NRL Grand Final 2016: Cronulla’s Andrew Fifita to go from title-winner to Kangaroos outcast
AFTER scoring the match-winning try for Cronulla on Sunday night, Andrew Fifita faces the prospect of going from grand final hero to Kangaroos outcast.
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THE NRL’s decision to sit on its hands over Andrew Fifita’s public support of one punch killer Kieran Loveridge will one way or another blow up in the game’s face.
Cronulla’s giant prop faces the prospect of going from NRL grand final hero to Kangaroo outcast if he is overlooked for Mal Meninga’s 24-man Four Nations squad.
That team will be named on Monday afternoon and on Fifita’s match-winning performance on Sunday night his selection should be a certainty.
Many considered Fifita unlucky not to take out the Clive Churchill Medal that was awarded to Luke Lewis.
While Lewis also had an outstanding game and was a worthy winner of the best and fairest honour, Fifita’s performance was as astonishing as it was defining.
He not only finished with the most metres of any forward (189) but also came up with the play that finally ended the Sharks’ 50-year premiership drought.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan said he was unsure what the NRL’s stance would be but on football ability Fifita should be in the team.
“Andrew has got to deal with some other things,” Flanagan said. “But he is definitely good enough.
“He is fast, he has good footwork, he has a bit motor for a 128kg human being. There is not too many like him.
“The opposition front-rower Jess Bromwich is one of the best in the game. Andrew knew he had to stand up against him. Bromwich scored a try. Andrew set himself a goal to match Bromwich.
“When (Bromwich) did score the try I think Andrew said, ‘well, I’ve got to do something about it’. And he went up the other end of the field and did something about it.”
Fifita admitted the controversy of the past month had been tough to deal with as he faced the uncertainty over whether he would be punished by the NRL over his support of Loveridge or his association with other criminals.
“I’m lost for words,” Fifita told Channel Nine. “On the biggest stage, just to score the winning try ... to be honest, I can’t believe where it come from.
“It has been a tough month but to be honest I’m just stoked.”
Retiring Cronulla hooker Michael Ennis was almost speechless as he tried to put into words the prop’s incredible performance. “Fifita, Fifita ... I can’t believe it,” an emotional Ennis told Channel Nine.
But there is every likelihood Meninga will be forced to make an embarrassing selection call if he is forced to now overlook the game’s form front-rower.
It has now been more than a month since The Daily Telegraph first exposed that Fifita was wearing the initials “FKL” on his arm band in support of Loveridge and the warning he received from police.
But given Fifita was allowed to continue to play throughout the entire NRL finals series, it could only be seen as highly convenient timing if he was now to be overlooked from touring with the Kangaroos.
On their way to charging to an 8-0 lead in Sunday night’s grand final, Fifita was by far the most damaging forward on the field as he clocked up 114m in his 31 minute opening stint.
To put Fifita’s huge work rate in perspective, Lewis was the nearest forward on the ground to him with 72 metres while Paul Gallen made 55 metres in his first stint and the man widely regarded as the world’s best prop Jesse Bromwich had 48 metres.
Fifita continued his outstanding performance after the break as he continued to churn through the metres before his history making charge in the 68th minute.
Peter Sterling labelled Fifita one of the game’s rarest players.
“He is a player we call having X-factor,” Sterling said. “For me it is a player with the ability to come up with something that takes your breath away.”
The Daily Telegraph spoke to Meninga last Monday and at that point he said he would be seeking a clarification from the NRL over their stance on Fifita.
Meninga was then quoted in The Sunday Telegraph saying he had still not had feedback or instructions from the NRL bosses. Meninga admitted no decision had been made on whether or not Fifita would be selected.
“I’m not sure what the game is going to do with Andrew,” Meninga said. “It’s all confusing. The integrity unit hasn’t said anything to me.
“You pick a team that has to be ticked off by the chairman of the commission (John Grant) anyway. Maybe they will be making the ultimate decision on all individuals.”
Meninga has maintained that he wants to make the Kangaroo jumper the ultimate reward for players for their performances on and off the field.
As wonderful a player as Fifita is, there is no question he has had a history over controversy and it is believed there are people in the game hesitant of sending him away to represent Australia for a month-long tour overseas.
Even the Sharks were so concerned that Fifita might get himself in more trouble by saying the wrong thing last week that they put him on a media ban during the grand final build up.
Originally published as NRL Grand Final 2016: Cronulla’s Andrew Fifita to go from title-winner to Kangaroos outcast
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