{"id":289164,"date":"2023-09-19T02:05:50","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T02:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=289164"},"modified":"2023-09-19T02:05:50","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T02:05:50","slug":"the-sledge-that-had-leota-the-motor-blowing-up-for-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/rugby-league\/the-sledge-that-had-leota-the-motor-blowing-up-for-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The sledge that had Leota the motor blowing up for first time"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Moses \u2018The Motor\u2019 Leota reckons it might be the first time he\u2019s ever run hot. And of course Spencer Leniu wants to see more of it.<\/p>\n

Leota, who began his days in Penrith\u2019s juniors covered in concrete from his day job as a brickie\u2019s labourer, dominated the first 20 minutes of last year\u2019s grand final with a series of heavy hits against the Eels\u2019 big-bodied pack.<\/p>\n

Against the Warriors in week one of the finals, he matched a similar set of power-packed shots with some lip service as Addin Fonua-Blake got under his skin, cutting loose after multiple collisions with the Tongan Test star at Blue Bet Stadium two weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened,\u201d Leota laughed ahead of Friday\u2019s preliminary final against Melbourne and man mountain Nelson Asofa-Solomona.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, that might be the first time ever for me, I went a bit red. [Fonua-Blake] just pushed me a little bit, didn\u2019t even say that much. I don\u2019t know why, but it sort of tipped me over.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t repeat it, we were just talking shit to each other. A little bit of \u2018your run, come on\u2019.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sparks fly between Moses Leota and Addin Fonua-Blake.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>NRL Imagery<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was all it was, but I wanted to get stuck into him and he was the same. It was good fun and a good battle. He\u2019s been one of the best front-rowers in the game and my game is just run hard, tackle hard, so that\u2019s what we were doing, with a little bit extra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leota\u2019s verbal battle with Fonua-Blake was something more in line with Leniu\u2019s fiery approach to the game, which he will take to the Roosters next year in pursuit of a regular starting spot.<\/p>\n

Kiwi enforcer James Fisher-Harris is rightly lauded as one of the game\u2019s best front-rowers, but Penrith made Leota\u2019s place in their pecking order clear with a three-year extension earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Leniu hailed the softly spoken 28-year-old as \u201cthe most underrated prop in the NRL\u201d and unsurprisingly encouraged Leota to embrace more of his own fire and brimstone approach.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Moses Leota celebrates Penrith\u2019s 2022 grand final win.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>NRL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been a massive mentor for me,\u201d Leniu said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s definitely one of the most in-form props but you never hear about him that way. I think he\u2019d like it like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoses and Fish [Fisher-Harris], they\u2019re on the same vitamins, the same protein shakes, and when you wrestle them, man, it\u2019s like wrestling straight rock. I try and give it to them and Moses just smashes me.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s from the area like a lot of us and you don\u2019t see it in him often. But that \u2018never back down\u2019 mentality is in Moses and it came out there with Fonua-Blake. It was cool to see from him. More of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, Leota is happy to go toe-to-toe with the game\u2019s biggest and meanest when needed.<\/p>\n

Even if daily meditation has been key to his consistency throughout Penrith\u2019s two premiership wins and this year\u2019s bid for a third.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get my meditation and a few breathing exercises in every day, I\u2019ll always do it before training,\u201d Leota said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just centres me at the start of every day and then on game day I\u2019ll carve out some more time for it too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the NRL Grand Final Exclusive Live and Free on Channel 9 and <\/i><\/b>9Now<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

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