Addin Fonua-Blake Eyes Strong Performance with Payne Haas in State of Origin II
Blues front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake has set his sights on making a significant impact for New South Wales in the second game of the State of Origin series. He is particularly excited about playing alongside returning prop Payne Haas, whom he considers one of the best players to ever grace the sport. Haas missed the first match due to a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks, but he is expected to make a return this Sunday when Brisbane faces St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium.
Haas, who is set to move to South Sydney, will be a key addition to the Blues squad for Origin II in Melbourne next month. His presence could give the Blues a strong chance to clinch the series. Fonua-Blake, who made his interstate debut in NSW’s thrilling comeback win over Queensland in Sydney, is eager to play alongside Haas, believing their combination could be formidable.
“That’d be an ideal situation to go out and get to play alongside him. I definitely think he’s one of the best players to ever play the game,” Fonua-Blake said. “I’ve played against him a lot of times and obviously seen what he’s capable of. I feel like that would be a really good one-two punch.”
Fonua-Blake quickly returned to action for his club side Cronulla just 48 hours after the series opener, playing against Manly on Friday night. He knows he must continue to perform at the NRL level to secure his place in the Blues team. During the opening game, he started in the front row alongside Warriors enforcer Mitch Barnett, while Newcastle’s Jacob Saifiti was the lone prop on the bench and didn’t see any action.
If coach Laurie Daley opts for the same interchange setup, one of the trio will have to be dropped for Haas. Fonua-Blake’s run statistics at Accor Stadium were not outstanding—nine hit-ups for 89 metres during his 42 minutes on the field—but Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon defended the 30-year-old, pointing out that Queensland’s dominance in possession made it difficult for the front-rowers.
“They had no ball and him and Mitch Barnett were off before they had one or two carries each,” Fitzgibbon said. “Then [in] their second stints, both of those front-rowers got them back in the game.”
Fitzgibbon expressed frustration when middle forwards were judged solely on their carries in such challenging circumstances, arguing that Fonua-Blake’s defensive contributions are often overlooked.
“Guys like Addin are notorious for their metres and tries and the things that everyone notices but … he saved three tries in three weeks in a row for us, like on last plays. [On] kicks down the field [he] turned up on the tryline,” the Cronulla coach said. “There’s some stuff off the ball that he’s probably not getting credit for. [For NSW] to not have the ball but still turn up and get his D done and then get back on … when they were trading set for set, I thought he got better.”
Fonua-Blake is also aware of the commentary surrounding his introduction to Origin, which came at the age of 30 due to a change in eligibility rules that previously excluded him from playing for NSW because he had represented New Zealand once during the 2017 World Cup. Some have suggested that the fast-paced nature of Origin was too much for a player of his size. However, despite being pushed to his limits during his first 18-minute stint, Fonua-Blake was pleased to contribute as the Blues staged a comeback.
“Obviously, I’ve seen a lot of stories about [me] 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,” Fonua-Blake said. “We didn’t have the ball, we only got the ball maybe twice while I was on. But … [we] regrouped and went out there in the second half and I thought I did what I know I can do.”
