Paul Alamoti is enjoying the best spell of his young career, but the Penrith winger is adamant that Brian To’o remains the gold standard in his position.
The 21-year-old, who crossed three times in last week’s win over the Bulldogs, described To’o as the player who has redefined what it means to be a winger in today’s NRL.
“Yeah, in my mind, I put him definitely at the top of the winger’s category. I feel like he pretty much epitomises the wing position in our day and age,” Alamoti said.
“I’ve always looked at him as a role model. The way he plays the game. Just the way he goes about his business on game day. He’s just second to none. I think he plays like a nine out of 10 week in, week out. He’s proved that on the biggest stage in Origin, grand finals and on the international stage. He’s pretty much the best winger in the world.”
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‘Second to none’ on the big stage
While the Panthers’ left edge is shaping as a decisive factor in Sunday’s preliminary final against Brisbane, Alamoti pointed out that To’o’s consistency over the past five years has elevated the role of the winger itself.
“I feel like ‘Bizza’ himself kind of changed the game by himself. Just the way the game’s played now, he runs for like 200m pretty much every week for the last five years. So he himself actually changed the game, changed the way wingers play nowadays and just the role of wingers and how much influence they have on the game.”
For all the plaudits he has earned lately, Alamoti insists he has “a long way to go” before he can be mentioned in the same breath as his idol.