This time last week, Samoa players had no idea Blaize Talagi was capable of kicking goals.

The young five-eighth has matured into a classy playmaker at Penrith this season, and is known for putting on some big hits while defending, but goal-kicking?

The fact is, despite having never kicked a goal in the NRL, Talagi took nearly 2000 attempts at Panthers training this year. He regularly stayed behind after training to learn about preparation and repetition from none other than Nathan Cleary.

Samoa lost to the Kiwis 24-18 on Sunday, but had they won, the big talking point would have been Talagi’s nerveless sideline conversion late in the game.

The 20-year-old rated the moment the ball sailed between the posts at Go Media Stadium as the best of his short career.

Now his right boot shapes

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