As the NSW Blues prepare for the second clash of the 2024 State of Origin series, rookie prop Addin Fonua-Blake has pushed back against early criticism of his debut performance, while openly expressing his ambition to form a devastating front-row combination with injured returning star Payne Haas in Melbourne.
Fonua-Blake’s first Origin appearance got off to a notoriously slow start at Sydney’s Accor Stadium. The Blues’ disastrous opening 15 minutes saw the Queensland Maroons race out to an early lead, leaving the powerful front-rower with just two carries for 17 running metres before he was benched shortly after the Maroons scored their third try. But the NSW rookie fought back in the second half, turning the tide of his performance to end the match with 10 carries for 82 metres, as the Blues completed a comeback to claim a tense 22-20 opening game win.
Speaking to media following his club Cronulla Sharks’ victory over Manly just 48 hours after the Origin opener, Fonua-Blake hit back at critics who panned his early-game performance. “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 explained. “We only got the ball maybe twice while I was on and then it was a bit of a scrappy fight. We regrouped and we went out there in the second half and I thought I did what I know I could do.”
The 28-year-old, who became eligible to represent NSW after recent changes to State of Origin eligibility rules that allow players with past New Zealand or Tonga representative honours to play for Australian state sides, says he is not worried about being dropped for the second game. “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.”
Fonua-Blake’s club coach Craig Fitzgibbon, a former Blues representative and assistant coach who knows the intensity of Origin football intimately, has leapt to defend his star prop, pointing to his dominant performance just two days after his Origin debut where he recorded a team-high 139 running metres and 18 perfect tackles to inspire the Sharks to victory. Fitzgibbon has thrown his full support behind retaining Fonua-Blake in the second game, specifically to pair him with Brisbane Broncos star Payne Haas, who is set to return to the Blues side after recovering from an early injury.
“It frustrates me that front-rowers have to have carries and make metres for people to rate their performance,” Fitzgibbon said. “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.”
Fitzgibbon also highlighted that Fonua-Blake’s underrated defensive work often flies under the radar of critics. “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.” Fitzgibbon also suggested the pair could combine with Mitch Barnett to create a terrifying forward rotation, leaving incumbent Jacob Saifiti, who did not take the field in game one, fighting to retain his spot in the 17-man squad.
For his part, Fonua-Blake says he is eager for the chance to share the forward pack with Haas, widely regarded as one of the best props in the game. Having faced Haas multiple times at club level, the Sharks prop believes the pair could create an unstopable one-two punch in the middle of the field for the Blues. “That would 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’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.”