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Des Hasler is no fan of Queensland but even he admits Gold Coast second-rower David Fifita has the x-factor and consistency to deserve a Maroons recall.
Former Maroons captain and Titans ambassador Gorden Tallis has also sung Fifita’s praises and value as a dangerous State of Origin player.
Fifita will start for the Titans in the Friday night clash with Cronulla where a strong display will go a long way towards securing a win for his club side and a return to the Queensland team for the State of Origin series decider in Brisbane on July 17.
The 24-year-old wrecking ball was left out of the Maroons side for the first two Origin matches after playing a key role in last year’s 2-1 series win.
Titans coach Hasler, who played 12 Origin games for NSW, said Fifita had the all-round game to be influential for the Maroons.
“He has got to be in the mix, hasn’t he? I am not partial to any inside word there but he has certainly got those pieces in his game that would make him pretty handy,” Hasler said.
“It is a big game. It is a decider. They don’t get any bigger and he has certainly got some x-factor in his game.”
Maroons coach Billy Slater has not put a line through Fifita but said before game one the Titans forward had not attained the standards of last year.
“I think what he has been doing this year is pretty consistent across the piece,” Hasler said.
“He has been interrupted with various injuries but I think his last month of footy has been quite strong.”
In his last match against the Warriors, in a 66-6 win, Fifita had 10 tackle busts and ran for 195m.
This year he is averaging a career-high 156m with the ball and has a commendable 93.6 per cent defensive efficiency.
His 73 tackle breaks is the highest for any forward in the NRL this year, despite Fifita having no pre-season due to a pectoral tear and sustaining an ankle injury during the season.
“Dave had a chequered pre-season. He was injured and when you miss pre-season, you miss the work that goes into building you as a player,” Tallis said.
“For the Titans he has been in our top three players for most of the year.
“Certainly the last couple of weeks he has picked up his act. Dave on any footy field is one of my favourite players and one of the most dangerous back-rowers. I don’t pick the Queensland team, but Dave was outstanding against the Warriors.”
Meanwhile, North Queensland second-rower Heilum Luki has edged closer to a Queensland debut after applying advice from Maroons enforcer Felise Kaufusi.
Luki, who will play against Manly in Townsville on Saturday night, had one of his most complete NRL games in the 16-6 win over Penrith last week where he made 41 tackles and missed just three.
Heilum Luki. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Throw in his 106m from 15 powerhouse runs, and the fact the 23-year-old was off the field for 15 minutes for an HIA, it was a massive effort against the three-time defending premiers.
It was the kind of display that would have had Slater licking his lips as he seeks the right forward rotation for the Origin series decider in Brisbane on July 17.
Luki was included in the extended Maroons squad for game two of the series and spent 10 days in camp with the team ahead of the 38-18 loss to NSW at the MCG.
It was in camp where Dolphins hitman Kaufusi gave him some sage advice.
“I was working closely with Felise Kaufusi with things that I needed to work on with my defence, which Billy told me I needed to improve on,” Luki said.
“I definitely tried to bring what I learned in camp into our club game. I still have a few more things to improve on.
“I really enjoyed being in camp and around all those great players, and listen to Billy and how he speaks to the team.”
Luki is a giant of a man at 195cm and 103kg and brings mobility, toughness and skill to his role.
The Cowboys have won four of their past five games to move into seventh place on the NRL ladder on 20 points and are in a strong position to play finals.
A possible surge into the top four is also not out of the question as they still have two byes and the four competition points that go with it to come, and play six of their last eight games at home.
© AAP
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