Melbourne Storm bolter gets NRL title nod after Nelson Asofa-Solomona ban

Melbourne have turned to a man called Lazarus to resurrect their premiership hopes following the suspension of star prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona for the NRL grand final.

Tui Kamikamica has taken Asofa-Solomona’s place in their NRL grand-final starting side, while rookie Lazarus Vaalepu comes on to the bench to face Penrith at Accor Stadium on Sunday.

Making his debut in round 20, Vaalepu has only played 127 minutes in six matches to take over South Sydney’s Blake Taaffe (seven games) as the least experienced player to line up for an NRL decider.

Asofa-Solomona failed in his bid to play against Penrith, unable to get a careless high tackle charge downgraded at the judiciary on Monday night.

While Fijian-born Kamikamica was an obvious choice, Vaalepu has come out from the clouds to snatch a bench role.

The 25-year-old, who grew up in Penrith, played for the Storm’s feeder club, the Sunshine Coast Falcons, in the Queensland Cup this season before being called into Melbourne’s side.

His one and only start came against North Queensland in round 26, when he scored a try.

Melbourne have had grand final success with a man called Lazarus before - with their inaugural captain Glenn Lazarus steering the team to their first premiership in 1999.

Veteran Christian Welch, who will again play off the bench, rated Vaalepu, who weighs in at 119kg.

“He hasn’t had a lot of game time, but the times he has been out there, he’s been really good for our footy side,” Welch said.

“He’s such a powerful guy and a big body, but his efforts off the ball and in his defensive areas have been really pleasing.”

Kamikamica is following in the footsteps of Fijian greats to have played in a Storm grand final.

Sisa Waqa held the trophy aloft in 2012 while fellow winger Suliasi Vunivalu enjoyed two titles, in 2017 and 2020.

Marika Koroibete played in their losing 2016 grand final before switching to rugby union.

Kamikamica said he wasn’t planning to change his approach despite being a starter.

“I will just see what the coach wants from me but I’m just going to focus on my role as a forward, it’s a simple game plan, effort areas and stuff like that, especially in these big games,” the 30-year-old said.

“If you take care of the little things, big things will take care of themselves.

“I’m excited, this is what you dream of, and we get the chance on Sunday.

“It’s a chance to make my family proud back in the islands.”

Asofa-Solomona was banned for five games for his tackle on Lindsay Collins in the opening minute of the preliminary final at AAMI Park which ended the Sydney Roosters prop’s game.

Melbourne playmaker Cameron Munster conceded the absence of the 125kg, two-metre tall, prop was a big loss, literally and figuratively.

“For me, it is a massive loss but we’ve got some good players coming through, and they can do the role for us,” Munster said.

“But yeah, he’s definitely a big hole.

“He just brings that presence in that middle and definitely brings a lot of aggression, so that will be sorely missed.”

Melbourne skipper Harry Grant also felt for his teammate, who had returned to some of his best form after a slow start to the season which prompted talk he could be traded.

“We know how important he is to our group, he’s been so, so good,” Grant said.

“I can’t speak highly enough of him over the last couple months what he’s put into our team, what he’s put into the club and he’s really reaped the rewards and we’ve reaped the rewards on the field.”

Josh King, also a starting prop, backed any of the players in the Storm squad to cover the loss of Asofa-Solomona, who missed selection in the first five games of the season as Melbourne only lost once.

“We’ve used a lot of players this year, a lot of forwards, and we’ve got some really good experienced boys on the bench (Kamikamica and Welch) that aren’t even in the side as well,” King said.

“Whoever comes in will be able to do a job just as well as he did.”