State of Origin 2021: Peter V’landys issues warning to Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Payne Haas
NRL boss Peter V’landys has set his sights squarely on warring Origin stars Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Payne Haas, issuing them an ultimatum for Origin I.
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ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys has warned warring forwards Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui that State of Origin isn’t UFC – and foul play will draw immediate and severe punishment.
V’landys had a direct message to NSW’s Haas and Queensland’s Fa’asuamaleaui: Go hard, play tough, be Gladiators – but break the rules and you’ll be sent off.
The two Origin bad boys have been talking tough ahead of Wednesday night’s opening Origin game after the pair was sin-binned for exchanging punches in a flashpoint moment during Origin II.
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“No way will I be intimidated,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“I don’t back down from a contest. I’m ready for it. I will rip in for my teammates and the Queensland fans.”
Haas said: “You have to take it on head-first.”
While V’landys encouraged pre-game banter, he reminded the fired-up forwards that any reckless or forceful hit or collision with the head – even in the Origin furnace – would not be tolerated.
“You don’t have to hit someone in the head to be Gladiatorial or brutal,” V’landys said.
“Origin isn’t designed to be UFC. It’s designed to be a brutal game of rugby league. In UFC, you can do whatever you like but rugby league, no, you’ve got to work within the rules.
“You can hit someone as hard as you want and be as tough as you want – but don’t hit them in the head when they least expect it. That’s all we ask – leave the head alone.
“I love the banter, I love the fact they’re going to be Gladiatorial but all I say is do it within the rules. No-one is going to take brutality out of the game, that’s not the intention.
“The intention is to protect the welfare of the player so when he leaves the game he has his full faculties. I welcome the banter, that’s what State of Origin is all about. All I’m asking is do it within the rules.
“I don’t remember too many times in Origin where someone has wilfully given a coat hanger or someone hit in the head.”
Asked for the consequences if a player struck a player’s head in the ferocious Origin arena, V’landys said: “It would be up to the referee but everyone is aware of our policy.
“If you hit someone recklessly or forcefully in the head then you will be sent off.”
Haas and Fa’asuamaleaui have talked up their round two fireworks.
“I don’t know what NSW have planned for me, but if that’s the case, if they want to come after me, I will put my best foot forward and challenge them and compete with them back,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“I’m ready for it. I will rip in for my teammates and the Queensland fans. I won’t let them down.”
Haas added: “We’ll see what happens. I just want to win the series so bad.
“Having that challenge in front of you, to go up against (Fa’asuamaleaui) and the rest of the Queensland forward pack, that’s the challenge that we all can’t shy away from.”
TINO: I WON’T BACK DOWN
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui says he won’t back down from a NSW onslaught as Queensland legends urged the Maroons monster to launch another vicious attack on Blues rival Payne Haas in Origin I.
Haas is gunning for revenge after last year’s series loss and former NSW Origin skipper Paul Gallen has urged the Blues to inflict the ultimate pain on Fa’asuamaleaui by landing a blow where it counts most — on the scoreboard.
Fa’asuamaleaui and Haas sensationally traded punches in Origin II last year, continuing a rivalry that began as teenagers when the Maroons hulk once dared his NSW opposite to run squarely at him in a junior representative fixture.
Stung by last year’s series boilover, Haas says he is relishing the prospect of getting stuck into the Maroons pack, but Queensland’s biggest forward at 197cm and 113kg is happy to be the Blues’ marked man.
“No way will I be intimidated,” Fa’asuamaleaui said. “I don’t back down from a contest and I will give Queensland everything.
“I don’t know what NSW have planned for me, but if that’s the case, if they want to come after me, I will put my best foot forward and challenge them and compete with them back.
“I’m ready for it. I will rip in for my teammates and the Queensland fans. I won’t let them down.”
Mi
ndful of the NRL’s crackdown on foul play, Fa’asuamaleaui doesn’t expect to be throwing haymakers with Haas, but their midfield yardage war will be crucial. He is determined not to lose that battle either.
“Payne is a big boy and I’m like him, we are competitive,” he said. “That’s what we saw last year, two proud young boys representing their state and I’m exactly the same as him.
“It’s not personal, but I won’t be taking a backward step against him either.”
Former Maroons prop Petero Civoniceva admired the passion of Fa’asuamaleaui’s wrangle with Haas in last year’s series and has urged him to back it up with more front-row fireworks.
“There will be big expectations on Tino to do the same,” Civoniceva said. “There is a personal relationship between Tino and Payne and you want to get one-up on your mate.
“For Tino to establish himself as a mainstay Queensland side it is important that he backs up what he did last year with a strong series.”
Queensland centre great Steve Renouf implored Fa’asuamaleaui to go for the jugular again after getting under Haas’ skin in Game Two before prevailing in the decider at Suncorp.
“Tino should approach this as Part Two of his tussle with Payne. That’s Origin,” Renouf said.
“They are going to rip in and there will be a few fireworks, but good on them. They are just going to have to go at it again.
“In Game Three last year Queensland got in and chopped down Haas’s legs and Tino led the charge.
“They just need to cut down Haas’s momentum again and Tino can be the one leading that.
“They have both got to be careful and not go at each other around the head. That rule is here to stay and it is going to be the same for Origin.”
GAL’S ADVICE FOR HAAS
“Hurt him for the rest of his life”.
That’s the directive from former Blues captain Paul Gallen to NSW enforcer Payne Haas who has declared he won’t shy away from a re-match with Queensland sparring partner Tino Fa’asuamaleaui.
Haas and Fa’asuamaleaui stood toe-to-toe against each other in an iconic State of Origin stoush last year — and according to the towering NSW prop, there’s no guarantees they won’t shape-up again.
“We’ll see what happens,’’ a cheeky Haas said. “I just want to win the series so bad.
“Having that challenge in front of you, to go up against (Fa’asuamaleaui) and the rest of the Queensland forward pack, that’s the challenge that we all can’t shy away from.
“You have to take it on head first.”
The two front-row forwards came to blows during game two of the 2020 Origin series after tensions between the Maroons and Blues boiled over.
Haas even gestured for Fa’asuamaleaui to come back for more as he walked to the sin-bin following the clash at ANZ Stadium.
Prior to the 2020 series, fans and commentators had questioned a noticeable lack of tension and spite between the two states.
It led Queensland legend Johnathan Thurston to herald the return of the state versus state “hatred” in the moments after Haas and Fa’asuamaleaui traded punches.
“They’re both at 20 years of age so they’ve both got big futures in front of them in the representative arena so we’re going to see a lot more of it,” Thurston said.
Gallen, who led NSW to a series victory in 2014, is desperate to see the Blues reclaim the State of Origin shield they surrendered last year.
He described Haas as the Blues’ pack leader and his performance imperative for NSW “to hurt Queensland where it hurts most”.
“In today’s game, it’s not about punches and brawling but sometimes as we saw last year, emotions spill over,’’ Gallen said.
“Payne has shown footy fans how much he’s willing to put in for the Blues jersey and that’s what I desperately want to see as a Blues fan.
“I want NSW to win — and if we’re to do that, Payne has shown he’s more than comfortable with taking his body to a place that others wouldn’t go.
“For Payne and all the Blues, it’s not about hurting Queensland or ‘Big Tino’ for one game, it’s about hurting them for the rest of their lives.
“That scoreboard pain will be worse than a punch.”
Haas added that the taste of last year’s series defeat to Queensland still sits with him — and he knows how to correct his own game from the series-deciding loss in game three.
“If your middle isn’t going forward, we’re not giving ourselves the best shot to win the game,’’ Haas said. “I know what Origin is about.
“I played my best game of Origin in game two and I just failed to turn up in game three.
“It’s more of a mental thing for me.
“Right now, I’m just worried about winning at the moment.”
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