State of Origin 2021: QLD Maroons’ David Fifita warns NSW over untapped potential

He missed last year’s Origin due to injury but David Fifita is determined to make up for lost time and make life hell for the Blues. Certainly his teammates can’t wait.

Valentine Holmes from the Queensland Maroons pictured at Suncorp Stadium on the first day of the Maroons camp, Brisbane 31st of May 2021. (Image/Josh Woning)

Maroons wrecking ball David Fifita has warned NSW he has only scratched the surface of his talent and is primed to be Queensland’s matchwinner in Origin I.

Fifita’s big-money, $3.5 million move from the Broncos to the Titans has imposed a new layer of expectation this season and all eyes will be on the highest-paid forward in the NRL in the Origin opener at Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Fifita burst onto the Origin scene as a 19-year-old two years ago, playing all three games of the 2019 campaign off the bench, but he will make his debut in the Queensland starting side in Origin‘s inaugural clash in Townsville.

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David Fifita is ready to rip and tear in the Origin opener in Townsville.

Stung by the memory of missing last year‘s epic series boilover due to injury, Fifita is hellbent on terrorising the Blues as Queensland coach Paul Green formulates a game plan to unleash the 107kg back-row beast.

“I would love to be that guy who can change the game in Origin,” said Fifita.

“Let‘s wait and see, but I will try and run hard, bring that aggression and hopefully be that guy that can break the game open for Queensland.

“The way I feel, I haven‘t produced my best in Origin, 100 per cent.

“This is the pinnacle. This is the biggest stage and when I last played for Queensland, I was only 19 years old. I was a baby.

“This time, being back in camp, I want to put on a good show and get the win for the fans and the state.

“I‘m nowhere near my best. I’ve only played (54) NRL games, so I’m still learning the game at this level with my defence and attack.

“I haven‘t hit my full straps yet, so I’m determined to get better.”

Maroons fullback Kalyn Ponga, who was named in the No.1 jumper only to be ruled out on Wednesday due to a groin injury, admits he is blown away by Fifita‘s fusion of raw power and athleticism.

David Fifita is the highest paid player in Titans history.

“He is just a freak,” Ponga said.

“His birth certificate can‘t be right.

“To think Dave is only 21, he has this amazing strength and he is so strong and fast.

“He is built differently to the rest of us. Genetically, he is blessed.

“I have tried to tackle him but I don‘t think I have ever got a proper shot on him. He is just wired differently. It’s scary how good he is. You can’t coach what he has. That’s what makes him such a weapon for Queensland.”

The Origin period will always be an emotional time in the Fifita footballing narrative. When he made his Origin debut at Suncorp Stadium in June 2019, Fifita‘s father Siaosi watched the greatest moment of his son’s NRL career from a Brisbane jail cell.

Siaosi had been locked away after being charged with seven offences including possessing dangerous drugs and receiving tainted property. His application for bail to be reunited with his son for his Origin debut was denied.

Growing up, Fifita‘s mum, Gwen, was the backbone in his life, but the Maroons forward says time has healed wounds with his old man.

“100 per cent, my dad will always be dad,” Fifita said.

“He‘s had some tough times, but I still love my dad. I know how proud he is for me to be on this stage. It’s not just dad, it’s my mum and all my extended family who are proud of where I have got to.”

Fifita wants to be the kind of player that can change the tide of a game in Origin.

That includes his mum, a strong woman from the Torres Strait who took up extra night shifts at Woolworths to help fund Fifita‘s footballing journey.

Six years ago, when Fifita was 15, Gwen told her son he would have to give up football because she couldn‘t afford the additional cost. Fifita made a simple vow: find the extra money, and he would not fail in his NRL dream.

The sight of Fifita in a Queensland Origin jumper has vindicated that decision.

“Dave could see how tough it was on me. I had days where I was depressed,” Gwen told News Corp last year of her struggle to put food on the table.

“The stress and pressure was too much. I remember days where we had no food. Sometimes I didn’t have money for petrol.

“So when Dave was 15, I told him he had to stop playing football.

“But then Dave looked at me and said, ‘Mum, please don’t do it. I promise you I won’t let you down. I will give it everything to play NRL’.

“At the moment, I just went, ‘Wow’. I saw this determination and motivation in his eyes and I knew then he wasn’t going to let me down.

“I said, ‘OK, David ... we’re going to do this together’.

“I have never forgotten those words from Dave.”

It is an inner-strength, forged by life at Struggle Street, that gave Fifita the gumption to be his own man and quit the Broncos last year.

His defection to the Titans represented the greatest recruitment coup in Gold Coast‘s history, but Fifita’s early-season form for his new club, including nine tries from 10 games, suggests he is at ease with his move.

Fifita says he has no regrets about his shock decision to quit the Broncos.

“I‘m happy to be at the Titans - I have no regrets about leaving the Broncos,” he said.

“It was hard leaving the Broncos for sure, but the truth is I had a few issues there.

“It wasn‘t a happy place and the hardest thing was having to tell the boys I was leaving. I still talk to a few of the Broncos boys. I am still close to Payne Haas (Broncos and NSW prop) who is in the opposition this week.

“Payne understood my decision. He said just do what you have to do.”

Asked about the pressures surrounding his mega Titans contract and being the NRL‘s latest $1 million player, Fifita said: “It honestly doesn’t affect me.

“The important thing has been having good people around me. My parents and staff at the Titans keep me grounded.

“Everyone else talks about my contract but I don‘t buy into it that much.

“I just play football and do my job for the team.”

An injured Fifita was sitting with his mum in the lounge room last year when the injury-ravaged Maroons stunned NSW 18-14 in Game One in Adelaide, laying the bedrock for a massive series boilover.

Now Fifita, a member of Queensland‘s 2-1 series loss in 2019, wants a taste of Origin glory.

“I love everything about Origin,” he said.

“The rivalry brings out the best in me and I love that competitiveness.

“It‘s been a long journey for me and I can’t believe I’m in the position I am in now. Last year, I was watching Queensland win in Adelaide with my mum at home and I just wanted to be part of it so bad, it’s the best stage you can be on as a footballer.

“It‘s a special feeling to be back. This is my chance to make a mark for the Maroons and the people of Queensland.”

MAROONS MAKE FINAL CALL ON ORIGIN FULLBACK

—Travis Meyn & Peter Badel

Valentine Holmes will be Queensland’s new State of Origin fullback as Maroons utility AJ Brimson races the clock to be fit for Wednesday’s series-opener in Townsville.

The Maroons are expected to confirm Holmes’ appointment at fullback on Friday.

Brimson was the only Maroons player to not take the field at Queensland’s first training session on the Gold Coast on Thursday morning.

The Titans livewire aggravated bone bruising in his knee during the Gold Coast’s loss to Cronulla last Sunday and is nursing the problem.

AJ Brimson will play in Origin I, but won’t line up in the No.1 jersey. Picture: Josh Woning

Brimson is expected to be fit to face the Blues in Game One at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, but he won’t be wearing his favoured No. 1 jersey.

New Maroons coach Paul Green is keen for Queensland to have a smooth preparation and will hand Cowboys star Holmes the fullback duties following Kalyn Ponga’s withdrawal with a groin injury.

Cowboys tryscorer Kyle Feldt will make his Origin debut on the wing with Broncos sensation Xavier Coates on the other flank.

Given his versatility, Brimson is expected to fill the No.14 jersey on the bench, but Parramatta hooker Reed Mahoney is still with the Queensland squad.

Reports on Tuesday suggested Mahoney had been released from Camp Maroon, but that is unlikely to happen before Friday as Queensland medicos monitor Brimson’s fitness.

Meanwhile, Holmes has backed himself to answer a fullback SOS from the Maroons.

Valentine Holmes is ready to go for the Maroons. Picture: Josh Woning

After missing the euphoria of last year’s series boilover due to shoulder surgery, Ponga was craving a return in the Queensland No.1 jumper, only to suffer another crushing setback in his injury-plagued Origin career.

Holmes is the Cowboys’ man-of-the-moment after landing a matchwinning 40-metre field goal against the Warriors last week and the Townsville junior says he would relish returning to the fullback spot for Origin’s debut in his hometown.

“I am happy in the No.1 jersey,” said Holmes, originally named on the left wing by Maroons selectors.

“I don’t care at all where I play, as long as I get a Queensland jersey I am happy.

“I would like the best team we have to have a fair chance of beating them (NSW), but anywhere in the backline will suit me.”

There is a sense of unfinished business for Holmes.

While he has scored nine tries in six Origin games on the wing, he has not forgotten the pain of his only stint at fullback for Queensland last year, when the Maroons were flogged 34-10 by NSW in Game Two.

Critics of Holmes insist he lacks the playmaking finesse to flourish at fullback, but he has been superb at club level in the No.1 jumper in the last two months, helping the Cowboys to six wins from eight games.

“I am more confident now with how my fitness is going at fullback,” he said.

“I am starting to get the hang of the speed of the game.

“It was pretty tough coming back last year from America (after his failed NFL bid), but the Cowboys are going well and that makes you look better as a player.

Holmes can’t wait to play an Origin game in his home town.

“It would be awesome to play Origin in Townsville in front of my mum and dad and my family.”

Ponga was publicly bullish about his chances of playing just two days ago but not everyone in Camp Maroon, including coach Green, shared the fullback’s confidence as he raced the clock to get the green light.

The Maroons confirmed Ponga has run out of time to prove his fitness.

“Kalyn has been progressing with his rehab but time is against us and the decision has been made for him to return to the Knights where he can focus on further recovery,” Maroons doctor Matt Hislop said.

Originally published as State of Origin 2021: QLD Maroons’ David Fifita warns NSW over untapped potential