New Manly winger Jaxson Paulo is no stranger when it comes to clocking ‘fastest speeds’ in the NRL.
Paulo’s name has made many appearances in the official NRL Telstra Tracker numbers in the high-speed distance (metres above 20 km/h) and sprint distance (metres above 25km/h) categories.
But even Paulo admits to being ‘blown away’ by the sheer level of speed and skills displayed by his new team-mates this pre-season.
“I thought I went alright in the speed category at my last two clubs, and that I had most other players in opposition teams covered,’’ Paulo said.
“But the speed here…I can’t keep up with the amount of talent. The speed is crazy.
“The boys have certainly hit the ground running. They are lightning on their feet.
“You only have to look at Tolu (Koula)…it doesn’t even look like he is running. He glides.”
A very talented and skilful young winger, Paulo has crossed for 25 tries in 55 games since making his NRL debut for South Sydney in 2020. A year later, he played in the NRL Grand Final for the Rabbitohs. He has also represented Samoa at Test level.
Following a stint at the Sydney Roosters last season after three years at Souths, Paulo is now embracing the challenge of trying to force his way into an outstanding Sea Eagles backline featuring the likes of speed machines Tom Trbojevic, Reuben Garrick, Jason Saab and Koula.
“I’m at that stage now where I have been fortunate to have played a bit of finals footy,’’ Paulo said.
“I know what I need to do here to get into this team. My immediate aim is secure a spot for rounds one and two against my former clubs.
“Hopefully, I can find some consistency and build on things from there.”
The 24-year-old said he was enjoying the strong club culture being established at Manly by Coach Anthony Seibold.
He was one of several new players who took part in the demanding Manly Mentality Camp prior to the Christmas break.
“I’ve been on a few army camps and it’s usually just a case of hearing the instructors scream and tell you what to do,’’ Paulo said.
“This one was different. ‘Seibs’ made it clear from the start that it’s not an army camp, it’s a mentality camp.
“He wanted us to push ourselves to the limits but at the same time, build on our connections with one another.
“It was hard but the strong bonds we made will only help us when things are tough.”
