of the offload in the NRL. 2012 saw Mateo with 65, offloads, 13 clear of number 2 on the list. Nobody can pop a offload like Mateo can, but these aren't just willy nilly toss the ball out to anyone offloads, Feleti has the mental game to read a defense, to see the holes and put someone through them, and often he'll do that by drawing a defender or two on to him before springing his teammate. His combination with a hard and fast running James Maloney proved a thing of beauty time and time again, there's a great living to be made in running off this guy. He's one of the elite attacking players in the comp who can really create something out of nothing, he's got the "x factor", the ability to break a game wide open, and it's primarily for that reason that I rate him so highly.

The Eels selection policies proved troubling during his time at Parramatta 

Despite being renowned more for his attacking exploits, Mateo is no mug on defense. He'll rack up the tackles at need be, though it's a difficult balance to find between piling up the tackle count and injecting yourself into the attacking game, but with his size, strength and mobility he's more than capable on defense. Often overlooked also is the toughness that Mateo brings to the field, people see all of the flashy stuff and often the toughness flies under the radar. Mateo isn't the type to stay down if he takes a big hit, as seen most recently in the All Star game after he was absolutely smoked by Greg Inglis, but Mateo shook it off and got back to business. At times he can get a real physical edge to his game, if he gets a bit roughed up, he's happy to go looking for revenge and light up someone on the opposition to give a little something back. While his greatest skills are more finesse in nature, he won't shy away from some good old fashioned mongrel footy if need be, he's no pushover, he's not someone who is going to be rattled.

BRING BACK THE BIFF

Unfortunately for Mateo, his exploits on the field have not been rewarded with the representative honours he so keenly desires. He's turned out internationally for Tonga and made a couple of appearances for NSW City and the NRL All Stars, but it's the illusive blue Origin jersey that the New South Wales born Mateo so eagerly craves. Entering 2013 after a happy marriage, a commitment to playing out the season alcohol free, a change in coaching staff, and reportedly being in fantastic shape throughout off season training, and auditioning for a new contract, all signs point to a big year for Mateo, with any luck this may be the year that he breaks through to the Origin level and gets to put his skills to the ultimate test. For now, Mateo remains one of the most dangerous attacking threats in the NRL which is why Mateo breaks into my list despite not having quite the resume of some of the other blokes in the competition.

This is my serious face

Check back in tomorrow for number 20, then on forth into the teens as we march ever close to 2013 kick off. Do you agree or disagree with any of my selections? how would your list look? let me know in the comments section or throw me a tweet @WellsNorthShore

Warriors vs Roosters Round 10 recap

After a strong 70 minute performance against Melbourne, backed up by a very strong win against a Brisbane team in fine form last week, this match up against the Roosters was a huge statement game for the Warriors. After getting a good old fashioned hiding in Round 5, this was a prime chance for the Warriors to show that the limp form from earlier in the season was a thing of the past, and despite a valiant effort from the Chooks the Warriors managed to put up their second win on the trot.

This game had a lot of fans mouths watering over the potential forward pack match up. I have no idea what they're feeding the boys at the Roosters but they've put together a monstrous forward pack with Kiwi prop Waerea-Hargreaves leading the charge, and the Warriors forwards are never found wanting for size lead by another big Kiwi unit, arguably the form prop of the competition, Ben Matulino. But while the forward contest proved an entertaining battle, it was the freakish abilities of Warriors youngsters Shaun Johnson and Konrad Hurrell that decided the game.

Bustling young centre Hurrell justified the hype from those who watched him run all over Toyota Cup defences last season, rampaging his way to over 200 metres from his 12 touches, with 9 tackle breaks, resulting in two tries. Noted for his immense power and ability to shed defenders almost at will, Hurrell showed he had plenty of pace also, Anthony Minichiello offered him and inch and he took a mile, leaving the incumbent NSW fullback in his dust scoring a fantastic try.

Not to be outdone, prodigal half Shaun Johnson added to his long list of highlights by grabbing a brace for himself. Once again Johnson showed the type of footwork that would see any normal man tripping over himself, you almost have to laugh when you see the way he just embarrasses opposing defenders, but you really can't blame them, you blink and he may have stepped past three opponenets. Week by week we are seeing him show that same ability Benji has, to effectively freeze the opposition, as if he can pause time to let him come up with what he would like to do. The huge smile he wears when he crosses the paint and clear enthusiasm for the game is truly infectious, he's just a fantastic asset not only for the Warriors but for Rugby League in general. They were supported by a handy night from Maloney with the boot kicking 5 goals, and The Beast Manu Vatuvei finally breaking his try scoring drought.

It wasn’t all good news for the Warriors however, fresh from signing a one year contract extension the injury plagued Jerome Ropati picked up another injury to his knee and is expected to be out 6-8 weeks, the injury forcing Maloney to shift to fullback and Feleti Mateo into the halves.

For the Roosters 2^nd rower Aidan Guerra proved very impressive, grabbing a try to go along with 26 tackles and crossing the century metre mark. He seemed to pop up at all the right moments doing all the right things, he was very active and really put his mark on the game. Tackling machine Jake Friend notched up 44 on the night, nothing new for him but impressive nonetheless, and the big man, or one of the several big men, off the bench Lama Tasi was a handful with the ball in hand. Perhaps the biggest positive for the Chooks however was the debut of young phenom Tautau Moga. Crossing the ditch to Mt Smart is far from the ideal place to start your NRL career and he appeared a little timid at first. After being denied a try in the corner however, showing off some great athleticism, he seemed to decide that he belonged, getting himself more involved, looking very confident, dangerous with the ball in hand, and like he’d been around the NRL for years. I suspect it won’t be long at all until he starts giving NRL defences nightmares like he has opposition in the younger grades, the thought of seeing him and Hurrell going up against each other in future very tantalizing indeed.