Ahead of the club’s first pre-season trial against Manly, head coach Kevin Walters backed Ben Te Kura, the 122kg wrecking ball to make an impact for Brisbane after impressing throughout the pre-season.
The 19-year-old has emerged as a potential long-term solution to some of Brisbane’s departed forwards, with the club losing Tom Flegler, Kurt Capewell and Keenan Palasia following their grand final loss to Penrith last year.
Round five of the NRL Premiership kicks off in Melbourne on Thursday night with the Storm hosting the Brisbane Broncos at AAMI Park.
The Broncos come into this match after a commanding 26-point victory over the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium. Meanwhile, the Melbourne Storm are welcoming back some of their biggest stars after losing to the Knights in Newcastle before last weekend’s bye.
He’s taller than Nelson Asofa-Solomona and still only a teenager – and now young front-rower Ben Te Kura is ready to make the jump to NRL for the Broncos this year.
Te Kura stands at 205cm, placing him ahead of Asofa-Solomona and Dom Young as the league’s tallest player and putting him right up there in the all-time list.
“He’s taller than Nelson,” he told 4BC’s Wide World Of Sports Radio.
“They went back-to-back last year when New Zealand A and New Zealand got together, so that’s quite a feat in itself.
