Nikora is making the grade after all

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As a young player, Briton Nikora struggled to catch the attention of any top NRL teams. Even his Gold Coast Titans were unsure of where he would fit into the team's future plans. He was eventually picked up by the Sharks where he played two years with the Holden Cup team. Now, just two games into the regular season with the big club, and the answer about his future is clear as it could possibly be. Nikora could well be a star in the making.

Just a few months after tearing ligaments in his knee, the 21-year old now finds himself running the pitch with his fellow Sharks, looking like a man with a future. The talented backrower has already accounted for one tri, two line-breaks and 73 tackles. Those are big boy numbers that any punter would appreciate if they were using a Pointsbet promo code and placing a wager on the Sharks.

Like any good athlete with the drive to succeed, Nikora has always been willing to put in the extra work to get the chance to follow his dream of playing on the top flight. His drive was on full display this past Christmas when star front-rower Andrew Fifita called and suggested he should put in some extra rehab week in the early hours before enjoying the Christmas festivities. Obviously, the extra worked paid off getting him back to the pitch much sooner than expected.

Perhaps more important, he impressed his teammate with his amazing work ethic. In an interview with the press, Fifita spoke about the youngster.

"He did his knee and came through rehab with me, he's one of the blokes who would be there for you," he said. I can't speak highly enough. Christmas Day, I called him and said, 'rehab training at 7 in the morning so I can get back and watch the kids open their presents from Santa'. The only message I got back was 'sweet, 'I'll see you then'."

Fifita went on to add, "We had two weeks off over Christmas and we trained most of the time. Just to get back, stay on top of things and get back into the squad. He dug deep and now he's playing round one, round two and I'm pretty sure he got man of the match for us on the weekend."

After struggling through the early years, Nikora finally found his stride as a player. As early as 2016, he was being mentioned in the same breath as other highly touted juniors like Kyle Flanagan, Bronson Xerri and the Brailey brothers.

From this point on, it's on Nikora with perhaps a little help from his friends and teammates. His take goes like this:

"Everyone's helped me out bit by bit, especially Wade and Lewy. They tell me all the little things I need to work on, the one-percenters. I don't think it's always a bad thing [biding time behind Graham and Lewis]. Yeah, I want to play but it builds me up. I learn from them, take away all the little things so that when I do get the opportunity I can stay there, not be half-hearted. It gets me ready."