Eighth Immortal Andrew Johns says Melbourne Storm's Justin Olam has transformed himself into arguably the champion centre successful the satellite aft fine-tuning his earthy imaginable nether manager Craig Bellamy.
Johns had nary hesitations rushing Olam consecutive into his squad of the season, handing him a spot close adjacent to chap centre Joey Manu from the Roosters.
But it's Olam's emergence from a earthy footy subordinate retired of West Papua New Guinea with small top-flight experience, into a fully-fledged NRL champion that has impressed Johns the most.
"What a large communicative helium is. From Papua New Guinea, there's truthful galore players implicit there," Johns told Wide World of Sports' Immortal Behaviour.
"If clubs are prepared to enactment a batch of enactment successful and manager these guys, you tin spot they emotion the game, they emotion contact, they're assertive and they're truthful pugnacious - which is rugby league. There's much and much players implicit determination and hopefully, Justin Olam volition animate the adjacent generation.
"He's gone from being implicit earthy bone, helium was arsenic earthy arsenic a sushi train, you could spot it successful him. His skills weren't up to scratch, he'd marque errors, defensively he'd enactment you nether pressure. But now, he's adjacent to the champion centre successful the world.
"It conscionable goes to show, the Melbourne Storm, you get players down there, they conscionable mould them, get the champion retired of them, and that's what's happened with Justin Olam.
"Marcus Bai, helium inspired a generation, hopefully Justin Olam does the same."
Olam has made his rock-hard physicality a trademark of his game. It's an property that Johns ne'er fails to disregard erstwhile he's calling a crippled successful the box, and the Eighth believes there's nary 1 he'd alternatively beryllium tackled by less.
"Justin Olam. I'd alternatively get tally implicit by a cement motortruck than beryllium tackled by him," Johns quipped.
"I reckon if you were retired successful the tract and you could spot him coming astatine you, your ribs would beryllium screaming."
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