Daryl Clark ready to face Warrington giant Ben Murdoch-Masila for Great Britain
DARYL Clark now gets to do what many Super League opponents find so hard - stopping Ben Murdoch-Masila.
The Warrington hooker is expected to be part of Great Britain's first Test in 12 years on Saturday.
That means the prospect of having to stop his 17-stone clubmate after he made what is technically a Tonga Invitational XIII because of a power struggle involving the country's official board.
And it is a prospect he is both looking forward to and dreading in equal measure.
Clark said: "He’s a bit of a handful, isn’t he? Hopefully he’ll be on the other side of the field to me!
“I’m not looking forward to going up against him but it’ll be pretty good.
“When we do contract drills at Warrington and you’ve got him ploughing at you it’s not the best!
“I always made sure I’ve got my arm pad and my shoulder guard ready for him.
“He only knows one way and that’s straight forward and hard. He’s like that in training as well.
“It’s not often he goes down, you’ve just got to try and get your body in front of him. He’s a big lad and really explosive for his side as well."
Murdoch-Masila may be a man mountain on the field but off it he is as quiet as they come.
And as he gears up to stop the seemingly unstoppable, along with the likes of Jason Taumalolo and Leeds' Konrad Hurrell, he knows that switch in character is a sign of the very best players.
The 26-year-old added: "He’s really aggressive on the field but then he’s the nicest guy you could meet off the field, really quiet and down to earth.
"I think that’s the case with quite a few players - they have different sides on the field.
“I think you have to have that in you to play our game."
