Before Blues coach Laurie Daley was prepared to hand Sharks enforcer Addin Fonua-Blake his NSW debut, he had to pass the coffee test.
It was held in a café in the Sutherland Shire, when all the big questions were asked. Did Fonua-Blake, a Tongan and New Zealand international, bleed blue? Was he ready for the cauldron that is State of Origin football? Did he truly hate Queensland?
“Obviously, we met up, we had a coffee and he just sort of asked me, ‘What are my desires throughout the year?’” Fonua-Blake recalled.
“I told him I’m looking to try and make the Origin team, and he [asked] me, ‘What does it mean to me?’
“I told him it would mean the world. Obviously growing up watching these games, as a kid, you want to be a part of them.
“He just said, ‘All right, well, go out there and prove to me why I should be in the team’. I feel like I’ve done that.”
Satisfied by what Daley heard and has subsequently witnessed on the field, Fonua-Blake was one of six debutants named for the series opener against Queensland at Accor Stadium on May 27.
“AFB” will be joined by fellow newbies Victor Radley, Tolutau Koula, Blayke Brailey, Ethan Strange, and Casey McLean. Each has their own unique story.
For Brailey, it’s being rewarded for the consistency shown during an extraordinary run of 139 consecutive games for Cronulla that only came to a halt last week due to concussion. In Strange’s case, it’s a chance to make a representative debut after failing to get a guernsey during a six-week Ashes tour of England.
Manly’s Koula, meanwhile, will debut out of position, on the wing rather than his customary centre spot. And for Fonua-Blake (Tonga, New Zealand), Radley (England) and McLean (New Zealand), their chance to represent their state came after changes to eligibility laws before this season.
Asked if he had a message for NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo or Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys, who introduced the rule change, Fonua-Blake quipped: “Thank you! If I see you out, I’ll buy you a coffee or a beer.”
Strange has been compared favourably to Daley, who was also a five-eighth for Canberra.
“Obviously he’s a great player and we know our history at the Raiders,” Strange said.“I’ve seen a lot of highlights of Laurie, he was an outstanding player. For people to say stuff like that is pretty cool.”
Daley wants to play an up-tempo game and Koula provides him with one of the NRL’s fastest men.
“It means everything to me,” Koula said of his selection. “It’s a dream come true. I’m just grateful that Laurie and the coaching staff have faith in me and I look forward to paying them back.”
Radley said his selection was unexpected.
“I just think that there’s such good competition in my position,” he said. “I probably put myself at the bottom [of the pile] … which is probably not a good mindset to have. As soon as they changed the eligibility law, I said, ‘Happy days’.
“I was going to do the best I could for the Roosters anyway, but there’s this little thing in my head that if I’m good enough, I’ll be in the [Origin] team.”
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