Jazz Tevaga may be one of the NRL's smallest forwards, but in a game of giants, will make his 100th appearance for the NZ Warriors against the Dragons on Saturday.
With most opposition players outweighing Tevaga by 30 kilograms, few would've expected him to reach such a milestone after his debut against the Melbourne Storm in 2016.
Tevaga was forced from the field after suffering a head knock, but would play 59 minutes after injuries to hookers Isaac Luke and Nathanaiel Roache.
His bravery that day would set the tone for his NRL career to date, but he confesses it's nothing new to him.
"I've been in the middle my whole life and one thing I've been doing since a young age is tackling," Tevaga said.
"All my family played footy and I can remember from a young age tackling my older cousins. It's nothing new to me tackling bigger blokes.
"I like getting in there, and getting dirty with the big fellas.
"It does take a toll, I don't come right for about three or four days after the game. It is hard but if you get your technique right you get through it.
"But if you go out like a headless chicken trying to whack blokes, that's when you get injured."
Tevaga is the second-most capped Warrior currently at the club, with only the returning Shaun Johnson having played more NRL games and Bunty Afoa in a distant third.
He admits the achievement has cause for some reflection, but his focus remains firmly on the clash with the Dragons, and believes his team are close to finally putting it all together.
"It's good to recognize milestones but I'm pretty much just focused on the footy tomorrow. I want us to put in a good performance and get the win more than anything," Tevaga added.
"Obviously, that second half - that's our template and that's how we want to play. We've had a good weekend of training, we've had some honest conversations after the game.
"We've had a bit of a confidence slump the past couple of weeks but it feels good and I'm pretty confident we are going to do a job on the Dragons tomorrow.
"We just have to go out there and play the way we want to play. We haven't done that for a while."
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