Kevin Sinfield is confident that new signing, former NRL star Zane Tetevano, can provide the missing piece for Leeds as they seek to win the Super League.
And Tetevano himself says he's thrilled to put on the Leeds number 13 shirt that Sinfield made his own, hailing the England star as the "GOAT of Super League".
Sinfield, the 40-year-old former captain, returned to the Rhinos in July 2018 as the club's first director of rugby and, after overseeing their Challenge Cup triumph in 2020, is now hoping to follow it up with Super League success.
Sinfield told a press conference that the arrival of Tetevano can add the steel to the Leeds pack that has been missing since the retirement of Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai in 2015.
The 30-year-old New Zealand international has joined from Penrith on a three-year contract and will have his first training session with the club on Monday after completing a quarantine period in the Headingley Lodge.
"I think there will be a big lift when the big man joins on Monday," Sinfield said. "He's an absolute champion.
"Since JP retired and since Kylie went, the pack has had a different feel and he's absolutely what we need. He will give us that steel."
Tetevano, a member of Sydney Roosters' 2018 Grand Final-winning team who also featured in the Panthers' Grand Final defeat by Melbourne last October, said the move to Super League came "out of the blue".
But he says he jumped at the chance to follow in the footsteps of Sinfield.
"When you get a phone call from Kevin Sinfield, the GOAT of Super League, it meant a lot to me and my family," he said.
"Kev had an awesome career out of the number 13 shirt and it definitely put shivers up my spine.
"I'm never going to be a Kevin Sinfield, though, I'm going to do it my own way and I'm ready to take the challenge on."
Meanwhile, Tetevano said he was set to switch his allegiance from New Zealand to the Cook Islands for the end-of-season World Cup.
He was raised by his Cook Islands grandparents and represented the nation in the 2013 World Cup but played for the Kiwis in 2019.
Tetevano is now set for another about-turn, having joined a Cook Islands WhatsApp group that includes Hull KR's new signing Brad Takairangi and Brisbane captain Alex Glenn.
"I just want to give my best for the club and leave that to the end of the year but, if I was to pick a team, it would probably be the Cook Islands," he said.
"Going back to 2013, we didn't do too well but I think with this squad now, I think we'd do pretty well."
Australian Associated Press
