PASAMI Saulo can't imagine he will need to memorise a complicated game plan when he makes his senior representative debut at CBus Super Stadium on Saturday.
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"I guess my role will be the same as it is for Newcastle," the towering front-rower said after being selected for the New Zealand Maori to face the Indigenous All-Stars.
"Just run hard and tackle hard."
He admitted, however, he is likely to need a crash course in how to perform the pre-match haka.
"To be honest, I've always wanted to do the haka," he said.
"I've always seen it on TV and was hoping one day it might happen.
"I'm not sure which one we'll be doing but I guess we'll need a bit of practice. I can't wait for it."
Saulo was notified while he was in Perth playing in last weekend's NRL Nines that he had been called into the 20-man Maori squad, after Penrith's James Tamou and Melbourne's Nelson Asofa-Solomona were late withdrawals.
Given that the 21-year-old has played in only six first-grade games, all off the bench, his selection came out of the blue.
Initially the Belmont-born rookie, who played his junior football with Maitland Pickers and represented Australian Schoolboys alongside Payne Haas in 2016, was not even sure if he had Maori heritage.
It took a phone call to his father to confirm that he did.
"I've been excited ever since the coach told me I'd been picked," he said.
"But then the nerves started to kick in, so there's a bit of mixed emotions."
Saulo will have one familiar face alongside him, in Knights fullback Kalyn Ponga, but admitted it was a bit daunting to find himself in such an elite environment so early in his career.
"To play alongside so many great players, and just to be in camp, learning a few things, it's exciting," he said.
"I'm hoping to get as much knowledge as I can and just soak it all up."
Saulo would appear to have a convoy of middle forwards - including David Klemmer, Daniel and Jacob Saifiti, Tim Glasby, Josh King and Herman Ese'ese - ahead of him in the pecking order for Newcastle's season-opener against the Warriors on March 14.
But the club's recent decision to extend his contract by two seasons, until at least the end of 2022, would suggest he is very much in contention for further NRL opportunities as the year unfolds..
"That's the goal," he said.
"That's what I've focused on in the pre-season, just working as hard as I can to get a round-one spot.
"Hopefully this [All Stars] game can give me a chance to show what I can do."
