Big Joe's cousin and the exact opposite of him in rugby league methods. Joe Vagana's game is based on power, size and brute strength; Nigel Vagana uses guile, speed and evasion to make his mark. Like Joe, though, he was also signed by the Warriors as a teenager out of the Richmond club. Didn't have a comfortable start to his first grade career. John Monie used him as an interchange player against Western Suburbs but then left him out in the cold after he made some errors. Vagana's response was to go to Warrington in 1997 where he excelled as the European Super League's top tryscorer. By 1998 he was back at Ericsson, scoring 13 tries in 23 games and following that up with 12 in 21 games last year. Now developing into a quality centre in every respect, he's a real tryscoring danger in any game he plays. Underlined that when he finished last season by scoring four tries in the Kiwis' three Tri Series tests and another three when he came on as a replacement against Tonga.
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