State of Origin 3: Breakdown of available props for NSW Blues as Aaron Woods questioning call
Jacob Saifiti was called in to replace Jordan McLean, but he isn’t even in the top two props at his NRL club. And there’s a standout candidate being overlooked.
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Former NSW prop Aaron Woods has become the latest to question the continued snubbing of Reagan Campbell-Gillard, saying the Parramatta prop was the Blues’ best in game one.
Within the space of a month, Campbell-Gillard has dramatically gone from starting prop for his state to being at least sixth in the Blues’ front-row pecking order.
The withdrawal of Payne Haas forced coach Brad Fittler to draft in would-be debutant Jordan McLean from North Queensland, who was sensationally ruled out due to injury on Thursday.
However Campbell-Gillard was again overlooked for the anticipated decider, with Fittler again opting for another rookie in Newcastle big man Jacob Saifiti.
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Woods, who has started the third most games in the front row for the Blues behind Steve Roach and Paul Harragon, reckons it just has to do with style.
“I thought Reg was our best front-rower in Game One,” said Woods, who played 14 matches for the Blues.
“I haven’t been in the system for a few years so I don’t know what Freddy wants or how he picks the team. It must be a style of footy that he doesn’t like that Reg has got, and there’s something different that he likes with Jacob.
“Reg must have done something wrong or the way he plays mustn’t be up to standard because I thought he was our best forward and went after their pack in Game One.”
Saifiti’s selection comes despite statistics showing he’s not even in the top two props at his club.
Knights teammate and ex-NSW star David Klemmer averages 61 more metres per game, while his brother, Daniel, another former Blues representative, makes 11 more metres per carry.
Klemmer plays almost 15 minutes more per game than Jacob, and his 60 post-contact metres is double that of Jacob’s 29 a match.
Klemmer’s 23 offloads so far this year is also just one behind Junior Paulo among eligible props Fittler has to choose from.
However working against Klemmer is his fiery temperament, which worked against him again on Friday night when he was sent off for an ugly elbow against South Sydney.
Campbell-Gillard, meanwhile, also makes more metres and contact metres than Jacob, who has remarkably busted just one tackle out of his 15 games so far this season.
Still, Woods says it’s about the game plan.
“Different coaches see different things in you. Some coaches like different things because they fit the team’s system,” he said.
“Freddy might want a dominant defensive side where the back five does a lot of the carries and he just wants his forwards to defend.
“If you look at it, Jake Trbojevic doesn’t really carry the ball that much and he’s not known for his quick play the ball, but he’s awesome in defence. Maybe someone like Jacob was brought in as a like for like replacement.”
Woods was shattered for McLean, who was on track to be the fifth-oldest Blues debutant in history, only to strain his hamstring during training this week.
“I was absolutely shattered for him because we played together and won a World Cup together,” Woods said.
“He is honestly one of the really good guys in rugby league. He’s a champion bloke from a champion family, and he deserved to finally have this crack. We’re the same age and we grew up playing against each other, so I just felt so bad for him.
“You don’t like seeing that happen to anyone, not even if they’re from Queensland.
“He’s played first grade for 10 or 11 years and he finally got this opportunity, so I’m just shattered.”
Woods knows all too well how tough it is to make your debut in front of a rabid crowd at Suncorp Stadium. He did it in 2013 and the Blues got belted, but he’s confident Fittler will have Saifiti and the rest of the team ready to handle it.
“I debuted up there and I can tell you there is no tougher task in rugby league,” he said.
“The Blues aren’t going to get many calls and the crowd is going to be heckling like you wouldn’t believe. I’m sure Freddy has told them to get off social media, hunker down and do the job.”
Scans confirm more bad news for shattered McLean
-David Riccio
The results of Jordan McLean’s hamstring scans have been confirmed with the Cowboys prop set to miss up to a month of football.
McLean was left shattered after being ruled out of making his State of Origin debut due to a hamstring injury suffered at Blues training on Thursday.
Subsequent scans have revealed McLean has suffered a grade two hamstring injury that will leave him sidelined for the next three to four weeks.
Blues rookie reveals twin brother’s brutal Origin advice
Be your own man.
That’s the advice NSW State of Origin debutant Jacob Saifiti received from his tearful twin brother Daniel, after breaking the news he had received an emergency call-up for the Blues.
Saifiti, 26, is preparing to step out of his brother’s shadow once and for all after being selected to replace a shattered Jordan McLean, who withdrew from the NSW team on Thursday due to a hamstring injury.
It was his brother Daniel, who has played seven Origins for NSW and is sidelined with a knee injury, who Saifiti phoned first with the news.
“I got straight on the phone to Daniel and there were a lot of tears,” Saifiti said.
“He said to me, get your lungs ready and expect the unexpected.
“Origin is nothing like you think it’s going to be like. It’s going to be a lot harder.
“You’re going to be blowing.
“I wasn’t sure who they were going to bring in because it was about 30 minutes to when the news broke (about McLean) to when I got the call.
“I feel for the boys that missed out, Payne (Haas) and Macca (McLean), especially.
“I feel for Macca a lot.
“But it’s my opportunity and I may never get this opportunity to put this jersey on again, so I’m going to be playing like it’s my last game.’’
Saifiti’s dream come true has been achieved through hard work and perseverance.
His career took a major jolt when he managed just eight and seven games in 2018 and 2019 respectively due to a serious ankle injury.
While Daniel powered to the heights of Origin as one of the Blues best players, Saifiti was forced to grind his way through the mental demons of rediscovering the level of football that he always knew he could deliver.
Saifiti displayed his mental steel and ability by being named the Knights Player of Year in 2021.
“I’m not a religious person but I believe everything happens for a reason and I know exactly where I’m meant to be,’’ Saifiti said.
“In 2018 I broke my ankle and missed half that year and to be back now three years later, I’m playing in a decider for State of Origin.
“Last year I feel like I really started to hit my straps and found my own game.
“Obviously in those years that Daniel was playing Origin and I wasn’t, that’s the obvious thing, I’m living in Daniel’s shadow.
“But it’s never about competing with Daniel, it’s about finding my own feet, even though he’s my twin brother I look up to him.
“I’m my own player.
“I’m just keen to get out there on Wednesday night and do my job.
“The opportunity to play in a decider doesn’t get much bigger, in Queensland especially.’’
Saifiti will hit the training field for the first time with the Blues on Saturday.
Newly-added reserves Chad Townsend and Dale Finucane will also join the Blues session for the first time as they increase the intensity of their preparation for the July 13 decider at Suncorp Stadium.
Sharks hardman joins Blues
Sharks forward Dale Finucane has been called into the NSW Origin squad following the withdrawal of Jordan McLean.
Finucane will join the Blues as a reserve forward and as extra cover should Brad Fittler’s side suffer any further mishaps.
Finucane is effectively replacing Jacob Saifiti in the Blues extended squad after the Knights prop was elevated from the reserves to the starting 17.
Saifiti will join the Blues on Friday following his shock call-up to make his Origin debut as a result of a cruel hamstring injury to McLean.
Finucane will enter camp on Friday after the Sharks enjoyed an impressive win over the Storm on Thursday night.
‘Gutted’ Blues rally around heartbroken McLean
Newcastle hardman Jacob Saifiti has earned a shock call-up to the NSW State of Origin side following the heartbreaking withdrawal of veteran prop Jordan McLean.
McLean, who had originally been named to make his long-awaited Origin debut at the age of 30 for injured NSW spearhead Payne Haas, was reduced to tears after suffering his 20th hamstring issue in 10 years during Blues training on Thursday.
The former Young Cherrypickers junior suffered the injury with only three minutes remaining in the 90-minute session.
“I’m absolutely gutted. The hardest part will be telling my family,” a tearful McLean said.
In a day of high-drama for the Blues at their Kingscliff camp, News Corp can also reveal:
* Saifiti was chosen to replace McLean over David Klemmer, Regan Campbell-Gillard and Dale Finucane;
* Chad Townsend, the replacement for 19th man Nicho Hynes (Covid), spent his first day in camp bed-ridden with a gastro-bug;
* NSW coach Brad Fittler won’t determine if Saifiti starts the match until closer to kick-off in Wednesday night’s decider;
* McLean has undergone scans to determine the severity of the injury, which will impact the high-flying Cowboys.
Jordan McLean ruled out of Origin 3 after suffering a hamstring injury at training today. Even a minor hamstring strain would require more than a week to allow a safe return to play (typically high reinjury rate). Devastating for him to miss out on his NSW debut
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 7, 2022
“It was one of the more personal moments as a coach, to watch someone almost get to live their dream out and then bang, it’s over,’’ NSW coach Brad Fittler said of McLean’s injury omission.
“I had to walk away. There wasn’t much to say. It’s just heartbreaking he doesn’t get to play.
“He told me he’s had 20 (hamstring injuries) in 10 years. Speaking to him, he doesn’t feel like it’s going to be a huge injury where he’s out for a long time.
“But still, I’m always mindful of sending the players back fit and healthy to their clubs, but this time, I’m just gutted he’s not playing.’’
NSW assistant coach and Knights GM of football Danny Buderus rang Saifiti with the news.
Saifiti had been in camp with the Blues on Monday and Tuesday as a forward reserve, but had returned to Newcastle for their home game with South Sydney on Friday night.
The Fijian international was immediately withdrawn from the match once the Blues called.
The 26-year-old will achieve what his twin brother Daniel — sidelined with a knee injury — was able to do in 2019 with NSW.
“Every time a door closes, another one opens,” Fittler said.
“Jacob was in our first (Origin I) camp and this camp as well.
“He brings aggression, he also knows what we’re about. From watching the first game, he learned a lot and knew what he had to do — and he plays a lot like his brother.
“He deserves it. He was Newcastle’s Player of the Year last year and all the stuff we look for (in an Origin player), he does very well.’’
The Blues were rallying around McLean, who was sent for MRI scans on his hamstring late Thursday afternoon.
“I don’t know what to say. It is pretty disappointing,” McLean said.
“I did it at training today. My career has been full of ups and downs and I have kind of been used to this but I thought this was the light at the end of the tunnel getting this opportunity but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I was just doing normal things at training and I just don’t know what to say.
“I don’t feel too good at the moment.
“Telling my family that is going to be the hardest thing – telling my young fellas that I’m not going to be playing.”
Saifiti cops criticism on the chin
-Dean Ritchie
Unlike many touchy NRL players, new Blues prop Jacob Saifiti has listened to disparaging comments about his form from detractors all season – and agrees with them.
“If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen,” Saifiti said. “I haven’t been playing well.”
The Knights enforcer was rushed into the NSW side on Thursday after prop Jordan McLean was ruled out with a hamstring injury.
Saifiti was part of NSW’s extended squad for Origin I but missed out for the second game in Perth. He is now back and ready to rip in during the Origin decider on Wednesday night in Brisbane.
Saifiti knows the critics have circled him all season but he’s not cranky.
“I’m not one to take to social media, I’m not, but we have brought it on ourselves,” Saifiti said. “Me, personally, I know I haven’t been playing my best footy.
“You can’t just have it all good. It’s part of the game. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. It’s part of the job.
“I have brought it on myself haven’t I? If I was playing good footy then it wouldn’t be happening. You have to cop it on the chin. I’m not stubborn but I only really care about the opinion of my coach and teammates.
“But I know that part of the game – and Newcastle has very passionate fans – we have been rubbish over the last few years and they just want results. And deservedly so.
“I know they’re frustrated and we are just as frustrated as them.”
Saifiti and his Knights have struggled this season, winning five of 15 games and sitting in 12th position.
Selection in the NSW side, according to Saifiti, has given him renewed confidence and zest.
Speaking before Origin I in Sydney, Saifiti said: “It hasn’t been the best start to the year but to get picked for this makes it a little bit sweeter. I will soak it up and be observant. I will probably annoy some people by asking a lot of questions.
“They (NSW coach Brad Fittler and adviser Greg Alexander) obviously see something in me that I haven’t seen this year. I haven’t been playing the best footy.
“It gives me confidence that they see something in me. To pick me to be part of this squad, it gives me a lot of confidence. It’s so surreal, I’m so surprised, more surprised than anyone. Shocked really.”
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