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Addin Fonua-Blake has hit back at criticism of his first stint in the Origin opener when the Blues didn’t touch the ball, with the NSW rookie hoping he gets the chance to play alongside the returning Payne Haas for game two in Melbourne.
NSW got off to an awful start at Accor Stadium which meant the powerhouse prop had just two runs for 17 metres before he was taken from the field following Queensland’s third try when he was caught at the ruck.
Fonua-Blake returned in the second half and had a lot more impact to finish the game with 10 carries for 82 metres as the Blues stormed home to win 22-20.
“You see a lot of stories about not having an impact in the first 15, but I don’t think many people would have had an impact in that first 15 minutes of that game,” he said on Friday night following Cronulla’s win over Manly.
“We only got the ball maybe twice while I was on and then it was a bit of a shit fight. We regrouped and we went out there in the second half and I thought I did what I know I could do.
“I’m not worried (about getting dropped). I know if I just do my job here and do what I know I can do here, then I give myself the best opportunity to get a call.
“But if I don’t get a call, then I’ll just work hard. I‘ve just got to keep doing my job here.”
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon wasn’t buying the criticism of his star front-rower who backed up 48 hours later to finish with a team-high 139 metres to go with 18 tackles and zero misses.
Fitzgibbon knows the Origin arena well as a former player and NSW assistant coach, and he wants to see Fonua-Blake retained for game two alongside Broncos superstar Haas who returns this weekend from injury.
“I’d love to see them play together with Mitch Barnett. That’d be all right,” Fitzgibbon said, with Jacob Saifiti the other forward fighting for his place after he didn’t get on in Sydney.
“It frustrates me that front-rowers have to have carries and make metres (for people to rate their performance).
“We need the ball to do that. They had no ball, and him and Mitch Barnett were off before they had one or two carries each. Then their second stints, both of those front-rowers got them back in the game.
“His defence is always underestimated for Addin, whereas guys like Addin are notorious for their meters and tries and the things that everyone notices.
“But for what we’re valuing Addin at the moment, he saved three tries, three weeks in a row for us on last plays. It’s actually kicks downfield that he turned up on the try line. So there’s some stuff off the ball that he’s probably not getting credit for.”
The Mascot Jets junior got his change in Origin after changes to the eligibility rules allowed the New Zealand and Tonga representative to play for the Blues.
Now he wants to play with Haas in what would be a formidable one-two punch in the middle.
“That’s be an ideal situation to get to play alongside him,” he said.
“I definitely think he’s one of the best players to play the game.
“I can only be in that conversation if I’m doing my job right here at club level. In the next couple of weeks, I want to be doing what I can to get back in the team or to get another selection and then we’ll go from there.
“I’ve never played with him. I’ve played against him a lot of times and seen what he’s capable of.
“I feel like it’d be a really good one-two punch, but I can’t think about that too much. I have to do my job here back at club level and then give myself an opportunity to get there again.”
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