Maroons declare Napa on target for Origin II
QUEENSLAND have called on Dylan Napa to bring his best aggressive game to Sunday night’s showdown with the Blues, after the prop completed his final fitness test on Saturday.
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QUEENSLAND have called on Dylan Napa to bring his best aggressive game to Sunday night’s showdown with the Blues, after the prop completed his final fitness test on Saturday.
The hard-hitting forward is yet to be officially cleared from an ankle injury for Game Two at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night, but he completed Saturday’s captain’s run in a major boost for the Maroons.
Napa will start for Queensland in the must-win clash and coach Kevin Walters says the team will need his presence to match it with the dominant NSW pack.
“He brings aggression first and foremost,” Walters said on Saturday.
“Dylan will be the first to admit in Game One he didn’t quite get that right with his aggression.
“But if we can get that right, he’ll be a huge asset for the Maroons in many areas. That’s why we’re giving him every opportunity to play.”
Napa has been assessed on a daily basis by Queensland coaching and medical staff, after he passed his first test on Wednesday.
The Maroons had set him the midweek deadline to make sure he could run and Walters said he surpassed expectations at that training session, but they did not want to officially clear him until they saw how he progressed through the week.
His back up in Tim Glasby has also been in camp the entire week and has trained with the Maroons as much as Napa.
“I didn’t expect him to be running too much on Wednesday but he trained fully with the team,” he said.
“He did exactly what we required of him.
“He’s worked around the clock, certainly. Everyone wants to play in this jersey and Dylan is no different.
“That just shows how dedicated he is and you expect that from him because he’s a great Queenslander and he wants to be among this team that’s going to play (tonight).”
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Originally published as Maroons declare Napa on target for Origin II
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